Pilotieren

Pilotieren is a term used in Dutch and German-speaking contexts to describe the act of conducting a pilot or trial run of a new process, product, or policy on a limited scale before a broader implementation. The goal is to test feasibility, gather data, and identify issues in a controlled setting to inform a decision about scaling.

The pilot usually has a clearly defined scope, objectives, and duration. Key steps include defining success metrics, selecting a representative subset of users or settings, allocating resources, implementing the solution, monitoring performance, collecting quantitative and qualitative feedback, and analyzing results. At the end of the pilot, decisions are made about go/no-go, adjustments, or sunset of the initiative, and lessons learned are documented to guide rollout.

Pilotieren is common across sectors such as public administration, healthcare, information technology, education, and business. Examples include testing a new digital service in a single region, trialing an electronic health record module in a subset of clinics, or evaluating a flexible work policy with one department before organization-wide adoption.

Advantages of pilotieren include reduced risk, lower costs for a full rollout, early stakeholder feedback, and the opportunity to refine requirements and workflows. Limitations involve limited generalizability, potential biases, and the need for careful design to avoid skewed results. Pilot results should be interpreted in light of scope and context, and complemented with ongoing evaluation during scale-up.