Developing a backout plan is indispensable in change management, especially for crucial systems within a financial institution. A backout plan ensures that in the event the upgrade introduces new vulnerabilities or disrupts services, the system can be returned to its pre-upgrade state, thereby maintaining operational capability and security. While engaging stakeholders, implementing version control, and updating documentation are all essential components of change management, none of these steps address the immediate preservation of system operational integrity and security in the case of an unsuccessful upgrade as directly and effectively as a well-structured backout plan does.