Behind the Scenes of a Successful Go-Live
Lessons and Stories from the Frontlines
When it comes to going live with Maximo, there’s a lot more happening behind the scenes than most people realize. It’s not just about turning on a system, it’s about months of planning, testing, training, and making sure everything works just right. Think of it like putting on a major concert or organizing a huge sporting event like the Super Bowl. It takes a lot of people, working together, to make it all come together.
At MRM-EAM, our team puts in long hours—often working late nights and early mornings—to make sure everything runs smoothly. The goal? A successful launch that meets the needs of our customers, their organizations, and all the stakeholders involved.
In this blog, we share real stories and lessons learned from our team’s experience with a large-scale Maximo go-live. You’ll get an inside look at what it takes to prepare, what challenges we faced, and what worked best—straight from the people who lived it.
What is a Go-Live Event?
A go-live event marks the official launch of a new or upgraded system into a live production environment. In enterprise software projects, like those involving IBM Maximo, it represents the point when all planned configurations, data migrations, integrations, and testing efforts culminate in a fully functional system that users begin operating in real-world conditions. It’s a critical milestone that signifies the transition from project development to operational use, often requiring intensive preparation, monitoring, and support to ensure a smooth cutover and minimal disruption to business operations.
Over the past six months, MRM-EAM has been actively preparing for a major project milestone known as the go-live. This event involved upgrading two Maximo environments (from version 7.6.1), consolidating them into a single-site configuration, and replacing two existing mobile platforms with a unified 3rd party mobile solution. Rather than focusing on the earlier phases of the project—such as solution architecture, design, requirements gathering, and system build—this blog will highlight the key activities, challenges, and insights experienced during the go-live phase.
Preparing for Go-Live
Once the go-live date was confirmed, the first step was preparation—not just technically, but personally. Team members adjusted to extended work hours and reviewed critical documentation. This included ensuring all Maximo components, object structures, interface tables, publish channels, were in place and tested. Because this particular project involved a large-scale migration of one Mobile solution to be replaced with another and significant Maximo changes (Security Groups, Data Restrictions, Application changes, Domains, Workflow and so much more), coordination was key. The team followed structured checklists covering pre-go-live tasks (e.g., system backups), live day activities (e.g., validations), and post-go-live follow-up (e.g., smoke testing).
System Readiness: Validation Before and After
Testing and validation formed the backbone of the go-live plan. Multiple dry runs—three plus a UAT run—allowed the team to simulate the go-live procedure (minus the 24-hour push), test timing, validate data accuracy, and identify potential issues. These simulations rotated team members across tasks to ensure that everyone could handle any step of the process. This approach ensured flexibility and resilience during the actual event. Validation scripts were run at key stages to ensure deployed configurations worked as expected, and discrepancies were logged and resolved.
Data validation was thorough and multi-tiered, comparing source and target systems to flag missing or extra records. In most cases, the team achieved a 98% success rate prior to go-live. Moreover, comprehensive backup and restore procedures were tested to ensure a safe rollback if necessary—though this was seen as a last resort.
Testing Integrations: Trust But Verify
With numerous third-party integrations in play, validation wasn’t limited to Maximo alone. Logs were constantly monitored during dry runs and post-go-live for any anomalies. Escalations and cron tasks were activated and tracked, and testing environments were used to replicate and troubleshoot errors before deploying fixes to production. Client teams were closely involved, especially where external systems were managed by other own departments.
Ensuring User Readiness: Training and Familiarization
User training was tailored depending on the nature of the change. For users moving to a brand-new mobile app, the design was made familiar by mimicking legacy workflows while improving inefficiencies. Minor changes for existing users required little training but still included change communication.
The team relied on regular feedback loops, testing participation, and gatekeeper checkpoints to build user confidence. Point-of-contact users acted as intermediaries, communicating changes to broader teams and ensuring organizational awareness.
Communication with Stakeholders: Transparency and Timing
MRM-EAM maintained ongoing communication with stakeholders through regular project meetings and direct liaison with business leads. Go-live dates evolved over time based on readiness and client testing, with the final date confirmed roughly a month before deployment. The team worked from a master schedule, aligning goals and adjusting timelines as needed.
Internally, daily scrums and shared updates via Microsoft Teams ensured everyone knew the current project status, key decisions, and issues. Communication was consistent, transparent, and collaborative.
Staying Organized: The Power of Documentation
The team relied on several tools to stay organized: Word documents for technical steps, Excel sheets for time tracking, SharePoint for collaboration, and the all-important go-live playbook. The playbook served as a live document detailing every step in the cutover sequence, issue tracking, and contingency measures.
Team Support and Knowledge Sharing
Go-live wasn’t just a technical event; it was a team event. Colleagues supported each other through communication, handovers, and shared responsibilities. Shifts were rotated, knowledge was cross-trained, and open communication ensured that no one person carried the weight alone. When one shift ended, detailed handoffs ensured continuity and clarity.
Handling Issues: Identification, Logging, and Resolution
Issues during go-live were logged directly in the playbook, with a column dedicated to root causes and resolutions. Impact assessments helped determine urgency: could the user continue work, or was the issue critical? If needed, fixes were tested in lower environments before deployment to production.
Having backups, validation scripts, and issue resolution protocols in place gave the team confidence to adapt quickly and avoid major disruptions.
Final Thoughts: What Makes a Go-Live Successful?
A successful go-live isn’t about luck, it’s the result of careful planning, clear communication, and strong teamwork. Just like putting on a Broadway show, hosting a major sporting event like the Super Bowl, or running a large-scale Maximo conference, it takes perseverance, coordination, and trust in the team.
At MRM-EAM, we followed our playbook, leaned on each other, and worked closely with our client every step of the way. We ran rehearsals, prepared for the unexpected, and stayed in sync—from first planning meetings to the final launch. Thanks to that shared effort and commitment, the go-live didn’t just happen—it was a success.
If you’re planning a Maximo go-live, consider this your blueprint for success.