Substitution for : Spearheaded a project which was was never been done in the organization / is been done for the first time in the organization

Question

Substitution for: Spearheaded a project which was never been done in the organization / is been done for the first time in the organization

I am looking for a substitute in the form of Spearheaded a _______ project the blank can be filled with a short phrase

Background: I was the lead engineer in a project. I worked for an automotive company & the project was an IT / Data collection related project. Such a thing was never attempted within the organization because no one had the expertise.

I am looking for a terse substitute.

Answer 1

Consider calling it a greenfield project. This term has the connotation of a somewhat substantial project - or at least, a project that has the potential to be substantial.

In many disciplines a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to work within the constraints of existing buildings or infrastructure. - wikipedia

Greenfield projects are different from blue-sky projects, which are more curiosity-driven than goal-driven.

You can say that you

• spearheaded a greenfield project.

Answer 2

first ever OED

first-ever adj. (attrib.) that is the first experienced, known, recorded, etc., at any time

As in:

He spearheaded a project, the first ever, done in the organization.

Answer 3

"Spearheaded a pilot project."

From the Association for Project Management's document "What is the difference between a trial and a pilot?" (PDF link):

The pilot project is an initial small-scale implementation that is used to prove the viability of a project idea.This could involve either the exploration of a novel new approach or idea or the application of a standard approach recommended by outside parties but which is new to the organisation. An example of this would be the standard implementation approach for a new off-the-shelf package.

The pilot project enables an organisation to manage the risk of a new idea and identify any deficiencies before substantial resources are committed.

Answer 4

As an alternative to "spearheaded," you could consider "pioneered", which implies being the first.

For example, "I pioneered the data collection assignment for the company"