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Preparing for .NET Enterprise Technologies: A Practical Guide for People, PCs, and Processes Interacting in a .NET World
- By Nelson Ruest, Danielle Ruest
- Published Oct 23, 2001 by Addison-Wesley Professional.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2002
- Dimensions: 7-3/8x9-1/4
- Pages: 384
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-201-73487-7
- ISBN-13: 978-0-201-73487-4
The move to enterprise-level technologies is a significant change for IT. Today's networks often grow piece by piece as organizations discover new business requirements or simply try to keep up with the rapid pace of change. But in an enterprise IT world, everything must be integrated.
With the constant influx of new distributed enterprise technologies, in particular the .NET technologies from Microsoft, system administrators, network professionals, and business managers know that setting up and implementing these technologies is as critical to enterprise success as the technologies themselves. In fact, what is critical today is how to manage an environment that is in constant flux.
Preparing for .NET Enterprise Technologies gives you an understanding of what it means to manage, support, and profit from technologies. It is a comprehensive roadmap to putting into place the technologies, organizational policies, and supporting structures for enterprise systems. In addition, this book focuses on the human factor, featuring practical advice on human-computer interaction, change management, and training.
The book details the Enterprise Management Framework (EMF), a comprehensive series of easy-to-follow processes covering everything from initiating communications with your user base to implementing standards and structuring training programs. EMF focuses on giving you a complete understanding of the underlying services framework required in a distributed organization and includes proven project approaches for the deployment of technologies. The model is designed to meet the challenges of the modern IT world, where continuous availability, simplicity of management, and a new client/server model are required.
Anecdotes, case studies, examples of deliverables from projects, and diagrams illustrate important concepts throughout, using Microsoft technologies as a source of practical examples. Specific technologies discussed include Active Directory, Windows 2000/XP Professional, and Windows 2000/2002 Server and Advanced Server. But this process can be applied to any technological environment.
The companion Web site located at www.Reso-Net.com will include forms, process descriptions, an online version of the book, and source images readers can print in larger format.
0201734877B05222001
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Table of Contents
Preface.
Introduction: The .NET Infrastructure Roadmap.
The Scope of the Book.
The EMF.
The .NET Roadmap.
The .NET Reading Map.
I. THE ROADMAP TO .NET ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGIES.
1. An Ever-Changing World.Human Nature.
Basic Personality Types.
Change in IT.
The Emotional Cycles of Change.
Stability within an Ever-Changing Environment.
Change Management Processes.
The QUOTE System: A Structured Approach for Change Management.
Going with the Flow.
A World of Service.
Defining Service.
Service in an IT World.
CASE STUDY: Implementing a Major IT Change.
Harmonizing Change in IT Environments.
CASE STUDY: Moving to a New Operating System.
Chapter Roadmap.
The Generic QUOTE Roadmap.
2. Developing an IT Service Framework.Defining IT Services.
The Driving Principles of Quality IT Service.
Diversity within the Organization.
Standardization, Rationalization, and Certification.
Using a Strategic Plan for Change.
Defining the Vision.
Objectives for a Strategic IT Plan.
Defining the Driving Principles of Change.
Controlling the Impact of Change.
Acquisition Guidelines.
IT Service Use Guidelines.
Managing Total Cost of Ownership.
Zero Administration for Windows.
The Move to an Enterprise Architecture.
The Foundation of a Change Management Strategy.
The Global Architecture.
The Foundation of the Global Architecture.
Applying the Outer Structure to the Framework.
The Scope of Windows 2000.
A Scalable Framework Vision.
Using the QUOTE System.
CASE STUDY: Four Ministry Merger.
CASE STUDY: PC Software Rationalization.
CASE STUDY: Designing an Active Directory.
Chapter Roadmap.
3. The Essence of the Framework.Microsoft's .NET Architecture.
A Distributed Services Architecture.
Using a Structural Model.
An OSI Networking Reference Model for PCs and Servers.
Physical Layer.
Operating System Layer.
Networking Layer.
Storage Layer.
Security Layer.
Communications Layer.
Commercial Tool Layer.
Presentation Layer.
Corporate Tool Layer.
A Complete Model.
The IT Model for Service Points of Access.
The Benefits of the IT Model for Service Points of Access.
Defining Targets for the EMF.
Targets for the Client.
Targets for the Network.
Targets for the Organization.
