Week 10 of 12
Cutover and the go/no-go call
This is the week the newsletter is named for. Somebody has to sign the go-live. The best go/no-go meetings are short, because the evidence was collected in advance and every item has an owner and a status.
The worst ones are long, because nobody agreed what "ready" means until the room was full.
This week: build the runbook and the readiness checklist
- Build the hour-by-hour cutover runbook: predecessor, owner, backup, planned and actual times, validation, and a clearly marked point of no return.
- List the go/no-go criteria with a threshold and evidence for each: SIT and UAT exit, reconciled balances from the final rehearsal, interfaces, roles, performance, support readiness.
- Mark which criteria are blocking. A red blocking item means no-go unless someone with authority waives it in writing.
- Circulate the checklist 48 hours before the meeting so owners can update their items.
Number of the week
48 hours
is how far ahead the go/no-go checklist should go out, so the meeting reviews evidence instead of collecting it.
Source: The Sign-Off Table go/no-go checklistUse this week
- Cutover Plan & Runbook →
46 brownfield and greenfield tasks with timings, validations and the point of no return.
- Go/No-Go Readiness Checklist →
28 criteria with thresholds, blocking flags and an automatic recommendation.
Next week: hypercare, and why it should end on evidence, not on a date.
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