Think in Systems, Deliver at Scale: Agile/Lean Lessons from AI in Energy (with Ahsan Rahi)

Regulated, high-capital environments often see local optimization due to excessive constraints while the broader system stalls. We present a real-world AI deployment for real-time optimization of oil wells to show how shifting from local to system-level and Agile/Lean thinking unlocked learning, throughput, and scale. The result: a 14X+ increase in delivery velocity with improved quality leading to multiple millions in value generation. Attendees leave with practical techniques applicable to complex, compliance-driven environments deploying AI/ML solutions.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to:

• Identify how local optimization in regulated, complex environments creates systemic bottlenecks, stakeholder gridlock, and misleading signals that undermine delivery.
• Design systems that recognize partial, imperfect delivery beats waiting for certainty, especially when stakes are hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Apply system‑level optimization techniques to prioritize flow across interconnected components while exposing hidden constraints in regulated, compliance‑driven environments.