Beyond Go-Live: Embedding Quality and Sustaining Momentum

By Giray Takar, Principal Consultant

The TOM and System Implementation Alignment Series  

Go-live isn’t the end. It’s when the real test of TOM alignment begins. This is where plans meet reality, and long-term value is either secured or slowly slips away. And when it comes to aligning your system and Target Operating Model (TOM), what happens after delivery is just as important as what came before it. 

In this final article of our TOM and System Implementation Alignment Series, we focus on what it takes to maintain TOM alignment, embed quality, and deliver long-term value post-implementation. From ensuring deliverables meet expectations, to tracking performance, to reviewing what worked (and what didn’t), this phase is where long-term success is defined. 

1. Quality Assurance & Deliverable Validation

Quality assurance and deliverable validation ensure that the implemented system supports the desired future-state operations, processes, and strategic objectives of the TOM. 

Key components: 

• Alignment with TOM objectives:
  QA processes must verify that system deliverables support the operational capabilities and efficiencies outlined in the TOM. Validation activities should confirm the system enables the intended business processes, organisational structures, and governance models. 

• Integrated Verification and Validation (V&V):
  A structured V&V approach – such as the V-Model – should be used to pair each development phase with corresponding testing activities. Verification checks that the system has been built correctly, while validation ensures the right configuration has been implemented to meet business needs. 

• Risk-based testing strategy:
  Testing efforts should be prioritised based on risk, focusing on system components that most directly impact TOM alignment and business operations. The TOM itself can be used to identify critical business workflows and processes, helping teams pinpoint where to apply the most rigorous testing. Test cases can then be designed to stress those high-impact areas and validate they perform as intended under real-world conditions. This helps maintain quality without overextending resources. 

• Stakeholder involvement:
  Engaging a broad range of stakeholders in QA and validation processes helps ensure deliverables meet real-world expectations. Their input is critical in validating that the system supports the practical aspects of the TOM. 

• Continuous improvement:
  Feedback loops from QA and validation should feed into ongoing improvements in system development and TOM alignment. This helps ensure the system evolves in line with strategic goals. 

By embedding these practices into the implementation lifecycle, organisations can ensure the final system not only works, but works in the right way to support long-term transformation outcomes. 

2. Performance Monitoring

Collectively,  these elements ensure that the system supports the desired future-state operations, processes and strategic goals. It’s not just about whether the system is running smoothly; it’s about whether it’s enabling the TOM to operate as intended. 

Performance monitoring involves the continuous assessment of the system’s functionality, efficiency, and effectiveness post-deployment. This ensures that the system operates as intended and supports the business processes defined in the TOM.

Key aspects include: 

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Establishing KPIs that reflect both system performance and business outcomes is essential to measure success accurately. These should be driven by the TOM and shaped in collaboration with business stakeholders, who are best placed to define the indicators that show whether the system is enabling the target operating model and flag when performance is falling short. 

• Real-Time Monitoring: Implementing tools and processes to monitor system performance in real-time, enabling prompt identification and resolution of issues. 

• Feedback Loops: Creating mechanisms for end-users to provide feedback, facilitating continuous improvement and alignment with business needs. 

 3. Operational Readiness 

Operational readiness ensures that the organisation is fully prepared to adopt and utilise the new system effectively. This encompasses the readiness of people, processes, and technology to support the system’s operation within the TOM framework.  

Too often, organisations focus heavily on technical readiness while underestimating the process, cultural, and behavioural shifts needed to fully embed the TOM and realise long-term value. One of the most common pitfalls is the final push to get the system over the finish line, treating the delivery like a sprint after a long marathon. In that rush, operational readiness is often deprioritised. But it’s unrealistic to expect complex knowledge, processes, and ways of working developed over months (or years) to be handed over successfully in a matter of days. Getting this right is critical to realising the full benefits of transformation.

Key considerations include: 

• Training and Support: Ensuring that staff are adequately trained and support structures are in place to facilitate smooth adoption. 

• Process Alignment: Verifying that business processes are updated and aligned with the system’s capabilities and the TOM. 

• Infrastructure and Tools: Confirming that the necessary infrastructure and tools are in place to support the system’s operation. 

4. Post-Implementation Review

A post-implementation review (PIR) is a structured evaluation conducted after the system has been deployed to assess its success and identify lessons learned. This review ensures that the system delivers the expected benefits and supports the TOM.

Key components include: 

• Assessment of Objectives: Evaluating whether the system meets the defined objectives and supports the desired business outcomes. 

• Identification of Issues: Documenting any issues encountered during implementation and their resolutions to inform future projects. 

• Continuous Improvement: Developing action plans based on the review findings to enhance system performance and alignment with the TOM. 

Post-implementation reviews should never be treated as box-ticking exercises. When done well, they serve as strategic checkpoints, a chance to reflect, course-correct, and ensure that both the system and the operating model are delivering real-world value. 

What’s next 

Go-live may feel like the end of the journey, but for TOM and system alignment, it’s just the start of a new phase. At this stage, the focus shifts from delivery to sustainment ensuring the system continues to support the TOM, and that the organisation is equipped to adapt, evolve and optimise as reality kicks in. 

Without the right focus post-implementation, even well-designed programmes can drift. Quality can slip. Teams can revert to old habits. And the gap between system functionality and operating model intent can quietly grow. 

For a deeper look at how to manage this phase effectively, read our guide to post-implementation support essentials. 

Lasting transformation requires a Day 2 mindset from Day 1 because what you embed into BAU after go-live is what ultimately determines success. 

How Liqueo can help 

At Liqueo, we specialise in delivering complex system implementations and TOM-led transformation for asset and wealth managers. Our experts combine specialist domain expertise with hands-on delivery experience – so we understand both the strategic intent behind the TOM, and the technical realities of making it happen. 

Whether you’re at the early planning stages or need a reset mid-delivery, we help clients stay aligned, avoid the common pitfalls, and deliver outcomes that last. 

If you’re planning a transformation and want to make sure your system and TOM are working together from day one, get in touch.

Read article one ‘Start Strong: Aligning Vision and Delivery from Day One’ here.