the long-term picture is also important. Any custom integration or functionality must be maintained along with the application as a whole. As a partner, the vendor has a vested interest in helping with an application's long-term maintenance. Formalize Change Management and Release Management. Coordinating various software and configuration versions is necessary even prior to production launch. Release management, configuration management, change management and other program controls are essential for successful deployment when many OSS systems are being developed in parallel. Find an Experienced Integrator. Integration is risky and difficult, particularly with aggressive launch schedules. An experienced integrator provides a level of knowledge about which techniques work or do not work. An experienced integrator will also provide the proven and controlled approach to integration development that is required for any successful implementation. Chapter 4 - Developing an OSS Strategy LESSONS LEARNED Finally, in developing an OSS strategy, it is valuable to investigate the challenges others have faced. Below are some fundamental "lessons learned" to provide a quick overview of an OSS strategy's components. Early user involvement is critical in OSS selection, configuration design, process design, system acceptance testing, and M&P and training material development. Buy in of the user community is critical to the overall success of the deployment program. Users must feel that the solution is "theirs", lest bad practices continue after the launch of new automation. This is no different than any other IT initiative. Involving the business owners as early as possible is especially important for IICs because of the rapid evolution in the early stages of the company. User involvement is sometimes difficult for young IICs with few users. The operational personnel that exist are often "too busy" to get involved with such initiatives since their day-to-day jobs are very manual and time intensive. Unless early involvement is emp