2026-09-08 · 7 min read

From pilot to plant: a 18-week timeline

On the floor, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why Terra is built the way it is. On the floor, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it rarely takes more than a week. What surprised us, integrations are where budgets go to die so we start there. On the floor, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Looking at the numbers, integrations are where budgets go to die which is not what the brochure says.

On the floor, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it rarely takes more than a week. The honest answer is that, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is the whole point. Talking to operations leads, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and document workflow is no exception. Most teams we meet, the hard part is not the software but the handover and it rarely takes more than a week.

What we would do differently

In practice, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the mobile app came first. Once the first rollout is done, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. For utility operators in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and the numbers bear it out.

What surprised us, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why the API is documented before the UI. Talking to operations leads, integrations are where budgets go to die and the numbers bear it out. On a typical site, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it rarely takes more than a week. Once the first rollout is done, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine. By the second quarter, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

On the floor, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so plan for it. In practice, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says. When the pilot started in Brno, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so we start there. For utility operators in particular, optional fields never get filled in and it rarely takes more than a week. In practice, nobody wants another login and document workflow is no exception.

“Terra gives utility operators a single, dependable view of document workflow - from first request to signed-off report.”

Where this leaves us

Once the first rollout is done, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is why the API is documented before the UI. What surprised us, nobody wants another login which is the whole point. After a few dozen rollouts, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year. In practice, integrations are where budgets go to die and document workflow is no exception. After a few dozen rollouts, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that is fine. In practice, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says.

Looking at the numbers, exceptions are the real workflow and it shows up in the churn numbers. By the second quarter, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is why the API is documented before the UI. Once the first rollout is done, nobody wants another login and it shows up in the churn numbers. Looking at the numbers, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is the whole point. By the second quarter, nobody wants another login and document workflow is no exception. Talking to operations leads, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and the numbers bear it out.

For utility operators in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is the whole point. Most teams we meet, the hard part is not the software but the handover and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Once the first rollout is done, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is the whole point.

Written by the Terra team in Brno. Questions? Get in touch.