Save a fixed cutover after losing a key engineer. Simulation Details: Meridian Consulting Group is a 220‑person technology consultancy that delivers enterprise releases through disciplined Azure DevOps practices (mandatory “Release‑Ready” work item, two‑reviewer PRs, and a CI/CD pipeline that promotes the same build UAT→Production using parameter files and cutover variables). This engagement implements a Salesforce-to-on‑prem ERP data integration with near‑real‑time REST callbacks for create/update events and a nightly reconciliation job that compares record counts and key fields and produces an operations exception report. Go‑live includes hardening the deployment automation (pipeline gating, environment parameterization, cutover/rollback scripts) and enabling monitoring to alert quickly on elevated API 5xx rates, batch failures, and data drift. The client enforces strict, document-driven change control (signed release scope, step‑by‑step runbook, go/no‑go checklist approved by the IT Director) and Meridian cannot add headcount to absorb late-cycle risk, so any mitigation must be reprioritization, simplification, or formal, signed risk acceptance. You are Meridian’s Engagement Project Manager facing a sudden loss of the engineer owning deployment automation with 10 business days before a fixed cutover. Your first task is a focused one‑on‑one with the lead developer, Rahul, to convert the technical reality into a clear critical path: separate facts from assumptions, identify the minimum fixes required to prove UAT parity and rollback, estimate re‑test cost, and define escalation triggers. Next you will have a one‑on‑one with the client IT Director, Anke, to present 2–3 decision‑ready options that keep the date fixed (stability‑first scope cuts, a phased go‑live, or bounded overtime), each with explicit in/out scope, UAT readiness criteria, named risk owners, and precise change‑control approvals required. Finally you will consolidate those decisions into a single client‑facing project plan that lists milestones, owners, assumptions, top risks and mitigations, and the non‑negotiable go/no‑go gates for promotion to production. - Capture a confirmed critical path with facts vs. estimates and clear escalation triggers after your Rahul one‑on‑one. - Secure Anke’s explicit decisions on 2–3 viable options, with scope in/out, named risk owners, and required change‑control approvals. - Produce one governance‑ready project plan that maps chosen option to milestones, owners, environment and rollback validation steps, assumptions, and top risks with mitigations. - Define the exact UAT readiness criteria that satisfy the non‑negotiable gates (reliable end‑to‑end UAT deploy using the same build, zero open Sev‑1/Sev‑2, rollback proven, monitoring validated) and list who signs each approval. - Submit the single final text document (the client‑facing project plan) as the authoritative record of decisions and next steps. Once you completed all the tasks, save the required final document in a Collaborative Document and send it to your manager.