Sustainment Management: What Happens After Go-Live (And Why It Matters)
Here's the truth nobody tells you in PMP prep courses: go-live isn't the finish line. It's mile marker one of a marathon you didn't know you signed up for. The real work; the work that determines whether your project becomes a success story or a cautionary tale; happens after everyone thinks the project is "done." That's sustainment management, and if you're not thinking about it before launch day, you're already behind.
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What Is Sustainment Management (And Why Should You Care)?
Sustainment management is the strategic oversight of a project's deliverables after the implementation phase ends. It's the ongoing support, maintenance, optimization, and evolution of what you've built; basically, it's making sure your hard work doesn't turn into a very expensive paperweight.
Think of it this way: you wouldn't buy a car and never change the oil, rotate the tires, or get tune-ups, right? The same logic applies to projects. Sustainment management ensures your deliverables continue to function, adapt, and provide value long after the project team disbands.
Here's why sustainment management matters more than ever:
ROI doesn't stop at go-live: The real return on investment happens when users actually adopt and continuously use what you've delivered
Business needs evolve: What worked on launch day might need adjustments six months later
Technical debt is real: Systems degrade, integrations break, and technology advances
User adoption isn't automatic: People need ongoing support to fully embrace new solutions
Competitive advantage: Organizations that sustain their projects well outperform those that don't
7 Essential Components of a Solid Sustainment Management Strategy
1. Clear Ownership and Governance Structure
Someone needs to own this thing after you're gone. Not "someone will figure it out" ownership, but documented, agreed-upon, "this person's performance review depends on it" ownership.
Your sustainment governance should include:
A designated product owner or system capability owner
Clear escalation paths for issues and decisions
Regular review cadences (monthly, quarterly)
Defined roles and responsibilities
Budget authority and approval processes
Pro tip: establish this governance structure during your project, not after. Loop in your sustainment owners early so they're invested from the start.
2. Comprehensive Documentation and Knowledge Transfer
If your documentation consists of random Confluence pages, scattered emails, and "just ask Dave; he knows how it works," you're in trouble. Especially when Dave gets a new job.
Effective sustainment documentation includes:
System architecture and technical specifications
User guides and training materials
Standard operating procedures
Troubleshooting guides and FAQs
Vendor contacts and contract details
Historical decision logs (why you made key choices)
Schedule formal knowledge transfer sessions before your project closes. Record them. Make them mandatory. Your future self will thank you.
3. Ongoing Training and User Support
User adoption doesn't happen once; it happens continuously. New employees join, features get updated, and people forget how to use things they learned six months ago.
Build a sustainable training approach:
Create a library of on-demand training resources
Schedule regular refresher sessions
Establish a support channel (Slack, Teams, email alias)
Identify and train power users as local champions
Track common user issues to identify training gaps
Develop role-based training paths for different user types
The goal isn't just to teach people how to use your solution; it's to make them confident and successful users who see value in their daily work.
4. Performance Monitoring and Metrics
Asya Watkins, Women of Project Management Founder
The Little Black Book of Project Management Advice
You can't manage what you don't measure. Your sustainment strategy needs clear metrics that tell you whether your deliverables are actually delivering value.
Key performance indicators might include:
System uptime and availability
User adoption rates and active user counts
Support ticket volume and resolution times
User satisfaction scores
Business outcomes (cost savings, efficiency gains, revenue impact)
Performance benchmarks (speed, accuracy, capacity)
Set up dashboards that make these metrics visible and accessible. Review them regularly. When numbers start trending the wrong way, you'll catch problems early instead of during a crisis.
5. Proactive Maintenance and Technical Debt Management
Technical debt is like credit card debt; it compounds quickly if you ignore it. Regular maintenance prevents small issues from becoming catastrophic failures.
Your maintenance plan should address:
Regular system updates and patches
Security vulnerability assessments
Performance optimization
Integration testing with connected systems
Backup and disaster recovery testing
License and contract renewals
Schedule maintenance windows. Communicate them clearly. Don't let your system become the digital equivalent of that sketchy bridge everyone knows needs repairs but nobody wants to fund.
6. Continuous Improvement Process
Sustainment isn't about keeping things exactly as they were on day one; it's about evolving your solution to meet changing needs. Build in a structured approach to enhancements.
Establish a continuous improvement cycle:
Regular user feedback collection
Enhancement request intake and prioritization
Small iterative improvements (quick wins)
Periodic major updates or refreshes
Lessons learned sessions
Benchmarking against industry best practices
Create a backlog of potential improvements. Prioritize based on value and effort. Celebrate wins when improvements launch. This keeps your solution fresh and shows users you're still invested in their success.
7. Budget Planning and Resource Allocation
Here's the uncomfortable truth: sustainment costs money. Organizations that don't budget for ongoing support end up with failed implementations and frustrated users.
Your sustainment budget should cover:
Personnel costs (support staff, administrators, technical resources)
Software licenses and subscriptions
Infrastructure and hosting costs
Training and development
Vendor support and maintenance contracts
Enhancement and improvement initiatives
Work with finance to establish a sustainable funding model. Some organizations use a percentage of the original project cost (typically 15-25% annually). Others build operational budgets based on user counts or transaction volumes.
Building Your Sustainment Management Toolkit
Here are practical tools and techniques that work:
Runbooks: Step-by-step guides for common scenarios and procedures
RACI matrices: Clear accountability for sustainment activities
Service level agreements: Define expected performance and response times
Issue tracking systems: Centralized logging and management of problems
Feedback loops: Regular channels for users to share concerns and ideas
Sunset criteria: Know when it's time to retire and replace a solution
Sustainment management is where the real value gets delivered. It's the difference between checking a box and creating lasting organizational impact. It's how good project managers become great ones.
By, Airess Rembert, PMP, Member of Women Of Project Management & Blogger at The Nerd Bae
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