War-game a translation vendor switch before quality samples, capacity claims, and rollback steps harden into what every locale will quote.
Vendor switches fail when the runbook invents precision the sample never had, when allowlists dual-count the same market as migrated and as exempt, when money routes still lack a named quality owner, and when ops cannot show who owns the decision after a partial cutover misfire. A neat vendor PDF is not evidence.
Freeze the switch plan
One sentence for why the switch exists, which markets and content types it covers, who owns quality classes, logging, and rollback, and the abort trigger if quality lag or delivery lag past a named threshold. Attach the draft switch plan, sample quality scores, allowlist map, and the measured path from detection to restored delivery. If localization, procurement, and product disagree on which markets are truly covered, stop and reconcile first.
Name the decision you will make if the war game finds nothing new, and the delay criteria if any money path still lacks a named rollback owner or a verified canary market.
Seats that matter
- Localization. Where quality samples invent coverage or hide shared rules across markets.
- Procurement. Where bypasses still leave the invoice path and become standing exceptions.
- Product. Which customer decision breaks first when legitimate strings arrive late.
- Support. How status language trails the market-visible complaint rate.
- Skeptic. The claim that looks strongest and is least evidenced by prior vendor drills.
Give every seat the same source pack. Secret allowlists for favorite markets only create fake calm. Require a canary market with a measured open-and-reconcile pass before any money path joins the switch. If the canary still depends on a verbal allowlist, keep the change in hold.
Private loop
Feed Pingpong the draft switch, canary notes, and open risk list. Early passes steelman the design. Later passes attack from localization, procurement, product, support, and skeptic seats. End with a pass that turns surviving objections into clearer owners, a timed canary, or a hold. Delete invented "we already migrate cleanly" claims and dual-counted success rates.
Ask for a month-after narrative: what happens if a partner quotes a retired vendor, if a billing string path starts failing quality checks, or if an operator widens an allowlist under launch pressure. If those stories outrun the mitigation plan, fix the package before you ship the cutover.
Pair with the localization lead seat, a locale priority list review, an i18n freeze stress test, a localization launch stress test, and the war-game decisions hub.