Module 10 • 22 min
Pilot to Production
Design a bounded pilot that can graduate into a production system.Core Concept
A pilot should test a real workflow, real data, and the conditions needed to scale. A polished demo is not enough.
This choice influences the value case, implementation effort, governance requirements, and the organization’s ability to operate the system after launch.
How to Apply the Framework
Define success metrics, decision gates, owners, monitoring, and the production work that follows if the pilot succeeds.
Use a current workflow, its measurable baseline, and the real people and systems involved. A strategy that works only in a simplified example is not yet a decision-ready operating plan.
Decision Checklist
- State the business outcome and the bounded workflow this decision will improve.
- Identify the accountable business owner, technical owner, and required human reviewer.
- Confirm the evidence, dependencies, controls, and decision gate required before moving forward.
Worked Decision Scenario
A pilot for appointment scheduling works with a small set of users and a controlled calendar. To graduate it, the team must test the real exception paths, define support ownership, and set the metric that will trigger a production decision.
The pilot charter states exactly what success means and what work remains after the test. A positive demo alone is not treated as permission to scale.
Apply it
Working Exercise
Draft a pilot charter.
Saved locally for this review prototype. Your response will become private account data when the approved course backend is connected.