Tips and Goals

General

Team Tip “If you really want to do your project, dedicate your best team to the pilot, even if they will not be involved in the full project.”
PR “Performing a pilot project can provide a public relations advantage – will you get some press recognition by doing something innovative?”
Success “Performing a pilot project can provide a public relations advantage – will you get some press by doing something innovative?”
Beta vs. Pilot “Pilot projects can be confused with technical betas. The difference between the two is that pilots encompass the business with specific measurable criteria.”
Risk Identification “Sometimes a pilot project serves to identify or manage risks that will be faced in a full scale project.”
Tools “Consider the use of logs, templates, performing test results, surveys, and documenting perceptions, requirements and preferences during the pilot”
Requirements “It is very common not to have all of the requirements for performing a technical pilot. Many of the details not previously identified will be discovered during the pilot”
Period “Although a pilot can go on for any period of time, the pilot’s duration should be defined within the project charter or whatever initiated and defined the pilot”
Goals “Should goals be scaled down versions of the goals of a full project? Maybe, but goals should be uniquely specific to the pilot.”
POC – Test “Proof of concept (POC) or test cases can be used within a pilot project”
Workshops “Pilot project plans should contain workshops — workshops should gather input from all stakeholders, the various levels of management, and the user community”
Sales Approach “Although a pilot project is an experiment, one may find that the best approach is a sales pitch.”

Goals

Negative Pilots “Although not common, the use of a pilot project can be used to prove a “negative” project as well. For example, a project to prove a scenario of increased competition or market decrease.”
Lessons Learned “Lessons learned in the pilot should ALWAYS be documented at the end for later review at the full scale project kick off”
Mission Statement “Part of a well planned pilot project has a mission statement with a goal – The purpose of our pilot project is to identify opportunities in building design requirements and determine new standards and codes that effect energy efficiency. The goal of the