So, if we really want to integrate pilot projects in a more tactical and strategic way and really want to make sure we make pilots instruments of change, we have to define several types of KPI’s for our pilot projects and be maniacal in measuring them:
Intrinsic project KPIs
Every pilot has it’s KPI’s. E.g. The KLM Surprise campaign was built to drive traffic towards the KLM Facebook and Twitter accounts and test the limitations and possibilites of location-based social network Foursquare.
Learning KPIs
What is the exact knowledge we want to gather from this pilot? Do you want to learn about a specific tool? Do you want to benchmark conversion rates? Do you want to test your organization? Be sure to be clear about what you want to learn, this makes it even easier to proof the return on investment on your pilot project.
Change management KPIs
As mentioned before, pilots are great ways to change an organization. Especially when you’re considering to proceed on the probed path, you want to make sure next steps will be supported by several internal stakeholders.