The design and set up of a pilot group is very much dependent on the needs of each organisation, so when planning out your organisation’s pilot group make sure to consider the following:
Who is best suited to be a pilot member?
Aim for the members of your pilot group to be as close to a representative sample of the broader user base as possible. Having the right mix of users will help increase the chances that a broader range of update issues will be identified early on.
How many pilotees?
There’s no hard rule on how many users to have in a pilot group, but generally somewhere below the 5% mark can help give a breadth of users without the support overhead.
How long should updates and upgrades be piloted?
When choosing the length to assign for pilot testing, consider the support team’s capacity to investigate any potential issues that arise.