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Helpdesk

The problem

'I have been tasked to deliver a feasibility study for a possible expansion. How do I go about implementing a balanced pilot project for this?'

Over to the expert

Pilot projects are an excellent, low-risk way of testing any new business idea. Pilots can come in all shapes and sizes, from the common limited geography pilot to limited time pilots and customer segment pilots.

A successful pilot project is one in which all the issues from competition and market size to delivery and scale-up are explored.The outcome of any pilot project should be a clear indication to the organisation on how best to proceed.

Often, teams underestimate the amount of research that is required in setting up a suitable pilot that will meet the necessary objectives. Right from the outset, a clear scope of the pilot project should be agreed. There can be many stages to a pilot project depending on the scale and complexity of the requirements.

For example, when launching a product or service in a new country there will be new legal obligations that need to be understood, as well as the practical aspects of actual delivery. This phase of the pilot should be as thorough as possible to ensure that any obvious assumptions or oversights are double checked.

Once the scope and nature of the project have been determined, the next phase is to plan out the project and identify all the necessary performance levers. This helps to keep the project focused and ensures that everyone involved has their eye on the big picture.

Get the key milestones down and then work on the detail. Too often teams make the mistake of working the other way around and lose much valuable time in doing so.

Getting the right people involved early on in the project can be a key contributor to the overall success. Particularly where expert knowledge is required, it is best to get outside help. This will make sure that the pilot project has every chance of success and of completion on time. Effectively communicating with and managing key stakeholders will also be necessary. They can be a great source of suitable challenges.

Such feasibility studies are priceless in terms of raising all the issues that will be faced in terms of implementation. They can show that further research is necessary and therefore a re-work of the pilot is required.

In other cases, all the important challenges that will be faced during the process of scaling up the project will have been highlighted. The next stage would then be to determine the risk associated with scale-up and how that stacks up with the potential rewards.

The most noticeable problem with expansion programmes is managing the success. If a flood of new orders appear, then does the organisation have sufficient capability to manage the new business? Product and service quality standards are also often at the front line in terms of feeling the pressure of any expansion.

Bringing new customers in and then not exceeding their quality and customer service expectations can make them rapidly seek out your competitors and lose you business. The best way to overcome this particular issue is to think about exactly how a successful expansion would operate. This can then be the outcome that you plan to achieve

Dr Nita Martin is the managing director of Pure Indigo, a leading project strategy and project management consultancy based in Cambridge. Visit www.pureindigo.co.uk or e: info@pureindigo.co.uk