Go Live Checklist for WMS

WMS Go Live Implementation Checklist

Every implementation needs a Go Live Checklist for WMS so your team can systematically ensure that no critical steps were overlooked in the leadup to a major deployment.  Below is a handy top-down, overall go live checklist for wms that we left blank so you can cut-and-paste, make a handful of tweaks specific to your project, and GO.  You might also need an additional “customer expectations” or “deliverables” checklist depending on the scale of the project and your customer agreement(s).  Please consider this a companion piece to our equally helpful Go Live Nuggets of Wisdom article. 

 

 

Assignments and User Roles  

 

Completed Y/N

 

Comments

 

Sign-Off

 

Date

 

System and database administrators, project managers, team leads, developers, and users are identified and understand their roles, responsibilities, and timelines

 

 

 

 

 

 

User accounts are configured in the production instance(s) with the appropriate privileges, and verified to work on their respective devices/platforms prior to go live

 

 

 

 

 

 

All required physical and virtual resources are budgeted and earmarked for use prior to go live

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication and workspace plans are in place

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any customizations or deviations from standard product are known and assigned to specific developers, and have been signed off on by the customer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training and Documentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Users understand the basic project plan, naming conventions/terms, and where to go for assistance

 

 

 

 

 

 

Users have been trained on their tasks, best-practices, and responsibilities and have clearly demonstrated competence

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key users are ready to assist and support the implementation

 

 

 

 

 

 

All processes, including SOP, have been documented to agreed-upon standards and copies are available to everyone involved

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training materials are available to everyone involved and are designed to be updated as needed for future versions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any RF function keys or other helpful shortcuts are documented and available as needed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Conversion

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data conversions have been performed and all of the master and transactional data are loaded and verified into the production instance

 

 

 

 

 

 

All transactions have been removed from the production instance

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data backup and database maintenance strategies have been agreed upon and tested

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutover / Migration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone involved agrees to the cutover plan and timeline

 

 

 

 

 

 

All open orders and receipts are closed and completed in currents system prior to go live

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any necessary rollouts or hotfixes have been applied in the proper sequence and according to schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial vendor and customer infrastructure compatibility and reliability check

 

 

 

 

 

 

End-to-end user acceptance testing has been performed, and the customer has signed off that all issues have been resolved and all connections between the WMS vendor and customer instances are verified working

 

 

 

 

 

 

Integration testing has been performed on the entire production system (including any involved ERP systems), and the customer has signed off that all issues have been resolved

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regression testing has been performed (preferably via an automated testing solution) on the entire production system for key user flows like receiving, putaway, picking, inventory management, and dispatch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance/Volume testing has been performed on the entire system using peak production volumes, and the customer has signed off that the response times are adequate

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hardware and Consumables

 

 

 

 

 

 

All workstations and instances have been identified and configured, and can connect to production instances

 

 

 

 

 

 

All report and label printers have been identified and configured, and have had at least several test prints performed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any required RF devices, scanners, and scales have been identified and configured, and tested to read bar codes, and can connect to the production instances

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any required scanners and scales have been identified and configured, and can connect to the production instances

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adequate quantities of toner and/or label stock have been acquired to support printing reports and labels

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Go Live

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any support personnel or other team members remaining on-site are known to everyone involved in the project

 

 

 

 

 

 

The support ticket process and review schedule has been communicated to everyone involved in the project

 

 

 

 

 

 

Success metrics and KPIs are in place to track the progress post go live

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disaster recovery/contingency procedures and business continuity plans are in place for worst-case scenarios, including a master inventory data reload option

 

 

 

 

 

 

All customer agreements (whether tied to service levels, performance, capacity, etc…) have processes in place to measure, manage, and track them

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post was written by:

James Prior
James Prior Sales Ops Manager  James has been working in software pre-sales and implementation since 2000, and more recently settled into working with a pre-sales team and occasionally writing blog posts. Drop him a line at: james.prior[at]tryonsolutions[dot]com.

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