✅ Environment Readiness Checklist

# 🧪 Environment Readiness Checklist

## Project Name: [Your Project Name]
## Environment: [QA / Staging / UAT / Production]
## Prepared By: [Your Name]
## Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]

🔧 General Infrastructure

• Environment is accessible via URL/IP
• Correct environment name/banner is displayed
• Application version matches target release (e.g., v1.5.0)
• Deployment was successful without critical errors
• CI/CD pipeline completed successfully
• Uptime monitoring (Pingdom, StatusCake, etc.) is active

🧩 Configuration & Services

• Environment variables are correctly configured
• Database connection is successful
• 3rd-party services (email, payments, analytics) are integrated and mocked (if needed)
• Feature flags are correctly set for this environment
• Caching (e.g., Redis) is working and cleared
• API Gateway, Load Balancer, or Proxy settings are valid

🔐 Security & Access

• Authentication mechanisms are enabled (e.g., login, SSO)
• Test credentials (admin, user, etc.) are working
• HTTPS is configured and active
• Rate limiting or WAF is enabled (if applicable)
• Logs and audit trails are accessible (Splunk, Datadog, etc.)
• Secrets/keys are managed securely (e.g., Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)

🧪 Testing Readiness

• Test data is seeded or reset
• Email/SMS services are redirected or mocked
• Automation test accounts are ready
• Monitoring tools (e.g., Sentry, New Relic) are connected
• Crash reporting (mobile apps) is working

🔍 Verification Checklist

🚦 Final Status

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## 📋 Environment Readiness Checklist – Excel/Google Sheets Format

| Category             | Item                                           | Ready (✅/❌) | Comments              |
|----------------------|------------------------------------------------|---------------|------------------------|
| Access & Stability   | Environment is accessible                      |               |                        |
| Version              | Correct app version deployed                   |               |                        |
| Auth & Roles         | Test credentials work                          |               |                        |
| Data                 | Test data seeded / reset                       |               |                        |
| Services             | APIs, DB, 3rd-party integrations working       |               |                        |
| Logging & Monitoring | Sentry, New Relic, or logs configured          |               |                        |
| Automation           | Environment ready for automated test runs     |               |                        |

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## 🔧 Tips for Different Environments

### 🧪 QA
- Enable verbose logging
- Mock external APIs
- Reset data frequently

### 🧪 Staging
- Use production-like data
- Enable email/SMS sandbox
- Match prod configs

### 🧪 UAT
- Grant business users access
- Set up demo/test accounts
- Track feedback separately

### 🚀 Production
- Use production secrets
- Disable test banners/tools
- Monitor performance in real time