Engineering Activities

Provide technical assistance to configure and transfer the IT products into the hands of the users.

	- Configured IT Products and Data - Deployment Project Plans - Developmental Configuration - Project or Product Requirements - A-TARS
Release Installation Activation Deactivation Deinstallation		- Configured IT Products and Data - Status
	- IT Staff - User Representatives - User - Support Organization - Other Key Stakeholders

Introduction

These technical activities are performed in the context of one or more technology deployment projects. Individuals provide technical assistance to configure and install IT products within each usage environment (the deployed configuration). This includes the deactivation and removal of retired products, when necessary.

The number and type of products that are transferred may vary, from individual components to complete integrated applications or packaged solutions. Platforms, information appliances, database management systems and associated content, or a complete integrated AIS may be deployed. Documentation such as user, maintenance, installation, or operation manuals and associated technical training materials are considered part of a deployment. The term product refers to any of these possibilities.

The type of technical assistance required depends on the number and types of products released, as well as how much adaptation and testing must be done to configure them for each unique setting. The roll-out approach may also affect the technical assistance needed. (For gradual or single deployment, see deployment project management activities).

Engineering practices as well as overall adjunct technical requirements are derived from the A-TARS. Unique deployment requirements are elicited from the HS programs staff. All product and process requirements are communicated through each project's deployment plans.

TANF Example: Migrating TANF data stores to modern relational databases is a significant deployment challenge. For example, TANF case information may be distributed across many files (or databases), each with its own unique format. When migrating to a relational database, separate pieces of data must be collected, consolidated and consistently stored in an integrated and normalized data structure. Old data structures may be combined into a large and complex schema, which deployment engineers may not fully understand. There is an inherit danger of missed sequenced records or missing pieces of data, complicating the conversion. Automated tools to check and convert the data should be provided. Engineers should be able to make sure that all data to support a case is reliably converted to the new data structures.

The technical infrastructure is often changed as new applications are deployed. Users, familiar with platforms and protocols they have used for a long time, may naturally resist some changes. This resistance may impact user acceptance of the system, possibly affecting productivity. The deployment should take into account the user's need to adapt to the new applications and platforms. Users should be provided adequate access to technical training and help so they can adjust to these climate changes as quickly as possible. The level of support needed should be explicitly defined in the deployment plans.

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Activities

The basic fabrication engineering activities also apply to the deployment projects. You may refer to those activities for additional detail. Some technical activities applicable to deployment projects are described below:

Release. The IT Staff performs activities to create a site-specific release and prepares to install it. This may include the following actions:
- Packaging products on a release media, as appropriate.
- Configuring the products to each usage environment (e.g., counties).
- Formally qualifying and accepting the integrated set of products. This may include certifying products that are ready for general use.
- Advertising and promoting products to make users and others aware of their capabilities and set expectations.
- Providing technical training to prepare business users as well as those who will administer the system (e.g., operators).
- Coordinating deployment activities with changes in the business processes and practices (e.g., policies and procedures).
Installation. The IT Staff performs activities to ready the IT products and data for direct use by the intended users. This may include the following actions:
- Placing the product in the user setting. This could be achieved by simply activating a download through a Web page (a click to download a plug-in, or you may need to provide assistance for an installation script on a CD.
- Configuring the user-selectable parameters (e.g., default folders, run-time data).
- Resolving conflicts between the newly installed product and other products.
- Populating data stores with business/operational data specific to the site.
- Coordinating with external interfacing systems.
- Performing final acceptance testing in the user environment.
Activation. The IT Staff or the computer system performs activities to execute the installed products. This may include the following actions:
- Executing or preparing for execution all the products to be run (startup scripts, user menus). Some products may execute continuously, such as a database management system. Others will activate on demand (when a user selects them) or as batch jobs.
- Performing database cutover.
- Going live with external interfaces.
- Identifying and resolving initial operational defects. This entails filing problem reports to record the defects and it's maintenance priority. The technical staff may have to implement patches or create a workaround until permanent fixes can be deployed. These changes should be clearly marked.
Deactivation. The IT Staff deactivates products or removes data from use. This may include the following actions:
- Shutting down the products, such as halting applications, servers, or network devices when they are to be removed from service.
- Taking data stores off-line.
Deinstallation. The IT Staff removes IT products from the inventory when the products are no longer needed. This may include the following actions:
- Removing complete products or parts, while leaving those parts that are shared across applications.
- Archiving data or applications that may need to be accessed in the future.
- Destroying products and/or data that will no longer be retained (e.g., magnetic media).

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Roles and Responsibilities

The key roles and their responsibilities are as follows:

IT Staff. These individuals perform the technical activities. They may be part of a Pilot Team. Staff includes product developers or others with a thorough understanding of the products being deployed and how they are intended to be used.
User Representatives. These individuals interact with the IT Staff, receiving the technical training, participating in operational testing and evaluation, and serving as the initial set of users during piloting.
Users. These individuals receive the necessary training and orientation and use the deployed products to perform their job tasks.
Support Organization. Individuals with expertise in the QA or CM disciplines provide assistance to help ensure that the deployed products and processes are configured appropriately and have the expected quality.
Other Key Stakeholders. Any group or individual with a vested interest in a deployed product. This includes representatives of IT Project Teams from other interdependent projects, other Pilot Team members, and HS program users and management staff.

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Artifacts

The following information is used or produced by these activities. Templates, examples, and checklists for identifying and documenting items are available through the Additional Resources section at the end of this page.

(configured) IT Products and Data. This is the main result of these activities. The products and data are adapted, when necessary, from the products in the developmental configuration (e.g., configuring a commercial package on a client or server platform).
Deployment Project Plans. These work-level plans guide these technical activities.
Developmental Configuration. The integrated products and data released for deployment are configured and installed for each site.
Project or Product Requirements. These are allocated to the technical tasks to ensure that both the practices employed (e.g., operational interface testing) and the resultant IT products (configuration data) conform to the HS Agency and HS Agency programs' needs.
A-TARS. The appropriate part of the A-TARS is used to guide technical decisions for the deployment project. Any IT products and data produced by the project must be consistent with the A-TARS.
Status. Technical progress and issues are forwarded to the project management activities. Status is checked against the tasks in the Deployment Project Plan.

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Additional Resources

Resources applicable to this activity are cataloged below. Some items from the fabrication project engineering resources also may be used to perform the deployment engineering activities. Lists of all available resources may be found in the Resources portion of the IT Planning and Management Guides.

Checklist: Deployment
A tailorable checklist to use for identifying items that may impact the deployment. 04-09-02

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