IT Services

IT Services Programmes Group Project Name:

Pre-deployment quality checkpoint Planned Go live Date: Project ID:

New Service Go Live Readiness Checklist

The following checks will be needed on most projects which require on-going IT Services support and resources. If you consider a signoff to be unnecessary for your project, the Project Manager
should complete the authorisation him /herself to indicate the step has been fully evaluated. See the guidelines at the end of the document.

# Task Remarks Sign off(s) Who has signed off? Date

Signature or email record
required.
Does this meet users' needs

0 A User Group should review Is product fit for purpose and fit for use? User Insight Group
project and deliverables

Service Catalogue readiness

1 Service Catalogue changes
proposed by project/team
New or changed services must be reflected in Project Executive
Service Catalogue entries. Agreement needed
on new or revised entries from project and
Service Owner
service management areas.

Project delivery readiness

2 System acceptance test (UAT Customer / user team has completed test and UAT lead
including any Integration Testing) accepted. Completed signed test pack on file

3 End user documentation User documentation complete, distributed Senior User

and filed

4 System / Administration Design, build and systems management docs Support manager(s)
documentation distributed to 1st, 2nd and 3rd line support, and
filed

5 User Training Appropriate level of training provided to Senior User

target audience. Attendance list stored in

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6 On-going training and induction
7 Publicity / communication
8 Privacy impact assessment
9 Network readiness
10 Infrastructure / server readiness
11 Software Licensing
12 Operational readiness
Define which team
13 Identity Management understood
14 Systems access prepared
15 System security readiness
16 Database / server management
17 Application readiness
IT Services
project file at the following location:
Will IT Services be required to provide relevant Training Manager
training courses / amend existing courses?
What is the route for training requests?
Appropriate communication activities IT Services Communications
prepared and ready Manager
Is a privacy impact assessment required? Relevant managers
Has it been written and agreed with the
unions? Union reps
Networks team consulted and network load Network Manager
provided for and tested
New hardware tested and approved Systems & Operations Manager
On-going costs budgeted for
Licence requirements are understood and Software Licensing Manager
conditions have been met
On-going costs budgeted for
Written procedures in place for server Relevant manager
shutdown, reboot, recovery etc…
Support resource available
Provision of users and permissions Identity Manager
Group memberships defined
Workflow for additions, changes and
deletions defined and agreed
User access to systems implemented in IT Services technical lead
system and ready
Security arrangements approved by IT Information Security Manager
Services Information Security Manager
Ready and performance / volume tested. Web, Database and Middleware
Backup schedule confirmed and documented, Manager
and stored appropriately
Application software ready to move to IT Services technical lead
production and support environments
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18 Data readiness Data migration (including data cleansing) IT Services technical lead
ready

19 Service Desk readiness IT Services Service Desk aware of new service Service Desk Manager
and how it will be supported

20 Zone Team readiness Zone Teams aware of new service and their Zone Team Leaders (6)
role in how it will be supported

21 Service catalogue change Any changes to the Service Catalogue are Services Manager
readiness scheduled and ready.

22 Supplier Management Who has been appointed as Supplier Supplier Manager

Manager / point of contact for this service?
Do we have the right contracts and
relationships in place?
23 Change and configuration Change management and Configuration Change Manager
management readiness management updated and prepared

24 Change Advisory Board Go Live Report including this checklist Change Advisory Board
presented to CAB

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Operational readiness
25 IT readiness for operation
26 User readiness for operation
27 Known risks addressed
IT Services ready for planned Go Live Date, Senior supplier
and capable of taking over their project
outputs into business as usual management
Users are ready for planned Go live Date, and Senior User
capable of taking over their project outputs
into business as usual management
No outstanding risks that are without Project Manager
mitigating action

28 Post-Deployment IT Services Support organisation (project / service desk) Project Manager

support are ready and available for Go Live

29 Post-Deployment business support Business support organised. Senior User

Who is the application (use) expert?

30 Disaster Recovery The system has successfully been tested for Relevant Managers
recovery in case of disaster.
A written disaster recovery plan has been SMT
written for this service and added to the
disaster recovery main plan.

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Business Go Live Readiness
31 User readiness for cut-over
(Business view)
32 Known business risks addressed
33 Post implementation process
monitoring and support
IT Services
Senior managers confirm that the Assistant Director or Account
organisation is fully prepared and geared up Manager responsible
for cut-over activities:
- procedure/system training complete
- users confident with applying new
procedures
- super-users confident with new
system’s functionality and stability
- super-users prepared and cut-over
activity business resources in place (incl.
dual running if applicable)
- user-based systems administration staff
trained and prepared
- data management & archiving
controlled
- cut-over data reconciliation procedures
ready
Communications actioned/ready to go
Risk analysis updated. AD has confirmed no Assistant Director or Account
outstanding cut-over risks and that mitigation Manager
requirements are in place for all identified
risks.
Fall-back plans prepared and distributed
Monitoring and Business Support Assistant Director or Account
arrangements in place for post go-live period. Manager
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 IT Services

Formal Go Live decision

34 All ready to go live Planned go live date is
Senior supplier

Senior User

Project Manager

Project Executive

Project Specific Go Live Checklist

There may be additional checks specific to your project. If there are, include them below.
For example, is there a need for cross-checking with other Processes - Web& New Media, Estates, etc

Additional requirements
35

See also \Programmes\Services\Service Definitions\Service Definition template.docx

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Guidelines

The purpose of the New Service Go Live Checklist is to ensure as far as is possible that the service is ready to go live before it does so. There are a
number of criteria which need to be satisfied before a PRINCE2 project should hand over a production service to the team which will operate it.

 Is the service fit for purpose and fit for use?

 Is the service well defined, including the service levels offered and expected?
 Is it clear who (which team) is responsible for each part of the service?
 Has the service been adequately documented both for the benefit of the users and for the benefit of the operators? Are there appropriate
entries in the cmdb and in the Service Catalogue? Is training required / available / delivered? How will it impact on the Service Desk and the
Zone Teams? How has all this been communicated? Has the end-user documentation and/or website been checked by a non-technical
person?
 What are the on-going system resources required and are they available? What will the effect of adding this service be? Has this been load
tested or capacity managed?
 What are the on-going human resources required and are they available?
 What are the on-going financial costs and have they been built into the appropriate budget?
 Does the service meet the university's security policy? Are there any special considerations?

These are just a sample of the questions which should be asked and answered. For some projects the preference is to hold a meeting of all
interested parties, where these questions can be answered. For other projects, the project manager will seek individual meetings with each
authoriser. Documentation should be circulated before meetings so that it can be read thoroughly.

Andrew Dixon
Change Manager
Tuesday, 13 March 2012

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