CASE STUDY: Standardizing SPAs for the PC.
Using the QUOTE System.
Chapter Roadmap.
4. Supporting Processes.Rationalizing the Enterprise.
The Effectiveness of Rationalization.
Rationalization Costs.
Software Lifecycle Management.
Certification Processes.
The Evolution of Software.
Facing DLL Hell.
Windows 2000 and DLL Hell.
Stabilizing Windows Technologies.
A Certification Approach: Complete DLL Management.
Using a Certification Center.
Presentation Layer Management.
Defining the Presentation Layer.
Group Customization of the Presentation Layer.
Managing Web Content on the Desktop.
Using the QUOTE System.
Chapter Roadmap.
5. Standardization Management Processes.Traditional IT Service Structures.
A .NET Framework Management Structure.
Supporting Technologies.
Designing a Service Model for IT.
Managing Standard IT Environments.
Moving to the EMF.
Developing for the EMF.
Centralized versus Decentralized Development.
Centralized Development Strategies.
Decentralized Development Strategies (DDS).
CASE STUDY: DDS Deployment and Update System.
A .NET Development Support Program.
Supporting the EMF.
Usage and Productivity Support.
Local Productivity Support Teams.
Managing User Change Requests.
Using the QUOTE System.
CASE STUDY: Local Productivity Support Teams.
Chapter Roadmap.
II. IMPLEMENTING .NET ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGIES.
6. Putting the Enterprise ManagementFramework in Place.Managing IT Change.
The Cyclical Nature of IT Change.
Moving to the EMF.
Mapping the Project through Deliverables.
Using a Structured Project Approach.
The QUOTE Cycle.
QUOTEs within QUOTEs.
CASE STUDY: Applying the QUOTE System to a Large Deployment Project.
Deploying the EMF.
Preparatory Activities for Delivery.
Delivery Support Tools.
Using the QUOTE System.
CASE STUDY: PC Deployment Program.
Chapter Roadmap.
7. Project Management.The Golden Rules of Deployment Projects.
Deployment Project Truisms.
Working SMART.
Preparing the Project.
Putting Tools and Processes in Place.
CASE STUDY: Managing Project Meetings.
Creating the Project Plan.
Inventorying the Organization (Question Phase).
Creating a Learning Environment (Understand Phase).
Defining a Technology Transfer Methodology (Organize Phase).
Deployment and Activation (Transfer Phase).
CASE STUDY: Supporting a Migration.
Project Finalization (Evaluate Phase).
Using the QUOTE System.
Chapter Roadmap.
8. Communications in an EnterpriseManagement Framework.The Communications Process.
The Principles of Communications.
Knowledge Management: The Internal Village.
Communications in Migration Projects.
CASE STUDY: Migrating to a “Locked” PC.
Managing Change through Communications.
CASE STUDY: Making People Listen.
A Structured Communications Plan.
Communications Plan Structure.
Audience Identification.
Dividing the Plan into Project Phases.
Defining Clear Objectives for the Plan.
Message Structure.
Message Delivery Timings.
Communications Plan Delivery Rules.
The Communications Team.
Message Delivery Mechanisms.
A Sample EMF Communications Plan.
Question Phase (Planning).
Understand Phase (Preparation).
Organize Phase (Pilot).
Transfer Phase (Deployment).
Evaluate Phase (Project Review).
Recurring Communications.
Using the QUOTE System.
CASE STUDY: Implementing a Project Communications Program.
Chapter Roadmap.
9. Training: A Change Management Tool.Using Training to Manage Change.
Managing Change through Training.
A Migration Project Training Program.
The Positive Impact of Automation in Training.
Support for Continuous Learning.
An Internal Support Program.
Continuous Learning Management.
The Migration Training Plan.
The Training QUOTE.
Question Phase (Planning).
Understand Phase (Preparation).
Organize Phase (Pilot).
Transfer Phase (Deployment).
Evaluate Phase (Project Review).
Recurring Training.
Using the QUOTE System.
CASE STUDY: Implementing a Complete Training Program.
Chapter Roadmap.
10. Profiting from .NET Enterprise Technologies.The Evaluation of the Framework.
Completing the EMF.
Change and the EMF.
Taking Small Steps toward Change.
Lessons Learned.
The Final QUOTE.
III. APPENDIXES.
Appendix A: The Global Architecture Grid.Appendix B: Essential Standards.
