Pilot to Full Adoption
Tags: github, githubcopilot, adoption, zelar
Published: 2024-07-11 12:07:08

With the goal of increasing developer productivity and optimizing coding procedures, our customer set out to integrate GitHub Copilot throughout their entire company. By using a disciplined strategy, 1,600 developers were eventually engaged and the pilot phase to full adoption was smoothly transitioned. This article highlights important tactics and lessons acquired while outlining the project's phases, procedures, and results.

**Project Overview:**
Project: [GitHub](https://github.com/) Copilot Adoption Delivery
Duration: 16 weeks
Participants: 1,200+ targeted developers

**Project Phases:**

**1. Pilot Phase:**
Duration: 4 weeks
Participants: 37 Influencers

The first round of the pilot program concentrated on a small cohort of 37 prominent developers who would advocate for GitHub Copilot's implementation inside the company. These influencers were essential in spreading the word about the tool, giving suggestions, and serving as first responders for inexperienced users.

**Activities:**

**i. Workshops & Demo Sessions:** Designed with backend and frontend developers in mind, we conducted practical workshops and demo sessions.
**ii. Mechanisms of Feedback:** Frequent feedback sessions, surveys, and check-ins are used to improve the tool's deployment and support system.

**2. Adoption Phase**
Duration: 12 weeks
Participants: 1,200+ Developers

After the successful pilot, four iterations of the adoption phase involving developers were implemented. This staged strategy made it possible to scale gradually, quickly resolve any issues, and guarantee a smooth adoption process.

**Activities:**

**i. Workshops:** Ongoing practical sessions addressing best practices, real-world applications, and capabilities of GitHub Copilot.
**ii. Structure of Support:** A strong support system with channels set aside for questions and issues was established.

**Strategies for Success:**
**1. Promoting Adoption:**
- Leveraged the influence of pilot participants to drive adoption among their peers.
- Regular feature refresh workshops to keep users updated and engaged.

**2. Feedback and Continuous Improvement:**
- Actively sought feedback to refine training materials and support mechanisms.
- Incorporated user suggestions to enhance the tool’s usability and relevance.

**3. Comprehensive Training:**
- Conducted targeted workshops focusing on different development roles and tasks.
- Provided practical, hands-on sessions to ensure users could effectively utilize GitHub Copilot in their daily workflows.
Outcomes

**Developer Satisfaction:**
- High acceptance rate with positive feedback on productivity gains and time savings.
- Enhanced coding efficiency and reduced manual effort through AI-assisted development.

**Productivity and Time Savings**	
- Significant improvement in code quality and development speed.
- Developers reported quicker comprehension of codebases and faster implementation of new features.

**Acceptance Rate**
- Overwhelmingly positive Net Promoter Scores from pilot participants, paving the way for full adoption.

**Conclusion:**

Structured, progressive adoption tactics work, as demonstrated by the GitHub Copilot Adoption Delivery project. Through active feedback-seeking, thorough training, and engagement with key influencers, we successfully incorporated GitHub Copilot into the organization's development processes. This project raised the bar for future technological adoptions while also increasing developer productivity.

**Future Outlook:**

The effective implementation of GitHub Copilot has created opportunities for additional improvements to development tools and procedures. We're excited to carry on our collaboration and investigate fresh approaches to promote efficiency and creativity. The present case study functions as a model for analogous endeavors, elucidating the significance of strategic planning, ongoing enhancement, and user involvement in accomplishing triumphant technology adoption.

Zelar is a cloud-native consulting company specializing in modernizing legacy systems, enhancing DevOps culture, and accelerating code releases. Our expertise helps businesses significantly increase technical productivity and save on engineering resources. Additionally, we can assist you in adopting GitHub to streamline your development workflows and improve collaboration.

For more information: https://zelarsoft.com/
Email: info@zelarsoft.com 
Phone: 040-42021524 ; 510-262-2801