Solving Problems Using IT Glue
I was recently given an assignment to document IT Security Policies and Procedures for a Data Center. The goal was to not only fill a need, but to build a system that could survive yearly security audits. I was allowed to pick the tool I wanted to use and it was a no brainer .... the tool I chose was IT Glue.
For those of you that know me, IT Glue has become a permanent fixture in my documentation tool box. It provides me with everything I need to document just about anything.
After analyzing the project, the main problem that arose was identifying what was needed to build a system that would hold up to the scrutiny of an audit. The analysis also revealed that the number of policies and procedures required had multiplied substantially since the day the project was introduced.
That's ok though. I just starting building policies and procedures on IT Glue. However, the shear amount of required policies posed a problem and I needed a solution. I had to keep track of all of the policies, organize them, track reviews, track which ones were done, and track priorities. Hmmm....the IT Glue KB didn't give me any tips on how to do this! I guess it can't be done! Wrong!!! It isn't my favorite tool for nothing!
Tracking my policies and status - I built a form from one of the flexible asset templates. The template had everything I needed. I built a form with fields for the policy owner name, document name, category, type, priority, status, etc. I then used the "tag" feature to link my policies. When I was done entering the data into my form, I had a clear picture of everything I needed to know about documents in this project. At a quick glance I could sort by priority, doc type, owner, etc. I could plan my day visually.
Tracking reviews - Every policy had to go through a review process and I had to keep track of all documents in review. As reviews were completed, I had to decide quickly how to handle each reviewed document. Some were approved without changes, some required updates and additional reviews, and some required updates with automatic approval upon update. Other docs did not require approval, but did require that I know they had been read.
Well back to the flexible asset templates to build a form. I called it Review Tracker. I built fields to cover doc name, reviewer(s), review date, review due date. I built a text box so reviewers could add comments. I added the upload feature in case reviewers wanted to add documents or anything else to their review comments. I then added checkboxes. One for Approved, one for update and re-submit, one for update and then approve. Of course, I used tag to link the document so it could be opened, reviewed, and edited if required. The best part is that when a reviewer checked a checkbox, I had a green arrow show up in the listing indicating the status of the review. At a glance, I can see approvals and review completions as they occur without leaving my chair. So now I could filter on a status (approved, update and resubmit, and update and approve). I filter on the "approved" status first and I have a list of all completed policies that are approved without additional work. I can now place them into category folders in my library (to be viewed by anyone). I did the same for the other status categories.
I now have a listing of all docs along with their current status (and lots of other info) using the first form I built. This prioritizes my day. I check the Review Tracker daily to see how my reviews and approvals are going. I place all my policies into categorized folders in my library.
Problem solved!
IT Glue already does a lot to make things easier. That's what makes it so popular. But its the hidden things that it LETs you do that makes it so amazing!