Every pilot installation should pursue clearly defined engineering objectives.
Typical objectives include:
- evaluating irrigation efficiency
- measuring effective water availability within the root zone
- assessing hydraulic behaviour over extended periods
- validating material performance
- evaluating sensor reliability
- assessing communication robustness
- validating analytical models
- measuring the quality of engineering recommendations
Pilot projects should avoid attempting to demonstrate every possible capability simultaneously.
Well-defined objectives produce more reliable engineering conclusions than excessively ambitious experimental programmes.