How many people do we need for the image team? Should they be
centrally located or distributed around the world? Who is going to
evaluate the client roles required for each branch office? Where
should we create and update the image files? These are just a few of
the hundreds of questions that go beyond the scope of the imaging
process as described in this training kit. What’s more, in a large
enterprise deployment, administrators must discuss, codify, and
document the answers to these questions, not just handle them
informally as the project proceeds, as is often possible in a smaller
enterprise.
Image design and creation is just one part of a lengthy and
complicated workstation deployment process. Windows 7 desktop
administrators involved in a large-scale deployment must understand
that they are part of a much larger and farther-reaching process than
they might imagine. The deployment process begins long before they
design and create their first image file and ends long after they
complete the final workstation installations.
Viewing the Highest Level
The tools and documentation included in Microsoft
Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 cover the basic tasks of
the Windows 7 workstation deployment process. Deployment Workbench,
the primary MDT 2010 tool, is shown in Figure 1. The
deployment process includes such hands-on tasks as building a
reference computer, capturing image files from it, and deploying
those image files to the target workstations on the network.
However, these tasks are just a subset of the entire enterprise
deployment process.
When Windows 7 desktop administrators take part in a
large-scale workstation deployment, they are often required to
devote themselves primarily to the technical details of the project,
or possibly the details of one small part of the project. For this
reason, they often lose sight of the big picture—the high-level
conception, planning, and supervision that make a large IT project
possible.
In previous MDT versions, including MDT 2008, the
documentation supplied with the package included a “Planning Guide,”
a series of job aids, and other documents that defined the place of
the MDT deployment process within the bigger picture of an IT
service life cycle. However, beginning with MDT 2008 Update 1,
Microsoft removed this high-level documentation from the MDT
package, in an effort to streamline what was already a
document-heavy product.
This was a reasonable decision because the inclusion of the
“Planning Guide” and other documents implied that every MDT
deployment required a massive organizational effort, which is simply
not the case.
More Info
COMPARING MOF
VERSIONS
For those familiar with the “Planning Guide” and
other MOF-derived documents provided in MDT 2008, be aware that
these documents are based on Microsoft Operations Framework 3.0.
Compared to MOF 3.0, version 4.0 expands the scope of its guidance
beyond operations to cover the entire IT service life
cycle.
There are also substantial changes in the organization and
nomenclature of the framework. For example, MOF 3.0 divides the IT
service life cycle into four units that it calls quadrants, while
MOF 4.0 defines three elements, known as phases. The “Microsoft
Operations Framework Foundations” document (version 2.5, included
as part of the MOF 4.0 IT Pro Quick Start Kit) includes a detailed
discussion of the differences between MOF 3.0 and MOF 4.0, as well
as a table that maps the 3.0 elements onto their 4.0
counterparts.
The goal of MOF 4.0 is to define the entire life cycle of an
IT service, beginning from the initial recognition of a need,
proceeding through the planning, building, and deployment processes,
and culminating in operation and finally retirement. The basic
structure of the life cycle, as illustrated in Figure 2, consists of three
distinct phases: Plan, Deliver, and Operate, all of which are
figuratively surrounded by—and answerable to—a Manage layer.
The three phases are defined as follows:
-
Plan. The Plan phase refers not to specific IT service
deployment plans but to a generalized understanding between
the IT department and the business management elements of the
organization. The object is for these two elements to reach an
understanding about how IT services will support the business,
how the reliability of IT services will be managed, ensured,
and supervised, and what financial structure will support the
organization’s IT strategy. -
Deliver. The Deliver phase encompasses the actual conception,
planning, implementation, testing, and deployment of IT
services. The MDT 2010 deployment process occurs primarily in
the Deliver phase. -
Operate. The Operate phase defines the procedures that ensure the
stable operation, maintenance, and support of the deployed IT
services. This phase also includes the eventual retirement of
IT services at the end of their life cycles.
Using Service Management Functions
These phases are described in a series of white papers called
service
management functions (SMFs), each of which defines
processes and activities for a specific aspect of each phase, as
well as the roles of the people who perform them. Table 1 lays out the
SMFs for the Plan phase.
Table 1. Service Management Functions for the MOF Plan Phase
|
SMF |
Purpose |
|---|
|
Business/IT
Alignment |
To recognize the needs of the
organization and define a portfolio of IT services that
address those needs | |
Reliability |
To establish performance standards
for IT services that meet the organization’s requirements
for service availability, continuity, capacity, and data
integrity | |
Policy |
To define a set of policies for IT
services that meet the organization’s requirements in
matters of security, privacy, and appropriate
use | |
Financial
Management |
To estimate, optimize, and account
for the costs involved in delivering IT services throughout
their life cycles |
Table 2
describes the SMFs for the Deliver phase.
