Transition to IT Operations

Article
03/05/2008

After the initial deployment is complete and the Application Compatibility feature team has verified proper application compatibility, the process changes from a deployment initiative to an operating initiative. IT Operations is then responsible for ongoing application maintenance and support. This well-structured, formal process includes the transfer of documentation, knowledge, and other materials from one group to another.

Roles and Responsibilities

All six role clusters from the MSF Team Model play a role in the transitioning to the Operations Readiness feature team. Table 12 lists those roles and defines the focus areas for each role cluster relative to the deployment process in the transitioning to IT Operations. For more information about MSF Role Clusters, see Microsoft Solutions Framework at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/msf/default.mspx.

Table 12. Team Roles and Responsibilities During the Transition to IT Operations

Role	Focus
Product Management	Communications plan execution Deployment launch planning
Program Management	Bug management Project tracking
Development	Bug resolution Code optimization
Test	Testing and bug reporting
User Experience	Training materials
Release Management	Deployment planning Executing the deployments IT Operations and support training Pilot management and support

Preparing for the Transition

After deploying applications to a group of target client computers, the Application Compatibility feature team is ready to transfer support of those client computers to IT Operations. In preparation for that transition, the team must notify:

The Deployment feature team and IT Operations of the transition date. Ensure that the Deployment feature team and IT Operations are aware of the date for transferring the support for client computers. IT Operations must be ready for users to call with support questions, and the Deployment feature team must know to direct users to IT Operations for future support.
Users of changes in contacts for support (Deployment to IT Operations). Users must know when to stop contacting the Deployment feature team for support. Supply users with numbers and contact information for IT Operations.

Communicating the Current Deployment Status

Just before making the transition from the Deployment feature team to IT Operations, inform IT Operations of the deployment’s current status. The Application Compatibility feature team should communicate the current deployment status each time it migrates a group of client computers by identifying the client computers that:

Have been successfully deployed. Ensure that IT Operations has an accurate list of client computers that have been successfully deployed. This list will provide the team with an estimate of the number of deployed client computers for which the team is taking responsibility after the transition. Also, the list will provide the team with the locations of the transferred client computers.
Failed during the deployment process and were rolled back. IT Operations must be aware of the computers in the group that are in their original state. In this way, the team will know that those client computers should operate as before and should not initiate support calls based on the deployment.
Are pending deployment. IT Operations must know whether client computers in the group are still pending deployment. For those client computers, the team will forward support issues back to the Deployment feature team.

Performing the Project Postmortem

After deploying all target client computers, conduct a project postmortem with project stakeholders. The postmortem is an opportunity for all team members to discuss the:

Successful aspects of the project.
Unsuccessful aspects of the project.
Processes that must be changed to make the process more efficient in subsequent deployments.

After conducting the postmortem, document the outcome of the postmortem. This documentation ensures that the issues and resolutions discussed in the current deployment are not revisited in the next deployment.

Maintaining the Test Environment

After the deployment is complete, maintain the test environment. Ensure that the test environment stays current with changes in the production environment. Maintain the test environment for:

Future testing of applications. Test service packs and software updates to existing applications or updates to applications that the organization develops as an ongoing process. The test environment provides a platform upon which to test these updates before deploying them in the production environment.
Testing as a part of other deployment projects. In addition to application testing, other teams may use the test environment to test other aspects of the network (such as network infrastructure upgrades or messaging infrastructure upgrades). Maintaining the test environment provides these teams with an accurate model to ensure their deployment processes.

Milestone: Application Mitigations Transitioned to Operations

Milestones are synchronization points for the overall solution. For more information, see the Plan, Build, and Deploy Guide.

At this milestone, shown in Table 13, the Application Compatibility feature team has transitioned the mitigations to IT Operations.

Table 13. Transition to IT Operations Project Milestones and Deliverable Description

Transition to IT Operations milestone	Deliverable description	Owner
Transition Preparations Complete	IT Operations and the Deployment feature team have been notified of the transition date. Users are now aware of the change in contact information for support.	Deployment
Current Deployment Status Communicated	The current status of all computers being transferred has been communicated. Any updates to troubleshooting procedures and diagnostic tools have also been communicated.	Deployment