Installation Manual

Definition

The installation manual is the deployment work product that provides procedures for installing, configuring, and tuning the application and its components in the production environments.

Objectives

The typical objectives of the installation manual are to:

• Document installation procedures for the application's data, software, and hardware components.
• Document configuration procedures for the application's software and hardware components.

Benefits

The typical benefits of the installation manual include:

• A complete and accurate installation manual is essential for the:
  • Smooth transition of the application to its production environment(s).
  • Rebuilding the production system if the data center is ever moved.
  • Ongoing maintenance of the system.
• Documenting the installation and configuration procedures in the installation manual enables multiple teams and organizations to install the application, especially when the installation site is remote and it is infeasible to physically be at the facility:
  • The development organization.
  • The customer organization.

Contents

The typical contents of the installation manual include:

• Installation Procedures:
  • Data Components (e.g., Content)
  • Hardware Components
  • Software Components
• Loading Procedures:
  • Databases
• Configuration Procedures:
  • Hardware Components
  • Software Components
• Tuning Procedures:
  • Application
  • Databases
• Appendices:
  • Major Issues
  • TBDs
  • Assumptions

Stakeholders

The typical stakeholders of the installation manual include:

• Producers:
  • Environments Team
  • Software Development Team
  • Database Team
• Evaluators:
  • Deployment Inspection Team
• Approvers:
  • Project Manager
  • Technical Leader
  • Customer Representative
• Maintainers:
  • Customer Organization
• Users:
  • The deployment team follows the procedures in the installation manual to install the application in its production environment.
  • The customer organization follows the procedures in the installation manual to reinstall the application in its production environment should reinstallation become necessary.

Phases

• Business Strategy: Not Applicable
• Business Optimization: Not Applicable
• Initiation: Not Applicable
• Construction: Not Applicable
• Delivery: Completed
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

• The delivery phase is started.

Inputs

• Work Products:
  • System Requirments Specification
  • System Architecture Document
  • Software Architecture Document
  • Contact Center Architecture Document
  • Data Center Architecture Document
  • Database Design Document
• Stakeholders:
  • TBD

Guidelines

• Installation and configuration procedures should document all manual steps to be completed and their proper sequence.
• The level of detail sufficient for a system administrator to rebuild the production environment without any background information is massive. Merely documenting database configurations can be a huge undertaking.
• Where practical, produce installation and configuration scripts that automate the bulk of the actual work. Not only does this increase the efficiency of the process, it also minimizes the level of detail required in the manual. When scripts exist, the installation manual should reference them and document how to execute them.

Conventions

Installation manuals are typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Work Flow
• Content and Format Standard
• MS Word Template
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Installation Manual