Project Handover
Ensuring smooth transitions with documentation, training, and support plans when projects complete or change teams.
Project Handover
Ensuring smooth transitions with documentation, training, and support plans when projects complete or change teams.
Project handover is the process of transferring ownership, knowledge, and responsibility from the delivery team to the client's team (or to a maintenance team). This page explains how we ensure smooth transitions.
When handover happens
- Project completion — After final delivery, moving to maintenance mode.
- Team changes — When we staff-augment and then roll off, or when internal teams take over.
- Phase transitions — From MVP to full product, or from build to scale.
Handover Checklist
1. Documentation
- Architecture diagrams — Current state, key components, data flow.
- Codebase guide — Where things are, how to build/test/deploy.
- API specs — Endpoints, auth, rate limits, examples.
- Runbooks — How to troubleshoot common issues, restart services, check logs.
- ADRs (Architecture Decision Records) — Why we made key technical choices.
2. Training Sessions
- Live walkthrough — Show the team how to run, test, and deploy.
- Q&A — Address specific concerns and use cases.
- Recorded sessions — For future onboarding or reference.
3. Access & Credentials
- Transfer ownership of repositories, cloud resources, domains, etc.
- Document secrets in a secure vault (1Password, AWS Secrets Manager, etc.).
- Revoke temporary access for MasterFabric team after handover is complete.
4. Support Plan
- Transition period (e.g., 30 days) with reduced availability for questions.
- Support SLA if we continue maintenance (response times, escalation).
- Contact points for urgent issues or future enhancements.
What the Client Gets
| Deliverable | Format |
|---|---|
| Codebase | GitHub repository with full commit history and README. |
| Deployment pipelines | CI/CD configs (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.). |
| Documentation | Wiki, Notion, or Markdown docs in the repo. |
| Recorded demos | Video walkthrough of key features and workflows. |
| Support contact | Email, Slack, or ticketing system for post-handover questions. |
Ownership and IP
Unless otherwise agreed, all code, docs, and deliverables become the client's property at handover. We retain the right to reference the project (anonymized) in case studies if agreed in advance.
Ongoing Maintenance
Many clients ask us to continue after handover:
- Retainer — Fixed hours per month for bug fixes, updates, and support.
- On-demand — Pay-as-you-go for specific tasks or enhancements.
- Full team — We keep running the project; the client owns it but doesn't staff it.
What Makes a Good Handover
- Clear docs — The next team can onboard without us.
- No surprises — Everything is documented, tested, and deployable.
- Smooth support — We're available for a transition period.
- Knowledge transfer — The client's team understands the "why", not just the "what".