General
Upscend Team
-January 2, 2026
9 min read
Provides a ready-to-use 70-20-10 pilot plan for remote learning that includes SMART objectives, a narrow scope (1–2 roles, 10–25 participants), six KPIs, an 8–12 week timeline, stakeholder roles, required tech, content samples and risk mitigations. Includes one-page templates (charter, consent, evaluation) to launch and evaluate an actionable pilot.
70-20-10 pilot plan design for remote delivery needs clarity on objectives, scope and measurable outcomes from day one. In our experience, a compact, operational blueprint reduces pilot inertia and prevents the common trap of a pilot that never graduates into a program of record.
This article provides a ready-to-use pilot blueprint: objectives, scope, success metrics, an 8–12 week timeline, stakeholder roles, required technology, content samples and risk mitigation. Use the included templates to launch quickly.
A practical 70-20-10 pilot plan starts with a concise pilot charter that answers three questions: what business problem are we solving, which roles are in scope, and what success looks like. We've found that pilots with clear success metrics are 3x more likely to scale.
Define a narrow scope for speed: choose 1–2 job roles, 10–25 participants, and a single competency cluster. Keep the pilot focused on high-impact behaviors you can observe and measure.
Set 2–4 SMART objectives and tie each to a metric. Examples:
Use a balanced set of metrics: participation (engagement minutes), performance (task accuracy), transfer (on-the-job application), and qualitative feedback (participant confidence). A minimal pilot dashboard tracks 6 KPIs.
A timeline keeps momentum and provides checkpoints to avoid pilot inertia. Below is a sample 8-week plan you can expand to 12 weeks for larger samples.
Week 0–1: Charter, stakeholder alignment, recruit participants. Week 2–3: Baseline assessments, tech setup, onboarding. Week 4–6: Active delivery (digital microlearning + coached OJT). Week 7–8: Post-assessment, evaluation, scale decision.
Embed two rapid retrospectives (week 3 and week 6) to prevent drift and keep momentum. A 70-20-10 pilot plan with regular retros ensures continuous improvement.
Staffing matters: small, empowered teams move fastest. We recommend a five-role core team and a three-role advisory group.
Core team: pilot lead, L&D designer, subject matter coach, technologist, data analyst. Advisory: HR partner, operations sponsor, frontline manager.
Assign clear RACI for each deliverable. A common cause of failure is ambiguous ownership — make single owners explicit in the pilot charter and communications.
For remote delivery you need three layers: content hosting, performance support for OJT, and measurement. A lean stack often includes an LMS or learning experience platform, a lightweight performance support tool, and a simple analytics dashboard.
While traditional systems require constant manual setup for learning paths, some modern tools (like Upscend) are built with dynamic, role-based sequencing in mind, reducing administrative friction and enabling real-time adjustment to on-the-job prompts.
Example content sample: a three-step micro-scenario (observe → try → reflect) paired with a 10-minute coach observation. This combination reflects the 70% on-the-job, 20% social/coached, 10% formal microlearning balance and should be documented in your pilot plan template for digital on the job learning.
Pilots stall for two reasons: low operational focus (inertia) and fuzzy metrics. Mitigate these with fixed timelines, governance, and pre-agreed go/no-go criteria.
Set three exit decisions up front: continue as-is, iterate for another cycle, or scale. Tie each to numeric thresholds (e.g., +10% performance improvement, >70% engagement, positive manager adoption score).
Other common pitfalls: overloading participants, under-supporting coaches, and lack of integration with performance systems. Address each with capacity checks and minimal viable integrations.
Below are three ready-to-copy templates you can drop into your project workspace. Each is intentionally concise so they stay actionable.
Use these templates to keep communication crisp and decisions swift. A strong, short report reduces debate and speeds scaling decisions.
A well-run 70-20-10 pilot plan focuses on fast feedback loops, measurable outcomes, and tight operational ownership. In our experience, pilots that commit to weekly checkpoints and two retrospectives complete decisioning three times faster than those that do not.
Next steps: finalize the one-page charter, recruit 10–25 participants, and schedule a baseline week. Use the templates above to document governance and participant consent, and set a clear go/no-go date.
Call to action: Copy the pilot charter, participant consent, and evaluation templates above into your project workspace and schedule the kickoff within the next two weeks to maintain momentum.
For hands-on teams, run a quick validation pilot with a single team of 10 participants for 8 weeks and iterate once based on the evaluation report; that small, decisive step beats indefinite planning.
