General Documentation
Documentation is necessary for effective service and support of your technologies. This documentation should be updated regularly, but does not need to be exhaustive, though some organizations with complex mission-critical systems may need to keep careful records for these systems. Good documentation requires consistency in documentation methods and terminology. It also requires a process to validate the documentation, to insure that its users be able to complete their tasks.
The HSC program provides templates and guides for creating a set of documentation for your organization's IT systems.
Documentation should focus on the unique information about your IT infrastructure, including Internet service accounts and passwords, hardware configurations, software licenses, network configurations, server configurations, and application configurations. The objective is that a competent techie, starting from scratch, should be able to recreate your computing environment from the information in the documentation.
You should also document common procedures, such as back-up system use and management. This documentation should focus on how things operate, how to accomplish specific tasks, and how to respond to specific events.
You may also find you need to create custom end-user documentation, procedures for logons, directions for using common applications, etc.
Inventory
An inventory of your computers is one of the basic parts of your documentation. Various automated tools for inventory data collection exist, including TechSurveyor (a part of NPower's TechAtlas planning tool) and Belarc. Automating the inventory process allows central data collection and analysis. For larger networks, these tools may be worth the cost, in both money and staff time, to configure and test.
For smaller networks, these automated tools are most likely inappropriate because a manual inventory is just as effective, and less costly. Both the Windows and Macintosh platforms have easy-to-use tools to assist in the inventory process.
For Windows, the System Information program provides access to a wealth of information about a computer. The system information application is at Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Information.
For Macintosh, the System Profiler program provides in-depth information about a computer. This application is located in the Utilities folder in the main Applications folder.
We have included full inventory templates in Appendix 3 and online to help you record your inventory information. This worksheet contains fields for the information that HSC considers most useful to record.
PoliciesYou should institute basic policies for computer use that include an acceptable computer use policy for staff, and a data privacy policy for clients and customers. You may need to develop other policies to meet programmatic needs or legal requirements.
A sample data privacy policy is included in Appendix 3. A sample acceptable use policy is here: http://www.techsoup.org/howto/worksheetpage.cfm?worksheetid=98.
BudgetsAll the tech know-how in the world won't help you if you are unable to fund the hardware and software you need. Include technology costs, hardware, software, training, and support, in your annual budget as line items. Include the costs of purchasing and maintaining information systems you need for your programs to be successful.
For more information on technology budgets, read these articles on TechSoup:
http://www.techsoup.org/techsoup.cfm?id=1521
http://www.techsoup.org/techsoup.cfm?id=1206
Worksheet 7: Documentation Checklist