SkieHow should we run a pilot before rolling Skie out to everyone?
Start small: a handful of devices in one group, run for a few weeks, with an IT person, a teacher and someone who approves rules on the team. Test provisioning, app lists, the filter on your own Wi-Fi, location, lost mode and a device replace. Judge success on compliance, breaches, lost devices and feedback. Pilots are arranged with the Skie team.
The cheapest way to find a problem is on five devices, not five hundred. A pilot gives you that. Pilots are arranged with the Skie team, and pricing is on request.
What you need is modest: some Android 12 or newer phones or tablets, a laptop with adb or an Android phone running the Skie Provision app, and Wi-Fi. Devices must be freshly set up or reset, with any Google account removed. A pilot usually runs for two to four weeks. The team should include someone from IT, a teacher or other person who lives with the devices, and a person who can approve rules.
Test the things that will matter later. Provision a few devices, including a new model if you have one, since new models go through a one-time model review. Build app lists. Run the network check wizard on your actual Wi-Fi and see that the filter holds. Turn location on for a test group, and try a geofence with a walk around the boundary. Try lost mode, and replace a device to see that the student, group and history carry over. Watch the breach centre and tune the thresholds.
Measure honestly. Look at average compliance and fully compliant devices, how many breaches appear and how many were real, whether any device was lost and found, and what teachers and students say. Use intervention memory to note each change you make, so you can see before and after.
Tell parents or staff what is happening: devices are managed, what is filtered, whether location is on and who can see it. Then widen group by group. See how to provision Android devices at scale.