Appendix C: Inventory Data Sheet.
Appendix D: SPA Object Content List.
Appendix E: User Survey Questionnaire.
Appendix F: Sample Standard Operating Procedures.
Bibliography.
Index.
Preface
When Addison-Wesley asked us to write this book, we were thrilled. We'd been working in the IT industry for over 20 years. During this time, we participated in a lot of projects, met people from every level of every type of organization, and lived through all sorts of work situations. Each and every experience had a single, unifying thread: change and change management.
This book enabled us to bring together many of the concepts and ideas we have gathered, identified, developed, designed, and put in place during our careers. Our goal is that it becomes a guide that can help you, we hope, to understand change and to transform your organization into one that can live with constant change, whether it is technological or human in nature.
Living with constant change is important to all of us who work with computers. A 2001 Statistics Canada survey revealed that more than 57 percent of working Canadians worked with a PC. Of these, more than 80 percent worked with a computer every day. This trend is the same in the United States, and it doesn't stop with the workforce. Computers are becoming even more pervasive in our everyday lives.
This world of constant change is the reason for our focus on people, PCs, and processes. Knowing, understanding, and mastering everything about your organization, its objectives, and its purpose are essential when you are implementing IT change if you want to be able to profit from it and, especially, help your users benefit from it. This book helps you get there.
In this book, we propose a unified Enterprise Management Framework (EMF) for distributed technologies. This Framework can help people and organizations make better sense of the IT world. The book is presented in two parts. First, it helps you identify the need for change in your IT infrastructure. It also identifies specific tools you can use to ease the change process--to manage the change. Second, it helps you prepare for the EMF and implement it as a comprehensive IT change management strategy.
This book is also a planning tool that can help you make the transition to .NET Enterprise Technologies, a world where all elements are tied together and every element may impact the others, a world where it is important--if not crucial--to ensure that every modification you bring to your network does not impact existing processes in a negative manner. Here, IT change is not only constant, it is perpetual, because IT components are always on the move.
We included more than 100 illustrations that help define the processes we describe. Because many of the processes can appear fairly complex at first, these illustrations help simplify them. These processes work: Each and every one has been implemented in whole or in part in real-life situations.
Information is power. The more you know, the better your decisions will be. That's why we feel managers and IT professionals--and even users--should be aware of the processes we describe. One of our main goals is to bridge the gap between the vision users have of a computer system and the technical approaches IT professionals take to prepare and deliver them.
We sincerely hope you find this book as rich and rewarding as we have. For us, this book is the culmination of a dream: helping people interact with PCs. Your comments will always be appreciated because they can only help improve the way users around the world interact with computers.
Companion Web SiteSeveral of the items in this book can also be found on our companion Web site: http://www.Reso-Net.com/EMF. Among the resources you'll find there are
- All of the forms displayed in this book, especially those in the appendixes (available in Adobe Acrobat format)
- Some of the complex images in the book (available in JPEG and/or EPS for printing in a larger format)
- Additional items to assist you in your change management processes
Enjoy the book!
Danielle Ruest and Nelson Ruest0201734877P10082001
Index
AAcquisition guidelines, 41-42
Activation, and deployment, 213
Active Directory, 62
case study, designing an, 60-62
Activities, miscellaneous, 179
Advisor, versus consultant, 19
Agents
change, 8
change and change, 11
Application deployment approaches, 182-83
Application deployment process, decentralized,
158
Application processes, 153
Architects, enterprise and workflow, 198
Architecture
defining global, 52
distributed services, 68-72
foundation of global, 52-53
global, 49-52
move to enterprise, 46-48
Architecture grids
global, 303, 305
sample global, 304
Audience identification, 232-35
Automation in training, positive impact of, 264-66
BBlackcomb, 76
Blueprint
active directory move (example), 62
evaluate phase, 212
internal channel management, 128
organize phase, 212
question phase, 207
transfer phase, 214
understand phase, 210
user change request, 163
Book, scope of, xviii-xx
CCase studies
applying QUOTE system to large deployment projects, 176
DDS deployment and update system, 158-59
designing Active Directory, 60-61
four ministry mergers, 58-59
implementing complete training program, 290-91
