Project Description

Article
03/05/2008

This section explains the measures of success for the proposed project and goes into detail about specific project deliverables and includes an estimation of the project schedule.

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to begin moving to Windows Vista with Office Enterprise 2007 as the standard desktop image. In the first year, Woodgrove will maintain a standard desktop image environment consisting of Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2 desktops. Deployment of the new Windows Vista desktop image will be carried out using zero-touch automation. All post–image-deployment user state configuration and provisioning will also be automated.

As a result of moving a large portion of users to a Windows Vista environment, Woodgrove should be able to achieve the following goals on the Windows Vista desktops:

Projected Business and IT Benefits	% Reduction
Reduction in security breaches	25%
Reduction in security resolution time (per issue)	25%
Reduction in patch updates	15%
Reduction in patch management time (per patch)	25%
Potential FTEs redeployed with automated management	5%
Help desk tickets reduced	5%
Reduction in image-management time (per image)	25%

Projected User Benefits
Reduction in reboots (per user per week)	50%
Percent computer failures avoided	0%
Reduction in file search time (per file)	25%
Reduction in files lost	25%

These assumptions are based on Windows Vista early adopter research.

Project Scope

The Solution Accelerator for BDD project will utilize existing staff resources and cover all necessary actions, from planning to hand-off of daily operations. Ten members of the senior IT staff in New York will participate in this project. The Enterprise Systems Administrator will be the program manager and coordinate all involved personnel. This project will take approximately 11.5 months from start to finish, beginning in November 2006.

The Solution Accelerator for BDD breaks the project into ten feature teams necessary for project success. Each feature team addresses a critical component of the desktop deployment project. Each feature team will be led by the best-suited senior IT staff member from New York. These team leaders will be heavily involved in the planning and testing of this solution. Regional deployments to unmanaged computers will be carried out by local staff or external consultants.

The feature teams define the scope of this project. The following list provides a brief introduction to each feature team.

Application Compatibility Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for inventorying the current workstations and for testing the compatibility of applications with Windows Vista.

Infrastructure Remediation Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for assessing the current workstation hardware to determine hardware upgrade requirements as well as analyzing the network for any limitations or constraints that may impact the deployment.

Computer Imaging System Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for creating workstation images of Windows XP and Windows Vista desktops. The team will implement, customize, and operate the automated imaging process that is included in the Solution Accelerator for BDD.

Application Management Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for adding and maintaining applications in the core Windows Vista workstation images.

User State Migration Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for capturing user settings, configuration information, and data from legacy operating systems and restoring them to the new workstation image.

Security Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for assessing workstation security requirements. The team provides guidance on how to integrate security requirements into the imaging and deployment process.

Deployment Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for executing the actual workstation deployments. The team plans server placement and capacity as well as attending the deployment process.

Operations Readiness Feature Team

This feature team is responsible for managing the IT operations environment. The team integrates IT operations requirements into the overall deployment process.

Documentation Deliverables

In addition to the actual desktop deployment planning, building, installation, and hand-off to operations as outlined in the feature teams above, several key documents will be delivered as project milestones. These documents will be completed by either the program manager (Enterprise Systems Administrator) or the relevant feature teams. All assumptions made in this document are to be confirmed when completing the following documents:

Vision Scope

This document will outline the overall project objectives and responsibilities.

Risk Assessment

This document will describe and assesses the top risks to the project.

Communications Plan

This document will describe how and when the project team will communicate to users and management.

Training Plan

This document will describe how, when, and what types of training will be provided.

Test Plan

This document will outline necessary testing procedures.

Migration Plan

This document will describe what will be migrated during the deployment.

Site Deployment Project Plan

This document will describe the approach that will be used to orchestrate the deployment.

Project Schedule

The project will begin on November 1, 2006, and is estimated to take 11.5 months. The timeline in Table 4 outlines estimated project phases and milestones.

