[romdev]

Thanks to all for the informative TODO list options. Getting back to the intent of the question...

Over the course of my career in financial software development I've participated in several large production events where an upgraded or new application would be deployed overnight to servers that require substantial uptime while serving millions of users. We minimize human error by developing the Go-Live checklist several weeks in advance from tasks discovered during "dry-runs" where we practice the deploy process on similar hardware with similar data. Task durations are recorded during the last dry-run to store in the checklist.

The checklist itself is pretty simple and is stored in a spreadsheet with these columns:

  StartTime Duration CompletedTime ResponsibleParty TaskDescription

Before starting all the columns are filled out except CompletedTime, which we fill out when each task completes. Each task can have a breakdown in a separate document, but this spreadsheet is primarily used to communicate status. The responsible party reports completion to the Project Manager, who keeps it updated on a Webex in real time for executives to know whether we're behind or ahead of schedule. When all the deployment tasks are done we test the site and have a Go/NoGo meeting to determine whether the update is good or should be rolled back to the previous state.

[mistakenot238]

I probably should of been a bit clearer with the question.

Interesting example. Do you find yourself reusing checklists or are they specific to the job?