ml-pipeline-workflow

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---
name: ml-pipeline-workflow
description: Build end-to-end MLOps pipelines from data preparation through model training, validation, and production deployment. Use when creating ML pipelines, implementing MLOps practices, or automating model training and deployment workflows.
---

# ML Pipeline Workflow

Complete end-to-end MLOps pipeline orchestration from data preparation through model deployment.

## Overview

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for building production ML pipelines that handle the full lifecycle: data ingestion → preparation → training → validation → deployment → monitoring.

## When to Use This Skill

- Building new ML pipelines from scratch
- Designing workflow orchestration for ML systems
- Implementing data → model → deployment automation
- Setting up reproducible training workflows
- Creating DAG-based ML orchestration
- Integrating ML components into production systems

## What This Skill Provides

### Core Capabilities

1. **Pipeline Architecture**
   - End-to-end workflow design
   - DAG orchestration patterns (Airflow, Dagster, Kubeflow)
   - Component dependencies and data flow
   - Error handling and retry strategies

2. **Data Preparation**
   - Data validation and quality checks
   - Feature engineering pipelines
   - Data versioning and lineage
   - Train/validation/test splitting strategies

3. **Model Training**
   - Training job orchestration
   - Hyperparameter management
   - Experiment tracking integration
   - Distributed training patterns

4. **Model Validation**
   - Validation frameworks and metrics
   - A/B testing infrastructure
   - Performance regression detection
   - Model comparison workflows

5. **Deployment Automation**
   - Model serving patterns
   - Canary deployments
   - Blue-green deployment strategies
   - Rollback mechanisms

### Reference Documentation

See the `references/` directory for detailed guides:

- **data-preparation.md** - Data cleaning, validation, and feature engineering
- **model-training.md** - Training workflows and best practices
- **model-validation.md** - Validation strategies and metrics
- **model-deployment.md** - Deployment patterns and serving architectures

### Assets and Templates

The `assets/` directory contains:

- **pipeline-dag.yaml.template** - DAG template for workflow orchestration
- **training-config.yaml** - Training configuration template
- **validation-checklist.md** - Pre-deployment validation checklist

## Usage Patterns

### Basic Pipeline Setup

```python
# 1. Define pipeline stages
stages = [
    "data_ingestion",
    "data_validation",
    "feature_engineering",
    "model_training",
    "model_validation",
    "model_deployment"
]

# 2. Configure dependencies
# See assets/pipeline-dag.yaml.template for full example
```

### Production Workflow

1. **Data Preparation Phase**
   - Ingest raw data from sources
   - Run data quality checks
   - Apply feature transformations
   - Version processed datasets

2. **Training Phase**
   - Load versioned training data
   - Execute training jobs
   - Track experiments and metrics
   - Save trained models

3. **Validation Phase**
   - Run validation test suite
   - Compare against baseline
   - Generate performance reports
   - Approve for deployment

4. **Deployment Phase**
   - Package model artifacts
   - Deploy to serving infrastructure
   - Configure monitoring
   - Validate production traffic

## Best Practices

### Pipeline Design

- **Modularity**: Each stage should be independently testable
- **Idempotency**: Re-running stages should be safe
- **Observability**: Log metrics at every stage
- **Versioning**: Track data, code, and model versions
- **Failure Handling**: Implement retry logic and alerting

### Data Management

- Use data validation libraries (Great Expectations, TFX)
- Version datasets with DVC or similar tools
- Document feature engineering transformations
- Maintain data lineage tracking

### Model Operations

- Separate training and serving infrastructu