Table 4. Project Schedule

Task Name	Duration	Start Date	End Date
Business Desktop Deployment - Woodgrove Global Plan Totals	244.25 days	11/1/2006	10/9/2007
ENVISIONING	18 days	11/1/2006	11/24/2006
Identify the executive sponsors for the project	2 days	11/1/2006	11/2/2006
Project Team - All	12 days	11/1/2006	11/16/2006
Application Compatibility Team	16 days	11/1/2006	11/22/2006
Infrastructure Remediation Team	18 days	11/1/2006	11/24/2006
Envisioning complete	0 days	11/16/2006	11/16/2006
PLANNING	32 days	11/17/2006	1/1/2007
Project Team - All	24 days	11/17/2006	12/20/2006
Security Team	6.5 days	11/17/2006	11/27/2006
Operations Readiness Team	6 days	11/17/2006	11/24/2006
Application Compatibility Team	4.17 days	11/17/2006	11/23/2006
Application Management Team	14.5 days	11/21/2006	12/12/2006
Infrastructure Remediation Team	14 days	11/17/2006	12/6/2006
User State Migration Team	3.46 days	11/22/2006	11/28/2006
Computer Imaging System Team	32 days	11/17/2006	1/1/2007
Deployment Team	6 days	11/17/2006	11/24/2006
Planning Complete	0 days	1/1/2007	1/1/2007
DEVELOPING	20 days	1/2/2007	1/29/2007
Project Team - All	20 days	1/2/2007	1/29/2007
Security Team	2.5 days	1/2/2007	1/4/2007
Operations Readiness Team	8 days	1/3/2007	1/12/2007
Application Compatibility Team	1.25 days	1/2/2007	1/3/2007
Application Management Team	5.88 days	1/2/2007	1/9/2007
Infrastructure Remediation Team	10.13 days	1/2/2007	1/16/2007
User State Migration Team	2.25 days	1/2/2007	1/4/2007
Computer Imaging System Team	20 days	1/2/2007	1/29/2007
Deployment Team	13.38 days	1/2/2007	1/19/2007
Developing Complete	0 days	1/29/2007	1/29/2007
STABILIZING	14 days	1/29/2007	2/16/2007
Project Team - All	12.5 days	1/29/2007	2/14/2007
Security Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Operations Readiness Team	14 days	1/29/2007	2/16/2007
Application Compatibility Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Application Management Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Fix and stabilize identified Office packaging issues	1 wk	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Fix and stabilize identified application packaging issues	1 wk	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Infrastructure Remediation Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
User State Migration Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Computer Imaging System Team	5 days	1/31/2007	2/7/2007
Deployment Team	14 days	1/29/2007	2/16/2007
Stabilizing Complete	0 days	2/12/2007	2/12/2007
DEPLOYING	171 days	2/12/2007	10/9/2007
Deployment Team	171 days	2/12/2007	10/9/2007
Deployment Complete	0 days	2/12/2007	2/12/2007

Organization and Roles

The IT organization at Woodgrove will not change as a result of this project. The resources available have been matched to feature teams according to best fit. These teams will carry out most deployment tasks from New York. Additionally, local IT staff in the branch locations will assist with providing all information needed during planning phases. The local IT departments will also help carry out the deployment tasks in their respective locations for computers that are not managed through SMS.

The Enterprise Systems Administrator will be the program manager and will coordinate the actions of all 10 feature teams.

Technology

This project will leverage a tested and proven best-practices solution that offers guidance using the following practices and technologies:

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003

SMS 2003 is a comprehensive solution for change and configuration management for the Microsoft platform and enables organizations to provide relevant software and updates to users quickly and cost-effectively. SMS 2003 is the current systems management standard at Woodgrove.

SMS 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature Pack

The SMS 2003 Operating System Deployment (OSD) Feature Pack is an SMS utility that enables large-scale, administrator-initiated, task sequence-driven deployments of desktops in corporate environments. The feature pack incorporates Windows Imaging (WIM), Microsoft® Windows® Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE), the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep), and the Microsoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT).

Microsoft Operations Manager 2005

Microsoft® Operations Manager (MOM) helps IT operations staff stay aware of issues that arise, respond to these issues quickly and accurately, and demonstrate accountability to stakeholders. MOM is used as the deployment reporting tool; Woodgrove currently has MOM 2005 installed.

Windows Server 2003 Active Directory

A central component of the Windows operating system platform, the Active Directory® directory service provides the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network environments. Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 makes Active Directory simpler to manage, easing migration and deployment. Woodgrove currently uses Active Directory.

Windows Preinstallation Environment

Windows PE is based on the Windows operating system and allows IT staff to build custom deployment solutions. Windows PE can run Windows setup, scripts, and several imaging applications and can be started from a CD-ROM, a hard disk, or across the network from a Remote Installation Services (RIS) server.

Microsoft Windows Deployment Services

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is the next version of Microsoft Remote Installation Services (RIS). WDS provides for the storage, management, and deployment of images. It uses the Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot process to install the operating system, including bare-metal installations.

