Feature checklist complete—but temp accounts still open, backups never restored, rollback steps say "call vendor." That go-live stops business on first incident. Security drills belong in the plan: whose accounts expire, where backups restore, which rollback checklist runs. Failed drill—no production cutover.
Executable means people, time, and pass criteria. Rollback in an appendix equals no rollback.
Run Three Things Once
Revoke temp accounts and scan leftovers. Restore backup to isolated environment; verify key tables. Roll back per checklist; measure duration. Failures become defects—not "fix after go-live."
- Vendor on-call is not a rollback step.
- Drill records keep screenshots and timestamps for audit.
- Access open and close on same ticket as go-live.
Pass Drill Before Cutover
The XYN digital intelligence system makes go-live checklists require accounts, backup, rollback—all three pass. Features may phase; these three cannot be owed. Owed security collects with interest on the first failure day.
Before next go-live ask: did anyone restore a backup last night? No—drill first, then pick cutover window.
