pocs and pilots

8/3/2019 POCs and Pilots

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Marcel A. Derosier, PMP

Infrastructure Architect

POCs and Pilots: How Do They

Effectively Move to Production


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The Facilitatory Works across all domains of

architecture.y Currently working in the

infrastructure and processdomains.

y Led or participated in more thana dozen RFXs, POCs, Pilots.

y Research interest andpresentations on evaluating anddeploying Commercial-Off-The-

Shelf (COTS) software.y Experiments obsessively.


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Discussion Questionsy How do you differentiate between a POC and Pilot?

y How do you decide to pursue a POC or pilot?

y How do you know if you are successful?

y How do you evaluate a product(s)?

y How do you limit scope, cost, and schedule risks?

y How do you track a POC and pilot?

y How do you host a POC and pilot?

y How do you rollout and support a POC and pilot?y How do you decide to move forward?

y How do you transition to production?


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DefinitionsIn software development, proof of concept (abbreviated POC) is often used to describe several distinct processes

with different objectives and participant roles:

y A proof of concept can refer to a partial solution that involves a relatively small number of users acting inbusiness roles to establish whether the system satisfies some aspect of the requirements.

y A steel thread is a technical proof of concept that touches all of the technologies in a solution.

y By contrast, the objective of a proof of technology is to determine the solution to some technical problem,

such as how two systems might be integrated or that a certain throughput can be achieved with a givenconfiguration. No business users need be involved in a proof of technology.

y Prototype software is often referred to as alpha grade, meaning it is the first version to run. Often only a fewfunctions are implemented, the primary focus of the alpha is to have a functional base code on to which featuresmay be added. Once alpha grade software has most of the required features integrated into it, it becomes betasoftware for testing of the entire software and to adjust the program to respond correctly during situationsunforeseen during development.

y A pilot project refers to an initial roll out of a system into production, targeting a limited scope of the intendedfinal solution. The scope may be limited by the number of users who can access the system, the businessprocesses affected, the business partners involved, or other restrictions as appropriate to the domain. Thepurpose of a pilot project is to test, often in a production environment, whether the system is working as it wasdesigned while limiting business exposure.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_concept , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype

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Choices and Crossroads: POC or Pilot?y Determine the outcomes.y Determine the level of commitment.

y Determine the target stakeholders.y Determine the level of expected reuse.

y Determine the cost to transition to the next level.y Determined how each will be perceived in the organizations

culture (learning or move to prod).y Determine how to communicate concept, results, next steps.y Determine if approach will be used in the future (how much to

invest in process, documentation, etc.).

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Measuring Success: Are we There yet?

y Determine the macro-level measures (works, scales,acceptance, etc.).

y Determine when to pull the plug (showstoppers).

yDetermine the timeframe for evaluation (specific vs.naturally moves to prod).

y Determine the potential conflicts with existing systems or in-flight projects (clear objectives and communication).

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Use Cases: How Do You Evaluate

y Determine the specific functional evaluation points (must-haves).

y Determine the non-functional evaluation points (works,

but).y Determine the level of formal planning.

y Determine the level of scripting or testing.

y Determine who will review and comment.

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Setting Limits: How Do You Manage

Risk?

y Determine how much you will spend.

y Determine the organizations readiness (time and cost).

y Determine how to introduce new methods, technology,

process to be successful (or stick to the basics).

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Eye on the Prize: How Do You Track?

y Determine how to track evaluation criteria.

y Determine how to report status (who cares).

y Determine when and how to pull the plug.

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Where Does It Live: How Do You Host?

y Determine the resources needed.

y Determine the environment (development, test, prod,training, etc.).

y

Determine alternatives if an environment does not exist(desktop, cloud, vendor, stand-up lab, etc.).

y Determine how to handle interfaces (full, partial, stub,manual, etc.).

y Determine the level of security required.

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Meet the People: How Do You Support

and Rollout?

y Determine stakeholders who need to know.

y Determine who needs access.

y Determine who will support, how theyll support, and when

theyll support (time and priority).

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Whats Next: How Do You Decide to

Move Forward

y Determine the deciders are known ahead of time.

y Determine the decision timeline ahead of time.

y Determine whether success criteria were met.

y Determine stakeholder satisfaction.y Determine organizational commitment to move to the next

step (project, production, etc).

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Go Live: How Do You Move to the Next

Level?

y Determine path of moving from POC to Project.

y Determine transition plan from pilot to production.

y Determine shut down plan, including access (if pulling the

plug).y Determine what do to with the data.

y Determine how to document learnings for future pilots andPOCs.


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Thanks for your participation.

Other Comments or Questions?

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