Operating Readiness Checklist
Check the evidence needed to keep a workflow useful after launch.
Use this guide to structure a discussion, then record your answers in the editable template or printable PDF. Use synthetic or authorized information. A named person owns each decision.
1. Review readiness with evidence
Use ready, not ready, or unknown for each item. Unknown needs an owner and a next action. Do not average critical gaps into a launch score.
- Accountability
- Named business owner, technical owner, and decision authority?
- Sources and access
- Approved permissions, current sources, version owner, and retention position?
- Human authority
- Permitted actions, required reviews, and escalation tested?
- Quality and monitoring
- Representative tests, live checks, and review cadence defined?
- Support and recovery
- Support route, stop control, and manual fallback demonstrated?
- Adoption and capacity
- Users trained, review time protected, and support funded?
- Value and costs
- Baseline, cost owner, outcome measure, and review date agreed?
See a completed companion example
- Accountability
- Service-desk lead, platform partner, and policy specialist named in the handoff.
- Sources and access
- Approved corpus; policy owner maintains version register; no personnel records.
- Human authority
- Draft-only boundary and eligibility escalation verified on synthetic tests.
- Quality and monitoring
- Owner samples citations weekly; source changes trigger re-evaluation.
- Support and recovery
- Lead can pause drafting; analysts use the approved manual process.
- Adoption and capacity
- Analysts rehearse escalation; specialist has a confirmed review allocation.
- Value and costs
- Track active handling minutes including review; reconcile recurring tool and support costs.
2. Make the operating decision
Record go, conditional go, hold, or stop with the authorized owner. Conditional use must name its scope, expiry, and unmet conditions.
- Blocking gap
- What unresolved condition prevents routine use?
- Operating commitment
- Who does what after handoff?
- Decision and review
- Who authorized the next stage, and when does it expire or get reviewed?
See a completed companion example
- Blocking gap
- Policy versions conflict; hold until the policy owner resolves them.
- Operating commitment
- Named owners accept source upkeep, weekly sampling, support, and incident response.
- Decision and review
- Business owner approves a limited pilot after all blocking gaps are resolved; review after two weeks.
Record the next decision.
What will you do next, who owns it, and when will you review the evidence? Keep unresolved assumptions visible.