System Implementation And Support

Coding

The coding process will change program logic into specific instructions that can be executed by computers. In small programs this work can be done by one or two programmer and in large programs this task may be divided into section that can be handled by different groups. If the program was carefully written this process should be a simple process where the logical functions are translated into program code. Other programs were written to tie our student user population into the Active Directory forest. Our department had also written some code to delete Windows profiles and install software packages. This activity went by pretty fast for us as most of the critical work was already done by Microsoft.

Testing

After the coding activity is complete the next process is to test the program and make sure it works correctly. First programs are tested in groups and then the entire system is tested as a complete unit (Shelly, Cashman & Rosenblatt, 1998). Our testing phase started with a few local computers that were set aside strictly for this purpose. As the project got further along other departments were brought into the picture. First they started with departments that were located at the main campus. Once those tests were complete they need to test department from off campus. The system needed to be check to make sure user records were shown so accounts could be tracked and reported if necessary. Other test included a network load test to insure it could handle the amount of computers that were going to be put on the system. Many other tests were most likely put into place before the system was offered to other departments like ours. Once the testing phase was complete it was time to move on.

Installation

The installation process is done by installing the new system and retiring the old system. The four methods in the installation process are direct cutover, parallel operation, pilot operation, and phased changeover (Wikipedia, 2006). In direct cutover they old system is instantly change from old to new. Parallel operation requires that both system run for a certain time period before the old system is turned off. Pilot operation and phased changeover fall in between the other two methods. All installation process have there benefits and disadvantages. In our situation with the old authentication system and the new authentication each department was able to run a parallel operation. This allowed us to change computers over to the new system on our timeframe. A cutoff date was put into place and our department had one year to change the way we did things. Notices were sent out if you still had computers running on your network using the old authentication system. This process was done until the last day the old system was up and running. With the system in place a new way of doing things needed to be learned.

Documentation

The documentation process is important for the success of the system and the maintenance of the project. Documentation can be broken down into four major categories that include program, system, operations, and user. Documentation will help explain the system to new users and will help them better understand how it works. Program documentation starts with how the system was developed and implemented. This documentation describes some of the early layout of the authentication system and how it is going to be constructed. System documentation describes the system's purpose and main functions. Most of this information was written for us as Microsoft had the design already outlined when the introduced Microsoft Active Directory with trust domains. Operations documentation was one of the most important documents our department could write. This document describes how to support the new system so that we can troubleshoot it when it is broken. There is nothing worst then poor documentation