Theobjectiveofthecutoverperiodistoensuretheservicethathasgonein

productionfulfilstheexpectationsofitsusersandthattheorganizationcan

delivertheneededoperationalquality

The Cutover Plan Thelifecycleofaservicestretchesfarafterthepointwherethedeliveryprojectfinishes.

DimitriGeelen

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1 The cutover plan Inthisreader,wewillcoverthecutoverplan,itspurposeandprovideguidanceforthesettingupthestructureandagreement.

1.1 Objective Theobjectiveofthecutoverperiodistoensuretheservicethathasgoneinproductionfulfillstheexpectationsofitsusersandthattheorganizationcandelivertheneededoperationalquality.

1.2 Start & Entry Criteria ThecutoverperiodstartswhentheITservicestartstobeusedoperationally(operationaluseofthesystembyarepresentativenumberofend-user).Theprojectdeliveryorganizationremainsaccountableuntiltheexitcriteriahavebeenmetandserviceoperationshasacceptedownership.Entrycriteriaforthecutoverperiodisthe“OperationalReadinessConfirmation”orORCfromITOperations

1.3 Duration Asmentionedtheobjectiveofthecutoverperiodistoassureusersatisfactionandoperationalcapability.Herecounts:“theproofofthepuddingisintheeating”,youcannotevaluatequalitywhensomethingisnotbeingused.So,weshouldallowsufficienttimeforallworkflowstobecompleted.Thisalsopreventsthebuildupoftechnicaldebtcausedbyundiscoveredandunresolvedissues.Ouradviceisthatthecutoverperiodshouldincludeaminimum2fullworkflowcycles.Examples:

Ø 2weeks–whenuseddailyandtheworkflowcyclesarenolongerthenoneweekØ 10weeks–whentheworkflowcycledurationismonthlyØ 15weeks–whentheworkflowcycledurationisquarterlyØ Forayearlyworkflowcycle(forinstancefiscalyearendreporting)twofull

cyclesis“abitunpractical”.Trytofinda“fitforpurpose”solution.

Inallcasesmakeriskbaseddecisions.ThepublicationoftheyearlyearningsforapubliclytradingcompanyjustifieslargerinvestmentsthantheChristmastime“pickyourownpresent”app.Howcanyoubestassureusersatisfactionandoperationalcapabilitywithinjustifiableefforts?Withtheyearlyearningsreport,youmaybeshoulddoasimulationwithdummydataandyoucanarrangeforahypercareteamtostandbywhenthebusinesscycleruns.FortheChristmastimeapp,maybeyoujustaccepttherisk.

1.4 End Thecutoverperiodendswhentheagreeddurationiscompletedoruponsuccessfulcompletionoftheexitcriteria,whicheveristhelater.Oncethecutoverperiod/exitcriteriaarecompletedsuccessfully,theoperationalaccountabilitycanbehandedover

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toITOperations.Theprojectdeliveryrequestan“AgreementtoTakeoperationalOwnership”orATO

1.5 Exit Criteria # Condition RequiredOutcome1 ConditionsraisedatORC-oranynew

conditionsraisedafterORC-forreachingATOareclosed

ConfirmationfromITOpsthattheconditionsraisedhavebeenclosed

2 PositiveverificationQualityRequirements

ConfirmationITOpsonpositiveverification

3 Corefunctionality(criticaltasks)oftheapplicationasagreedandidentifiedisadequatelyexercisedbyarepresentativenumberofusers

ConfirmationfromtheBusinessOwnerthatarepresentativeproportion(ex:50%)oftheuserbaseisusingtheITsolutioncorrectlyasexpected

4 Allsupportteamsareready(havethebudget,capacityandcapability)andhavedemonstratedtheirabilitytosupporttheservicewithoutthehelpofprojectdelivery

ConfirmationfromtheITOPSthattheSupportModelandFulfillmentPlanagreedforORCarestillvalidandthatallidentifiedSupportteamscansupporttheITsolutionwithoutanyfurtherhelpfromtheproject

5 Thedeliveredfunctionalityandassociatedinterfacesarestable

a) AllIncidentticketsclosedoragreementfromITOpstotakeovertheopentickets.

b) Nopriority1or2incidentsinthelasttwoweeks

c) Allchangeandenhancementrequestareeitherclosedorownershiptransferredoutsidethedeliveryproject.

