Managing the Migration Process

Define the Project Team

In the MSF model, a team of peers plans and implements a project. Each member is responsible for a functional area of the project, but overall project responsibility rests with the team as a whole. The project team definition of the Vision and Scope document identifies functional areas to be addressed by team members and assigns individual roles and responsibilities. For a small project, a single team member can be responsible for one or more functional areas. On larger projects, a separate team might be assigned to each functional area. Table 2.4 provides a description of the roles and responsibilities typically necessary in a migration project.

Table 2.4 Migration Project Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
Product Management	Product Management articulates a vision for the service and compiles requirements. This person or team is part of the project team and represents (or defends) end-user interests throughout the project. This role is not necessarily technical.
Program Management	Program Management drives the critical decisions necessary to release the right service at the right time, and coordinates the decision-making process in order to deliver the service in a manner consistent with organizational standards and interoperability goals. This person or team takes a technical role in the products and also coordinates the day-to-day activities of the rollout, providing technical guidance to the team and reporting progress to the Executive Sponsor, a high-level manager who might not necessarily be part of the team. The individual or team comprising Program Management is typically involved full-time and should have project management experience.
Development	Development builds or implements a system that is fully compliant with the Functional Specification, as described in Define the New Service Offering. This person or team has several responsibilities in a Web server migration project: Developing and designing the system services and base configuration of the system Creating profiles, system policies, and the overall system user interface Designing, testing, implementing, and supporting the system Selecting, evaluating, migrating, implementing, and supporting Web applications
Test	Test exercises the user interface, applications, and integration of new software into existing systems, ensuring that all issues are known before the release of the service. The test person or team is responsible for developing procedures and guidelines for testing and evaluating all applications in conjunction with new hardware and software systems. This role is responsible for writing the test suites and ensuring project goals have been met.
User Education	User Education improves the user experience through training and support systems. This person or team is responsible for ensuring that the user education process and documents are completed, including all documentation relative to this installation. This role also creates a knowledge base for support and evaluates the various options, before selecting the best ones for training and education programs.
Logistics	Logistics ensures a smooth rollout, installation, and migration of the system to the operations and support groups. This person or role is responsible for planning the deployment of technology.
Executive Sponsor	This is a high-level management official (at the Director, Vice President, or Corporate Information Officer level) who has a great deal of authority and who can support your efforts by providing assistance throughout the project. This individual will not be involved full-time. The Executive Sponsor is not necessarily a team member, but serves as an “external influence” on the team.