Documentation

Hey guys,

How do you document general information about applications for your clients? Currently I work for a small MSP and we manage about 50 companies with 4-5 guys in a help desk. We want a standard way of storing application, SLA, escalation information. Just curious how you guys handle it?

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Comments

RobertKaucher

How exactl;y would it be used? Is it strictly for internal purposes?

My first instinct is to vote SharePoint...

Mishra

At the site I'm currently at, it's all stored in onenote.

In a bigger organization, we did it all through simplemachines forums. It actually worked really well. Especially being able to attach files (also can be performed in onenote).

And an even bigger organization does it through IBMs ClearCase/ClearQuest.

msteinhilber

While we only use it internally, it could be used for your needs as well if you liked.

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darkerosxx

RobertKaucher wrote: »

How exactl;y would it be used? Is it strictly for internal purposes?

My first instinct is to vote SharePoint...

+1 Sharepoint

undomiel

We use sharepoint to varying success over here. The variable being tech calls me up with question and I ask if they've checked sharepoint yet. The answer most of the time is no.

Kaminsky

It's called an OMG (no.. not Oh My God!) An operational maintenance guide.

This document is the final hand over part of any installation. It lays out everything that it took to install the thing including relevent phone numbers, account numbers, circuit numbers, ip address ranges, low level network designs and locations of all the involved kit. It also should state which teams look after it from implementation onward including their contact numbers, responsibilities, terms of reference and their escallation paths.

The click this, do that how to use the product is definately not part of this document. That's something completely different.

Implementation handover is extremely important or all your hard work will turn to a pile of cr.p as soon as something goes wrong. Once you start getting negative hits from the end user, it is very hard to come back from for those that didn't actually build the thing. That's why it is important to get the implementation handover as spot on as you can. Think of it this way. If you were going to be supporting it, what would you like to know from those that put it together bearing in mind, anything could go wrong in the future.

undomiel

I so wish the places we were taking over would do even half of this. We've had to rebuild firewalls from scratch (sometimes with much pain and suffering) due to no passwords being handed over and nobody can get in contact with the previous guy who just dropped off the face of the earth. There's only been one place so far that had anything approaching this and it still was missing a lot of info. I had to go around physically logging into servers until I found the appropriate whitebox that was the server I was looking for.

RobertKaucher

undomiel wrote: »

We use sharepoint to varying success over here. The variable being tech calls me up with question and I ask if they've checked sharepoint yet. The answer most of the time is no.

I constantly get text messages from the guy who took over at my last job. It's only been a few weeks. What annoys me is that 20 minutes (or sometimes a few hours) later I respond and he replies that he already figured it out....

My time is so unimportant that he does not look/investigate first. Spend an hour trying to figure it out if you have to and then contact me. It really bothers me and gives me the impression that he paid little attention to what I was showing him when I was handing things over to him.

"I can't find any information on how to publish an application in Citrix."

That's because I did not write a step by step guide for every aspect of network/systems administration that you will need. Do what I did. Go to this thing called Goolgle and educate your self on what you need to know to support what is now *your* environment.

Pash

RobertKaucher wrote: »

I constantly get text messages from the guy who took over at my last job. It's only been a few weeks. What annoys me is that 20 minutes (or sometimes a few hours) later I respond and he replies that he already figured it out....

My time is so unimportant that he does not look/investigate first. Spend an hour trying to figure it out if you have to and then contact me. It really bothers me and gives me the impression that he paid little attention to what I was showing him when I was handing things over to him.

"I can't find any information on how to publish an application in Citrix."

That's because I did not write a step by step guide for every aspect of network/systems administration that you will need. Do what I did. Go to this thing called Goolgle and educate your self on what you need to know to support what is now *your* environment.

This is a very good point. You need to draw lines with people on hand overs sometimes. I have current colleagues who expect me to hand over and write Operating Procedures on how to setup new AD accounts for a site....for example. I didnt spend my own hard earned cash/time on training towards an MCSA and I am a little insulted that I need to document this stuff. My response to management when I mention this is "ohh but it will save you getting a call if so and so is in the office and needs to do xyz". BORROCKS.