1 min lesson
Set the baseline before you touch anything
Give a plain answer to "Why is capturing a baseline in week one non-negotiable for a pilot?" Then ground it in one lesson detail.
Step 1 of 2
Set the baseline before you touch anythingevidence, not vibes
If you don't measure the before, you can't prove the after. Capture the baseline in the first week, while the team is still working the old way. This is the difference between a pilot that produces evidence and one that produces vibes.
- Dimension
- Quantitative
- Baseline to capture
- Cycle time, PR throughput, time-to-first-PR for new tickets
- Why it matters at readout
- Lets you show a delta, even a rough one, instead of a feeling
- Dimension
- Adoption
- Baseline to capture
- Seats activated vs. provisioned, daily/weekly active, agent + Tab usage
- Why it matters at readout
- The leading indicator that the habit is forming, not just installing
- Dimension
- Qualitative
- Baseline to capture
- A short pre-pilot pulse: where does this team lose time today
- Why it matters at readout
- The before-quote that makes the after-quote land in the exec room
| Dimension | Baseline to capture | Why it matters at readout |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative | Cycle time, PR throughput, time-to-first-PR for new tickets | Lets you show a delta, even a rough one, instead of a feeling |
| Adoption | Seats activated vs. provisioned, daily/weekly active, agent + Tab usage | The leading indicator that the habit is forming, not just installing |
| Qualitative | A short pre-pilot pulse: where does this team lose time today | The before-quote that makes the after-quote land in the exec room |
Don't overclaim on the quantitative side - pair a directional metric with a credible story.
Watch out
Resist the urge to promise a clean productivity number. Developer-productivity measurement is genuinely contested and a skeptical CTO will eat a sloppy "40% faster" claim alive. Frame quantitative results as directional and let the qualitative evidence carry the conviction.