Monday, November 19, 2012

Global Deployments of Information Systems and Components

By Deborah Laramie


There were many lessons learned in managing the logistic requirements of moving equipment and people and making sure that they meet each other at the right time and the right place, along with all the peculiarities of tools, know-how and the applicable clearances, to enter the facilities and be permitted to perform their contracted work.

At ITG, our primary corporate objective is to provide computer services and support to government and industry where integrated computer-based systems are vital to effective information processing. A key element in obtaining this objective is the development, integration, and implementation of an efficient, cost effective, and timely computer, software and communications installation process.

ITG maintains over 1,230 locations in the United States and availability to near 4,000 available field engineers and technicians making our company uniquely qualified to provide reliable, high quality system installation and support services. As we engage in worldwide deployments, ranging from one, to tens of thousands of units, we understand the unique network access and security requirements of our customers and we are accustomed to providing the applicable cleared personnel for the duration of the deployments across many states, countries and continents.

Having been in business for some 27 year, we have learned the "hard way". We understand the "dos and don'ts" and have refined this craft and mandate specific practices and project monitor and control processes. We know that successful adherence to established installation schedules is only obtained when precursor activities of acquisition, distribution, client site schedule coordination, and personnel deployment are appropriately coordinated, monitored, and tracked.

Below is a sample of our recommendation for a computer installation and data migration:

Transport of components to be installed from loading/staging area to installation area Un-boxing of shipped components Performance of the installation process in accordance with client approved procedural guidelines In conjunction with installation of the new component, de-installation of the existing component and associated peripheral equipment identified at the individual site location Migration of user documents and personnel settings from the old hard drive Installation of the new software image Injection of user documents and personnel settings to the new hard drive Testing and certification of the new component(s) Erasure of old hard drives Boxing of the de-installed components Movement of the de-installed components and all related components from the replaced workstations to an area designated by the local site contact Removal of all packing boxes, materials, and debris from the installation site area to a designated location either on- or off-site. Provision of a "Ready-for-Use" certificate Performance of a customer satisfaction survey

Unit testing encompasses verification of hardware operability, network connectivity, and software functionality at the component and sub-component levels. ITG maintains generic unit testing criteria guidelines for most of the common OEM vendors of computers, network devices, and peripherals. Specific client requirements are incorporated into these generic Unit Test work plans during the project planning phase, to form a unique client focused test plan that reflects organizational needs and desires. While unit test procedures vary and are based upon vendor and component type, a typical computer unit test would include functional and operational verification of the following sub-components: monitor, keyboard, mouse, network card, integrated modem, motherboard, video card, processor, fan, drives, storage, memory, input/output ports, power supply, other specialized hardware, such as adaptive technologies, etc. Unit testing should also include systems parameter verification (i.e., temperature, hysteresis, speed, over clocking, etc.), subcomponent interface and recognition of attached peripherals, driver functionality, and individual software program operability. Documentation of successful test completion should be providing to the client perhaps by the provision of a Ready for Use, (RFU) form.




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