Properly managed, planned systems outages need not prove contentious or disruptive. With a little foresight, even scheduled service interruptions can be coordinated in ways that catch no one by surprise and minimize productivity issues.

Check out the PDF download and accompanying checklist from TechRepublic Premium, to learn more about coordinating scheduled systems outages.

From the download:

CREATE A SERVICE TICKET

Begin by creating a dedicated service ticket. Use the ticket to collect and coordinate all details and communication related to the scheduled outage. Planned service interruption tickets should track all of the steps and information necessary for properly preparing for and accommodating scheduled outages. Such tickets should also coordinate dependency planning and end-user communication.

Creating and associating a checklist with outage planning material helps ensure important steps aren’t overlooked and critical fundamentals—such as collecting and confirming a fresh backup is completed before any changes are made to applications, devices or systems being updated—aren’t forgotten. Include the checklist within the ticket to ensure that the checklist itself isn’t overlooked, and the corresponding steps and progress are available to all participants.