AI handover checklist: what your supplier should leave behind

An AI workflow is not properly handed over when the demonstration works. The business needs access, documentation, test evidence, ownership and a clear route for support. Without those pieces, a small change or staff departure can turn a useful system into an unexplained dependency.

Use this checklist before final approval and payment for a completed delivery stage.

Purpose and scope

• A plain-English description of the business purpose
• The approved users and use cases
• Explicit exclusions and prohibited uses
• The business owner and technical contact
• The decision and review points

Workflow documentation

Ask for a step-by-step view of inputs, processing, outputs, human review and fallback. It should identify connected systems, information sources and the point where each decision is made.

Accounts and access

• Business-owned administrator access
• A list of users, roles and service accounts
• Multi-factor authentication where supported
• Documented credential storage and recovery
• A process for removing access

A workflow should not depend on a supplier's personal account or an unknown email address.

Configuration and dependencies

Record models, services, integrations, prompts or instructions, rules, source locations and important settings. Include licence and usage dependencies, renewal dates and known service limits.

Testing evidence

Keep the test plan, representative examples, acceptance rules, results and unresolved limitations. Confirm that permissions, unusual inputs, failure behaviour and the manual fallback were tested as well as the ideal path.

Data and security record

Document what information enters the workflow, where it is processed and stored, who can access it and how deletion or retention is handled. Include the supplier review and the relevant risk assessment.

Monitoring and maintenance

• Measures and warning levels
• Logs and who reviews them
• Supplier update monitoring
• Regular test routine
• Change approval process
• Stop conditions and recovery steps

Training

Users should understand the purpose, approved use, limitations, review responsibility and incident route. Administrators need enough knowledge to manage access, inspect basic operation and contact the correct support person.

Support and exit

Record what support is included, response routes, exclusions and what happens when the arrangement ends. Confirm how the business receives its data and configuration, and how supplier access will be removed.

Final owner approval

The business owner should confirm that the workflow meets the agreed purpose, remaining risks are accepted and the team can operate the manual fallback. A technical sign-off alone is not enough.

Hold an acceptance meeting

Walk through a normal example, an exception and a failure. Ask the team to find the documentation, change a user, inspect a record and start the fallback process. List anything that still depends on the supplier. Agree the remaining actions, owners and dates before accepting the stage as complete.

A successful handover leaves the business able to make informed decisions without pretending it can maintain specialist work alone.

Build with handover in mind

Blue Canvas includes documentation, controls and team handover in AI implementation and automation work.

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