Use a migration methodology consisting of discovery, design, testing, and implementation phases to meet the needs of your organization. Fully understand the business and technical goals and objectives of the upgrade and the breadth and scope of benefits the implementation will provide before implementing a new application or upgrade. Create a scope of work detailing the Windows Server 2003 network functionality, data management, information access, and application hosting. Define high-level organizational and departmental goals. Determine which components and capabilities of the network are most important and how they contribute to or hinder the goals expressed by the different units. Clearly define the technical goals of the project on different levels ("50,000-foot," "10,000-foot," "1,000-foot," and so on).
The Discovery Phase Review and evaluate the existing environment to make sure the network foundation in place will support the new Windows Server 2003 environment. Make sure the existing environment is configured the way you think it is, and identify existing areas of exposure or weakness in the network. Define the current network stability and performance measurements and operation. Use external partners to produce more thorough results due to their extensive experience with network reviews and analysis and predict the problems that can emerge midway through a project and become "show stoppers." Start the discovery process with onsite interviews. Review and evaluate every affected device and application to help determine its role in the new environment. Maintain and protect database information that is critical to an organization on a regular basis. Determine where data resides, what file stores and databases are out there, how the data is maintained, and whether it is safe.
The Design Phase Create a design document including the salient points of the discussion, the reasons the project is being invested in, the scope of the project, and the details of what the results will look like. Create a migration document providing the roadmap showing how the end state will be reached. Use a consultant with hands-on experience designing and implementing Windows Server 2003 to provide leadership through this process. Determine what hardware and software will be needed for the migration. Determine how many server software licenses will be required to more accurately calculate project costs. Detail the level of redundancy and security that is required and that the solution will ultimately provide. Present the design and migration documents to the project stakeholders for review.
The Migration Planning Phase Create a migration document containing the details of the steps required to reach the end state with minimal risk or negative impact to the network environment. Create a project plan that provides a list of the tasks, resources, and durations required to implement the solution.
The Prototype Phase Create a lab environment in which the key elements of the design as defined in the design document can be configured and tested. Isolate the lab environment from the production network so that any problems created or encountered in the process don't affect the user community. Thoroughly test all applications.
The Pilot Phase Identify the first group of users who will be moved to the new Windows Server 2003 environment. Users with a higher tolerance for pain are a better choice than the key stakeholders, for the most part. Clarify a rollback strategy, just in case unexpected problems occur. Test the disaster recovery and redundancy capabilities thoroughly. Fine-tune the migration processes and nail down time estimates.
The Migration/Implementation Phase Verify that applications have been thoroughly tested, help desk and support personnel have been trained, and common problem resolution is clearly documented. Conduct a checkpoint for end user satisfaction. Allocate time to ensure that ongoing support and maintenance of the new environment are being conducted before the last users are rolled into the new networking environment. Plan a project completion party.
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