Table 2. Service Management Functions for the MOF Deliver
Phase
|
SMF |
Purpose |
|---|
|
Envision |
To conceptualize a solution to a
particular need of the organization in the form of an IT
service and define the scope and potential risks involved in
implementing the project | |
Project Planning |
To create a project plan that
specifies the design and features of an IT service that
addresses the stated needs of the organization and is
agreeable to all stakeholders involved in the
project | |
Build |
To implement an actual solution
that meets the specifications defined in the project plan
and the expectations and requirements of all the
stakeholders involved in the project | |
Stabilize |
To fully test the solution, using
laboratory or pilot deployments, and resolve any issues
exposed by this testing so as to create a high-quality
solution that fully meets the specifications defined in the
project plan | |
Deploy |
To implement the solution in a
production environment in a manner that fully meets the
expectations of all stakeholders in the project, as well as
to smoothly transfer responsibility for the service from the
project team to the operations and support
personnel |
More Info
MOF AND THE MICROSOFT SOLUTIONS
FRAMEWORK
The SMFs of the Deliver phase, as well as the Operations SMF
from the Operate phase, are largely derived from the Microsoft
Solutions Framework (MSF) process model. MSF is a collection of
documents that are primarily intended to govern database and
application development projects but are adaptable to other large
scale IT projects as well, such as workstation deployments. Unlike
MOF, the MSF documents do not attempt to cover the entire life
cycle of an IT service, just the tasks involved in envisioning,
planning, developing, stabilizing, and deploying the application
or service.
Table 3 describes the
SMFs for the Operate phase.
Table 3. Service Management Functions for the MOF Operate
Phase
|
SMF |
Purpose |
|---|
|
Operations |
To define the procedures needed to
operate IT services while minimizing down time and
maximizing efficiency | |
Service Monitoring and
Control |
To observe the ongoing health of
IT services, anticipate potential problems, and take
proactive steps to minimize the impact of those problems
should they occur | |
Customer Service |
To provide efficient and positive
assistance to users of IT services, and address all
complaints and other issues raised by those
users | |
Problem Management |
To predict potential problems and
devise problem resolution procedures that generate
workarounds and permanent solutions |
The SMFs in Table 2 represent a
sequence of procedures for a project in the Deliver phase. In the
Plan and Operate phases, however, the processes defined in the
various SMFs can in many cases occur simultaneously.
The Manage layer, which applies equally to all of the MOF life
cycle phases, is designed to create a decision making, risk
management, and change management infrastructure that is consistent
throughout the life cycle of an IT service. The Manage layer too has
its own SMFs, as listed in Table 4.
Table 4. Service Management Functions for the MOF Manage
Layer
|
SMF |
Purpose |
|---|
|
Governance, Risk, and
Compliance |
To establish policies that
delegate authority, accountability, and responsibility for
the outcome of IT projects, assess the likelihood and
possible impacts of actions taken or not taken, and ensure
that everyone involved in a project is aware of and adheres
to the policies and regulations resulting from senior
management decisions | |
Change and
Configuration |
To manage project and service
changes in a predictable and repeatable manner, while
minimizing the risks inherent in those
changes | |
Team |
To define the roles of all team
members involved in an IT service life cycle, including
their responsibilities and accountabilities, and assign
those roles to specific individuals |
Finally, the MOF life cycle model includes milestones
in the form of periodic management reviews that evaluate the current
state of the project and signal its readiness to move forward. These
management reviews, and the phases with which they are associated,
are listed in Table 5.
Table 5. Management Reviews in the MOF Life Cycle
|
Management
Review |
Phase |
Purpose |
|---|
|
Service Alignment |
Plan |
To evaluate a recognized need as
having the potential to become a new project and, if it is
approved, initiate the process of gathering information from
management and stakeholders | |
Portfolio |
Plan |
To evaluate the proposal for a new
project and, if it is approved, form a team, draft an
initial project charter, and signal the Deliver phase to
commence | |
Project Plan
Approved |
Deliver |
To evaluate a completed project
plan and, if it is approved, signal the commencement of the
Build stage | |
Release Readiness |
Deliver |
To evaluate the results of the
Stabilize process, confirm the satisfactory completion of
all laboratory testing and pilot deployments, verify that
the team has addressed all issues arising during those
processes, and signal the readiness for the Deploy process
to begin | |
Operational Health |
Operate |
To evaluate the current health of
projects in the Operate phase and, if necessary, modify the
procedures established during that phase | |
Policy and Control |
Manage |
To evaluate the current state of a
service relative to the policies established during the
Governance, Risk, and Compliance process and, if necessary,
initiate changes to the compliance mechanisms currently in
place or to the policies themselves |
The phases of the MOF life cycle, along with their component
SMFs and management reviews, are shown in Figure 3.
|
