The deployment, production or commissioning plan (Cut-over plan) is an essential part of project management. The commissioning is in fact the culmination of the IT project. How do you achieve a successful result? With strategic, rigorous and detailed planning. So here are the five main milestones.

1 — Strategic deployment planning as early as possible

The challenge of commissioning is quite important. It is important to worry about this as soon as we have reached the halfway point of the project. It is necessary to do strategic planning, with the project teams (business, technical, functional and implementation). Exploratory meetings with these actors who are living the business reality we are looking at will allow us to consider all deployment options.

Studying the processes of each business reality will bring its share of questions. Let's take billing as an example. When should the closing take place in the month? By what means are invoices sent (email, mail)? Strategic planning for a cut-over plan means forecasting and answering all questions that could hinder deployment.

The sooner you start, the more you avoid a headache on D-Day. The date of Cut-over is itself subject to debate. It depends not only on technical achievements, but above all on the business calendar, which must be taken into account. Do we prefer to deploy the project or business solution at the beginning of a budget year or during an off-peak period?

2 — Allocate time for teams to convert data

Data conversion is often “the big chunk” of the plan Cut-over. Depending on the volume of data to be converted, the deadlines will vary from one project to another. They can range from one day to more than one month. This is an aspect that must be considered when planning commissioning.

In the case of billing, the main question will be whether to convert all of the history of invoices or only part of it. And if we decide not to transfer old bills, will we keep the old system? For how long? Who will have access to the old system? In short, data conversion can raise a multitude of questions. It is common for this stage to require real reflection on change management and lead to user training. In any case, you must adapt the way you communicate.

3 — Write a detailed production plan

It is essential that tasks are tallied by team, by date, by hour, or even by minute. How? By using a specialized application like MS Project or a spreadsheet program like Excel. This is even more important as we approach the critical date, the deployment date.

All information should be recorded in dashboards. These are real management tools that facilitate information sessions. It is suggested that regular meetings of 15 minutes be held while standing. You can invite the project promoters there. These meetings make it possible to illustrate the detailed plan, the strategic planning of the next steps, and to make the necessary changes.

The last two weeks of working on a project are the last miles to go. It's also like a countdown. It is therefore very relevant to send daily updates to all stakeholders. Everyone will know the planning for the day. The adjustments should fit on one page and be easy to read. We aim for a quick understanding of the content.

4 — Test the deployment plan

In preparation for deployment, it is important to perform simulations. We often have meetings to review the plan with the teams concerned. It's a bit like a dress rehearsal before a theater premiere. The aim is to check and cross-check all stages of the test environment before use. This ensures that no steps are missing and that the consequences of the actions are known.

These reviews are also an opportunity to take into account the phenomenon of project interdependencies. This phenomenon is very often the cause of delays and additional costs. Let's keep our billing example, mentioned a little bit above. If the billing module depends on the latest version of Internet Explorer, it is essential to check the status of the office automation team in its own deployment. The interdependence of projects is the overlap between them. This should be taken into account during strategic planning.

5 — Strategic Planning 101: Be Ready on D-Day

The day of commissioning is finally here. Like the course of this day, the phases that precede and follow the project must have been carefully planned.

Deployment day, night, or weekend teams must have been staffed and prepared. We also talk about the “go/no-go” of decision-makers. This green light is sometimes given by phone at 3 am by the CEO (CEO) or by the CFO (CFO). This final decision is often preceded by several “crisis unit” type meetings in a room provided for this purpose (War Room).

Finally, a few hours after the launch of the new system, it is also necessary to decide whether to continue or whether to go backwards (Fallback), before reaching the point of no return. It is necessary to have considered, detailed and tested this step backwards. Like the rest of the project.

The degree of precision and foresight of the plan of Cut-over is therefore essential for a smooth commissioning. When this phase is over, there is then a final stage, that of post-implantation support. Well conducted, concludes the project and ensures its complete success.