The handover of software maintenance from the development team to the support team after production deployment is a critical transition in the software development lifecycle.
The goal is to ensure that the support team can effectively manage, monitor, and maintain the software in production while providing a high level of service to end-users.
Documentation and Knowledge Transfer
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The development team should provide comprehensive documentation, including system architecture, design, codebase, and relevant technical documentation.
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Conduct knowledge transfer sessions or workshops to ensure that the support team understands the system's components, dependencies, and common troubleshooting procedures.
Incident and Issue Management
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Establish clear incident and issue management procedures.
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Define how incidents will be reported, tracked, prioritized, and resolved.
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Ensure that the support team has access to the necessary tools and systems for tracking and managing issues.
Access and Permissions
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Grant the support team appropriate access to production and staging environments, as well as any monitoring and logging systems.
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Set up user accounts, permissions, and access controls to ensure security and compliance.
Monitoring and Alerts
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Configure monitoring tools and set up alerts to proactively identify issues in production.
Emergency Procedures
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Define emergency procedures and escalation paths for critical incidents that require immediate attention.
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Ensure that the support team knows how to reach key personnel in the event of a severe incident.
Maintenance and Patching
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Outline the schedule and procedures for regular maintenance, including applying patches, updates, and security fixes.
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Document the rollback plan in case a maintenance update causes issues.
SLAs and Support Hours
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Define service-level agreements (SLAs) for issue resolution and support response times.
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Specify the support team's working hours, on-call rotations, and any after-hours support arrangements.
Communication Channels
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Establish communication channels between the support team and the development team. This can include regular meetings or communication via collaboration tools.
Feedback and Improvement
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Encourage feedback from the support team regarding recurring issues, usability concerns, and opportunities for improvement. Use this feedback to inform future development efforts.
Training and Skill Development
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Provide ongoing training opportunities to the support team to keep their skills up to date with changes in the software and technology stack.
Documentation Updates
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Keep documentation up to date as the system evolves.
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Document any changes, new features, or modifications made after the initial handover.
Transition Period
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Consider a transition period during which the development team continues to provide support and guidance to the support team until they are fully comfortable handling maintenance independently.
Post-Deployment Review
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After the initial handover, conduct a post-deployment review to assess the effectiveness of the transition and identify any areas for improvement.