Directions for using
template:
Read the Guidance
(Arial blue font in brackets) to understand the
information that should be placed in each section of this template. Then delete
the Guidance and replace the placeholder within <<Begin text here>>
with your response. There may be additional Guidance in the Appendix of some
documents, which should also be deleted once it has been used.
Some templates have four levels of headings. They are not indented, but can be differentiated by font type and size:
You may elect to indent sections for readability.
|
Author
Position |
|
|
|
Version: 1.0
Ó 2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.
This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Microsoft
and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft in
the
Change
Record
|
Date |
Author |
Version |
Change
Reference |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reviewers
|
Name |
Version
Approved |
Position |
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution
|
Name |
Position |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Document
Properties
|
Item |
Details |
|
Document
Title |
Pilot
Plan |
|
Author |
|
|
Creation
Date |
|
|
Last
Updated |
|
[Introduction to the Template
[Description:
The
Pilot Plan describes what aspect of the solution will be delivered as a pilot
and provides the details necessary to conduct the pilot successfully. This
includes details on how to evaluate the pilot, the results of which will
facilitate a decision whether or not to move the solution to production.
Projects often create one or more “pilot” solutions for the purpose of proving
the feasibility of solution approaches, experimenting with different solutions,
and obtaining user feedback and acceptance on proposed solutions. Pilot
solutions usually implement only those subsets or segments of requirements or
functional specifications necessary to validate a
solution.
Justification:
The
Pilot Plan provides the means to validate business requirements and technical
specifications prior to deploying the solution into production. Planning the
details of the pilot ensures that the participating project teams identify their
roles and responsibilities and resource requirements specific to pilot
development, testing, and deployment activities.
A
pilot can provide key information on development processes, end-user validation,
and production environment usage. It also provides feedback to stakeholders
regarding the success of the solution once it is formally released.
{Team
Role Primary: Program Management
determines the scope of the
pilot and incorporates the pilot plan details into the master project plan and
schedule. Because they are responsible for the project as a whole, they are also
responsible for the pilot deployment, which is a key milestone toward the
solution's success. Program Management utilizes the business requirements and
designs documents to determine the pilot scope.
Team
Role Secondary:
Development will provide input to the plan as their
resources will be instrumental in creating the pilot components and verifying that those components are
ready for deployment. User Experience
will provide input to the plan regarding the appropriate end-user audience
and the activities that will ensure that end-users are properly prepared for the
pilot. Release Management will
provide input to the plan regarding the deployment and the verification
procedure to ensure the infrastructure works properly during the pilot
phase.}]
[Description:
Provide
an overall summary of the contents of this document.
Justification:
Some
readers may need to know only the plan’s highlights, and summarizing creates
that user view. It also enables the full reader to know the essence of the
document before they look at the details.]
<<Begin text here>>
[Description:
The Objectives section describes the business and technical drivers that led to
the decision that a pilot is necessary. It also identifies the pilot’s key
strategic objectives.
Justification:
The identification of the drivers and objectives signals to the customer that
Microsoft has carefully considered the situation and solution and created an
appropriate pilot approach.]
<<Begin text here>>
[Description:
The Pilot Description section provides an overview of the pilot, including the
selection criteria, scope, and success factors for each
pilot.]
[Description:
The Pilot(s) Selection Criteria section identifies the criteria used to select
which aspects of the solution will be demonstrated via a pilot. The following
criteria are suggestions that can be expanded or contracted based on the
specific project. Use the criteria and customize it to the specific
project.
·
Company
goals:
Ensure that the pilot aligns with and supports the business’
mission.
·
Compelling
need:
Select a pilot where users will see a tangible benefit.
·
Technology
fit:
Be sure that there is a need to maintain unstructured data, provide data
replication, and take advantage of a short development
cycle.
·
Critical
mass/scalability:
Ensure that the pilot can be successful without having to implement the entire
solution for the entire business.
·
Deployment
verification and planning:
Ensure that the pilot can verify the architecture and rollout plans in a
production environment.
