Project Pilot – Short Notes

Series on Software Design Practices – Part 3

In this small series on design practices, I write about various practices. In every article, I give a brief and simple explanation. In part 2 I wrote about prototypes. This time I present project pilots as another software development design practice.

We already talked about spikes, which help you to find approaches for a technical problem, or prototypes to test a specific concept. What these concepts have in common is that they should not be used in production. Spikes may not be good enough or prototypes only focus on feasibility.

Right here comes in the so-called project pilot. You add additional points regarding production readiness, that you are able to test the viability and how likely it is that the software succeed. So it’s the first phase in a larger project with a defined productive scope. And very importantly, project pilots provide you valuable feedback on ideas and concepts.

Project pilots are another good strategy for managing risk. The concept helps you to uncover potential flaws ahead of a full launch. Use this feedback to identify issues and correct them in advance.