3 Pillars of a Successful Pilot Test

A pilot test can be a great way to discover and validate the potential for a new transportation technology to inspire behavior change. However, for a pilot test to be successful it must be designed and executed with care and with a continuous focus on learning. Having run pilot tests of emerging transportation innovations over the past decade, we've learned how to set your pilot test up for success with these 3 key pillars. 

1. Goal Validation

The first stage in pilot test design is to discover and document the goals of each stakeholder in the project. I use the word "discover" deliberately, as it requires challenging assumptions and diving more deeply beyond the more obvious project goals. Every stakeholder in the project, including consumers, has a goal that should be surfaced and documented, with clear performance metrics. This allows a pilot to be designed and executed that aims to maximize the win conditions of each stakeholder.

2. Goal-Drive Pilot Design

With clearly defined pilot test goals and performance metrics, it's possible to craft a project timeline with concrete milestones and to allocate resources accordingly. Once you understand  a pilot sponsor's goals, you can design the activities and tasks to be completed. Once you understand a participant's goal, you can craft an incentive, recruitment and on-boarding program. And, most importantly, you should design for learning throughout by establishing reporting procedures so that progress can be monitored and adjustments made from day one.

3. Continuous Engagement

The most fundamental aspect to designing a pilot test for learning is a commitment to continuous communications with each stakeholder. It's far better to over-communicate than under-communicate for any project, but even more so in a a consumer pilot test. Through in-person on-boarding, user observation, participant surveys and exit interviews, we can gain qualitative insights that explain quantitative analysis of pilot participation. And by keeping all stakeholders up-to-date on progress, you can ensure the pilot test learns and adapts throughout.

Too often a pilot test can be consumed by project management instead of enabled by it, or too slow to identify challenges or opportunities. That's why each of our pilot tests is a continuous partnership with our clients, as well as participant users, focused on validated learning towards clear and well-defined pilot test goals. If you're interested in a pilot test of road safety technology, please let us know.