FastTrack: Agentic AI with Azure AI Foundry

Learn Agentic AI with Azure AI Foundry in 2 weeks! – Accelerated Study Guide

Ready to Build AI Agents That Actually Do Cool Stuff? Let's Go! 🚀

Ever wondered how those smart chatbots know exactly what you need, or how some apps seem to magically automate complex tasks? Welcome to the world of AI agents – where code meets intelligence and creates something genuinely awesome.

If you're here, you're probably tired of just reading about AI and ready to actually build something. Good news: you're in the right place! This 2-week journey will take you from "What's an AI agent?" to "Check out this intelligent system I just deployed to Azure!"

What’s even more great, is that this has become the most prominent new add to the Microsoft Azure AI-102 Certification Exam. By the end of these 14 days, you'll have the skills to create AI agents that can handle real business problems, integrate with actual systems, and maybe even impress your boss (or land you that dream job. Yup…the industry is changing again and the market is getting hot).

What You're Getting Into

We've built this guide around Microsoft's learn module "Get started with AI agent development on Azure", but since that is just a basic intro, we've mixed in the real world scenarios and referenced some great resources for you to take it further. You'll be building, breaking, fixing, and deploying from day one.

Think of this as your personal AI agent bootcamp – intense, practical, and designed to get you job-ready fast.

What You'll Need to Get Started

  • Basic programming chops (Python or C# but we’ve got you covered if you’re new to either of these)

  • A free Azure account (Hopefully you’ve created this from one of our other tutorials, but we will recap here)

  • Commit to About 1-2 hours daily (It’s that or you Netflix or play some great video games, but I promise you this will be more rewarding and more productive than your social media scrolling)

  • A willingness to break things and learn from the pieces

Key to success: For each of the missions you see below, make sure to head over to the detailed mission and walkthrough guide. We’ve stored all of these on the Refactored GitHub for easy consumption and updates.

Week 1: Foundations & Core Concepts

Day 1: Introduction to Agentic AI

Today's Mission: Figure out what all the AI agent hype is about

What You'll Discover:

  • Why AI agents are different from that chatbot you built in college

  • Real companies making real money with AI agents (and how they're doing it)

  • How Azure fits into this whole ecosystem without making you want to pull your hair out

  • The basic patterns that make agents actually intelligent

Your Mission:

  • Research and find three companies using AI agents in ways that make you go "wow"

  • Write down what they're doing and why it's working

Mission Details: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day1-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Reality Check: AI agents aren't magic – they're just really good at combining perception, thinking, and action in ways that feel magical.

Day 2: Azure AI Services Ecosystem

Today's Mission: Navigate Azure's AI playground without getting lost

What You'll Learn:

  • Azure Cognitive Services and why they're your new best friends

  • Azure Machine Learning (it's less scary than it sounds)

  • Azure OpenAI Service and how to make it work for you

  • The pricing conversation nobody wants to have (but you need to)

Hands-On Time:

  • Get that free Azure account set up (seriously, do this today)

  • Take a tour of the Azure portal without breaking anything

  • Play with the pricing calculator (your future budget will thank you)

 

Mission Details and Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day2-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Pro Tip: Azure's AI services are like Lego blocks – powerful individually, but the real magic happens when you start connecting them.

Day 3: Agent Architecture and Design Patterns

Today’s Mission: Master the fundamental components of intelligent agents

Core Topics:

  • The perception-reasoning-action cycle

  • Agent lifecycle management

  • Integration patterns with Azure services

  • Designing for scalability and reliability

Practical Activity:

  • Diagram a simple customer service agent architecture

  • Identify perception inputs, reasoning processes, and possible actions

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day3-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Successful AI agents require careful architecture planning that balances autonomy with controllability.

Day 4: Azure AI Foundry Deep Dive

Mission Objective: Master the primary platform for Azure AI agent development

Core Topics:

  • Navigating the Azure AI Foundry portal interface

  • Understanding project structure and organization

  • Exploring pre-built agent templates

  • Resource management and monitoring

Practical Activity:

  • Set up your first Azure AI Foundry project

  • Explore sample agents and their configurations

  • Review available templates and their use cases

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day4-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Azure AI Foundry serves as your central hub for agent development, offering both low-code and pro-code options.

Day 5: Development Approaches and Tools

Mission Objective: Choose the right development path for your needs

Core Topics:

  • Low-code vs. pro-code development strategies

  • Introduction to Semantic Kernel framework

  • Azure AI Agent Service capabilities

  • SDK options and programming languages supported

Practical Activity:

  • Compare development approaches using provided examples

  • Install Semantic Kernel SDK in your preferred language

  • Review documentation and getting started guides

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day5-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Azure offers flexible development paths, from drag-and-drop interfaces to sophisticated programming frameworks.

Days 6-7: Consolidation and Practice

Mission Objective: Reinforce foundational knowledge through active practice

Activities:

  • Complete all Microsoft Learn module exercises

  • Create comprehensive study notes summarizing key concepts

  • Develop flashcards for technical terminology (I’m still a huge fan of just writing out cards and testing like I did with my early math tests.)

