mutual-action-planlisted

# Mutual Action Plan ## Purpose Turn a target go-live date into a shared, dated plan the buyer co-owns — so the path to close is explicit, every step has a named owner on both sides, and the hidden gates (decision, procurement, legal, security) surface before they slip the date. ## Inputs - The buyer's target go-live / "value by" date (the only date that matters — work back from it) - Stakeholders on both sides and their roles (champion, EB, procurement, legal, security, IT) - The deal's current stage and what's already committed - Known process requirements (security review, MSA/redlines, vendor onboarding, budget approval) ## Method 1. **Anchor on the go-live date, not the close date.** Ask the buyer: "When do you need this delivering value?" Close date is derived, not chosen. 2. **Backward-plan the milestones.** From go-live, subtract each step's lead time to place it on the calendar. Don't forward-plan from today — that hides the slack you don't have. Typical chain (work right-to-left): - Go-live / onboarding kickoff - Contract signed - Procurement / PO issued - Legal redlines + MSA executed - Security / InfoSec review passed - Verbal commit / decision made - Business case approved by EB - Technical validation / POC complete 3. **Assign an owner on BOTH sides for every milestone.** A milestone with only a seller owner is a wish; one with only a buyer owner is a hope. Each row names a seller owner *and* a buyer owner. Buyer-only st