The Oslo Steps refer to a simplified framework used in AI solution design — particularly within the Microsoft ecosystem — to help teams structure and explain the phases of AI integration into real-world use cases.
It is not a formal standard but rather a conceptual guide, often used in Microsoft AI workshops or customer engagements to make AI adoption more approachable.
🧠 The “OSLO” acronym typically stands for:
| Step | Meaning | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| O | Observe | Identify business problems and where data is generated |
| S | Select | Choose relevant data, tools, and AI models |
| L | Learn | Train or fine-tune AI models using selected data |
| O | Optimize / Operate | Deploy and monitor the solution in production |
✅ When to use OSLO:
- During AI discovery workshops
- When scoping AI PoCs or MVPs
- To explain the AI lifecycle to non-technical stakeholders
📌 Example in a chatbot context:
- Observe: Users are overwhelmed by FAQs → identify helpdesk pain points
- Select: Choose historical chat logs + Azure OpenAI for semantic search
- Learn: Fine-tune or configure the model for internal terminology
- Optimize: Deploy via Teams channel, monitor performance and feedback