Interactive tool

Cutover & Go-Live Readiness Checklist

Go-live is a decision, not a date. The critical items are a hard gate — miss one and it's No-go. But a passed gate isn't GO: open items still need an owner and accepted risk, and an authorized owner has to actually decide. So the verdict moves through No-go → Hold → Ready → GO, never jumping straight to GO. It's the tool behind the cutover & go-live guide and hypercare.

NO-GO8 critical checks outstanding
0/24 (0%)

GO decision unlocks once the critical gate passes

Readiness (before the window)

0/8

Data & migration (in the window)

0/6

Validation (smoke tests)

0/6

Go / No-go decision

0/4
Export
# Cutover / go-live readiness

Verdict: NO-GO — 8 critical checks outstanding
Progress: 0% complete

## Readiness (before the window)
- [ ] Cutover plan written, timed and signed off
- [ ] Go/No-go criteria agreed in advance  (critical)
- [ ] Runbook with named owner per step
- [ ] Rollback plan documented and viable  (critical)
- [ ] Config / transport freeze in place
- [ ] Migration rehearsed on a full dress run
- [ ] Business sign-off on UAT results  (critical)
- [ ] Comms plan + escalation contacts circulated

## Data & migration (in the window)
- [ ] Final source extract taken and locked
- [ ] Migration executed to target
- [ ] Record counts reconciled source vs target  (critical)
- [ ] Opening balances tie out to the ledger  (critical)
- [ ] Open / in-flight items migrated
- [ ] Number ranges & sequences set correctly

## Validation (smoke tests)
- [ ] Key master data spot-checked
- [ ] Payment run produces the correct file to the bank  (critical)
- [ ] Bank statement imports and posts
- [ ] Period-end / close job runs clean
- [ ] Authorizations tested for each role
- [ ] Interfaces / integrations green end-to-end  (critical)

## Go / No-go decision
- [ ] Business owner sign-off on go-live  (critical)
- [ ] Rollback still viable within the window
- [ ] Hypercare team on standby
- [ ] Decision recorded with owner + timestamp

## Go decision
- [ ] Open non-critical items have a named owner + accepted risk
- [ ] Authorized business owner has given GO

The checklist is a sound default for a finance-system cutover — adapt it to your rollout; the critical items are the ones I'd never waive. It keeps no state on a server: nothing you tick or type leaves your browser.

How this works

Methodology

The critical items form a hard gate — all must be green. A passed gate is not GO: the verdict moves No-go → Hold → Ready → GO, and GO also needs open items owned with accepted risk, plus an explicit business-owner decision.

Assumptions

  • The critical items are genuinely your no-waiver conditions — adapt them if they are not.
  • 'Done' means verified, not intended — a ticked box reflects real evidence.
  • An authorized owner actually makes the GO call; the tool records it, it does not make it.

Limitations

  • It is a readiness framework, not a runbook — it does not sequence the cutover steps or timings.
  • The default list is a sound starting point, not a substitute for your project's specific plan.
  • It cannot verify the checks for you; an honestly-worked checklist is the whole point.