# Pilot Outcome Review Worksheet

Canonical page: https://waitlist.crany.ai/marketing-templates/pilot-outcome-review

By Tangenix. Published 2026-10-24. Category: Founder acquisition.

Compare a limited software pilot with its agreed task, actual outcomes and founder assistance before deciding whether to continue, change scope or stop.

## Task

Make a bounded pilot decision using observed task evidence and delivery effort.

## When to use

Use this at the agreed review point after a participant attempted the pilot task. Bring the original scope and actual records, including failures and founder assistance.

## Choose another approach when

You want to declare product-market fit from a friendly pilot, change the success criteria after seeing results, or convert an assisted demonstration into an unassisted-use claim.

## Inputs

- The original pilot task, expectations, exclusions and review date.
- Observed attempts, completed outcomes and unresolved blockers.
- Founder assistance, participant effort and any unplanned work.

## Template

    Pilot / original scope reference: [record]
    Success evidence agreed before starting: [observable task]
    Attempts and observed outcomes: [facts, including failures]
    Assistance required: [who did what; time]
    Unexpected work or excluded requests: [record]
    Participant account: [statement with permission-appropriate context]
    What remains unproved: [retention, automation, revenue or other]
    Decision: continue as scoped / revise and retest / end
    Reason and evidence limits: [record]
    Next commitment, owner and date: [only if agreed]
    Public claims permitted: [separate approval, not assumed]

## Illustrative example

This is not a Crany customer result. Replace example details with verified facts.

    Fictional pilot aimed to prepare a sample client handoff. The participant completed it only after the founder reorganized notes manually and clarified an access requirement.
    The review records a completed assisted task, not effortless automation. It proposes a narrower retest of the access instructions and keeps custom invoicing out of scope.
    The participant’s positive comment is not published as a testimonial. Continued use, purchase and permission to name the customer remain separate unanswered questions.

## How to use

1. Compare observed outcomes with the original scope rather than rewritten goals.
2. Account for manual work, effort and alternative explanations.
3. Agree a limited next decision or close the pilot, keeping any public reference approval separate.

## Checks

- Assistance is visible in the outcome statement.
- Criteria are not moved after the result to manufacture success.
- Continuation and new commitments require an actual agreement.

## What to measure

Track task evidence, delivery effort and what a subsequent retest resolves. A pilot outcome can inform a next decision without proving repeat purchases, durable retention or a scalable market.

## Research and sources

The founder sources discuss learning through early service and avoiding purely one-off product work. The comparison record is original and does not establish financial return or legal/commercial commitments.

- [Y Combinator: The Delicate Balance of B2B Sales](https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/balancing-b2b-sales/) — checked 2026-10-24. Historical founder discussion of early customer feedback and the risk of one-off work; not legal guidance or a claim that pilots establish product-market fit.
- [Paul Graham: Do Things That Do Not Scale](https://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html) — checked 2026-10-24. Historical founder essay on manual recruitment and learning from early users; not a universal acquisition benchmark.

Prepared with AI assistance. Sources support the stated principles; they do not endorse Crany or guarantee performance.

## About Crany

Crany is an AI marketing co-founder in development for software founders and vibe coders. It is designed to strategize, execute approved marketing and improve based on results. These free resources are usable independently of app access. The public waitlist is at https://waitlist.crany.ai/.