Go Live Readiness

SAP Go-Live Readiness Assessment

This skill enforces evidence-based go-live approval — blocking the "everything looks good" declaration and replacing it with a mandatory, dimension-by-dimension readiness checklist where every Green status requires attached evidence, not assertion.

Iron Laws

1. NEVER DECLARE "GO-LIVE READY" WITHOUT COMPLETING EVERY CHECKLIST ITEM. Partial readiness is not readiness. A system that is 95% ready is not ready. Missing items are documented risks, not excuses to proceed.
2. RED STATUS ITEMS BLOCK GO-LIVE — NO EXCEPTIONS, NO OVERRIDES. A Red item means the condition is unmet. No business pressure, no timeline argument, and no seniority overrides a Red status. Red = stop.
3. EVERY READINESS CLAIM MUST HAVE ATTACHED EVIDENCE, NOT ASSERTION. "Training is complete" is an assertion. A signed training attendance register is evidence. "Data is loaded" is an assertion. A business-approved reconciliation report is evidence.
4. NEVER SKIP BUSINESS SIGN-OFF ON DATA MIGRATION RECONCILIATION. Business owners — not technical teams — must confirm that migrated data is correct. A Basis consultant saying "data looks good" is not business sign-off.
5. GO/NO-GO DECISION REQUIRES NAMED DECISION-MAKERS, NOT CONSENSUS. The decision must be owned by identified individuals who are accountable for it. "The team agreed" is not a Go/No-Go decision.
6. AMBER STATUS REQUIRES FORMAL RISK ACCEPTANCE BEFORE PROCEEDING. An Amber item with no documented risk acceptance is a hidden Red. Every Amber must have a named risk owner, a mitigation action, and a written acceptance.

Rationalization Table

Red Flags

Watch for these phrases in your own reasoning — each signals an Iron Law violation:

• "I believe we're ready..." → Belief is not evidence. Show the checklist with evidence attached. Stop.
• "Everything looks good..." → "Looks good" is not a readiness status. RAG status per dimension is a readiness status. Stop.
• "We can fix it after go-live..." → Post-go-live fixes under production pressure cost 10x more and create business disruption. Document it as a Red or formal risk — do not proceed silently. Stop.
• "It should work in production..." → Should is not evidence. Test it in production after cutover and confirm it does work. Stop.
• "The team is confident..." → Team confidence does not replace a signed checklist. Stop.
• "We're close enough..." → There is no "close enough" gate in this skill. Every item is met or it is not. Stop.
• "We'll track the outstanding items as hypercare tasks..." → Hypercare is for live issues, not for unmet go-live conditions. Stop.
• "Security roles were done months ago, they're fine..." → Role assignments and SoD checks must be re-verified on the production system post-transport, not assumed from configuration activity. Stop.

Checklist

1. Technical Readiness — Verify system performance, monitoring, backup, and disaster recovery.

   • System performance verified via ST03N (workload monitor): response time within SLA for critical transactions
   • Background job schedule confirmed in SM36; all production batch jobs scheduled and tested in SM37
   • System monitoring configured: CCMS alerts (RZ20), system log monitoring (SM21), ABAP dump tracking (ST22)
   • Backup and recovery tested: last successful backup confirmed, restore test completed with documented RTO
   • Disaster recovery plan in place with documented RTO/RPO and named DR coordinator
   • Transport landscape locked: production client open only for authorized transports; no debug-and-change (S_DEVEL restriction in PFCG confirmed)
   • Evidence: ST03N screenshot, SM37 job list, RZ20 alert configuration screenshot, backup log, DR plan document
   • Gate: All technical items Green or Amber with documented risk acceptance

2. Functional Readiness — Verify all test scenarios passed, training complete, and user documentation available.

   • UAT sign-off document in hand (from testing-strategy skill output)
   • Zero open P1 defects; all P2 defects resolved or formally risk-accepted
   • End-user training completed: attendance register signed, assessment pass rates documented
   • User guides and job aids published and accessible to business users
   • Super-user network identified and briefed: key users per module named and available for day-one support
   • Evidence: Signed UAT sign-off, defect log showing zero P1, training attendance register, user guide publication confirmation
   • Gate: All functional items Green or Amber with documented risk acceptance

3. Organizational Readiness — Verify support model, hypercare plan, and escalation paths.

   • Support model documented: who handles P1/P2/P3/P4 issues post-go-live, with names and contact details
   • Hypercare plan ready: war room location/bridge, shift schedule, escalation matrix, exit criteria defined
   • Escalation path documented for each module area: functional consultant → solution architect → client IT manager
   • Business process owners briefed and available during go-live week (no planned leave on Day 1-5)
   • External support agreements confirmed: SAP Support (OSS) licence active, BASIS support contract active
   • Evidence: Hypercare plan document, support model org chart, escalation matrix, OSS access confirmation
   • Gate: All organizational items Green or Amber with documented risk acceptance

4. Data Readiness — Verify migration complete, reconciled, and formally accepted by business.

   • All data objects (master data and transactional data in scope) migrated to production
   • Reconciliation report produced comparing source system record counts to SAP load counts
   • Business data owners have reviewed and signed off on the reconciliation report — not the technical team
   • Data quality exceptions documented and formally accepted or remediated
   • Reference data (number ranges via SNRO, fiscal year settings via OB52, plant parameters) verified in production
   • Evidence: Migration load logs, reconciliation report with business signature, number range screenshot from production
   • Gate: Business-signed reconciliation report in hand. If unsigned, status is Red.

