A good pilot should help your team answer one clear question. Keep it realistic enough that what you learn can guide the next investment or rollout decision.
Write the pilot question first
State what the organization needs to learn. Keep the question narrow enough to answer, such as whether a workflow fits a specific clinical setting or what support clinicians require during adoption.
Choose a focused group
- Select a manageable participant group with relevant clinical workflows
- Include a mix of working styles without introducing unnecessary complexity
- Set a timeline long enough for onboarding, normal use, and feedback
- Document what is deliberately outside the pilot scope
Capture a useful baseline
Record the current state before the pilot starts. The baseline should match the outcomes you intend to evaluate and should combine quantitative measures with clinician observations.
Make support and feedback easy
Name the people responsible for onboarding, issue triage, workflow questions, and participant communication. Schedule feedback checkpoints instead of waiting until the end.
Agree on how you will decide
Define who will review the findings, what evidence they need, and which decisions can follow. This keeps a technically successful pilot from ending without an operational next step.
Keep the learning reusable
Record assumptions, configuration choices, support questions, participant feedback, and unresolved risks. These become inputs to the next phase even if the pilot scope changes.