Project Pilot Plan Template

<Organization Name>

Project Pilot Plan

Date (YYYY-MM-DD)

[Author]

[Version #.#]
Reviewed and Approved by:

Pilot Project Coordinator Date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Management of VSE Date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Revision Log

Revision Date Description of Changes

(yyyy-mm-dd)
00 First issue
 Table of Contents

1. Purpose......................................................................................................................................................................4
2. Acronyms...................................................................................................................................................................4
3. Reference Documents...............................................................................................................................................4
4. Analysis of opportunity to conduct a pilot project................................................................................................4
4.1. Characteristics of the VSE........................................................................................................................................4
4.2. Pilot definition............................................................................................................................................................4
4.3. Context of the VSE (i.e. readiness to conduct pilot project)................................................................................5
5. Plan the Evaluation of the Pilot Project..................................................................................................................5
5.1. Success criteria.........................................................................................................................................................5
5.2. Variables to be measured.........................................................................................................................................5
5.3. Threats to validity of pilot results............................................................................................................................5
5.4. Other variables to control.........................................................................................................................................5
5.5. Define the mechanism for doing the evaluation of the pilot.................................................................................5
5.6. Procedures for gathering during project execution of data needed for pilot evaluation..................................6
6. Project Plan................................................................................................................................................................6
6.1. Overview.....................................................................................................................................................................6
6.2. Description of tasks, dates, effort and artifacts.....................................................................................................6
6.3. Resources..................................................................................................................................................................6
6.4. Interfaces/Dependencies..........................................................................................................................................6
6.5. Risks...........................................................................................................................................................................6
1. Purpose

This plan analyzes the opportunity to conduct a pilot project, defines pilot main characteristics
and identifies the activities, schedule, and deliverables of a Pilot Project. The plan also
discusses resource requirements; interfaces and dependencies with other groups; risks, and
risk mitigation.

2. Acronyms

[Define acronyms used in this document1]

DP Deployment Package
VSE Very Small Entity

3. Reference Documents

[List reference documents (if applicable2), e.g. organization business plan]

4. Analysis of opportunity to conduct a pilot project

Characteristics of the VSE

o Application domain
o VSE size (persons in staff)
o VSE type (e.g. enterprise, department, project)
o For department and project VSE, size of the whole organization (persons in
staff)
o Typical project size (e.g. person-months)
o Design method
o Programming language
o Other characteristics ( e.g. country)

Pilot definition

o Problem to be addressed or improvement desired

o Goal(s) of the pilot project
o Technology to pilot
o Questions to be answered by the execution of the pilot project
o Pilot project description
o Resources needed
o Identified risks and its evaluation
o Cost/benefits analysis

Context of the VSE (i.e. readiness to conduct pilot project)

o Pilot project time frame

o Required resources will be provided
o Impact of failure
o Owner/director commitment
o Pilot will be conducted during a low stress period
o Practitioners attitude toward the technology to pilot

1
Delete the text in brackets (i.e. [X]) when the section is completed
2
When an item is not applicable for this project pilot, indicate this situation
with the mention ‘Not Applicable’
5. Plan the Evaluation of the Pilot Project

Success criteria

[Identify the criteria which will allow to declare, at the end of the pilot, that the pilot
project was a success]

Variables to be measured

o Self-assessment performed at the beginning of pilot

o Identification of the technology to pilot
o Effort (staff-hours), from the pilot coordinator
o Effort (staff-hours), from the VSE in pilot preparation and in adoption of the
technology to pilot (e.g. pilot planning, training and support in the
technology to pilot)
o Effort (staff-hours), from the VSE in pilot project execution
o Issues related to pilot plan execution
o Self-assessment performed at the end of pilot
o Lessons learned at the end of pilot
o Other variables to be measured

Threats to validity of pilot results

[Identify the possible threats to the validity of the extrapolation of pilot results to other
projects of the VSE]

Other variables to control

[Identify variables to control (in order to isolate the effects being measured to the key
independent variables)]

Define the mechanism for doing the evaluation of the pilot

[Define the mechanism, e.g. processes, formats, responsibilities for obtaining the data
needed to perform the evaluation]
o Stakeholders whose inputs are important to evaluate the pilot
o Define information required to perform the evaluation
o Define processes, formats, responsibilities for obtaining the data needed to
perform the evaluation

Procedures for gathering during project execution of data needed for pilot evaluation

o Self-assessment at the beginning of the pilot

o Effort (staff-hours), from the VSE and the pilot coordinator are collected by
the pilot coordinator at the end of each week using spreadsheet in annex
XX. Effort from the VSE is registered separating effort directly related to
project execution than effort related to the adoption of the technology to
pilot
o Issues related to pilot project plan execution are recorded (e.g. changes in
scope, schedule, resources, etc. to the pilot project and to the technology
adoption)
o Self-assessment at the beginning of the pilot
o Debriefing at the end of pilot to collect feedback and lessons learned
o Procedure for the rest of variables
6. Project Plan

Overview

[Provide an overview of what must be accomplished, Name of the VSE and high level
objectives of the Pilot Project]

Description of tasks, dates, effort and artifacts

[List the tasks, steps and artifacts produced. Describe who is responsible for each
task/step.]

Task Step Start Date Person responsible Effort Artifacts

(YYYY-MM-DD) (Person-hour)

Resources

[Describe resources required for this Pilot Project, money, computer resources, etc.]

Interfaces/Dependencies

[Describe, if applicable, the interfaces or dependencies with other groups.]

Risks

[Provide a basis for risk management and contingency planning.]