5. Integration Readiness — Verify all interfaces tested end-to-end in production and partner confirmations received.

   • All interface connections verified in production via SM59 (RFC), SXMB_MONI (PI/PO message monitor), or equivalent
   • End-to-end integration test executed in production post-cutover for all critical interfaces (not test system results)
   • EDI trading partner confirmations received in writing for all B2B interfaces
   • Error handling and alerting configured for each interface: SXMB_MONI alert rules, BTP integration monitoring
   • Idoc reprocessing procedure documented and tested (BD87 for inbound, WE19 for outbound reprocessing)
   • Evidence: SM59 connection test screenshots, SXMB_MONI clean message log, partner confirmation emails, error handling procedure
   • Gate: All interfaces showing Green in production. No interface left as "will test after go-live."

6. Security Readiness — Verify roles assigned, SoD clean, and audit logging enabled.

   • All production user accounts created and roles assigned in production system (SU01 / SU10)
   • Role assignments transported from quality to production and verified — not assumed from transport log
   • SoD conflict check run using GRC Access Control or manual SUIM analysis; all critical conflicts resolved or formally mitigated
   • Audit logging enabled (SM19 / RSAU_CONFIG): security audit log active with appropriate filter for critical events
   • Firefighter / emergency access IDs configured and tested (GRC EAM or manual procedure)
   • Default SAP* and DDIC passwords changed in all clients; production client locked for SAP* login
   • Evidence: SU01 user list with role assignments, SoD conflict report showing zero unmitigated critical conflicts, SM19 active audit log screenshot
   • Gate: All security items Green. SoD conflicts with no mitigation = Red. No exceptions.

Deliverable Template

Go-Live Readiness Assessment — RAG Decision Matrix

GO-LIVE READINESS ASSESSMENT
Project: [Name]  |  Assessment Date: [Date]  |  Planned Go-Live: [Date]
Assessed by: [Name, Role]

DIMENSION SUMMARY
-----------------
Dimension         | Status | Evidence Ref        | Risk Owner (if Amber) | Notes
------------------|--------|---------------------|----------------------|-------
Technical         | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |
Functional        | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |
Organizational    | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |
Data              | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |
Integration       | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |
Security          | [R/A/G]| [Doc ref]           | [Name if Amber]      |

OVERALL STATUS: [RED — Do Not Proceed | AMBER — Conditional Proceed | GREEN — Proceed]

OUTSTANDING RED ITEMS
---------------------
[List each Red item with: Dimension | Item | Owner | Resolution Required By]

AMBER RISK ACCEPTANCES
----------------------
[List each Amber item with: Dimension | Item | Risk Owner | Acceptance Date | Mitigation]

GO/NO-GO DECISION RECORD
-------------------------
Functional Sign-Off:   [Name, Role] — [ ] GO  [ ] NO-GO — Date: ___
Technical Sign-Off:    [Name, Role] — [ ] GO  [ ] NO-GO — Date: ___
Executive Sign-Off:    [Name, Role] — [ ] GO  [ ] NO-GO — Date: ___

FINAL DECISION: [ ] GO   [ ] NO-GO   Decision Time: [Date/Time]
Conditions: [Any conditions attached to a conditional GO]

Verification

This skill is complete ONLY when ALL of the following are true:

• All six readiness dimensions assessed with evidence references documented
• Zero Red items remain (or go-live has been formally postponed)
• Every Amber item has documented risk acceptance with a named risk owner and date
• Business-signed data migration reconciliation report in hand
• Integration interfaces verified in the production system (not test system)
• Security: SoD report showing zero unmitigated critical conflicts; audit logging confirmed active
• Named decision-makers across functional, technical, and executive dimensions have individually signed
• Completed and signed Go/No-Go Decision Record exists with timestamp

Evidence required: Completed RAG Decision Matrix, all dimension evidence documents, Go/No-Go Decision Record with signatures.

If any item is unchecked, the Go/No-Go is NOT complete. Do not issue a Go recommendation. Do not allow go-live to proceed.

Next Skill

After completing this skill, invoke: hypercare Conditions for handoff: Go/No-Go decision is GO, system is live, and first users are logging in. Hypercare mobilization must begin the moment go-live is declared — not after the first issue appears.

Cross-References

• cutover-planning — Cutover execution is the prerequisite that enables this readiness assessment
• testing-strategy — UAT sign-off feeds directly into Functional Readiness dimension
• data-migration — Business-signed reconciliation report is a required input for Data Readiness
• hypercare — Hypercare plan is assessed under Organizational Readiness; must be ready before Go
• sap-security-auditor agent — Use to run automated SoD conflict analysis and role assignment verification