Sysprep

Similar to Riprep for RIS, Sysprep allows a “master computer” system to be disk duplicated by resetting the system attributes that need to be unique (such as computer name, security identifier (SID), and domain/workgroup relationship). The result is deployed systems (as many as necessary) that are as close to a disk-duplicate of the source system as possible. During the deployment of a Sysprep image, various operating system configuration settings can be customized for each system by using a file called sysprep.inf.

User State Migration Tool

Designed for IT administrators who are performing large deployments of the Windows Vista operating system in a corporate environment, USMT provides the same functionality as the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard but on a large scale targeted at migrating multiple users. USMT enables administrators to precisely configure unique settings, such as making user-specific modifications to the registry.

Windows System Image Manager

Windows System Image Manager is a tool for customizing and automating the installation of Windows Vista. Using this tool you can do the following:

Script Windows System Image Manager from the command line.
Add, modify, or delete optional components such as languages, service packs, updates, and device drivers within an existing image using an unattend file.
Create and edit XML-based unattended-configuration files for automation of installation.

ImageX

ImageX is a tool used to create desktop images. ImageX provides many capabilities that improve the disk-imaging experience. These include the following:

Ability to update and edit an offline image without creating a new image for distribution.
Ability to capture an image of an existing personal computer for distribution or for backup, and save the image to a distribution share, from which users can install the gold image, or push the image out to the desktop.
Scripting tools to create and edit images.
Windows Vista is HAL-independent, requiring a minimal amount of images for various types of hardware.

Microsoft® Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0

To help ensure that applications do not break when deploying a new operating system, it is important to carefully plan for the integration by taking inventory of all applications in the environment and testing them thoroughly. The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) provides the following features:

Software inventory analyzer. A software inventory analyzer that takes inventory of all the applications installed on users' desktops across the enterprise, stores that data in a central location, and performs compatibility analysis against a compatibility database.
Filtering analysis reports. Information about application compatibility issues and mitigation information. This information is improved with user input.
Compatibility mitigation. Custom compatibility databases based on analysis, and the ability to test the fixes to make sure they will work.
Application programming interfaces (APIs) for independent software vendors (ISVs). Extensibility and a set of APIs for ISVs and non-Microsoft applications through a software development kit (SDK). This also includes a Web service that can be used to get the latest compatibility data.

The BDD Workbench

The BDD workbench, included with BDD 2007, is the primary tool used to create and manage components related to a Windows Vista desktop deployment process. Some of these built-in components include:

Distribution Share. This component is used to create and manage the distribution share containing source files related to the operating systems, applications, packages, and out-of-the-box drivers used in the deployment process.
Builds. This component is used to create and manage various builds to be deployed throughout the organization.
Deploy. This component provides the ability to configure various deployment methods such as a single-server deployment, a separate deployment share, or a DVD ISO image, or to create a directory containing all of the files needed for customizing an SMS 2003 operating system deployment program.

Virtual PC

Microsoft® Virtual PC is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows multiple PC-based operating systems to run simultaneously on one workstation, providing a safety net to maintain compatibility with legacy applications while migrating to a new operating system. Virtual PC also saves reconfiguration time, so the support, development, and training staff can work more efficiently.

In this solution, Virtual PC can be used for testing, deployment, and as an optional solution to application compatibility issues.

Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007

Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 will provide Woodgrove employees with a comprehensive set of tools to collect, consolidate, and find information and share critical information with others across geographic or organizational boundaries. Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 includes: Communicator 2007, Excel 2007, Groove 2007, InfoPath 2007, OneNote 2007, Outlook 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Publisher 2007, and Word 2007.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista sets a new standard for performance and reliability. Windows Vista provides enhanced management, deployment, and security features. Windows Vista is HAL-independent, requiring a minimal set of images for various types of hardware. Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2 will be maintained as the only two workstation operating systems in production.

Stakeholders

Table 5 outlines project stakeholders and their respective requirements.

Table 5. Stakeholders

Stakeholders:	Overview of Business Requirements
Primary (Internal)
Management	Improve security High ROI Improve productivity and user experience
IT Department	Reduce deployment times Increase reliability Reduce service calls Improve desktop management and patching
Primary (External)
Personal and Business Clients	Improve communication and messaging Higher service availability Improve system mobility for sales team
Investors	Maintain healthy IT infrastructure Reduce security threats High ROI Improve productivity
Secondary (Internal)
Users	Reduce downtime Improve reliability Increase application collaboration Minimize lost work because of crashes Improve mobility More multilingual features
Secondary (External)
Suppliers and Service Providers	Improve connectivity Move to industry computing standards Improve system mobility for mobile workforce