Cutover Readiness Plan Template
Cutover Readiness Plan Template
Cutover Readiness Plan Template
AGENCY:_______________
CONTACT:________________
[This document is a template of an Cutover Readiness Plan document for a project. The
template includes instructions to the author, boilerplate text, and fields that should be replaced
with the values specific to the project.
Blue italicized text enclosed in square brackets ([text]) provides instructions to the
document author, or describes the intent, assumptions and context for content included in
this document.
Blue italicized text enclosed in angle brackets (<text>) indicates a field that should be
replaced with information specific to a particular project.
Text and tables in black are provided as boilerplate examples of wording and formats that
may be used or modified as appropriate to a specific project. These are offered only as
suggestions to assist in developing project documents; they are not mandatory formats.
When using this template for your project document, it is recommended that you follow these
steps:
1. Replace all text enclosed in angle brackets (i.e., <Project Name>) with the correct field
values. These angle brackets appear in both the body of the document and in headers
and footers. To customize fields in Microsoft Word (which display a gray background
when selected):
a. Select File>Properties>Summary and fill in the Title field with the Document Name
and the Subject field with the Project Name.
b. Select File>Properties>Custom and fill in the Last Modified, Status, and Version
fields with the appropriate information for this document.
c. After you click OK to close the dialog box, update the fields throughout the document
with these values by selecting Edit>Select All (or Ctrl-A) and pressing F9. Or you
can update an individual field by clicking on it and pressing F9. This must be done
separately for Headers and Footers.
2. Modify boilerplate text as appropriate to the specific project.
3. To add any new sections to the document, ensure that the appropriate header and body
text styles are maintained. Styles used for the Section Headings are Heading 1, Heading
2 and Heading 3. Style used for boilerplate text is Body Text.
4. To update the Table of Contents, right-click and select “Update field” and choose the
option- “Update entire table”
5. Before submission of the first draft of this document, delete this “Notes to the Author” page
and all instructions to the author, which appear throughout the document as blue italicized
text enclosed in square brackets.]
1.1 Purpose
<Define the business definition/scope of this document --- what environments is it addressing,
and time frame.>
1.2 Approach
<Describe how the cutover strategy/plan was determined. Who, what, where, when and how. If
there were documents used, it could be important to have precise references to them (date,
version etc.). Note, a good portion of the support plan may depend on the organizations existing
help desk.>
2 Cutover Strategy
<Introduce this section - It needs to support that the cutover objectives can be met in moving from
the current to target environment. It should, at a high level, describe what the overall strategy is,
and how it’s the most appropriate one to use to meet the objectives within the constraints.
Typically, most significant cutovers involve some kind of phasing – by location, by business
domain, by user community etc... Also needs to ensure that fallback to the existing system can
occur at various times during the cutover. It could happen, for example, that roll back is
requested after a couple of days of operation - because of a failure in a particular business
process.>
<If this section is not applicable, please state that it is not applicable with a supporting brief
explanation. Please do not delete this section.>
2.1 Cutover Criteria
< This section summarizes the criteria that will be used to determine if cutover can occur; each
requirement should be clear and concise and preferably numbered to support requirements
Table 2-1
3 Communication
<The communications plan is critical for aligning stakeholder expectations with respect to project
objectives and transition considerations. The plan takes into account current and targeted levels
of understanding of program objectives among various stakeholder groups. You may want to
refer back to the project Communications Plan.>
4 Cutover Data
4.1 Data Conversion Overview
<Describe at a high level how the data (cleansing, migration, conversion) will be done. May be
appropriate to reference/point to the Data Model Document.>
<Provide an overview of the data to be converted with its timing.>
<If this section is not applicable, please state that it is not applicable with a brief supporting
explanation. Please do not delete this section.>
<Where content will evolve through the implementation process, provide a reference to the
document that will be updated or the date in which this document will be updated.>
5 Cutover Processes
<In this section, document the processes to perform cutover. These processes may be
presented to participants in a Cutover Presentation that could be included in the Appendix.>
<If this section is not applicable, please state that it is not applicable with a brief supporting
explanation. Please do not delete this section.>
6 Go-Live Support
<Describe the support process that will be put in place. Outline the functional and technical
staff plans to deal with the additional demands, and coverage requirements for all working
hours.>
<If this section is not applicable, please state that it is not applicable with a brief supporting
explanation. Please do not delete this section.>
<Where content will evolve through the implementation process, provide a reference to the
document that will be updated or the date in which this document will be updated.>
7 Final Sections
<The following section is intended to offer further elaboration and detail. If the considerations
below have been prior addressed in the document, it is not necessary to repeat them again.
Please use this section to elaborate on areas in which you have not provided formal
documentation.>
7.1 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations
< Provide an alphabetical listing of all acronyms, abbreviations, and their meanings as used in
this document and a list of any terms and definitions needed to understand the document.
This information may be provided by reference to one or more appendices or by reference to
other documents>
<If this section is not applicable, please state that it is not applicable with a brief supporting
explanation. Please do not delete this section.>