Pilot Program
A limited, time-boxed deployment with defined success criteria used to prove value before a full commitment.
Also known as: Proof of concept, POC, Trial deployment
Category: Business & Economics
Tags: businesses, sales, experiments, products, processes
Explanation
A pilot is a controlled trial inside a real organisation: a bounded scope, a fixed timeframe, a defined group of users, and agreed criteria for what success looks like. It exists because large buyers cannot justify a full rollout on a demonstration alone. For the vendor a pilot is a de-risking device that gets the product into production hands; for the buyer it is a way to test claims with their own data and workflows. The single most important element is written success criteria agreed before the pilot starts, together with what happens if they are met. Without both, pilots become indefinite free usage, and a successful pilot leads only to a request for another pilot. Pilots should also be paid where possible, since a buyer unwilling to spend anything is usually not close to a purchase decision. Set the scope narrow enough to complete within the timeframe, instrument it so evidence is collected rather than remembered, and schedule the commercial conversation as part of the plan rather than after it.
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