Checklist · Fixes series 02
Go-live checklist: stages, owners, verification and rollback
Write a named person, not a team, into every Owner cell before the cutover starts, then tick each row when its verification passes, not when the work is finished. The progress and the open blockers at the side update as you go, and a blocking row stops the next stage until it passes. Agree the content freeze window and the launch date together before you begin.
Goes withThe cutover nobody noticed
AuthorVictor Daj
veren.veren-technology.com/en/blog/the-cutover-nobody-noticed
How to read the columns
- Owner is a named person, not a team. Fill it in for every row before the first stage starts.
- Passes when is the verification for the row. The row is done when it passes, not when the work is finished. If a blocking row has no verification you can describe, have the supplier write one before the stage starts.
- Blocking marks the rows that stop the next stage until they pass. Open blockers are counted at the side.
- Rollback trigger is the condition that sends the named caller back to the old stack. Fill in each agreed time limit before the switch stage.
Fill it in below. Your result updates as you go.
01Stage 1: preparation (weeks before)
- Owner
- Passes when
- Contact and change lead time written down
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- New values confirmed, old values noted
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Checked by a second person against the hosting target
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- A test hostname serves with a valid certificate
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Every old URL above the agreed request count has a destination
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Each has an owner and a place in the sequence
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Trigger, caller, return path and return time signed off
- Rollback trigger
- None
02Stage 2: verification (days before)
- Owner
- Passes when
- Editors confirmed in writing, editing rights reduced
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Agreed sample of pages matches the frozen state
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Every mapped URL lands where expected, no chains
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- A test submission arrives, tracking fires
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Each hostname serves the expected brand
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- A test record reaches the receiving system
- Rollback trigger
- None
03Stage 3: switch (the day)
- Owner
- Passes when
- Confirmed by the stage owner
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Change logged with a timestamp
- Rollback trigger
- Records cannot be activated cleanly
- Owner
- Passes when
- Site served from inside and outside the office
- Rollback trigger
- Not reachable after the agreed propagation time
- Owner
- Passes when
- All return the expected content or destination
- Rollback trigger
- Any of the 40 fails
- Owner
- Passes when
- Arrives in the receiving system
- Rollback trigger
- Not arrived within the agreed time
- Owner
- Passes when
- Announced in writing by the switch owner
- Rollback trigger
- None
04Stage 4: observation (the window after)
- Owner
- Passes when
- Error rate within the agreed band for the whole window
- Rollback trigger
- Above the band for longer than the agreed time
- Owner
- Passes when
- Misses added to the map the same day
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- New URLs appear in their reporting
- Rollback trigger
- None
- Owner
- Passes when
- Count within the normal range
- Rollback trigger
- Enquiries stop entirely
- Owner
- Passes when
- Only after the rollback date has passed
- Rollback trigger
- None
Rollback position. Fill in before the switch stage and circulate to every owner.
- What we return to: the old stack on its existing records, kept running until a written date
- How long the return takes: minutes, with time to live lowered
- Who may call it: one named person, reachable throughout the switch and observation window
- What triggers it: the Rollback trigger column above, with each time limit filled in
A launch readiness review, fixed scope, before your next cutover.
It works alongside your existing supplier, so you can run it mid-project without changing who builds the site.
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