Administrator Training

Intro · Welcome to the ship's office

Barnaby: Keys, keys, keys! Now where did I put my keys...

Barnaby: Oh! Hello there! I didn't see you come in.

Barnaby: I'm Petty Officer Barnaby Locke, Administrator on this submarine, and keeper of the keys.

Barnaby: This is Pelypso University, course AD-101: Administrator Training.

Barnaby: Everyone else gets to steer, grade, and decide... Me? I keep everything in order so they can perform their duties.

Barnaby: No pressure. Just... all of it.

Barnaby: Stick with me, and you'll keep a tidier ship than I do. Trust me, that's not hard.

Dive 01 · Keeper of the keys

Barnaby: Here's the job. Six things to remember, six keys.

Barnaby: Personnel: who's aboard, and what role they have.

Barnaby: Access review: making sure the right people have the right access.

Barnaby: Campaigns and Operations: how the fleet is organized.

Barnaby: Settings: the rules of the ship.

Barnaby: The Audit log: a record of every change.

Barnaby: And Plans and billing, so the lights stay on.

Barnaby: Each one has its own place in the sidebar, so even I can find them. Usually.

Dive 02 · Personnel: who's aboard

Barnaby: Personnel starts with a head count: Command, Mission Leads, Field Team, Administrators, and pending invitations.

Barnaby: To bring someone aboard, invite them.

Barnaby: Name, work email, and role.

Barnaby: If they're joining one operation, pick it.

Barnaby: Then send the invitation.

Barnaby: They'll get an email from Gertrude, and sign in with your organization's account.

Barnaby: The table shows everyone aboard: their role, their operations, their status, and when they were last active.

Barnaby: Inactive means they haven't signed in for a while. External means they're from a vendor.

Barnaby: To promote someone, pick the new role right in the table. It takes effect at their next sign-in, and it's written to the audit log.

Barnaby: And suspend anyone who's left.

Barnaby: And if an invitation's been sitting around too long, resend it or revoke it.

Barnaby: Invitations get lost too. Believe me, I know the feeling.

Dive 03 · The access review

Barnaby: Every ninety days, I check who has access to what.

Barnaby: It's called the access review, and right now, it's... overdue. Of course it is.

Barnaby: Findings tells you what to do, starting with what to fix now.

Barnaby: Keisha Owens hasn't signed in for a hundred and ten days, so unless she still needs it, suspend her account.

Barnaby: Sam Okafor is an external account from a vendor. Check with the Mission Lead that he still needs access.

Barnaby: And this one: only one administrator.

Barnaby: If I lose my keys and nobody has a spare, we're locked out. Add a backup. Please.

Captain: Locke! Have you got a spare key to my periscope?

Barnaby: A spare? Captain, I think I have a spare key around here somewhere... Hmmm.

Barnaby: Role permissions shows what each role can do. Administrators always have every permission.

Barnaby: For example, Command can export enterprise data, and Mission Leads can invite Field Team to their own operations. Flip a switch, and it applies to everyone in that role.

Barnaby: When everything's in order, certify the review.

Barnaby: It's kept in the audit log, for the auditors. Phew.

Dive 04 · Campaigns and Operations

Barnaby: This is how the fleet is organized. Campaigns hold operations, and every operation needs exactly one Mission Lead.

Barnaby: First, a campaign. Say, Public Safety Systems.

Barnaby: Create campaign. Done. Look at me, being organized.

Barnaby: To add an operation, give it a name,

Barnaby: a three-letter code,

Barnaby: a campaign, and a Mission Lead.

Barnaby: The Mission Lead adds the objectives.

Barnaby: Handing an operation to a new Mission Lead? Change it right in the table.

Barnaby: One operation, one Mission Lead. Nice and tidy.

Dive 05 · Settings: the rules of the ship

Barnaby: Settings are the rules of the ship, and they only affect your organization.

Barnaby: Terminology: mission terms, like Command and Field Team, or standard terms, like Executive and Contributor.

Barnaby: Risk rules: when a risk counts as gone quiet, how often the access review comes due, how often owners file field reports, and whether the leaderboard is on.

Barnaby: Sign-in and security: connect single sign-on, require multi-factor sign-in, and choose when people get signed out.

Barnaby: Data: how long to keep closed operations, and export everything.

Barnaby: And restore points. Made a mistake? Roll everything back to any moment in the last thirty days. My favorite button. By a lot.

Barnaby: And integrations, like Monday.com and Microsoft Teams.

Dive 06 · The audit log

Barnaby: Every change to people, permissions, structure, and settings lands in the audit log.

Barnaby: Look: everything we just did is right here.

Barnaby: Entries can't be edited or deleted.

Barnaby: It's the one thing on this submarine that never gets lost. I find that very comforting.

Dive 07 · Tips from the ship's office

Barnaby: A few tips, from someone who learned the hard way.

Barnaby: One: keep a backup administrator.

Barnaby: Two: run the access review before it's overdue.

Barnaby: Three: when someone leaves, suspend their account the same day.

Barnaby: Four: when in doubt, check the audit log.

Barnaby: And five: name things clearly. Future you will thank you. I never do.

Dive 08 · Shipshape

Barnaby: That's the job. Keep the submarine in order, so everyone else can do their job well.

Barnaby: You've got this. Honestly, probably more than I do.

Barnaby: It's a lot of pressure,

Barnaby: but with Pelypso, at least I always know where everything is.

Barnaby: Oh look! I found my keys.

Barnaby: There they are. Right where I left them.

Barnaby: Petty Officer Barnaby Locke, signing out!