Learning goals
- You plan a pilot with a baseline and success criteria.
- You convert time savings into euros.
- You know the organisational levers for a successful rollout.
The organisation decides
The 2026 Microsoft Work Trend Index surveyed 20,000 AI users in ten countries. Organisational factors explain 67 % of AI impact, individual factors 32 %. Only 13 % are rewarded for experimenting. According to Bitkom, 25 % of German companies using AI offer no training, down from 43 % a year earlier.
What works:
- One-page rules: allowed, forbidden, data classes.
- Champions: one person per team with a fixed time budget.
- Role-based training: on real tasks, not in the abstract.
- Office hours and showcases: answer questions weekly, show successes monthly.
Measure, do not estimate
In a randomised experiment by METR, experienced developers were 19 % slower with AI but afterwards estimated they had been 20 % faster. The study is small, and METR now describes it as out of date. The lesson remains: perceived and measured productivity can be far apart.
How to measure a pilot:
- Baseline: Record time, volume and quality without AI for two weeks.
- Pilot: Four to six weeks with a clear task and group.
- Comparison: The same measurement, with quality rated blind where possible.
- Decision: Expand, adjust or stop, per task type.
The honest business case
McKinsey reported in August 2026: 80 % of respondents feel personal productivity gains, but only around 6 % count as AI high performers with an EBIT effect of at least 5 %. The gap only closes when time gained flows into measurable work.
The basic monthly formula:
Net = measured time saved × full-cost rate × people − licences − pro-rated rollout costs
Example: 20 people each save 1.12 hours a week, about 97 hours a month together. At a full cost of 50 euros, that is about 4,850 euros a month. After 500 euros of licences and 250 euros of pro-rated rollout, about 4,100 euros of potential remain. Decide in advance what the time will be used for, and check after three months.
Your pilot plan
Bring everything from the course together in a one-page plan.
Do the task in your day-to-day work
You do this task in your day-to-day work, not here in the course. Tick off the steps once you have done them.
What comes out of it: A one-page pilot plan you can present to your manager.
Enter your result here
Enter what came out of the task. Everything is saved automatically. Your results from modules 3, 4, 5 and 7 are already waiting here.
See an example
This is what a filled-in result could look like. Your entries stay unchanged.
Your pilot plan
- Use case
- Weekly sales report
- Workflow
- CRM export on Monday → AI drafts the report with key figures → head of sales reviews → sent to the team
- Group
- Sales team North, 12 people
- Duration in weeks
- 6
- Baseline
- 90 min per report
- Success criterion
- no more than 30 min per report at the same error rate
- Data class
- Internal
- Tool approved
- yes
- Works council
- involved
Business case
- People
- 12
- Hours saved per person per week
- 1
- Full-cost rate per hour in euros
- 50
- Licence per person per month in euros
- 25
- One-off rollout cost in euros
- 1500
- Rollout spread over months
- 12
- Hours saved
- 52 h
- Value of the time
- 2,600 €
- Costs
- −425 €
- Net potential
- 2,175 €
From module 3 Your top 3 open
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From module 4 One week, two routines open
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From module 5 Your first workflow open
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From module 7 The data traffic light open
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Your pilot plan for your manager
This is where your results from modules 3, 4, 5 and 7 come together. Download the pilot plan and present it to your manager.
Quiz
1. According to the 2026 Microsoft Work Trend Index, what share of AI impact comes from organisational factors?
2. What did the 2025 METR study show?
3. What must an honest business case include?
4. What turns saved time into a company effect?