Testing Group Policy

The last step (and one of the most important steps) in designing Group Policy is to test the plan that has been developed. This helps avoid the possibility of implementing a Group Policy plan only to find that it does not execute as intended. Keep the following points in mind when testing the Group Policy plan:

• Ideally, you should test your plan in a controlled environment similar to the actual business environment.

• If you don't have access to a controlled environment, test the plan in the actual business environment.

• Just because your plan passes the first test does not mean that your Group Policy will work as expected in production. Be sure to test your plan in a variety of situations.

• Keep good documentation to help you more easily troubleshoot any problems that arise.

Following these general guidelines when testing the Group Policy plan will ensure that any undesired results are identified before the plan is actually implemented.