An ERP go-live (cutover) is the operation, usually squeezed into a weekend, in which the company moves from the old system to the new one. Months of project work turn into success or crisis depending on how well these few days were planned.
Weeks before go-live
- Cutover plan: every step is written hour by hour with its owner, start and end time, dependencies and validation method.
- Rehearsal: the plan is rehearsed end to end at least once alongside the final mock load, and real durations are measured.
- UAT sign-off: user acceptance testing exit criteria are met and process owners have signed off.
- Training: all end users are trained in their own roles, with short job aids ready.
- Communication: customers, suppliers and internal units are informed of the schedule and any downtime.
Days before go-live
- System freeze: new master data and configuration changes stop in the old system.
- Clean-up of open transactions: orders are completed where possible and open documents are minimised.
- Authorisations: production access for all users is ready and tested.
- Support team: the on-call roster and communication channels for the first two weeks are set.
During cutover
- Final transactions are closed in the old system; stock counts and balance reports are taken.
- The final data load runs: open items, stock, balances.
- Numeric reconciliation is done and signed off by business owners.
- Critical processes are smoke-tested in production: one order, one delivery, one invoice, one payment.
- The go/no-go decision is made by the steering committee against predefined criteria.
Rollback plan
Every cutover plan needs a written answer to "what do we do if things go wrong?": up to which point can you return to the old system, who decides and on which criteria? A project without a rollback plan makes hasty, wrong decisions when problems arise.
After go-live: hypercare
The first two to four weeks are an intensive support period. Consultants and key users are available on site or online, issues are collected in one list and prioritised daily. The first month-end close is planned separately, because many issues only show up then. Hypercare also ends on a criterion, no open critical issues, rather than a date.
Short checklist
- Is the cutover plan written hour by hour and rehearsed?
- Are reconciliation criteria and sign-off owners defined?
- Are go/no-go criteria and the rollback plan written down?
- Is support planned for the first month-end close?
A good go-live is boring rather than exciting, because everything has been tried before. That is where ERP project management experience makes the biggest difference.
