Chapter 38 — Capstone implementation
Lesson map
Lesson 38 published. Map, example, EX112.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["38.1 Implementation"]
N2["38.2 Documentation"]
N3["38.3 Training"]
N4["38.4 Issues"]
N5["38.5 Timeline"]
N6["Structuring the dissertation"]
N7["Writing clearly"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7
N7 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX112"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["38.1 Implementation"]
N2["38.2 Documentation"]
N3["38.3 Training"]
N4["38.4 Issues"]
N5["38.5 Timeline"]
N6["Structuring the dissertation"]
N7["Writing clearly"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7 --> Q["EX112"]
[Learning outcomes]
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v
[38.1 Implementation]
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v
[38.2 Documentation]
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v
[38.3 Training]
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v
[38.4 Issues]
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v
[38.5 Timeline]
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v
[Structuring the dissertation]
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v
[Writing clearly]
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v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX112]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) complete the programme; (2) run routines; (3) document.
38.1 Implementation
All controls in place; weekly routine running.
By the end of the term, all 45 laptops are encrypted and baselined, unneeded server services are removed, and S04 is isolated on its own segment. The weekly routine runs every Monday from the one-page checklist, with the monthly encryption and services checks added. Two tasks slip outside Aisha's control, the server replacement and phone management, and both are recorded with new owners. Aisha records the final state of each control in one table, with the date and the evidence file behind it.
38.2 Documentation
Runbooks for encryption, updates, inventory and server checks.
Each runbook is a short document with steps, the report used to check the result and what to do if a step fails. The encryption runbook includes retrieving a recovery key from the directory; the update runbook includes the triage rules; the inventory runbook runs the comparison; the server runbook runs the services lab. Each runbook names an owner and a review date, so none is left to go out of date. The runbooks are stored with the role documents and the decision log, so a new officer finds everything in one place.
38.3 Training
Gareth's assistant is trained.
Training is done by performing the routine together rather than by reading it. In two handover sessions, one with Gareth and one with his assistant, each follows the checklist while Aisha watches and answers questions. The assistant then runs the routine alone and finds and enrolls an unmanaged new laptop, the kind of gap the routine exists to catch. After training, the assistant also covers the routine when Gareth is on leave. Training notes from both sessions are folded into the runbooks.
38.4 Issues
A failed laptop needs reimaging; documented process works.
The laptop is rebuilt from the management server using the documented process, which takes about two hours, as the recovery plan estimated. Its files are already on the file server through sync, so no data are lost. The laptop is checked against the baseline and encryption verified before it goes back to its user. The rebuild confirms that laptops hold no data that exists only locally, which supports the data minimisation work.
38.5 Timeline
Completed in one term.
One term covers implementation, verification and handover, with the baseline and the reminder study done in earlier terms. Aisha keeps a timeline in her project log showing when each stage started and finished. The two slipped tasks, the server replacement and phone management, both outside her control, are shown on the timeline with their reasons, rather than removed from it. Aisha leaves two weeks for proofreading at the end, as her dissertation plan requires. Slipped tasks are given new owners, so they do not vanish when the term ends and Aisha leaves Bramley.
Structuring the dissertation
The dissertation follows a standard structure: introduction, background, method, design and implementation, evaluation, discussion and conclusion. Each chapter answers a question: why it matters, what is known, how the work was done, what was built, what changed and what it means. Aisha writes the method chapter first, since it was already planned, and the introduction last.
She uses the references in the course list, citing standards for practices and papers for evidence. Every figure is checked against its source data, and the labs' outputs are reproduced in an appendix with the synthetic data used.
Dr Grant reviews drafts chapter by chapter. His main comments are to shorten the background, make the evaluation table clearer and move detailed procedures to appendices.
Writing clearly
Aisha uses short sentences, active voice and defined terms. Each paragraph starts with its main point.
Academic integrity
All sources are cited; quoted text is marked; the tutor's suggestions are acknowledged.
Appendices
Appendices hold the labs, synthetic data, role documents and the routine, so the main text stays readable while every claim remains checkable.
Review with the tutor
Dr Grant asks which claim in the draft is weakest. She points to the staff survey, which had few responses, and softens the wording accordingly.
Worked example
Gareth's assistant runs the weekly routine alone and finds an unmanaged new laptop, enrolling it.
Synthetic case. Synthetic.
Errors and limits
Programmes reliant on one person are fragile.
Exercises
- EX112 — Runbooks. Which runbooks exist? Rubric: 3 = encryption, updates, inventory, server checks; 2 = three; 1 = two; 0 = none.
- EX113 — Training. Who was trained? Rubric: 3 = Gareth's assistant; 2 = partial; 1 = vague; 0 = none.
- EX114 — Routine finding. What did the assistant find? Rubric: 3 = unmanaged new laptop; 2 = partial; 1 = vague; 0 = none.
Synthesis
Document and train so the programme lasts.
Continue studying — chapter 38 of 40
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