Duringthecutoverperiod,wepreventprojectdeliverydischarging(all)skillsandcapacitywithoutconfirmationofastableservice.TheexitcriteriaempowerITOpstodirectprojectdeliveryeffortinordertoensurethatITOpsisabledeliveringthequalitytheorganizationneeds.AswithallthingsinOpsasto,theexitcriteriaareforguidancepurposesandshouldnotbeusedasadictate.Keyismanagingtheriskandbeingawareoftheorganizationallong(er)termcontext.Thelifecycleofaservicestretchesfarafterthepointwherethedeliveryprojectfinishes.

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1.6 Service cutover plan Insomesituations,onelongcutoverperiodleavestomuchopportunityformisalignmentoccurring.Thiscanbethecasewithlargescaleintroductionsthatinvolveslargeanddiverseusergroups.Youcanchoosetodividethecutoverperiodinmultiplephasesandwherewitheachnextphase,yougraduallymovemoreoftheoperationalactivitiestotheITOpsteam.

Figure1-ServiceCutoverPlan

1.6.1 Hypercare phase EntryCriteria

• FollowsOperationalReadinessConfirmation&Go-liveOperationsFactors(examplesgivenbelow-tailorforyourproject)

• ResponsibilityremainswithProjectDeliveryTeam• Incidentsareallraisedbytheenduser,superuserorprocessfocalpointvia

theServiceDesktotheprojectdeliveryteam• AllincidentsaretrackedinServiceManagementTool• Allincidentsareinvestigatedandresolvedbyprojectdeliveryteam• ChangeManagementisfollowedforallchanges• Projectteamexecutechangestosourcecodeandcentralconfiguration• ITOpsattendweeklyincidentmeetings• Projectdeliveryteamisresponsibleforallsupportactivities,includingany

processingormaintenancetasks.ExitCriteria(examplesgivenbelow)

• Applicationserviceshavebeenenabledandhavebeenoperableforatleast1week

• MovetothenextsupportphasesignedoffbyITOpslead

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• Incidentstatus:• NoSeverity1incidentsstillopenandnonehavebeenopenedin

thepreviouselapsed5days.• IfthesystemisstableandaSeverity1incidenthasbeenopened

inthepreviouselapsed5days,ITOpscandecidetoforegothiscriteriaandmovetothenextsupportphase,pendingapprovalfromtheITOpsLead.

AnticipatedDuration• nweeks(althoughcriteriadriven)

1.6.2 Project Support Phase EntryCriteria

• SeeexitcriteriaforHypercarePhaseOperationsFactors(examplesgivenbelow-tailorforyourproject)

• ResponsibilityremainswithProjectDeliveryTeam• Incidentsareallraisedbytheenduser,superuserorprocessfocalpointvia

theServiceDesktotheprojectdeliveryteam• AllincidentsaretrackedinServiceManagementTool• Allincidentsareinvestigatedandresolvedbyprojectdeliveryteam• ChangeManagementprocessisfollowedforallchanges• Projectexecutechangestosourcecodeandcentralconfig• ITOPsshadowincidentinvestigationandresolution(toassistKTandtraining)

• ConversationsandmeetingswithsupportgroupsotherthantheprojectteammustincludeITOps.

• Projectdeliveryteamisresponsibleforallsupportactivitiesincludinganyprocessingormaintenancetasks.

ExitCriteria(examplesgivenbelow)• KeyKnowledgetransferforITOpsstaffcompleted–asagreedbyITOpslead• AllnecessaryaccesshasbeensetupfortheITOpsteam• MovetothenextsupportphasesignedoffbyITOpsLead• Incidentstatus:

• Noseverity1incidentsopenandnonehavebeenopenedinthepreviouselapsed7days

AnticipatedDuration• nweeks(althoughcriteriadriven)

1.6.3 Assisted Project Support Phase EntryCriteria

• SeeexitcriteriaforProjectSupportphaseOperationsFactors(examplesgivenbelow-tailorforyourproject)

• ResponsibilityremainswithProjectTeam• Incidentsareallraisedbytheenduser,superuserorprocessfocalpointvia

theServicedesktoITOpsTeam• AllincidentsaretrackedinServiceManagementtool• ChangeManagementprocessisfollowedforallchanges• Projectexecutechangestosourcecodeandcentralconfig

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• ITOpsteamassistinincidentidentificationandrestorationofservices(toassistKTandTraining)

• ProjectdeliveryteamassistsinincidentidentificationandresolutionwhenrequestedbytheITOpsteam.

