Planning for Success

The major technology-based mistakes organizations continue to make on a daily basis are typically the result of poor planning. It is for that reason that you must ensure you have a detailed step-by-step process outlined before you install a single piece of software. Each step should include the task that is to be performed, the individuals performing the task, and the success criteria that accompany the task.

Providing well-defined success criteria is a step often forgotten. Success criteria are simple checklist items that must be satisfied before you are allowed to move on to the next step. Without defining the success criteria for a specific step, you often move on to another step too early, which can prove troublesome later on in the workflow. Alternatively, you might find that without defining success criteria, you end up running into scope creep, whereby you continually add items at this step in the process and can never seem to move on to the next appropriate step. You must develop the scope document, which includes success criteria, during the initial steps of the project, and all involved parties must agree to it.

NOTE

The Cisco CSA Best Practices document is a good start for basic best practices. You can find it at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/secursw/ps5057/products_white_paper0900aecd801163cd.shtml or by searching for "Cisco Security Agent Deployment Best Practices Guide" from the Cisco.com home page.