Roll out a tracker without losing the old record
Move from a passed pilot to a controlled production cutover.
Move to production only after the pilot passes, contributors understand the process, and one person owns the cutover boundary. Keep the previous records available until the new handoff is reconciled.
Freeze the decisions people will rely on
Record the selected capture method, allowed fields, project-code list, reviewer responsibilities, reporting time zone and first reporting period. Give each item an owner. A rollout announcement is not enough if nobody can explain who fixes a missing entry. Verify permissions using representative accounts rather than assuming the administrator’s view is what everyone sees.
Choose a clean cutover boundary
For example, declare that records starting before Monday 00:00 in the agreed reporting zone belong to the old system. Decide how an interval crossing that boundary is handled before it occurs. Do not import the same period twice to make a dashboard look complete. Keep the original export and a dated mapping between old and new contributor and project identifiers.
Prepare a support path for the first cycle
Tell contributors where to report missed timers, wrong projects and unavailable access. Use fictional examples in training. Give the reviewer a correction log with record ID, issue, requested change, decision and completion time. If the collector fails, use an approved fallback recording method and label those entries; do not silently infer time from a calendar or device history.
Keep the rollback decision usable
Before removing old access, confirm that the first new export has the expected population, period, states and totals. Retain the ability to read the old records and identify the last accepted batch. Roll back the workflow if a mandatory case fails; do not erase the new evidence. A dual-running period can help a controlled comparison, but it must specify which source is authoritative so its totals are not added together.
Continue this work-record check
Use the linked guide for the next decision in this workflow. Keep your original records separate from experiments and record any unresolved requirement before changing a live process.
Sources and boundaries
Primary documentation supports the dated product facts. Proposed checks and fictional examples are our editorial method, not observed product results.
- DeskTime — manual · checked September 23, 2026
- DeskTime — export · checked September 23, 2026