Operational readiness checklist before go-live

Can the essential activities be performed?

Identify the processes the business must be able to complete on the first operating day. Depending on the change, that may mean serving customers, issuing invoices, approving expenditure or accessing records.

For each activity, confirm the process, the people involved and the systems and information required. Walk through it with the team that will perform it.

Are the inputs authoritative and current?

User populations, entity details, bank information and process rules may come from different teams. Confirm which source is authoritative, who owns it and when it was last checked.

If an input changes, establish which downstream configuration, instructions or tests need to be revisited.

Can the right people access the right functions?

Access checks should reflect actual tasks. A successful login does not show that a person can perform every required activity or approve the correct transaction.

Confirm the relevant roles, approval arrangements and routes for resolving an access problem during the transition.

Has the business accepted the information?

Where data or records move, establish the checks needed to demonstrate completeness and usability. The appropriate business owner should understand the results and any exceptions.

Keep technical completion and business acceptance visible as separate points in the plan.

Has the important sequence been rehearsed?

A rehearsal can test the order of work, hand-offs and expected timing. It can expose dependencies on unavailable people, late inputs or assumptions that have not been checked.

Where practical, include a failure scenario so teams understand the response and the decision required.

Are material exceptions understood?

An open item should explain the operating impact, the owner and any agreed interim arrangement. The decision-maker needs to know what the organisation is accepting if it proceeds.

Where a workaround is used, establish how it will be supported and what needs to happen before it can be retired.

Do people know what changes and where to get help?

Operational instructions should explain what to do, when to do it and where a question or problem should go. Check that the message reaches the relevant audiences and that support owners know what they are expected to cover.

Is the support and handover model ready?

Agree how issues will be raised, assessed and escalated after go-live. Confirm business and supplier cover where it is needed.

Define the evidence for reducing intensive support and transferring responsibility into normal operations. Keep remaining project work attached to an owner and a route to completion.

The output of a readiness review should be a clear view of the decisions and actions still required. For every material gap, record what is needed, who owns it, when it matters and what will demonstrate closure.