Explanation:

In a small-scale implementation with a tight timeline, the most practical and risk-reducing release strategy is a Pilot Deployment. This approach allows your customer to deliver functionality quickly while gathering valuable feedback, making small refinements before a full rollout. It strikes a balance between speed, quality control, and user adoption — all critical in a compressed timeline project.

🚫 Option A: Big bang deployment with all features rolled out simultaneously
A big bang deployment might seem fast, but it's generally high-risk—especially for small teams with limited resources. With all features released at once:
➔ There’s no buffer for unexpected issues
➔ No chance to gather real-time feedback before going live
➔ Troubleshooting becomes complex and highly disruptive to users

In small-scale projects with tight timelines, there’s often not enough time for robust end-to-end testing across every feature. This makes the big bang approach impractical and risky in this context.

🚫 Option B: Phased approach with incremental releases and controlled rollouts
The phased approach is often ideal for larger-scale or long-term projects, where different modules can be delivered in stages. While effective, it requires more planning, time, and coordination than a pilot rollout. In a tight timeline situation, it may slow down overall delivery due to the need to manage multiple phases, user groups, and potentially overlapping feedback cycles. That said, phased rollouts may be a next step after the pilot proves successful.

✅ Option C: Pilot deployment with a limited user group for initial testing and feedback ✅ (Correct Answer)
This is the best fit for:
➡️ Small teams
➡️ Tight deadlines
➡️ Need for quick validation and early user adoption

A pilot lets you:
➡️ Deploy a limited version of the solution to a small, representative group
➡️ Identify and resolve issues before broader release
➡️ Improve user training, support readiness, and change management

By targeting a focused group, you're also able to collect meaningful feedback faster, prioritize fixes or enhancements, and ensure smoother rollout to the rest of the org.

🚫 Option D: Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) for rapid iterative updates
CI/CD is a development best practice, particularly in DevOps environments. However, it’s not a release strategy on its own, and it requires established automation pipelines, tooling, and team expertise.
➔ For a small-scale implementation, especially with tight deadlines and potentially limited dev resources, building out CI/CD may be overkill and could even introduce delays or unnecessary technical overhead.

🧠 Summary
For a small-scale Salesforce implementation with limited time, a pilot deployment is the most efficient, low-risk, and feedback-driven strategy. It allows your team to move quickly while ensuring high user satisfaction and smoother full rollout.

📚 Official Salesforce Reference:
🔗 Salesforce Change and Release Management Best Practices