Reprinted with permission © 2008 TreeTop Technologies
When trying to carry out a pilot project for a new process in your company or a new tool to support your business, there are three areas to pay attention to that are often overlooked, notes Adam Organ, a senior project management consultant for TreeTop Technologies.
First, don’t let the calendar be the driving force. Doing a pilot project right may mean doing things slow and steady rather than trying to get to the finish line fast. “Some people might want to test out a new process on the first available project,” Organ notes, “but that can be a huge mistake. What if that project isn’t well scoped out to begin with—how could you tell if the new process helped or hindered it?”
Second, get buy-in from everyone involved in the pilot, including customers, the people doing the project work, and organizational leadership. That final piece can be tricky, Organ points out. You probably need buy-in from at least some leaders outside your business unit, as it is likely that whatever you are piloting, it will potentially affect some departments other than your own.
Finally, don’t wait until the end of the pilot project to look at results. “If you do, you probably won’t be happy, and you may have to repeat the project at least once to get enough data,” Organ says. “The pilot has to be an evolving process, so you need to check results regularly to see where you need to tweak things and make changes. Plus, let’s say it’s a year-long project. If you wait until the end to obtain feedback, people will have already forgotten many of the earlier success points and lessons learned along the way.”
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Footnotes: From "View from the TreeTop" Volume 2 Issue 3 March 2008