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Last Updated: 2026-05-03 Owner: Ops-Dev Summary: Final readiness checklist for promoting QuantMatrix from paper validation into live trading with real capital.

QuantMatrix Live Trading Go-Live Checklist

This checklist is the final readiness gate before enabling live trading with real capital.

Its purpose is to prevent a situation where the system is technically running but not operationally safe.

A live go-live decision should only happen when: - architecture is understood - implementation is stable - analytics capture is working - operations are rehearsed - risk controls are verified - broker behavior has been validated in paper trading

This document should be reviewed and signed off before first live deployment and again before any major production change.

1. Go-Live Decision Rule

Live trading may begin only if: - all critical items in this checklist pass - no critical incidents remain unresolved - paper trading validation has completed successfully - operator and engineer agree the system is safe to supervise

If any critical item fails, live trading must not start.

2. Scope

This checklist applies to: - first live launch - new broker integration - major strategy changes - major risk logic changes - major order routing changes - major reconciliation changes - any release that changes trade execution behavior

3. Required Inputs Before Review

The following documents should already exist and be current: - architecture design document - implementation specification - trade analytics specification - module build checklist pack - operations runbook - deployment guide if available

The following evidence should also be available: - latest paper trading test results - latest integration test results - latest end-to-end workflow results - reconciliation test evidence - risk test evidence - emergency halt test evidence

4. Environment and Configuration Readiness

Environment Separation

  • [ ] Local, paper, and live configurations are separate
  • [ ] Live credentials are not reused in paper or local
  • [ ] Backtesting mode cannot reach live broker APIs
  • [ ] Dry-run mode cannot be mistaken for live mode
  • [ ] UI clearly indicates the current mode

Secrets and Access

  • [ ] Live broker keys are stored securely
  • [ ] Secrets are not hardcoded anywhere
  • [ ] Access to live credentials is limited
  • [ ] Secret rotation process exists
  • [ ] Emergency credential revocation process exists

Config Safety

  • [ ] Live environment variables reviewed
  • [ ] Execution broker endpoint reviewed
  • [ ] Market data provider endpoint reviewed
  • [ ] Capital limits configured intentionally
  • [ ] Trading mode defaults are safe

5. Broker and Market Data Readiness

Execution Broker

  • [ ] Live account access verified
  • [ ] Account number and destination verified
  • [ ] Buying power and equity load correctly
  • [ ] Order placement tested in approved safe way
  • [ ] Order cancel behavior verified
  • [ ] Position pull verified
  • [ ] Order history pull verified
  • [ ] Broker-specific rate limits understood

Market Data Provider

  • [ ] Live data entitlement verified
  • [ ] Symbols of interest available
  • [ ] Latency acceptable
  • [ ] Disconnect and reconnect behavior tested
  • [ ] Minute-boundary scanner timing verified

Mixed-Broker Setup

If using different brokers for data and execution: - [ ] symbol normalization verified across both sides - [ ] trading session timing aligned - [ ] data timestamps and execution timestamps compatible - [ ] fallback behavior documented if one side fails

6. Risk Control Signoff

Mandatory Risk Controls

  • [ ] Max daily loss enforced
  • [ ] Max position size enforced
  • [ ] Max trades per day enforced
  • [ ] Market-hours validation enforced
  • [ ] Duplicate order prevention enforced
  • [ ] Emergency halt enforced
  • [ ] Blocked symbols enforced

Risk Test Evidence

  • [ ] Max daily loss trigger tested
  • [ ] Oversized order block tested
  • [ ] Trade cap trigger tested
  • [ ] Duplicate-order path tested
  • [ ] Market-hours block tested
  • [ ] Emergency liquidate flow tested safely

Risk Governance

  • [ ] Risk thresholds approved
  • [ ] Override rules documented
  • [ ] Who may change live risk settings is defined

7. Strategy Readiness

Strategy Logic

  • [ ] Active strategy list approved
  • [ ] Strategy versions identified
  • [ ] Entry rules reviewed
  • [ ] Exit rules reviewed
  • [ ] Position sizing rules reviewed
  • [ ] Stale candidate rotation behavior reviewed

Strategy Validation

  • [ ] Backtest results reviewed
  • [ ] Paper trading results reviewed
  • [ ] Known weak conditions documented
  • [ ] Time-of-day behavior reviewed
  • [ ] Failure modes documented

Strategy Safeguards

  • [ ] One-buy-per-symbol rule verified
  • [ ] Strategy health monitoring active
  • [ ] Stop and restart behavior documented
  • [ ] Strategy cannot bypass risk or execution controls

8. Order and Execution Readiness

OMS and Execution

  • [ ] Order lifecycle states verified
  • [ ] Client order id uniqueness verified
  • [ ] Retries use idempotent logic
  • [ ] Partial fill handling verified
  • [ ] Cancel handling verified
  • [ ] Liquidate-all command verified

Execution Quality

  • [ ] Slippage capture working
  • [ ] Fill timestamps captured
  • [ ] Rejections captured with reasons
  • [ ] Broker ack and internal state remain aligned

