Shipping Machine Learning Systems

This book bridges the gap between theoretical machine learning (ML) and its practical application in industry. It serves as a handbook for shipping production-grade ML systems, addressing challenges often overlooked in academic texts. Drawing on their experience at several major corporations and startups, the authors focus on real-world scenarios, guiding practitioners through the ML lifecycle, from planning and data management to model deployment and optimization. They highlight common pitfalls and offer interview-based case studies from companies that illustrate diverse industrial applications and their unique challenges. Multiple pathways through the book allow readers to choose which stage of the ML development process to focus on, as well as the learning strategy ('crawl,' 'walk,' or 'run') that best suits the needs of their project or team.