Learning Launch

Challenge & Selection

I selected the Learning Launch tool, to test our new idea with real stakeholders and  understand if we have a complete solution that works or we need to return to the table  and redesign and improve the model. I never used this tool before, usually we identify  the customer’s needs, take assumptions, develop the product and deploy the project.  After several months, we return to verify the solutions and often we realize that we  did not get the expected user engagement. More details about Learning Launch tool  could be found in Darden Business Publishing, the technical note Design Learning  Launches (Angelo Caruso and Anthony Alfaro). I used this tool in a  project with the Control Room Operation Team of a Power Plant, we’re developing  recommender system that identifies and priorize witch electrical load shutdown during  a power instability. The recommender system will be design to works automatically  but can be turned off if the operator identify an abnormal execution.

Application

We start applying the tool under some stakeholder’s criteria, test only in systems that  could be shutdown without major implications, all the decisions of the recommender  system need to be confirmed by the operator. This way the recommender system have  the capability to shutdown 5% of the loads in the power plant. In the first moment we  trained the control room operators to use the recommender system and turned on the  feature, at the shift end we collected a 3 question form with one of the team members:  1) How many time of your shift you keep the recommender system in automatic? 2)  The recommender system give you some insight? Why do you trust or not in the  recommender system?

We start to receive in the forms some tips and suggestions from the operators team to  improve the recommender system, and we revised and apply the features as fast as  we could. Initially the recommender system was keep in automatic 10 or 20% of time  and often turned off in a power instability, after 7 days the operators kept the  recommender system fully operational and suggested to remove the action  confirmation. Therefore, we removed the confirmation function and starts to scale the  Learning Launch to cover 50% of the power plant loads.

Insight & Approach

We learn with this tool how to promote the engagement of the team with a new tool  or feature in the control room of the power plant. First we need to train the teams  and before deploy a big idea we runs some tests in non-critical loads/systems to gain  the team trust, other important issue is the forms when the team notice that the tips  and suggestions was being implemented this promotes more engagement and then they  keep the recommender system running automatically for more time.

So the Learning Launch tool proves that is a useful tool, and can granted the success  of an new idea because the development team can have an online feedback of the  system and improve, redesign or leave the idea before discredit.

After this first contact with the Learning Launch I’ll try to use the tool in every stage  of project before scale up, because sometimes a successful system that works in one  plant doesn’t have the same success in other places. This strategy also provides a fast  a response of the development team, because is easier fix or redesign a small system  then a big system that cover all critical operation in a new plant.

