Path to Live
How HPS1 Consulting takes services from idea to live operations — repeatably, safely and with measurable outcomes.
“Transformation isn’t just about change — it’s about control. We design the path, manage the risk and make every go-live a confident one. Chaos … Control … Calm”
Our guiding principles
- Design for operations: every service is designed with its run state in mind (SLAs, SLOs, support model, monitoring, costs).
- Risk-first: we map the path and the journey, identify and qualify potential risks early, agree mitigations or business acceptances, and keep a living Service Risk Register throughout the engagement.
- Progress iteratively with visibility: embed with delivery teams, assure in sprints, and make evidence visible at each gate.
- One team: align delivery, service and suppliers under clear RACI, with SIAM-aware ways of working.
- Evidence over opinion: we move forward on traceable artefacts, test results and operational readiness checks.
Overview of the Path-to-Live Framework
Our framework aligns with ITIL (Design, Transition, Operate, Improve) and integrates agile delivery practices. It’s pragmatic, not prescriptive — balancing governance with speed. The nine elements below include one optional pre-gate and the seven core gates, plus a continual improvement loop.
Gate 0 (optional): Service Vision & Portfolio Sizing
“Design for operations from day one.”
Purpose: connect demand to strategy and benefits. Agree the service vision, value hypothesis and success measures. Confirm portfolio fit, rough costs and dependencies, and nominate executive ownership.
Key outputs: vision statement & success metrics (OKRs), high‑level service model, business case outline, portfolio entry record.
Gate 1: Demand & Screening`
“Every great service starts with a clear yes.”
Validate new or changed service demand and confirm capacity to support it. Assign an SDI lead and set the initial timeline and commercials guardrails.
Key outputs: approved demand record; named SDI lead; initial RAID; stakeholder map.
Gate 2: Initiation & Scoping
“We qualify risks before they qualify us.”
Embed Service Design & Transition (SDI) specialists with the project team. Define scope, roles and ways of working; agree early artefacts and set baselines for measurement.
Key activities: workshop the Service Design Document (SDD), scope Non‑Functional Requirements (NFRs), define Service Acceptance Criteria (SAC), establish RACI/RTM, start the Service Risk Register, stand up the comms & change‑enablement plan, and capture the performance baseline.
Key outputs: scoped SDD; NFR shortlist with owners & sign‑offs; draft SAC; initial RACI/RTM; risk register; change communications plan; performance baseline.
Gate 3: Design, Build & Test
“Measure twice, deliver once.”
Iteratively design, build and test the service with SDI embedded in delivery. Assure that NFRs are designed, implemented and evidenced; expand design artefacts and prepare for operational acceptance.
Key activities: iterate the SDD and build the Service Design Package (SDP); run Service Validation & Testing; prepare Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) plans; draft runbooks/SOPs; confirm monitoring/observability; define support model; ensure security, continuity and data protection requirements are met; update risk/mitigation status.
Key outputs: evolving SDP; NFR evidence (tests, sign‑offs or exceptions); OAT plan; knowledge base skeleton; draft runbooks; support model; updated risk status and back‑out approach.
Gate 4: Operational Readiness Review (Go/No‑Go)
“Great services don’t go live by accident.”
Formal checkpoint for leadership assurance. We confirm the service, processes and support structure are fit for purpose; that the service can be operated safely and sustainably; and that open risks have agreed mitigations or business acceptances.
Key activities: evidence review against SAC; OAT execution; rehearsal & back‑out; DR/continuity checks as appropriate; security & compliance sign‑off; service credit/SLA alignment with suppliers; change enablement & comms readiness; finalise dashboards and on‑call arrangements.
Key outputs: Operational Readiness Report; Go/No‑Go decision; approved deployment/change; hypercare plan & exit criteria.
Gate 5: Early Life Support / Hypercare
“Stability is success measured in hours, not weeks.”
Run the service live with enhanced monitoring and focused triage. Daily stand‑ups, incident trend reviews and rapid defect resolution reduce time‑to‑stability.
Key outputs: live performance dashboard; incident/problem trend reports; knowledge updates; hypercare exit criteria met.
Gate 6: Handover to Business‑as‑Usual
“Success is a Service Acceptance Sign off.”
Transfer ownership to BAU teams. Complete knowledge transfer, training and acceptance. Update the CMDB and close transition tasks.
Key outputs: signed Service Acceptance Certificate; finalised runbooks/SOPs; updated configuration & knowledge items; contractual handover notes.
Gate 7: Continual Improvement & Benefits Realisation
“Performance today is nothing without momentum tomorrow.”
Close the loop with a 30/60/90‑day review against baselines and benefits. Feed lessons back into the NFR library and templates; prioritise the improvement backlog and confirm ownership.
Key outputs: service improvement plan; benefits realisation update; refreshed NFR library; updated artefact templates.
Cross‑cutting practices
- Risk Management (M_o_R): continuous identification, qualification (likelihood/impact), mitigation ownership and business acceptance.
- SIAM & Supplier Governance: clarify interfaces and accountabilities through RACI/RTM; align contracts and service credits to the operating model.
- Change Enablement & Communications: prepare users and support teams for new or changed services; clear comms at each gate.
- Security & Compliance by Design: threat, vulnerability and privacy requirements baked into NFRs with accountable sign‑offs.
- Observability & SRE Basics: define KPIs/SLOs, alert thresholds, logging and dashboards; agree error budgets where relevant.
- Knowledge & Training: capture KEDB, KB articles and handover packs; train BAU teams before go‑live.
Standard artefact pack (what we produce for every IT Service Design and Transition)
- Service Design Document (SDD) and Service Design Package (SDP).
- Non‑Functional Requirements (NFR) library selections with test evidence and owner sign‑offs.
- Service Acceptance Criteria (SAC) and (where needed) Technical Acceptance Criteria (TAC).
- RACI and Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM).
- Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) plan and results.
- Runbooks/SOPs, Knowledge base articles and training materials.
- Risk Register with mitigations and decision log; Operational Readiness Report; Service Acceptance Certificate.
- Hypercare plan, dashboards and exit report; 30/60/90‑day review pack.