Knowledge Base · Solutions
How do I pilot a solution before rolling it out?
Pilot inside a PDCA cycle. Plan the test with a clear prediction and a measure, run the solution on a small scale as a limited trial, check the results honestly against the prediction, and only then roll it out as the standard way of working. If the check disappoints, adjust and test again instead of launching anyway.
The book builds piloting into the Do stage of PDCA. After the Plan stage sets a hypothesis, a test plan, and a measure of success, the Do stage carries the plan out, and the book is specific about scale: especially for larger changes, do it on a small scale first, as a pilot programme or a limited trial. It calls that small test our prototype.
- Plan: write the prediction down: what will change, for whom, and by how much, and how you will measure it.
- Do: run the solution with one team, site, or slice of the work, for a set period.
- Check: compare the measured result with the prediction, and ask the team what the test taught them.
- Act: standardise and roll out if it worked; adjust the solution and run another cycle if it only partly worked.
The same discipline appears in the DMAIC pathway, where the Improve phase develops, tests, and implements solutions in that order. Testing before rollout protects the wider organisation from an unproven fix, and it protects the idea itself: a small, measured success is far easier to adopt than a big claim.
Related questions
- What is the PDCA cycle, and how do I run one?
- How do I run a small improvement experiment this week?
- What is DMAIC, and when should I use it?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 4 (Solution Creation and Implementation).