A good introduction gives new technology a helping hand on its way to the market place.

Field trials are critical parts of most new technology launches. This is the first time that the developers of the new technology directly interact with its end user and establish the usefulness and value of that technology. The outcome of this effort greatly impacts the future success of a new technology for both parties. With so much at stake, preparedness, planning and awareness of details are issues that deserve everyone's attention.
Field trials are especially important for small entrepreneurs who do not have the depth of skills and knowledge necessary to fully understand the full suite of operational issues involved for the successful implementation of the new technology. Even in some large companies, the developers of the new technology are not always best suited to lead its field execution. The clean and controlled environment of an office or workshop is very different than the dirty and sometimes tight environment of a well or drilling rig. The language is different and hand signals often substitute for the spoken word. The work hierarchy is different and often has little relationship to rank or education. For these reasons, where appropriate, it is important to separate the leadership of the field trial from that of developing the technology while maintaining a very close working relationship between the two.
The participants in a field trial have different motivations and drivers. They also have different skills and authority levels relative to job execution. Sorting these out and coordinating a successful execution of the new technology requires preparation and planning. In spite of their differences, the various participants are linked by a strong desire to succeed. Today's team work environment is ideal for building on common aligned interests for higher levels of success. Below is a listing of some of the items essential for the formation of implementation team and a successful field trial:
1. Identification of participants. Each field trial consists of a few primary and several secondary participants. The two essential groups are the developer and user of technology. Within these groups one needs to identify the different stakeholders and whose skills and knowledge are essential to successful implementation of the new technology, various disciplines in technology and operations, HSE (health, safety and environment), etc. If the involvement of a third party is critical to the success of a field trial, then it should be included in the planning phase.
2. Definition of success. All the parties involved need to clearly define what constitutes success for each one of them. This exercise brings clarity to the mission of the field trial. A written document is recommended for this stage. While this document can be very informal, it needs to have sufficient detail to spell out what each party expects to get from the field trial. In the past there was a tendency to define the success of a field trial in terms of the expectations of the end-user. While this is a very necessary component of success, it is not sufficient to define the total success of the operation. Each party contributing to a field trial has commercial and operational expectations from it. These need to be openly discussed and differences resolved in order to get full benefit of the operation.
3. Roles and responsibilities. Each party to a field trial needs to identify an individual who will be responsible for coordination of that party's activities and for maintaining contact with others. In addition, there is need for an overall leader of all activities. There has been an unwritten rule that the operator, as the owner of the property, has overall responsibility of the field trial and the last say in all decisions. If this is the case, then it needs to be discussed in advance to get agreement of all participants. A consultative decision-making process is always better than a unilateral decision, even for the operator. The more the team is familiar with each person's capabilities, the higher the quality of decisions.
4. Communication. There are always people on the outside of a field trial who are very interested in its outcome. Through direct or indirect channels, they will try to find out what happened and the details. It is best if the team responsible for the field trial has a formal process for a single source public communication of the outcome. This process needs to be transparent and used by all parties. This is particularly true if the operation hits a snag. In these situations it is best if there is a thorough cause and effect analysis and the result is communicated through a single document to all participating companies by the entire team. It is especially important for the parties to avoid spinning the results for self protection.
5. Publication. Successful field trials are usually followed by publication of results. Again, it is best if this issue has been addressed in advance and potential authors of the papers are identified. Other issues related to publications involve selection of journals, venues for oral presentations, etc. This is one area where differing interests are likely to surface. The operator is usually reluctant to make full disclosure of the outcome of the field trial, especially issues related to created value. But for the developer, creation of value is the main issue and of great commercial interest. One way to resolve the differences is by listing the benefits of the technology without assigning a commercial value to them. Another area of need for early agreement is use of the field trial results in advertisements and possible operator testimonials.
6. Confidentiality. This relates to what can be discussed outside the team and what cannot. All sides have proprietary information that needs protection. Identification of that information will help prevent future conflicts and embarrassment.
7. Integration. Many field trial failures do not occur at the complex high-tech components but at the low-tech areas which no one views to be important enough to take charge and everyone feels embarrassed later to admit having overlooked. Everyone loses when a field trial fails. It is imperative for the developers of the technology to be exceptionally diligent in ensuring that all parts fit coherently and cohesively together and that no minor details are overlooked because they are perceived to be unimportant!
8. Quality. There are always unanticipated details that crop up during the first implementations of a new technology. Careful observation of job details and notes related to changes and improvements help speed up technology maturity and its field acceptance.
9. Issue resolution. Even with the best of intentions and the most careful planning, there are
always unanticipated issues that can cloud the air and conflict with the main mission of the team, which is successful implementation of the new technology. It is best if an issue-resolution mechanism is put in place to prevent them from becoming major obstacles to success. Many times the fact that the potential for conflict has been identified and addressed by the team is in itself a good deterrent.
While the above points cannot guarantee successful field trial of a new technology, at least they create clarity of mission and objectives and free the participants to focus on the more critical technology implementation issues.
A question often asked relates to the level of formality of the above processes. The answer lies in the size
of the operations, the number of participants and the existing relationships between them. For
small-sized operations, an informal exchange of a collaboration document may be all that is needed. For large-sized technologies involving large investments, a more elaborate document addressing the above as well as other issues concerning liability, termination and other clauses may
be more in order.

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