• ITOpsteamisresponsibleforallsupportactivities,includinganyprocessingormaintenancetasks.

ExitCriteria(examplesgivenbelow)• Supportprocessesallsetupandknown(supportprocessesdefinedasroutes

bywhichincidentscanbepassedbetweensupportteamsisknownandupdatesreceived)

• Allknowledgetransferhasbeencompletedsuccessfullytoallsupportgroups• Incidentstatus:

• Noseverity1orseverity2incidentsraisedintheprevious7elapseddays

• Lessthan3incidentsraisedperday(ofseverity3orhigher)• MovetothenextsupportphasesignedoffbyITOpsLead

AnticipatedDuration• nweeks(althoughcriteriadriven)

1.6.4 Assisted OPS Support Phase

EntryCriteria

• SeeexitcriteriaforassistedprojectsupportphaseOperationsFactors(examplesgivenbelow-tailorforyourproject)

• Responsibilityremainswiththeprojectdeliveryteam• Incidentsareallraisedbytheenduser,superuserorprocessfocalpointvia

theServiceDesktotheITOpsTeam• AllincidentsaretrackedinServiceManagementTool• ChangeManagementprocessisfollowedforallchanges• ITOpsteamreceivecallsandperformincidentidentificationandrestoration

ofservices• Projectdeliveryteamareavailabletoassistonrequestinincident

identificationandresolution• ITOpsteamisresponsibleforallsupportactivities,includinganyprocessing

ormaintenancetasks.ExitCriteria(examplesgivenbelow)

• ATOExitcriteriaAnticipatedDuration

• nweeks(althoughcriteriadriven)

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1.6.5 Interim process workflows during the phases Maybeyouwillneedtomodifyworkflowforincident,changeandrequestprocesses.Itisgenerallyagoodideatodocumentandsharethese“interim”workflows.

Figure2–ExampleInterimProcess

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1.7 Effective issue management in projects. TheOpsastoguidanceisquitesimpleandeffective.Doariskassessmentontheissueandthenprioritize.CategorisationtakesplaceusingaRiskAssessmentMatrixthatinturndrivestheprioritisationfollowingaPrioritizationMatrix.Onceyouagreeonthisapproach,thedebatecanbeabouttheimpactandyoucanpreventwastingenergydebatingdifferentperspectivesofthetruth.

Figure3-PriorityMatrix

Figure6-RiskAssessmentMatrix

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AboutOPSASTO

OrganisationslosevaluebecausetheyhavetospendtheirenergyonmanagingissueslongaftertheintroductionofanewITservices.OPSASTO’sOperationalReadinesscanpreventthis.Thecoreideaistolookattheindividualabilityofpeopletodeliverwhatisexpectedandattheorganisations’capabilitytosupportthis.Weuseeightassuranceareastoguideourefforts.Theassurancesareasareournavigationaid.Theyhelpusfocusourattentionwhereitmatters,buttheyarenotadictate.CommonsenseprevailsinOPSASTO.Itistheteamthatmakesitworkandnottheprocessesortools.Itistheteamthatneedstodetermineiftheyarecapableandreadyandnotaprocessoraplan.

TheOPSASTOapproachisawrite-upofgoodpracticesfrommysevenyearsatShellasaSupportabilityandTransitionManagementLead(S&TMLead).S&TMstartedinShellaround2008aftertheformationoftheGlobalITServices&ApplicationManagementGroup.S&TMwastheresponsetothetroublesomeoperationofseveralnewglobalapplications.Ouraimwastogetaheadofthegameandengageearlyintheproject/programtoensureinoperationalreadiness.YoucouldsaythatSupportability&TransitionManagementisaholisticblendofthecombinedServiceDesign,TransitionandOperationideas.

S&TMhasnowbecomeaShellenterprise-wideapproachandhastakenaprominentroleinShell’sProjectDeliveryFramework.ThetoolingthatIdevelopedintheearlyyearshasbeenthebasisforthedevelopmentoftheenterprise-widetoolset.

ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike4.0InternationalLicense.I’mmakingthesematerialsavailablewiththeintenttohelporganisationsandindividualstobuildvaluable,peoplefriendlyservices.Pleasefeel

encouragedtocontactmeforquestions,suggestionsand

observations.

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