Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Indeed, the Implementation phase of the program
improvement model includes pilot implementation as well as
fi nal implementation.
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As Gillis and Beauchemin have put it,
“The term 'pilot' warns everyone to expect some adjustments.
[. . .] Revisions and modifi cations make even the best training
programs more effective, and evaluating the pilot reveals
potential program improvements.”
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The notion that the
phase is a “pilot” of the training program, rather than a
fi nalized rollout, highlights the iterative feature of the model.
Thus the program improvement model should be
conceptualized as having two paths out of the “Development”
phase. One path leads to pilot implementation, followed by
formative evaluation, from which a feedback loop allows
further analysis, design, and development. At some point,
determined by management, the training program is judged
to be ready for the other path. It then moves to fi nal
implementation, followed by summative evaluation
(Figure 5.2, above). In this chapter we will focus on the place
of pilot implementations in program improvement.
10.2 Pilot projects in the
pharmaceutical industry
In the pharmaceutical industry we have a well-known
example of a pilot activity that illuminates the relationship
between the (Pilot) Implementation phase and the rest of the
program improvement model. That is the transition between
laboratory research and development, and commercial
manufacturing.
When a pharmaceutical company has discovered a
promising product in the R&D laboratory, it goes into a
development phase. The company subjects the product to
clinical trials to determine its safety and effi cacy. If it is
