© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Developing and Implementing a Rollout Plan February 5, :00pm EST, 11:00am PST George Spafford, Principal Consultant Pepperweed Consulting, LLC “Optimizing The Business Value of IT”

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© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Main Presentation

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Agenda Release Management Overview Release Plans Rollout Plans –What they are –Elements of Rollout Plans Getting Started Note: This presentation is available by either ing: George at Kendra at

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation What Is a Release? A collection of authorized changes to an IT service –New services –Modifications to an existing service –Ending a service – sometimes decommissioning takes a lot of work and needs to be properly managed Can contain new and revised hardware and software in three categories – Major, Minor and Emergency Release Unit – describes the IT infrastructure portion that is released together –Hardware, Software, Documentation, Media, etc. Type of Release –Full, Delta, Package

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Why Release Management Matters 29% of projects delivered on-time with expected features, 53% were challenged and 18% outright failed outright 1 The majority of the causal factors are non- technical including: –Lack of project planning –Poor requirements definition –Correct stakeholders not involved, or not involved early enough –Poor communications –Insufficient management oversight 1. “Third Quarter 2004 CHAOS Report”. The Standish Group.

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation “The focus of Release Management is the protection of the live environment and its services through the use of formal procedures and checks.” – ITIL Service Support Volume

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Release Management Provides Quality Assurance Are the correct requirements identified? –Breadth and depth Are the requirements met when tested? –What testing is needed? Unit, Integration, load? Is the organization ready for the deployment? –Staffing, training Can the release be deployed successfully? –Is there capacity? Is support ready? Is the business ready? What did we just learn? (Post Implementation Reviews) –What went good? Bad? –What would we do again? –What would we change? Plays an important role in regulatory compliance and security –All requirements need to be known, tested and deployed with a reasonable assurance of success –A great many Incident and Problems can be traced to human error that Change and Release Management can help safeguard against

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation The Trinity Change Management Is the set of standardized processes and tools used to handle change requests in order to support the business while managing risks. [Risk Management] Release Management Uses formal controls and processes to ensure requirements are met and safeguard the production environment. [Quality Management] Configuration Management Focuses on tracking and documenting configurations and then providing this information to other areas including Change and Release Management. [A combination of Knowledge Management and Information Broker] The three process areas must work together and share information.

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Major Release Mgt Activities Planning & Development Testing & Approval Preparation and Introduction to Production Release Policy Release Planning Design, develop and/or buy services Build and Configure the Release Beta Testing Unit Testing Integration Testing Load Testing Security Testing User Acceptance Testing Release Acceptance by Operations Roll-out Planning Communication Awareness Training Distribution Installation

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Dependencies

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Release Policy Defines the Release Management process Sets the scope of control Establishes roles and responsibilities The release numbering scheme Frequency of releases Critical business times to avoid Expected deliverables for each type of release Release documentation Backout plans and their testing How the Release Management process will be controlled via KPIs, meetings, audits, escalation, etc. Management and use of the Definitive Software Library (DSL)

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Release Planning Determine contents of the Release Distribution schedule that is agreed upon with all relevant stakeholders Site Surveys Review configuration data from CMDB – does preproduction still mirror production? If not, what actions are needed? Resource Requirements – internal, customers, vendors Defining roles and responsibilities Procurement planning - vendor selection, negotiation, etc. Back-out Plans A quality management plan –Requirements definition, development/procurement per standards, appropriate testing, & implementation Definition of acceptance criteria with the Customer and other stakeholders

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Release Planning Inputs Service Catalog Service Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Project Management Standards Release Policy Requests for Change (RFCs) Projected Service Availability (PSA) CAB Meeting Notes / Minutes Forward Schedule of Change (FSC) Maintenance Windows / Change Windows Business Priorities Business Schedule / Financial Calendar Dependencies Resource Constraints

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Release Planning Outputs Release Specific –Release Plan –Test Plans –Training Plans –Support Plans –Acceptance Criteria –Updated Configuration Items (CIs) –Recording of Known Errors for use by Support Documented in –Change Management records –Records could be in a Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Rollout Plan Elements (1) A Rollout Plan is the actual project management of the Release based on the high- level Release Plan The Rollout Plan is all about tactical execution –Names, dates, milestones, control gates, etc. Detailed Work Breakdown Structure with dates GANTT charts showing dependencies and progress are of tremendous value Human Resource Plan –Internal –Vendors –Customers Configuration Items –New ones that will be installed –Existing ones that will be changed –CIs for decommissioning including secure disposal method Plans for each location taking into account: –Time zone differences –Vendor support –Cultural / Political issues –Other dependencies

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Rollout Plan Elements (2) Purchase/procurement plan for required CIs Budget Plan Communication Plan –Awareness –Meeting schedules Project Change Management Plan Security Plan Incorporate other aspects of project management based on your organization’s needs –What management is needed to deliver projects that meet expectations? –What controls are needed to create a reasonable assurance of outcomes? Refer to –Projects in Controlled Environments v2 (PRINCE2) –PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PM BOK)

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Do Not Forget The Business –Customer(s) –Key Users Development Change Management –ITIL-related –Project-related Other ITIL processes Testing Security Vendors Legal Compliance IT Operations Project Management Remote sites DR/BCP Critical Success Factors Key Process Indicators Risk Management Controls in general Design what works for your organization!!

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Getting Started (1) Release Management really needs to leverage Change and Configuration Management processes to excel –Only approved changes can be released –Need Configuration Management to understand relationships, current builds in production and to understand risks –What can you do today? Begin with the next complex project –Think of what you need to avoid the next failure –What activities would mitigate risks to an acceptable level to management? Work with development, not around development –Leverage the existing SDLC if possible or assist in the creation of one Must involve relevant vendors –Vendors must follow the same controls and processes or risks are not properly managed

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Getting Started (2) Review stakeholders to make sure all that are needed are engaged –Engage due to business need or perception not just for awareness –Either too few or too many can be problematic –What about security, legal and/or compliance? They’re often overlooked Prove the concept of Release Management and rollout planning ITIL says Release Management is for large projects but all changes / releases use aspects of Release Management Funding is often included in project costs Begin in a manner that is realistic given your resources, timeframe and needs then evolve the process over time One of the keys to Release Management and rollback plans is the communication aspect –Manage expectations –Keep the stakeholders informed as to progress and issues –Avoid surprises

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Getting Started (3) Remember – the introduction of a process, or changes to an existing process, require organizational change Do not overlook the “soft” people and organizational issues. Identify what you can successfully achieve today and start –Ground process design by always analyzing if organizational needs are being met BE SURE TO ASK THE BUSINESS AND NOT JUST IT! –At the outset, go for the 70% solution and learn – do not lock up in “analysis paralysis” Continuous process improvement over time is where the real gains will be made

© 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation Process References For a definitive reference, see ITIL’s Service Support Volume Microsoft’s Operations Framework British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) IT Process Institute’s Visible Ops Methodology PMI Project Management Body of Knowledge Projects in Controlled Environments version 2 (PRINCE2) For additional material, use Google and search on keywords such as –“SDLC template” –“Project Management template” –“Release Management template” –“Release Plan” –“Rollout Plan” –“Fallback Plan”

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