Cutover planning is critical for successful transition to BAU. The cutover strategy can influence virtually every aspect of a project and should be agreed early in the project lifecycle. 

It is best practice to agree on the implementation approach from the start of the project. The amount of effort required to plan the approach will depend on the business objectives, complexity of the project, go-live

deadline, number of implementation options and other factors. 

There can be a tendency to push this planning work back, especially on projects with a go-live date of eighteen months or more in the future. This is a mistake because the implementation strategy can impact development, testing, training and other activities.

It is best practice to base the implementation strategy on a

risk-averse approach. This may seem obvious, but many projects do not give this the amount of thought required. Things to consider include:

• Implementation prerequisites.
• Cutover impact on operations.
• Freeze points. (When the existing system, or parts of the system, will no longer be used.)
• Quality Assurance.
• Dependencies.
• Key dates.
• Risk management.