Which description best characterizes big bang implementation strategies?

• A. High risk, low anxiety.
• B. Low risk, high anxiety.
• C. Low risk, low anxiety.
• D. High risk, high anxiety.

Answer: (D)

Launching the entire system at once means everything changes in one go, so any problem in one area can affect the whole implementation. There’s little time to detect and fix issues before users rely on the system, and the downtime, data migration, and coordination required span the entire organization. That combination creates a high level of risk and a high level of anxiety for stakeholders because the consequences of a failure are global and hard to recover from quickly. In contrast, phased or pilot approaches spread risk and provide opportunities to rollback or adjust, which tends to reduce both risk and anxiety.