A pilot, when the first release needs evidence
First we agree the workflow, the systems, the allowed actions, the approvals, the exceptions and the test method. Where the release decision needs evidence, a scoped pilot produces it. Pilot scope and commercial terms are agreed before it begins.
The pilot shows the tested tasks, the permission boundaries, the failed calls, the handoff context and the acceptance results. Security, data and operations owners inspect system access, data handling, action logs and who operates the workflow.
Production is a separate decision, taken after your team has read those results. From there, managed improvement covers monitoring, incident ownership and regression tests for the accepted action.