- Document procedures that are specific to the line-of-business applications in use.
- Do not document (but do reference) procedures that are outlined elsewhere (MSDN, publisher’s Web site, etc.).
- Log out of a server when you’re not going to be using it for a while. Do not leave important configuration steps half done.
- Automate processes that are redundant or lengthy to perform by hand. There’s nothing better than getting Windows installed without having to answer “Typical TCP/IP settings” and without the need to install update KBabcxyz.
- Ask questions to clarify a particular problem/oddity. e.g. Why is there only one virtual machine running on this server?
- Don’t assume that something is the way it is (read: not optimal) just because whoever did it is a moron. Many times cost dictates what can be done and more importantly what can’t be done.
Note: Sometimes you are working with morons. - Make yourself available during the work day and at a reasonable level otherwise. E-mail. Cell. Text. There’s no reason why a problem at work should be held up for hours/days because you were too inconsiderate or lazy to give a 30-second answer to a non-trivial question.
- Recognize when delegating a task to a co-worker is better than doing it yourself. If your co-worker is more efficient, experienced or excited to do a task give it to them. You are not always God’s gift to IT.
- Do not rush. Do not jump to make changes. No matter how urgent something is there’s a good chance you’ll make mistakes that your co-workers (or you) might have to clean up if you did things too fast, thereby cutting into the variable you were trying to minimize in the first place: time.
- Learn something new anytime you can and then teach it. Don’t become the bottleneck for information in your organization. It just makes you the forever go-to guy for everything.
How to be kind to your fellow system administrators
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