Survive the Catastrophe
Deploying software is usually complicated. I’m not referring to the installation itself, but the whole deploying action, which includes: installation, initial configuration, start-up, and, finally, tuning. During this process most of the times we come to a conclusion very similar to this: “This does not work”. Well, let me tell you one thing, this affirmation is typically wrong. What happens in most of the cases is that we are missing something.
Here are some tips to help you overcome any issue and make your life much easier and happier.
Don’t Panic
First big mistake. Panic won’t help. Even if time is not on your side, freaking out won’t be useful. Stop. Relax. Take a breath. Put your ideas in order and start listing what you’ve done. Once your list is complete, continue reading the items one by one as you double check you’ve done everything without mistakes. Usually this will guide you to what is wrong and you’ll be able to fix it.
Analyze the Variables
Gather all the variables involved in what you are doing. Separate them. Classify them. Start working with one, then go on with the next one, then with the next, and so on. It usually helps much more to work on this previously. But, if you’re in THE fire, it could be useful to understand what’s going on.
A good way to analyze all variables is to know what they should contain. If anyone of them does not enclose what you’re expecting, you should probably give it a closer look. Maybe there’s the problem you’re trying to solve.
Compare
If you have previously done what you’re now doing, comparing may be the key. This will help you keep a standard too. Take into account all the things you have to do to accomplish the whole task. Compare item by item. Everything should be equal, unless, obviously, there is a reason for that to be different. In that case, you should have clarity of what should be the same on both sides and which things may differ. It’s all about having a sort of “mental map”.
Readme Files
Technicians never read the “readme file”. Let’s face it. It’s ok, we love doing things on our own. Well… in some cases this piece of art could be really helpful and illuminating. This reading should be done at the very beginning of the activity, but, as I said, we hate that. My advice is: if you haven’t done it yet, spend five minutes and take a careful look at the “readme file”. It is usually what makes us do our work properly and prevents us from struggling with unnecessary problems.
Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is the most powerful tool to come up with solutions. In most complicated scenarios, this will save you. It is not that pragmatic or exact, probably it would take you to unknown rare places, but it’s a great way to get away from the problem itself and take a look from the distance, which will give you fresh air, clarity about what you are dealing with and will surely guide you to the solution.
Dealing with software deployment is awesome. It is always challenging but, when you’re in a hurry, taking this “advice” into account could be really good advantage to achieve a perfect and lean deployment.
If you would like to learn more about us, please click the following link to visit our website: www.intraway.com.