Practical IT Policies & Procedures provides a proven process to help you develop your own IT policies and procedures. The process helps you identify the policies you need in your company and how to go about developing them.

Every company has unique needs in this area.  Practical Policies & Procedures helps you identify the areas that are of real importance and will add value to your business rather than simply writing up a bunch of policies.

Included in the publication are twenty-three sample policies and procedures to help you get started quickly.

Every order receives both the Adobe PDF ebook and  a Microsoft WORD document including the 23 samples so you may modify as needed for your unique situation.

The list of sample policies and procedures included:
IT_01   Email and Instant Messaging       
IT_02   Internet usage       
IT_03   Password security       
IT_04   Intranet usage       
IT_05   Phone usage       
IT_06   Building security and access     
IT_07   Software usage       
IT_08   PC software standards       
IT_09   Travel and entertainment       
IT_10   Employee conduct       
IT_11   Employee non-compete       
IT_12   Employee non-solicitation       
IT_13   Performance plans and reviews     
IT_14   Training and reimbursement     
IT_15   Working from home       

IT_16   Inventory and equipment       
IT_17   PC standards       
IT_18   Equipment requests (Adds, Changes, Deletes)   
IT_19   New employee startup       
IT_20   Information security                 
IT_21   Remote access                       
IT_22   Privacy                       
IT_23   Service level agreements                   

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$ 39.00
Adobe PDF ebook

Includes 2 files

-  Adobe PDF ebook
-  MS Word file with the 23   
   sample policies that can
   be customized as needed

Sample excerpts

Table of Contents

I.    Are policies and procedures necessary ?                                         
II.   Objectives of policies and procedures                                               
III.  A quick process for developing policies and procedures             
IV.  Components of a good policy                                                           
        - Policy name
        - Objective
        - Applies to
        - Key guidelines (the policy and/or procedures)
        - Who to ask for clarification
        - Last revision date
        - Samples for clarification
V.   
Keep it simple                                                                                   
VI.   Pay attention to the targeted audience                                           
VII.  Implementation tips                                                                         
        - Do your homework       
        - Be consistent         
        - Be "net" when writing the introduction
        - Why format is important
        - Communication methods
VIII.  Sample IT Policies and Procedures                                               
        IT_01   Email and Instant Messaging                                           
        IT_02   Internet usage                                                                   
        IT_03   Password security                                                             
        IT_04   Intranet usage                                                                   
        IT_05   Phone usage                                                                     
        IT_06   Building security and access     
        IT_07   Software usage       
        IT_08   PC software standards       
        IT_09   Travel and entertainment       
        IT_10   Employee conduct       
        IT_11   Employee non-compete       
        IT_12   Employee non-solicitation       
        IT_13   Performance plans and reviews     
        IT_14   Training and reimbursement     
        IT_15   Working from home       

        IT_16   Inventory and equipment       
        IT_17   PC standards       
        IT_18   Equipment requests (Adds, Changes, Deletes)   
        IT_19   New employee startup       
        IT_20   Information security                 
        IT_21   Remote access                       
        IT_22   Privacy                       
        IT_23   Service level agreements                   
IX.  Enforcing your policies               
X.   Policy and Procedure Resources             
XI.  Conclusion                 
Appendix  -  Terms

Policies and procedures are elements to support your business, they are not the answer. That's why I emphasize taking a practical look at them in terms of:

  • To what extent do you need policies and procedures?
  • Which policies and procedures make sense?
  • To what level of detail do you need to develop them?
  • What are effective means of communicating them?
  • How do you inspect and enforce them?

Taking a "practical" look at how formal policies and procedures fit into your company means using your best judgment as to whether they provide tangible benefit. Don't spend your time developing them just because the company down the street has them. It's totally irrelevant what others have in place.

If you can't define the value that formal policies and procedures will provide in either mitigating risk or defining behavior you want followed, spend your time on more important issues.

23 sample policies

Putting a policy in place, communicating it, and enforcing it with employees is one way to reduce or eliminate your exposure in such a situation.

Personal note:  In a company acquisition, my IT due diligence discovered the fact that the company we were acquiring had considerable software compliance issues. In the Due Diligence Report I wrote, it included this issue as well as my estimated costs of getting the business compliant once the purchase was completed.

Three weeks after we closed the deal, our company was contacted by an outside agency about unauthorized use of software.

Order the book to learn the rest of the story.
Personal Notes are used to add interest and to emphasize key points.

Get new employees off to a fast and productive start with the New Employee Startup policy.
Includes specific steps to take:

                               -  before the first day
                               -  on the first day
                               -  after the first day

Sample form provided in the
Inventory and Equipment policy

Description of the format used for the 23 samples

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