AI Pilot Program Design
How to design AI pilots for production decisions. Structure, metrics, decisions.
Pilot components
Clear objectives, defined scope, success metrics, participants, timeline, decision criteria.
Scope
Bounded enough to learn, large enough to be meaningful. Common: 30-90 days, 10-50 users.
Metrics
Quality, productivity, cost, user satisfaction, business outcomes. Multiple dimensions.
Decision
Predetermined criteria for scale vs continue vs stop. Documented before pilot.
Bottom line
Disciplined pilot design produces good production decisions. Casual pilots waste time.
Frequently asked questions
How long should pilots be?
30-90 days typical. Long enough to assess; short enough to decide. Shorter for accessible tools.
Pilot participant count?
10-50 users typical for productivity AI. Adjust by use case. Enough to be meaningful.
Success criteria?
Predetermined and documented. Quality, productivity, satisfaction, business outcomes. Multiple metrics.
When to scale?
Success criteria met, infrastructure ready, change management plan. Decision discipline matters.
Failed pilot — what next?
Learn and decide: refine and retry, try different vendor, or abandon use case. Valid outcomes.
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