8 days to go live

With 8 days to go the hope is that the the project is ready for go live. Code should be locked down by now or very close. All functions have been tested and all major defects resolved. Unfortunately many IT projects get to this point and have one or more significant errors that the team is frantically trying to fix. The question then is how long should this continue before we throw in the towel and reschedule the go live. There is no single answer to this question. In reality the answer depends on many factors including:

• Is the cause of the defect known and a fix imminent?
• What is the risk of going live vs. the risk of delay?
• What is the real and potential cost of the delay?
• Can the company be fined if the project is delayed?
• What bad thing happens if you go live and there is a major issue?
•  How much risk can the company tolerate?
• How much manual work is introduced if part of the application is not functional?
• Can data be corrupted?

I have heard the mantra from many executives that we will not go live with major defects. This mantra does not hold true because of the questions above. Instead of coming up with an arbitrary answer, look at the project and answer the above questions. Doing so will help you decide when to charge ahead and when not to be the Light Brigade.