Anyone who's done work in some kind of tech support in a networked environment has dealt with issues related to software installation. On large networks, it is almost impossible to maintain a standard configuration even though you are in the process of deploying, because there's so many machines that the standards will change a few times by the time the project's over. Also, too strict configuration (like, same hardware and software standards for the whole company, engineers and secretaries alike) can cause more disruption in the users productivity. For example, when a specific piece of software is used by a user who does a particular task that nobody else does, and that software isn't considered as standard software by the project leaders (sic!), even if they have been notified of the potential problems this may cause. I have a vast experience in this field: I must have installed Windows 95 (and the needed productivity software) at least 1000 times, if not the double. I worked on a cutover from OS/2 to Windows 95, then later upgraded these machines to Pentium level (all installed by our small team of 4). I also took part in several real-estate moves, involving each time a network reconfiguration for each machine. Add to this all the troubleshooting you can get in a 300 PC network. Back in these days, we were in charge of the whole department, from A to Z, and we were independant from other departments.
Then I took part in a project to replace these computers with more recent model, but this time it was part of a company-wide project, and the goal was to standardize the practices in IT in all the company. I was "involved" in the project as *they* were upgrading *my* department, and then *I* had to clean *their* mess. I was later involved with various parts of this project, as it was evolving. I could predict the resulting failures they encountered, but they failed to listen to me. After all, I was only a "tech" then, completely disregarding my education and my VAST knowledge of Windows 95 and NT, not to mention my knowledge of the department they were invading in a way that reminded me of the Anschluss (if you don't know what this is, go back to your history books).
I had plenty of time lately, so I had the chance to try a few things that I didn't have the time to try at my previous jobs, and one of them was to try if InstallRite can really deliver its promises on the matter of software installation and deployment. Here are the results of all this.
2. The good...
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