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ADFS Deployment Guide - Sneak Peek #1 (Checklists)

I'm going to provide occasional sneak peeks at ADFS documentation under development so that you have an opportunity to provide feedback about it. This week’s sneak peek comes from the upcoming ADFS Deployment Guide, which will use checklists to more quickly help route the reader to the correct task that they need to accomplish for a given scenario.

I believe that the checklist format used in this document will be crucial for directing the reader to the most appropriate content at the time they need it. As you know, ADFS is a complex technology involving three primary design scenarios, each of which involve many tasks and sub tasks (with a fair share of overlapping procedures across all of the scenarios). Because of this, the checklist becomes the focal point for the administrator, directing them to click on each of the links (to tasks) in chronological order.

In this way, the administrator can choose to read the entire set of conceptual and procedural topics as one story. Take a look at the graphic below, which will be included in the deployment guide to help introduce the checklist concept. If possible, take a minute to let me know your thoughts.

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 7:48 PM by nickp

Comments

Jeanie Decker said:

It looks very pretty. :-) I'm curious about the role of the second level (blue box)...the Web SSO box makes sense in the illustration, but I can't tell what the other two are doing there.

How would a conceptual topic play out in this diagram? Also, how do you get the reader to the point of knowing which checklist they need to follow?
# July 5, 2006 6:08 PM

nickp said:

Thanks Jeanie. The purpose of the middle checklist is to walk the reader through all of the tasks necessary to install a federation server, which is one of the tasks necessary to implement the Web SSO design. Once completed with the federation server checklist the reader would go back to the Web SSO checklist and proceed to the next link, until all links have been clicked on. In other words, these two checklists act as parent (left) and child (middle), while the right box in the diagram represents the actual procedures that are used to provide the step-by-step instructions necessary to complete the checklist objective (Install a federation server).

In essence, the left checklist in this scenario is made up of pointers to conceptual topics and other checklists required to complete that high-level objective (Implement a Web SSO design). While the middle checklist is made up of pointers to conceptual and procedural topics specific to setting up only that lower-level checklists objective.  

Unfortunately, this diagram does not have rows in the checklists to conceptual information but instead shows text that points to procedures. I can update the graphic to include a row or two like “Determine how many federation servers are required in your Web SSO design”, which would link to a capacity planning-like conceptual topic that would discuss this further. Also, the design guide is the key to understanding which checklist to follow. Once an admin has read through the design guide and has chosen one of the 3 primary ADFS designs (say the Federated Web SSO design) they would then use that information to select the checklist that is named identically to the design they chose (Checklist: Implementing a Federated Web SSO design).

Hope this helps clarify a bit.
# July 5, 2006 8:47 PM

Jeanie Decker said:

The additional explanation is great, Nick, and adds a lot to viewing the illustration. But I didn't ask my question clearly -- there are three blue boxes at the 2nd level: Web SSO, Federated Web SSO, and Federated Web SSO with Forest Trust. I can see Web SSO's relationship to the next level (but not why it's needed) and can't see a purpose for the other two boxes?
# July 6, 2006 12:51 PM

nickp said:

There will be text before the diagram to provide context for the other two boxes. Basically the context statement goes something like this, you have 3 designs - here's an example of how checklists work when you pick the Web SSO design.

This diagram does more than just show an example of how checklists work for a given design it will also introduce the conceptual discussion about how the design guide and the deployment guide are to be used together to create the full deployment story, which is why the other two boxes (Federated Web SSO and Federated Web SSO with Forest Trust) are present. 

As I'm writing this response, I can sure understand why you are asking these questions. :)

I guess it never occurred to me that I should have provided more context in my original post. I sure appreciate the feedback you've provided so far.
# July 6, 2006 9:16 PM
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