Conducting a System Implementation

Installation

Installing Hardware and Networking Facilities

This is a complex task and best left to the professionals. Numerous skills must be brought to bear to ensure that the installation:

is of the right specification, capacity and configuration;
meets legislative, environmental safety and security requirements; and
fits in with the existing computing and networking conditions.

Most organisations will have their own technical experts who should work with those of the equipment manufacturers and the provider of technical services, if one has been appointed, to plan and execute the installation processes.

Installation considerations will include:

specification and set-up of the computer room(s) and operating environment;
specification, selection and installation of cabling and electrical supplies;
specification, selection and installation of data storage facilities;
specification, selection and installation of firewall technology;
specification, selection and installation of institution-wide desktop facilities;
installation and configuration of the computing hardware;
installation and configuration of the operating system;
installation and configuration of the networking facilities;
installation and configuration of communications software;
testing of the complete installation; and
performance optimisation of the complete installation.

Installing the Software

Once the hardware is in place, the software should be installed. Initially this need only be for a development environment, but thought must be given as early as possible to the requirements for installing the software and database for other environments or 'instances' as they are known. Required instances may include those for:

Database instances diagram to go here

an Implementation database to act as a proving ground for the first implementation of the software;
a Testing database for Unit and Preliminary testing purposes;
a UAT database for User Acceptance Testing purposes;
a Training database for user training purposes;
a Production database for live running of the system;
a Development database for creating new data items, developing data processing routines and software modifications, and introducing new software modules;
an Upgrade database to act as a proving ground for software upgrades;
a Reference database for system reference purposes;
a Data Repository database to store production data and newly calculated data specifically for management reporting or data warehousing purposes; and
a Disaster Recovery database to operate as the live running database in the event that the Production database is unavailable in exceptional circumstances.

Institutions should work with the software supplier and the implementation partner, if one has been appointed, to plan and install the software and database(s).

The installation process, or at least relevant system set-up aspects of the installation, should be repeated or rehearsed many times during the months leading up to going-live so that those people charged with the responsibility of setting-up the new system at the time of going-live gain a detailed understanding of each task in the process and precise timings can be taken. This is particularly important because, when the institution eventually goes-live with the new system, the down-time in converting from the old system must not only be as short as possible, but also sufficient for the tasks to be carried out properly and fully tested.