ERP Go-Live War Room & Day One Checklist

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12 critical items still open - these are the highest-risk gaps.

Download checklist:

Before go-live: set up the war room

War room location or virtual channel agreed and testedCRITICALNamed war room lead with authority to escalateCRITICALRoster of business, IT and vendor staff by shift, including contact numbersCRITICALEscalation path with names for each severity levelSeverity definitions agreed (outage, workaround exists, cosmetic)Issue log tool open with owners and categories readyCRITICALDaily meeting times set for the first two weeksAccess to production confirmed for all support staffVendor support contacts and priority procedures confirmed

Communication

Go-live announcement sent to all users with support instructionsSingle support intake route published (phone, chat or mailbox)CRITICALPlant floor notice with manual fallback steps for critical transactionsCustomer and supplier notices sent where documents or EDI changeDaily status message to leadership scheduledKnown issues list shared with the help desk

Day one: monitor the business

Users can log in with correct roles; failures trackedCRITICALFirst sales order, purchase receipt and production confirmation tested liveCRITICALShipping and invoicing of first orders verifiedInventory transactions posting and visible on stock reportsIntegrations and EDI messages flowing; queues checked hourlyCRITICALBatch jobs and scheduled jobs ran and completedSystem performance and response time watched during peak usePrinting of labels, picking lists and shipping documents confirmedFinance posting and period controls checked

First week: stabilize

All issues triaged daily and assigned an owner within hoursCRITICALWorkarounds documented and communicatedData corrections tracked and approved before runningDaily reconciliation of stock, open orders and cash applicationFloor-walk by super users in each departmentAdditional training sessions scheduled for repeated questionsFixes bundled into controlled transports or releases, not ad hoc changesCRITICALRollback criteria still defined and known to the leadership team

Exit from hypercare

Open critical issues at zero, high issues with datesCRITICALFirst period-end close completed and reviewedSupport transferred to the permanent team with a handover documentCRITICALLessons learned workshop scheduledProject closure and benefits tracking plan agreed

Every critical item should be ticked before day one starts. Treat unticked critical items in the first group as a go/no-go concern.

Hypercare monitoring over your ERP

Optional: ask about read-only dashboards that track orders, receipts and integration queues after go-live.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

Work through the first two groups at least a week before go-live. Print the day-one group for the war room wall or share it on the channel, and tick items as the team verifies them. Use the first-week group as the agenda for daily stand-ups. Export the list with your ticks at the end of each day for the record.

Why a war room works

A single place where decisions are made, issues are logged and status is shared prevents duplicated effort and contradictory instructions. The war room lead owns prioritization, so the team does not argue over which fire to fight first.

One intake route for support requests
One issue log with one owner per item
Fixed meeting times for status and decisions
Clear severity definitions to prioritize

Day one priorities

Prove the business can quote, buy, make, ship and invoice. Test a real order of each type end to end, then watch the integrations and batch jobs that run in the background. Performance problems often appear only at peak load, so watch response times during the busiest hour and keep the technical team on call.

Common mistakes

The usual errors are letting every user email different people, making untracked data fixes in production, and disbanding the project team too early. Keep the experts available for at least the first period-end close, since that is when finance problems tend to appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should the war room run?

Commonly two to four weeks, covering the first period-end close. Reduce hours as issue volume falls, but keep named experts on call until exit criteria are met.

Who should staff it?

A war room lead, functional leads from each area, technical and integration support, super users from the business, and vendor contacts. Staff in shifts if the plant runs more than one.

What severity levels should we use?

Three or four are enough: outage with no workaround, major function degraded with a workaround, minor issue, and request or cosmetic. Define response and resolution targets for each.

Should we make fixes directly in production?

Avoid it. Route fixes through a controlled process, even if expedited, so changes are tested and recorded. Data corrections need approval and an audit trail.

If you want help monitoring ERP transactions and integrations during hypercare, Netray can discuss read-only dashboards over your live ERP data.

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ERP Go-Live War Room and Day-One Checklist