Pilot
Definition
A limited production deployment — usually one team or one workflow — that runs for a defined period to validate the solution in real conditions before a full rollout.
Production conditions change what is being tested
A POC answers "can it do this" under conditions you help construct. A pilot answers "does it work here" with the customer's real data, real users and real operational constraints. The second is far more convincing to a buyer and far more expensive to run, because the failure modes that appear are integration and adoption problems rather than feature gaps.
Exit criteria decide whether a pilot ends
Pilots without written success criteria do not conclude; they continue. The customer gets production value at pilot pricing and the vendor absorbs support cost indefinitely. The criteria, the duration, the named owner on both sides and what happens on success all belong in writing before the first user is onboarded.
A pilot that cannot fail cannot close
If there is no defined condition under which the pilot ends in a decision, you have not sold a pilot. You have given away a deployment.
Related terms
- Proof of Concept
- POC-to-Close Ratio
- Technical Validation
- Land and Expand
- Mutual Action Plan
- Technical Win
Further reading
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