  • Take practice quizzes to identify knowledge gaps

  • Participate in Azure AI community forums

Assessment: Self-evaluation quiz covering all Week 1 topics

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day6-7-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Week 2: Hands-On Development & Deployment

Day 8: Build Your First AI Agent

Mission Objective: Create a functional AI agent using Azure AI Foundry

Core Topics:

  • Following guided tutorials step-by-step

  • Customizing agent personality and behavior

  • Understanding configuration options

  • Testing basic functionality

Practical Activity:

  • Build a simple Q&A agent using Azure AI Foundry

  • Customize responses and behavior patterns

  • Test with various input scenarios

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day8-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Building AI agents with Azure AI Foundry combines intuitive interfaces with powerful customization options.

Day 9: Tool Integration and Enhancement

Mission Objective: Extend agent capabilities through custom tools and integrations

Core Topics:

  • Understanding tool integration patterns

  • Working with APIs and external services

  • Creating custom plugins and extensions

  • Managing authentication and security

Practical Activity:

  • Integrate a weather API into your agent

  • Create a custom tool for database queries

  • Test integrated functionality end-to-end

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day9-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Tool integration transforms basic agents into powerful, multi-functional assistants.

Day 10: Semantic Kernel Mastery

Mission Objective: Leverage advanced orchestration capabilities for complex scenarios

Core Topics:

  • Semantic Kernel architecture and benefits

  • Building multi-agent scenarios

  • Orchestrating complex workflows

  • Managing agent-to-agent communication

Practical Activity:

  • Install and configure Semantic Kernel SDK

  • Create a multi-agent customer service scenario

  • Implement agent handoffs and escalation

Mission Details and Walkthrough: AI-102-Course/Getting Started with AI Development/day10-lab-guide.md at main · refactoredpro/AI-102-Course

Key Takeaway: Semantic Kernel enables sophisticated agent orchestration for enterprise-grade applications.

Day 11: Testing, Debugging, and Optimization

Mission Objective: Ensure agent reliability through comprehensive testing strategies

Core Topics:

  • Implementing logging and monitoring solutions

  • Common debugging techniques and tools

  • Performance optimization strategies

  • Handling edge cases and errors gracefully

Practical Activity:

  • Set up comprehensive logging for your agents

  • Create test scenarios covering edge cases

  • Implement error handling and recovery mechanisms

Key Takeaway: Robust testing and monitoring are essential for production-ready AI agents.

Day 12: Production Deployment Strategies

Mission Objective: Deploy agents to production environments with confidence

Core Topics:

  • Azure Functions vs. Web Apps deployment options

  • Setting up CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment

  • Managing environment configurations

  • Implementing security best practices

Practical Activity:

  • Deploy your agent using Azure Functions

  • Configure automated deployment pipeline

  • Set up monitoring and alerting

Key Takeaway: Professional deployment requires careful planning for scalability, security, and maintainability.

Days 13-14: Capstone Project and Comprehensive Review

Mission Objective: Demonstrate mastery through a complete project implementation (I personally love a good capstone project!)

Capstone Project Options:

  1. Customer Support Agent: Build an intelligent support agent with escalation capabilities

  2. Data Analysis Agent: Create an agent that can query and analyze business data

  3. Process Automation Agent: Develop an agent that automates routine business processes

Project Requirements:

  • Use multiple Azure AI services

  • Implement custom tools and integrations

  • Include proper error handling and logging

  • Deploy to production environment

  • Document the complete development process

Final Review Activities:

  • Complete comprehensive knowledge assessment

  • Document lessons learned and best practices

  • Create a personal reference guide for future projects

  • Plan next steps for continued learning

Learning Resources and Next Steps

Essential Study Resources

·       Daily Missions on Refactored GitHub

Microsoft Documentation (The Official Stuff)

Refactored.pro Courses (The Good Stuff)

Community Resources

Certification Preparation

This study guide aligns with several Microsoft Azure certifications:

  • Azure AI Engineer Associate

  • Azure Solutions Architect Expert

  • Azure Developer Associate

Study Tips That Actually Work

Daily Habits That Don't Suck:

  • Pick a consistent time and stick to it (your brain likes routine, even if you don't)

  • Code something every day, even if it's small (muscle memory is real)

  • Ask questions in communities – seriously, people love helping

  • Keep a learning journal (future you will appreciate the notes)

Making It Stick:

  • Build while you learn – theory without practice is just expensive trivia

  • Try different approaches to the same problem (there's rarely one "right" way)

  • Break big concepts down until they're bite-sized

  • Test everything twice, debug everything three times

Community Magic:

  • Share your projects, even the broken ones (especially the broken ones)

  • Give feedback to other learners – teaching helps you learn

  • Find an accountability buddy or study group

  • Attend virtual events when you can – networking is still a thing

Your Journey Starts Here

This 2-week study guide isn't just another tutorial collection – it's your roadmap to becoming someone who actually builds AI agents that solve real problems. You'll go from wondering how AI agents work to confidently deploying your own intelligent systems.

The best part? You don't need a PhD or years of experience. You just need curiosity, consistency, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes (there will be some, and that's perfectly normal).

Ready to dive in? Your future as an AI agent developer starts with Day 1. Let's build something amazing together!

P.S. - Don't forget to check out the AI-900 and AI-102 courses on refactored.pro if you want to really solid foundation in Azure AI. They're fantastic companions to this hands-on guide and will get you certified in the process.

About the Author

Nick Colyer is the Founder of Refactored and VP of Digital Engineering at AHEAD, with over 25 years in IT and credentials as a Microsoft MVP and MCT. He's helped thousands of students worldwide master cloud technologies through his training courses and speaks regularly at industry events like VMworld and Azure Innovation Days.

You can connect with Nick on LinkedIn or explore his courses at Refactored.pro.