Reconciliation

  • [ ] Startup reconciliation works
  • [ ] End-of-day reconciliation works
  • [ ] Reconnect reconciliation works
  • [ ] Broker position mismatch workflow documented

9. Trade Analytics Readiness

Capture

  • [ ] Completed trades are stored reliably
  • [ ] Entry context stored
  • [ ] Exit context stored
  • [ ] Indicator values at entry and exit stored
  • [ ] P&L outcomes stored
  • [ ] MFE and MAE stored

Review

  • [ ] Trade journal can explain why trades were entered and exited
  • [ ] Recommendation generation works or is intentionally disabled
  • [ ] Advisory recommendations are clearly labeled as non-autonomous
  • [ ] Analytics do not silently fail when trades close

10. UI and Operator Readiness

Required Screens

  • [ ] Command Center works
  • [ ] Account screen works
  • [ ] Positions screen works
  • [ ] Orders screen works
  • [ ] Risk & Health screen works
  • [ ] Settings screen works

Critical Controls

  • [ ] Trading mode clearly visible
  • [ ] Broker health visible
  • [ ] Open positions visible
  • [ ] Risk violations visible
  • [ ] Emergency Liquidate & Halt button available
  • [ ] Critical actions provide visible confirmation

Usability

  • [ ] Operator can monitor without reading logs constantly
  • [ ] Errors are understandable
  • [ ] No misleading live vs paper labels

11. Operational Readiness

Run Procedures

  • [ ] Startup procedure rehearsed
  • [ ] Shutdown procedure rehearsed
  • [ ] Crash recovery procedure rehearsed
  • [ ] Broker disconnect procedure rehearsed
  • [ ] Manual position reconciliation procedure rehearsed

Alerts and Escalation

  • [ ] Critical alerts configured
  • [ ] Alert recipients defined
  • [ ] Escalation path documented
  • [ ] Incident log process exists

Human Coverage

  • [ ] Named operator available during live session
  • [ ] Named engineer available during initial launch window
  • [ ] Contact handoff defined if session extends

12. Testing and Validation Signoff

Automated Testing

  • [ ] Unit tests pass
  • [ ] Integration tests pass
  • [ ] End-to-end tests pass
  • [ ] Failure-path tests pass

Simulation and Paper Validation

  • [ ] Demo mode validates non-broker flows
  • [ ] Paper trading validated across multiple sessions
  • [ ] Paper trading included winning and losing trades
  • [ ] Paper trading included rejects or partial fills where possible
  • [ ] Paper trading included session startup and shutdown

Stability Window

  • [ ] System ran without crash for agreed observation window
  • [ ] No unresolved critical bugs remain
  • [ ] No unexplained state mismatches remain

13. Capital Exposure Controls

For first live launch: - [ ] Initial capital allocation intentionally small - [ ] Max position size reduced from final target if appropriate - [ ] Max trades per day reduced for observation period - [ ] Approved symbols universe limited if appropriate - [ ] New strategies disabled until baseline stability proven

Recommended rollout pattern: 1. minimal capital 2. minimal number of strategies 3. limited session duration if desired 4. increase only after stable observations

14. Day-One Live Trading Plan

Before market open: - [ ] final config review completed - [ ] broker balances verified - [ ] positions flat unless intentionally carried - [ ] health checks green - [ ] operator on station - [ ] engineer on standby

During first live session: - [ ] monitor every order closely - [ ] monitor every fill closely - [ ] compare UI state with broker state frequently - [ ] halt immediately if execution behavior is ambiguous

After first live session: - [ ] reconcile all orders and positions - [ ] compare internal P&L with broker view - [ ] review all trade analytics records - [ ] record lessons learned before next session

15. No-Go Conditions

Do not go live if any of the following are true: - [ ] execution broker health is unstable - [ ] risk manager can be bypassed - [ ] duplicate order protection is unverified - [ ] positions do not reconcile reliably - [ ] emergency halt has not been tested - [ ] live mode labeling is ambiguous - [ ] operator does not know incident procedure - [ ] analytics capture is missing for completed trades - [ ] critical defects are still open

16. Go/No-Go Signoff Table

Use this section to record the decision.

Signoff Areas

  • [ ] architecture and implementation readiness
  • [ ] broker readiness
  • [ ] risk readiness
  • [ ] strategy readiness
  • [ ] OMS and reconciliation readiness
  • [ ] UI and operator readiness
  • [ ] analytics readiness
  • [ ] operations readiness

Decision

  • Go live: Yes / No
  • Approved date:
  • Environment:
  • Initial capital cap:
  • Approved strategies:
  • Notes:

Reviewers

  • Operator:
  • Engineer:
  • Strategy Owner:

17. First Week Live Monitoring Priorities

During the first week, review daily: - order rejects - partial fills - slippage - strategy health issues - reconciliation mismatches - risk blocks - broker disconnects - suspicious repeated losses by setup - recommendation quality from analytics

Do not increase capital or complexity until the first-week review is acceptable.

After this checklist, the next useful supporting documents are: - Incident Response Playbook - Production Readiness Review Template - Release Change Checklist - Daily Trade Review Template