Documenting the Portal

A comprehensive set of documentation on how your portal functions is an important mechanism to increasing the supportability of the system. The different areas that need to be documented to create a supportable solution include:

• System architecture

• Software installation and configuration

• Operational procedures, also known as a “run book”

• Software customizations

• Custom code

• Third-party products integration

The run book outlines troubleshooting techniques as well as the deployment life cycle. Make this book available during the training and transfer of knowledge phase of the project.

Do not wait until the end of the deployment project, when time and money are usually running short, to begin this documentation phase. Documenting your portal should occur as an ongoing activity throughout the entire deployment.