Digital Identity

A Piece at a Time

The IMA isn't something you build once and then simply use; it's a constantly evolving collection of information, policies, and processes. Consequently, you may find it helpful to think of creating a roadmap or timeline for the process. The roadmap looks like Figure 20-2, but turned into a project plan that repeats steps as necessary to include more and more of the of the enterprise. The roadmap will specify what the scope of the process is now and in the future. A roadmap keeps the process from trying to boil the ocean while at the same time, assuring the enterprise that important issues will eventually be dealt with. The roadmap is the high-level plan for applying the IMA process to the enterprise.

You will be tempted to split the task along organizational boundaries. This is a mistake if your organization is split into functional units such as sales and marketing, engineering, and human resources. Each of these functional departments depends on other departments and interacts with them to a large degree. Consequently, a large amount of identity information is likely being transferred in and out of these departments. Furthermore, any one department is unlikely to have a complete picture of the needed identity information and infrastructure. Thus, an IMA process for the identity functions in the human resources department, for example, will be incomplete and in danger of making assumptions that have to be radically altered in future phases on the roadmap.

A better ...