ERP Cutover Planning and Detailed Cutover Checklist Management 

Posted on: March 12, 2025 | By: Alexa Leitner | ERP Selection, QAD Business Process

Logan Consulting’s high-level ERP cutover planning ensures a smooth Go-Live with detailed checklists, readiness tracking, and structured execution.

Details 

Cutover Planning for any ERP Go-Live event should start early in the project life cycle. Later in a project, the Project Team is often completely focused and immersed in completing the Development Phase of a project, including technical development, data conversion testing, and work instructions and moving into the Validation and Testing Phase to gain final team and business approval for the Launch Phase.  

Cutover Planning and development of the Cutover Checklist need to start in the Development Phase, as the initial test or mock conversion should be executed as part of the first Conference Room Pilot (CRP). Some of the key tools that should be developed and leveraged to support a cutover are as follows: 

  1. Framework for CRP Scorecard and CRP Go-Live Readiness Assessment 
  1. High Level Cutover Weekend/Period Timeline 
  1. Detailed Cutover Checklist  
  1. Cutover Support Plan 

Framework for CRP Scorecard and CRP Go-Live Readiness Assessment 

Logan Consulting recommends a minimum of two formal meetings with the Steering Committee prior to Go-Live. The first meeting should be held after the final CRP and the second meeting should be held one to two weeks prior to Go-Live. Team Go/No-Go meetings then continue more frequently closer to the cutover date. Initial tracking of team and application readiness starts with the first CRP.  

This approach assumes that each CRP Script covers a certain process area, and the entire inventory of process scripts represents all functionality that the ERP needs to support. Essentially, every business process should be covered somewhere in a CRP script. The CRP scripts have a number of specific test scenarios that must be successfully tested in the CRP to support moving forward with the Go-Live. 

The following documents are important to each Go/No-Go Meeting: 

  • CRP Scorecard – The CRP Scorecard is a quantitative score for each CRP Script and in total for the CRP, indicating the following: 
    • Script Scenarios Written 
    • Script Scenarios Executed 
    • Script Scenarios Passed 
    • Script Scenarios Failed 
    • Script Pass/Fail 
    • Total Passing Percentage and Score 
  • Go-Live Readiness Assessment – The Readiness Assessment is graded on a red, yellow, green basis by the lead user of the Project Team responsible for testing their respective process areas in the CRP. It is a more subjective and visual view by process area indicating readiness of People, Process and Technology for the process. 
    • People – Have the users received adequate training in all functions that will support the process, and do they understand how the system will support the process? 
    • Process – Is there a solid business process in place that the lead team member agrees will work to support the business 
    • Technology – Is the ERP system and any supporting technology and applications ready for Go-Live? This includes any custom code, interfaces, and equipment readiness such as printers and scanners. 

Additionally, it is common that there are follow-up tasks that remain open after each of the two meetings above. As a result, it is important to not only leverage the two tools above but also communicate the plan to resolve the open issues and complete any open tasks prior to the Go-Live.  

High Level Cutover Weekend/Period Timeline 

Cutover Weekend/Period planning typically takes the form of a day-to-day schedule for the final one to two weeks of the project prior to the Go-Live, culminating in the execution of critical tasks over the cutover weekend. The tasks will overlap with the Detailed Cutover Checklist, but often the documentation of these tasks is used as a higher-level communication tool for the Project Team, Steering Committee, and extended users and stakeholders.  

It should show the major tasks and cutoffs occurring each day. For example: 

  • Key cutoff days and times for cutoff of final transactions 
  • Key cutoff days and times for plant shutdowns (production, shipping, receiving) 
  • Key starting days/and times for start of physical inventory 
  • Schedule of on-site needs for team members 

This tool then becomes the high-level communication tool for the extended team. The Project Team is also focused on the details behind this, as reflected in the Detailed Cutover Checklist. 

Detailed Cutover Checklist 

The Cutover Checklist represents the detailed tasks which need to be completed to bring a business live on the new ERP system. Logan Consulting recommends starting to log all tasks onto the Cutover Checklist soon after the Development Phase begins, as it will be needed for the first CRP for a test or mock run-through. Tasks should encompass all system and non-system tasks required, covering the following major areas at a minimum: 

  • Equipment setup and testing 
  • Communication planning tasks 
  • High Level Training Plan 
  • Database/Instance refresh and starting points 
  • Pre-Cutover Weekend Master data conversion tasks (ETL and approval tracking) 
  • Cutover Weekend Dynamic data conversion tasks (ETL and approval tracking) 
  • Go/No-Go Meeting Cadence and Approvals 

All tasks should include the specific task in clear language so there is no misunderstanding of its meaning, one single owner who is accountable for the task completion (even if others are needed), start and end date and times if applicable, time zone if the project covers multiple time zones, and status. 

The Cutover Checklist becomes the single source of truth for cutover task status and readiness as the cutover date approaches. 

Cutover Support Plan 

One of the final critical elements of cutover planning is to ensure that a comprehensive Cutover Support Plan is in place, agreed to by all involved, and communicated to the business. Depending on the company’s physical and administrative footprint, the plan can get complex.  

For a single-site company working mainly daytime hours, the Cutover Support Plan may only need to ensure that office staff and operations staff are covered during normal or close to normal business hours during the day. The Project Team with support from the consulting team can often support this footprint. 

On the more complex side would be a multi-site cutover with off-shift schedules; 5 x 24 or 7 x 24 for example. In this example, not only is coverage required during day hours/shift, but also at all sites on off-shifts. A support matrix is a common tool listing each shift, area, start and end times and coverage; a name of the person or persons responsible for supporting that area and for how long after the initial cutover. This planning can get complex as it is very common for more resources to be required to support a complex operation that were originally on the Project Team and consulting teams.  

Part of a more complex cutover plan needs to include training of non-Project Team resources I specific areas that they may be asked to support, along with the escalation definition for issues brought up during the support period. 

Although the four areas above do not represent all the areas and tools required to support a cutover, they do represent a recommended set of key tools for any ERP implementation. Feel free to contact us to review templates and specific examples of the documents and tools discussed above! 

 

About Logan Consulting 

Logan Consulting is a leading consulting firm with strengths in strategy, project management, business process design, ERP and CRM implementation, recruitment and training.  Since 1992, our business process-based delivery techniques and tools have helped our clients build a solid business process and information technology foundation to support their business.  Our clients count on us for objective, unbiased analysis, recommendations and project work.  To learn more and hear what our customers are saying about us, please visit our website (www.loganconsulting.com). 

Logan Consulting is headquartered in Chicago, IL with global services reach.