# Operating Readiness Checklist

Check the evidence needed to keep a workflow useful after launch.

Built Into Work | Vic Akosile | Version 1.0 | October 5, 2026

For: Product owners, operations leads, and technology partners
Use when: Before routine use, after major changes, and at handoff
Suggested time: 30 minutes

Use synthetic or authorized information. Keep sensitive work in approved tools. A named person owns each decision. These tools support discussion and planning; they are not validated assessments.

## 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?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Sources and access

Approved permissions, current sources, version owner, and retention position?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Human authority

Permitted actions, required reviews, and escalation tested?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Quality and monitoring

Representative tests, live checks, and review cadence defined?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Support and recovery

Support route, stop control, and manual fallback demonstrated?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Adoption and capacity

Users trained, review time protected, and support funded?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Value and costs

Baseline, cost owner, outcome measure, and review date agreed?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

## 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?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Operating commitment

Who does what after handoff?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

### Decision and review

Who authorized the next stage, and when does it expire or get reviewed?

Your response:

________________________________________________________________

## Completed companion example

All organizations, workflows, numbers, and results in these examples are fictional and provided for learning. Targets are proposed decision criteria, not validated standards or promised outcomes.

**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.

**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.

## Working record

Owner:
Review date:
Decision:
Evidence still needed:

Original guide: https://builtinto.work/resources/operating-readiness