·
Champion:
Identify an effective business unit champion who will evangelize the pilot
effort.
·
Profile:
Select a group that is not averse to technology. These users should be able to
provide valuable feedback and tolerate some initial challenges. It is generally
better to select a power user group than the senior executive
staff.
·
Dynamics:
If the plan is to implement discussion groups, make sure that the pilot users
will communicate with one another.
·
Resources:
Ensure that the group participating in the pilot fully intends to be active in
the process and provide feedback.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Pilot Scope section describes the
scope of the pilot. It includes descriptions of the
following:
This
scope may include desktop installation, data migration activities, and
connectivity with existing systems.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
Site Selection section defines site selection criteria and selected sites. This
may be depicted graphically with a diagram or by using a table to summarize the
numbers of users, communication links, etc. Site selection criteria may
include:
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Target User Profile section provides a
summary of the user profile. This is information that can be transferred from
the Usage Scenario document.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The User Subset for Pilot section identifies the subset of
the target users that will participate in the pilot. It also describes how these
users will be identified within the customer’s operational environment in order
to engage them in the pilot.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Incremental Milestones section describes how the pilot will expand by
increasing the class and number of users. This information can be placed in a
table, as shown below:]
|
Milestone
or Interval |
Criteria
for Attaining Milestone |
Incremental
Users (Number of Users, Classes of Users) |
Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Description:
The Success Criteria and Metrics section defines
the pilot’s success criteria and the specific measurements that will be taken to
determine the level of success. A pilot can be declared “complete” or be graded
in terms such as "partially successful" or "unsuccessful." Each measurement
description should include a target metric and an acceptable range of values.
The
success criteria
may fall into the following categories:
Identify
the criteria for the overall pilot, incremental milestones, and the final
completion.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
User Preparation section outlines how users will become aware of the pilot and
understand their involvement. It also addresses any special training
requirements and necessary resources to ensure that the users can participate
effectively in the pilot.]
[Description:
The User Marketing or Evangelism Plan section describes how users will become
aware of the pilot and the value to them of the solution. This is often called
the
Marketing or Evangelism Plan. This plan should describe the key messages that
will be delivered to the users and any incentives intended to promote
participation in the pilot. You may include this information in the
Communication Plan or create a reference to it.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
User Training Plan section describes the plans for training users during the
pilot. This may be different than the deployment phase plan for training users.
You may include this information in the End-User Support Plan or create a
reference to it.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
Transition Plans section describes the strategy and criteria that will be used
to guide transitions between phases of the pilot.]
[Description:
The
Transition Strategy section describes the factors that will be used to determine
whether to transition to add more users or to rollback, cancel or freeze the
pilot. These factors may include the estimated impact on business and the
attainment of metrics. Describe contingency plans for failures and the
thresholds for rollback, cancellation, freeze, or completion.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
Add Additional Users section describes the procedures for adding additional
groups of users.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Rollback Pilot section ddescribes
the procedures for rolling back a pilot to the pre-deployment
state.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
Cancellation section describes the procedures for canceling the
pilot.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Freeze section describes the
procedures for freezing the pilot deployment.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The
Completion section describes the procedures for completing a pilot.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Pilot Evaluation section ddescribes
how the results of the pilot will be evaluated. It includes the process by which
lessons learned will be incorporated into the final solution deployment. It
describes the method(s) for assessing the quality of the pilot deployment
process (e.g. user surveys, peer reviews, user interviews, etc.). It also
describes the process for identifying, assigning, and following up on action
items related to deployment or product issues identified during the
pilot.
Justification:
Up
front planning
about the evaluation process ensures that all evaluation tools will be prepared
before the pilot begins and that the participating project teams plan for
communicating lessons learned.]
<<Begin text
here>>
[Description:
The Risks section llists
all known risks for conducting the pilot. These risks should be associated with
the development of the pilot components as well as the deployment. These risks
should be transferred to the master project risk document.
Justification:
Early
identification of risk enables the team(s) to begin managing
them.]
<<Begin text
here>>
|
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|