I am off to a job interview on tuesday and have been asked to prepare a short report on the following subject;

“Please explain the processes you would go through when replacing a member of staff’s computer for a new upgraded unit. The member of staff is part of our domain and has a static ip address assigned to their pc.”

I am pretty sure i have everything covered, any hints or suggestions welcome.

You've got operational and technical issues to consider, and also opportunities if you're sharp. Before you start you'll need to:

- Arrange a time that'll cause minimal disruption

- Give warning in advance, plus expected duration of job

- Visit the machine to make sure your details for assigned IP, etc are up to date

- Check for additional/unusual software, desktop preferences (including accessibility), special connections and locally stored data

- Check for older peripherals and make sure you can still support them. Advise on replacement if necessary

- Make sure the cables and location are accessible, and ask the user to have the area clear in time for the visit

- Ensure that the new unit will fit into the location properly with regard to cooling, clearances, etc

Once you know where you're going:

- Prep the machine away from the user's desk to bring the job time down. Don't assign the IP just yet

- Try to match the basic look and feel to the previous machine unless doing so would involve creating problems

- Apply any updates before rolling it out

- Add the new machine to your asset register

- Install the new machine at the users location whilst keeping the old one off to one side

- Make final settings (IP, domain, etc)

- Ask the user to sign in and check that the machine works as expected; If so, remove old machine

- Make sure the user has your contact details and remind the to call you if there are issues

- Keep the old machine in storage for a while just in case the user has stored important data on it and didn't realise

- Make a courtesy call after a week or so to check everything is OK

- Remove the old machine from the asset register, salvage useful parts and arrange for disposal

You can spot the following opportunities too:

- Chance to carry out a workstation assessment and make sure the user has the pc, chair, monitor etc set up correctly

- Opportunities for user training

- Chance to configure local machines for best use of shareable peripherals

- Spotting dangerous practices (writing passwords, sharing logins, turning equipment off a the mains etc) and informing users of better practice

- Rather than scrapping the machine, consider rebuilding it for lighter usage elsewhere

Edited 6 February, 201016 yr by Interphase