SAP S/4HANA go-live training readiness checklist

A go-live is a date; readiness is a state. This is a practical, phase-by-phase checklist to tell whether your people will be ready to operate the new system on day one — or learning it live.

How to use this: work it per business process and per role, not as one project-wide tick-box. A process is "ready" when the people who perform it can complete it correctly, unaided, in a safe environment — before go-live.

Phase 1 · Foundations (designs stabilising)

Before you build anything

Process scope confirmed — the business processes in scope are listed, each with an owner.
Role matrix exists — who performs which process, and at what step.
Source documents gathered — BPDs / fit-to-standard outputs / process maps / test scripts per process.
Deltas identified — the configured, enhanced, stripped and net-new steps that differ from standard SAP.
Learning needs analysis done — content scoped by need (criticality, frequency), not by document length.
Brand and language requirements known — which brand, which languages, which accessibility standard (target: WCAG 2.2 AA).

Phase 2 · Build (realisation)

While the content is produced

Learning objectives written — per role, per process, mapped to Bloom levels.
Content built from your configured process — not generic best practice.
A complete journey per role — concept (course/story), reinforcement (microlearning), practice (simulation / hands-on), reference (job aid), validation (knowledge check).
SAP accuracy gate passed — every artefact checked against standard + your configuration.
Accessibility gate passed — WCAG 2.2 AA: keyboard, screen-reader, contrast, reduced-motion.
Packaging confirmed — SCORM / HTML / content index that your LMS (or learners) can actually consume.
Review rounds tracked — functional and business sign-off recorded per artefact.

Phase 3 · Practice (test system available)

Before you call anyone "trained"

Simulation available — learners can watch, then try, the real screens safely.
Hands-on exercises ready — task, test data, expected result and checkpoints, in a practice client.
Decision points rehearsed — what to do when a PO is blocked, an invoice won't match, an exception fires.
Super-users / trainers accredited — they can run the process and coach others.
Time-to-competence measured — not just "completed," but completed correctly and unaided.

Phase 4 · Go-live and after

Sustaining it past day one

Job aids at the desk — the one-page quick reference where the work happens.