This note describes the documents we use to perform system setup at client sites. We use three documents:
- Action Plan - describes the steps to be carried out to perform installation at client site.
- Action Plan Test Environment - describes the steps to be carried out to create environment for verifying the action plan in a lab.
- Verification Plan - describes the steps to be carried out to verfiy the setup.
Action Plan (AP)
- This document will give a step by step description of the tasks to be carried out for setup in production environment.
- It will describe how to perform the installation. It will not address the "why" questions.
- The steps will consist of actual exact commands which will be executed for the setup with real client data e.g. IP, intranet ids, etc.
- Repetitive steps will be explained by giving exact pointers e.g. repeat the steps of step 2 as per the information given in table "User creation information" on page 2.
- References should not be made as "as above". References should made to steps e.g "if user not created go to step 3".
- If any configuration files are to be created from scratch, they should be a part of the appendix of the action plan.
- If any changes are to be made to a configuration file, the line to be edited should be explicitly mentioned.
- Commands to perform checks should not be a part of the configuration.
Action Plan for Test Environment (APTE)
To test the correctness of the AP, it needs to be executed on real computers in a lab environment. This lab environment must reproduce at least a part of the production environment's desktops, and all the production environment's key workstations and servers. Thus, this test environment needs to be set up in the lab, perhaps using virtualisation. The APTE document will give a sequence of steps for setting up this test environment.
Verification Plan (VP)
This document will give a sequence of tests to verify the correctness of the tasks done. A VP is what many people call a "test plan". The VP will be executed at least once in the test environment after the trial setup in the lab, and at least once in the production environment after the actual setup is done.
