Most of us have never been responsible for running a pilot and collecting the data needed for a recommendation. At most, we may have been a participant or had team members that were involved in a few. With that in mind, here are some lessons learned from running hundreds of pilots, because ultimately, you’re responsible for the outcome and guidance.
Remember, running a successful software pilot doesn’t necessarily mean the solution is the right fit for your organization. It just means you conducted the pilot properly based on a set of parameters you deemed would enable you to make an accurate evaluation.
Let’s break this process down into four steps: deciding to run a pilot, pre-pilot planning, running the pilot and post-pilot actions.
1. Deciding to Run a Pilot
A pilot is an important part of researching different solutions, but it’s not the starting point. You run a pilot once you’ve determined a timeline, been given authority to make a purchase and secured a budget. You should already have done due diligence on the vendors through a request for proposals (RFP) and have spoken about investment figures. A pilot should be the last phase in the process, where you either select a system or determine it doesn’t meet your organizational needs.
A pilot shouldn’t be confused with a vendor’s demo, which may offer a limited preview of the system. A full pilot is an expense for the vendor and, more importantly, an expense for you. It takes planning and time from your executive team and other coworkers for the evaluation period. You can conduct market research to ascertain what’s new in the marketplace without the time and expense of running a pilot.
2. Pre-Pilot Planning
Selecting the right candidates for your pilot team is more important than you might think. You want to make sure you have a broad cross-section of employees who will be using the system. Having someone from IT is highly advisable, as that business unit will have to sign off on the integration end. Making sure that your candidates have the required time and desire to offer constructive feedback is also essential.
Setting expectations for duration and a prerequisite checklist that includes items such as “try the system out on different browsers to check for speed” readies your team for optimal performance. Prepare the timeline, login credentials, help documents, training, and survey tools in advance of the pilot go-live date. Make sure your team understands the value of the pilot and the importance of their contribution to the evaluation process. Preselect a subset of your team to discuss your pilot results. Finally, set a date to discuss results with your vendor.
3. Running the Pilot
Pilot durations can vary based on the complexity of the system, but most successful software pilots last no more than 30 days. No matter how long a pilot runs, though, people are prone to wait until the very last minute to fulfill their requirements. The solution for this problem is weekly check-ins. Run a usage report each week, and share the results with the entire team. Peer pressure is a great way to keep your pilot on track, and you can even make it fun by creating a leader board.
Stay engaged with your pilot team along the way, and reach out for encouragement and help when needed. You want to stay informed so that you don’t find out in the survey that they encountered challenges that will stop them from fully answering the questions. Also, maintain contact with the vendor for another level of support if needed.
4. Post-Pilot Actions
Send an email to all participants thanking them for their contributions and informing them that the pilot has concluded and their feedback is required. Providing a link to an easily accessible online survey is the preferred method, but also attach a document that they can email just in case. Compile all feedback data, and meet with your executive team to discuss the results. Now, if you are not piloting other systems, it’s time to meet with the vendor to discuss next steps.
Once you’ve made your decision, reach out to the pilot team and update them on the status. Also contact your IT department, especially if you plan to move forward with a new piece of software.
When properly executed, following these steps will lead to a successful pilot. Plan accordingly, and pilot your ship on a successful journey!
