Go-live decision is binary: go or not go. Criteria force objectivity.
Quality criteria:
- All Sev 1/Sev 2 defects resolved.
- UAT signed off by business stakeholders.
- Performance tests passed under expected load.
- Security review completed (especially for regulated industries).
- Apex test coverage ≥ 75% (production deploy requirement).
- All critical integrations tested end-to-end.
Operational readiness:
- Production deployment runbook finalised and rehearsed in staging.
- Rollback plan documented and tested.
- Monitoring in place (Lightning Usage App, error alerts, integration health dashboards).
- Support infrastructure ready: helpdesk channels, documentation, hypercare team.
Data readiness:
- Data migration rehearsed end-to-end in Full Sandbox.
- Data quality validated post-migration.
- Reconciliation reports match source.
Adoption readiness:
- Training delivered to all users.
- Training material accessible post-launch.
- Power users / champions identified.
- Communication plan for go-live executed (announcements, FAQs).
Stakeholder sign-offs:
- Project Sponsor approves go-live.
- Business stakeholders confirm UAT acceptance.
- IT / Security signs off on technical readiness.
- Compliance signs off on regulatory requirements.
Additional checks:
- Cutover window scheduled with operations.
- Communication sent to users about expected downtime / changes.
- Backups captured of any pre-existing data.
- Day-after monitoring plan for early detection of issues.
Decision process:
- Go/No-go meeting typically 1-2 days before scheduled launch.
- Each owner reports status. Anyone can call No-go if criteria not met.
- Decision is documented: "Go on date X based on criteria met as of date Y."
Common pitfalls:
- Pressure to go-live regardless — leadership wants the launch, criteria be damned. Senior consultants resist.
- Soft criteria — "training is mostly done" — should be specific.
- No rehearsal — first run of cutover is in production.
- No rollback — if something goes wrong, no plan.
A senior consultant's value at go-live is having the credibility to say No when criteria aren't met. Brave call, but right.