Pilot Implementation: Learning from Field Tests in IS Development

A recurrent problem in information-systems development (ISD) is that many design shortcomings are not detected during development, but first after the system has been delivered and implemented in its intended environment. Pilot implementations appear to promise a way to extend prototyping from the laboratory to the field, thereby allowing users to experience a system design under realistic conditions and developers to get feedback from realistic use while the design is still malleable. We characterize pilot implementation, contrast it with prototyping, propose a five-element model of pilot implementation and provide three empirical illustrations of our model. We conclude that pilot implementation has much merit as an ISD technique when system performance is contingent on context. But we also warn developers that, despite their seductive conceptual simplicity, pilot implementations can be difficult to plan and conduct. It is sometimes assumed that pilot implementations are less complicated and risky than ordinary implementations. Pilot implementations are, however, neither prototyping nor small-scale versions of full-scale implementations; they are fundamentally different and have their own challenges, which will be enumerated and discussed in this article

High-Performance Hexaferrite Ceramic Magnets Made from Nanoplatelets of Ferrihydrite by High-Temperature Calcination for Permanent Magnet Applications

Highly aligned ceramic hexaferrite magnets with high-energy products $(BH)_{max}$ and a density exceeding 90% of theoretical density have been fabricated. The precursors were an antiferromagnetic powder, a six-line ferrihydrite mixed with SrCO$_3$, and a grain growth inhibitor SiO$_2$. Conventional cold compaction of the precursor powders was employed prior to calcination at temperatures of 1050, 1150, and 1250 °C. The influence of calcination temperature and magnetic properties has been systematically studied in the produced ceramic magnets. Conventional cold compaction is a favorable route for industrial production when compared with other compaction techniques like spark plasma sintering, hot compaction, or electroforging. A high $(BH)_{max}$ of 25.2 kJ/m$^3$ was obtained for the best magnet along with an appreciable coercivity, Hc, of 187 kA m$^{–1}$, a high squareness ratio, $M_r/M_s$, of 0.84, and a saturation magnetization, $M_s$, of 73 A m$^2$/kg. Texture and crystallite size analysis were extracted from 2D synchrotron transmission powder diffraction measurements. We have demonstrated that high-performance bulk magnets for permanent magnet applications can be produced from nonmagnetic interacting crystallites mixed with a grain growth inhibitor without applying a magnetic field for alignment