implementing major IT change, 20-21
implementing project communications program, 254-55
local productivity support teams, 164-65
making people listen, 229-31
managing project meetings, 204
migrating to locked PC, 227-28
moving to new operating system, 21
PC deployment program, 184-88
PC software rationalization, 59-60
standardizing SPAs for PCs, 92-93
supporting migrations, 214-15
Centralized development strategies, 151-52
Certification, 30-33, 97
approach, 116
calculating costs, 276
center, 116-21
center processes, 118-20
component, 180
and consultant PCs, 120-21
management, 145-47
processes, 107-21
complete DLL management, 116
evolution of software, 107-8
facing DLL hell, 108-9
stabilizing Windows technologies, 114-16
using certification center, 116-21
Windows 2000 and DLL hell, 109-13
Certification exams, preparing for Microsoft, 277
Change
agents, 8
Change
and Change agent, 11
case study, implementing a major IT change, 20-21
controlling impact of, 35-41
defining driving principles of, 35-43
acquisition guidelines, 41-42
controlling impact of change, 35-41
IT service use guidelines, 42-43
and EMF, 295-96
emotional cycles of, 8-10
is continuous flowchart, 23
management
structured approach for, 13-15
tool, 257-92
management processes, 11-13, 14
managing IT
cyclical nature of IT, 171
moving to the EMF, 171-72
mapping the project through deliverables, 172
managing through communications, 228-29
managing through training, 259-62
taking small steps toward, 296-97
using strategic plan for, 33-35
defining vision, 33-34
objectives for strategic IT plan, 34-35
using training to manage, 257-66
managing through training, 259-62
migration project training program, 262-64
positive impact to automaton in training, 264-66
Change, harmonizing in IT environments, 21
case study, moving to new operating system, 21-22
change is continuous flowchart, 23
generic quote roadmap, 24
Change management strategy
foundation of, 48-55
applying outer structure to Framework, 53-55
foundation of global architecture, 52-53
global architecture, 49-52
Changing environment, finding stability in continuously, 3-24
Changing world, ever, 3-24
emotional cycles of change, 8-10
going with flow, 15-16
harmonizing change in IT environments, 21-24
human nature, 3-8
QUOTE system
structured approach for change management, 13-15
stability within ever-changing environment, 10-13
world of service, 16-19
Clients
datacenter server and thin, 67
targets for, 91
Coaches, using onsite, 252
Commercial tool layers, 78-79
Communications
agents, 198-99
in enterprise management framework, 221-56
communications plan structure, 232-45
communications process, 222-31
sample EMF communications plan, 245-54
structured communications plan, 231-32
using QUOTE System, 254
flowcharts, 256
layers, 78
managing change through, 228-29
in migration projects, 225-27
plan structures, 232-45
audience identification, 232-35
communications plan delivery rules, 238-40
communications team, 240-41
defining clear objectives, 236
dividing plan into project Phases, 235-36
message delivery mechanisms, 241-45
message delivery timings, 237-38
message structure, 236-37
principles, 223-24
recurring, 254
teams, 240-41
Communications plans, structured, 231-32
Communications processes, 222-31
case studies
making people listen, 229-31
migrating to locked PC, 227-28
communications in migration projects, 225-27
implementing, 36-37
knowledge management: internal village, 224-25
managing change through commun
Introduction
We rent a lot of cars. It's simple. What's really wonderful about cars is that they all work alike. Of course, there are variations, but in general, if you know how to drive, you can get into a car--any car--and drive off within five minutes at most.
All cars are made of the same basic parts and always include a common interface: a steering wheel, a transmission, gas and brake pedals, four wheels, and so on. Unless you're in a country like England where everything is the other way around, you can get behind the wheel of any type of car and drive off quickly.
Why isn't it the same with computers?
Computers are similar to cars. They all have the same basic components: a screen, a CPU, disk drives, a keyboard, a mouse, and so on. Where they differ is the interface.
Computers, even computers of the same type with the same operating system, have a strong tendency to be different from one another in terms of how people interact with them. Take Windows, for example. It is the single most common user interface in the world. Yet it is so versatile that very few Windows systems offer the same basic interactions with the user. This is sometimes even the case within the same organization.
In departmentalized organizations, each department has a tendency to perform its own PC analysis and deployment, including the entire interface design and accompanying services. Why is this the case?
Is it because people think PC means "personal computer"? Perhaps. In fact, in organizations of all sizes, PC should mean "property of the company." If that is the case, companies should treat the PC as a strategic organizational asset that provides the same basic set of services and a single unified interface to all corporate users.
That is what this book is about: the human factor in technologies. It's about how people interact with PCs. How PC interfaces can be designed to simplify this interaction process. How PCs can be managed according to proven processes that provide given responses to given situations. How a corporate IT department is, in fact, a service provider. How a corporation can truly achieve valuable returns on investments (ROI) and how total cost of ownership (TCO) is not a myth.
Humans interact with computers in a vast number of ways. The elements described in Figure I.1 are some of the most important ones.
This book focuses on implementing distributed environments with examples from Microsoft Windows technologies. Why? Because they are the most widespread computer technologies in the world.
It's not our place to tell you to buy Microsoft technologies; this book does not aim to join the debate between Microsoft and other information technologies. But if you've already made the choice--if Microsoft technologies are part of your infrastructure; if despite everything, you have to live with Microsoft technologies; or if you're looking at a future Microsoft implementation--it is our place to help you understand how to benefit from their use.
Preparing for .NET Enterprise Technologies is about the complex interactions between people and PCs. It is about how you deploy new technologies while still permitting your users to go about their business. It is about how you can create a structural model of the services your information technologies are designed to provide. It is about how you can adapt your approaches to people in order to provide a quality service that enhances the computing experience for everyone involved.
Even though the process methodology included in this book focuses on examples from Microsoft implementations, it can be applied to any distributed technological environment. It describes a universal approach that actually achieves TCO and obtains valuable ROI with distributed technologies.
After years of existence in the industry, Windows is still widely misunderstood. Several myths surround this operating system. Most are unfounded and completely avoidable. With over 20 years of experience with project implementations of Microsoft and especially Windows technologies, and with over 145,000 users affected by these implementations, we have noted that organizations using these technologies always face the same basic problems.
- How can you implement a distributed system based on a "simple" technology like Windows and actually turn it into a corporate computing environment that provides stable and constant service?
- Why is it that every Windows user is familiar with the "blue screen"?1 In fact, people are so familiar with this concept that Microsoft even used it in their advertising campaign for Windows 2000 Professional.2
- When should you deploy new Windows technologies?
- Where should you look to improve quality of service within a Windows world?
- What should you consider when you want to limit the impact of ever-changing versions of Windows on businesses and users?
This methodology, or rather, this Enterprise Management Framework (EMF), provides a series of consistent and easy-to-follow processes covering everything from initiating communications with your user base to the structure of training programs in the organization. It includes proven project approaches for the deployment of technologies. It focuses on a complete understanding of the underlying services framework required in a distributed organization. It also describes a special certification approach that can ensure the stability of Windows systems.
The Scope of the BookThe .NET EMF is concentrated on a new generation of Microsoft software: the .NET generation. It takes into account new feature sets from technologies that have become the basis of the Internet today. This new model is designed to meet the challenges of the modern IT world: 24/7 availability, simplicity of management, and a new client/server model. Many software manufacturers, including Microsoft, have taken this new orientation.
Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect for Microsoft, states it clearly: "What will the next generation of the Internet look like? Many of us envision an online world where constellations of PCs, servers, smart devices, and Internet-based services can collaborate seamlessly. Businesses will be able to share data, integrate their processes, and join forces to offer customized, comprehensive solutions to their customers. And the information you or your business needs will be available wherever you are--whatever computing device, platform, or application you are using."3
Microsoft .NET is about speed and agility of service development by sharing Web-enabled services. It is a very powerful scenario that requires one underlying truth: The infrastructure that supports these processes and services must be stable. That is what this book is about.
Preparing for .NET Enterprise Technologies helps you map out the infrastructures you need before you implement Microsoft's .NET Framework and/or .NET Enterprise Servers, as shown in Figure I.2.
Given Microsoft's development strategies in the past, this framework should be valid as is for at least the next five years, helping you grow and adapt with the new Microsoft product strategy: the .NET Framework. But to do so, you'll need to rethink some of the ways you work with information technologies today.
If you are using Windows technologies, the examples in this book will help you prepare a new IT framework that will be ready to accept and use the services of Microsoft's .NET Enterprise Servers. It focuses on a directory service and an underlying structure for PCs and servers in preparation for network evolution. In our Microsoft examples, we cover Active Directory, Windows 2000/XP Professional, and Windows 2000/.NET Server or Advanced Server. All of these pave the way for Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers and the .NET Framework.