Enterprise roll out checklist - Mattermost

This checklist is intended to serve as a guide to Enterprises who are rolling out Mattermost to thousands of users.

Checklist overview

Checklist details

Prepare for the roll out

Much of the preparation work is focused on ensuring the environment is deployed and secured prior to onboarding users.

1. Define the roll out project

Define key stakeholders and project team members

Example project team members: Project Manager, Network Administrator, Database Administrator, Corporate Directory Administrator, Security & Compliance Administrator(s), User Support, User Champions, User Trainers

Define use cases and requirements for teams, their workflows and their integrations

Resource: https://mattermost.com/blog/27-things-enterprises-can-learn-startups-increase-productivity/

Define success criteria, goals and metrics to measure success
Create a Project Charter to document goals, tasks, deliverables, and decisions

Get buy-in from project team members and key stakeholders on the project charter

2. Validate essential security and compliance requirements

Review Mattermost security features

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/security-guide/security-guide-index.html

Determine monitoring requirements

Database, network, storage, log integrity

Identify fields for log management tools (e.g. Splunk Enterprise event data)

Determine environment access policies

Network access, physical access, group controlled access

Determine encryption policies

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/encryption-options.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/transport-encryption.html

Determine system administration access policies

Identify the list of users or groups who need administrative access for Mattermost System Console, Command Line Tools, and API privileges

Define and configure authentication policies

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/product-overview/corporate-directory-integration.html

Determine requirements for multi-factor authentication

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/multi-factor-authentication.html

Configure and test SSO or Corporate Directory integration (SAML or AD/LDAP)

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/sso-saml.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/ad-ldap.html

Define your mobile usage policy

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/mobile/mobile-app-deployment.html

Evaluate external network access requirements

The Mattermost Marketplace is a service hosted by Mattermost that functions as a central place to store the current versions of available Mattermost integrations. See Enable Remote Marketplace documentation for details about required external network access.

Mattermost supports external GIF providers. See GIF Commands configuration documentation for details about required external network access.

3. Create development, staging, and production environments

Finalize production environment design basing hardware on expected usage and requirements for high availability

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/reference-architecture/application-architecture.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/deployment-guide-index.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/scaling-for-enterprise.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/high-availability-cluster-based-deployment.html

Create development and staging environments

Recommend using to test early configurations for database, authentication, file storage, Elasticsearch, prior to setting up high availability and load balancing

Recommend configuring staging to be an identical replication of your production environment

Create a production environment

Install Mattermost

Install the number of nodes based on your high availability requirements outlined in your production environment design

Recommendation: Use Kubernetes and the Mattermost Operator, with external supported external database and file storage solutions. This will also provide blue/green deployment, rolling upgrades, and canary builds

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/server/deploy-kubernetes.html

Install and configure database

Install the number of read and search replicas based on your high availability requirements outlined in your production environment design

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/reference-architecture/application-architecture.html

(Optional) Set up configuration management via the database instead of a config file for high available environments

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/configure/configuration-in-your-database.html

Install and configure File Storage

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/server/preparations.html#file-storage-preparation

Install and configure proxy or load balancers

Note: If running Kubernetes and the Mattermost Operator, proxies will be created automatically.

Add SSL Cert

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/ssl-client-certificate.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/high-availability-cluster-based-deployment.html#proxy-server-configuration

(Optional) Set up certificate-based authentication (CBA) for user or device-based authentication with a digital certificate

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/certificate-based-authentication.html

Configure SMTP for email notifications

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/configure/smtp-email.html

Set up Elasticsearch (highly recommended if your organization anticipates over two million posts)

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/elasticsearch-setup.html

Document network configuration

Example: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/backing-storage-benchmarks.html

4. Configure and customize your Mattermost site

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/configure/configuration-settings.html#environment-variables

Upload your valid Enterprise License under Edition and License

Ensure site URL is set appropriately for your production, dev and staging environments

Add your database configuration to System Console > Environment > Database

Add your Elasticsearch or AWS OpenSearch configuration to System Console > Environment > Elasticsearch

Add your file storage system configuration to System Console > Environment > File Storage

Add your proxy configuration to System Console > Environment > Image Proxy

Add your SMTP configuration to System Console > Environment > SMTP

Enable Push Notifications by adding your server to System Console > Environment > Push Notification Server

Add your cluster configuration to System Console > Environment > High Availability

Configure your site within the System Console

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/configure/configuration-settings.html#site-configuration

Set site access policies including permissions for roles and guest access

Permissions Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/advanced-permissions.html

Guest Access Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/guest-accounts.html

5. Test production performance and redundancy

Define and test disaster recovery policy and processes

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/server/deploy-kubernetes.html

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/high-availability-cluster-based-deployment.html#upgrade-guide

Performance test production environment

Load test production environment to verify that it will handle anticipated user load

Resource: https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-load-test

Set up Prometheus and Grafana to monitor performance

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/deploy-prometheus-grafana-for-performance-monitoring.html

Set up alerts in Grafana

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/scale/deploy-prometheus-grafana-for-performance-monitoring.html

Roll out Mattermost

Now that you have an environment in place, we recommend working through the following items in an iterative process. You may need to cycle through each of these topics multiple times to make adjustments to suit your organization as you onboard groups of users.

1. Define your team and channel strategy

Determine and create a team structure for your environment

Recommendation: Start with fewer teams in your early roll out

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/end-user-guide/collaborate/channel-naming-conventions.html

Determine and create key channels to support your users. A default Town Square channel is created automatically and available on every team.

Recommendation: Add a “Support” channel for your users to escalate questions

(Optional) Migrate messages and channels from legacy systems

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/migrating-to-mattermost.html

2. Enable key integrations

Build the list of key integrations and tools used by your teams

Resource: https://developers.mattermost.com/integrate/getting-started/

Define use cases and requirements for plugins, bots, webhooks, slash commands

Resource: https://developers.mattermost.com/integrate/other-integrations/

Set up key integrations (or migrate from POC environments)

Resource: https://mattermost.com/marketplace/

Understand Mattermost API capabilities

Resource: https://api.mattermost.com/

3. Prepare for user onboarding

Onboard champion users
Onboard trainers and support team
Create a training plan

Resource: https://academy.mattermost.com/

Define user escalation and support processes

Ensure you have set the site’s support URL to your own support team under System Console > Site Configuration > Customization

Notify users in advance of roll out

Sample email: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/upgrade/welcome-email-to-end-users.html

4. Deploy client apps

Roll out desktop app

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/desktop/desktop-app-deployment.html

(Optional) Use the MSI installer to install on Windows machines

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/desktop/desktop-msi-installer-and-group-policy-install.html

Roll out mobile app

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/mobile/mobile-app-deployment.html

(Optional) Use an EMM provider

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/deployment-guide/mobile/deploy-mobile-apps-using-emm-provider.html

5. Roll out to groups of users

Provision user accounts

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/user-provisioning-workflows.html

(Optional) Bulk Load users

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/bulk-loading-data.html

Onboard users to teams and channels

Recommendation: Use LDAP Group Sync to automate this process

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/onboard/ad-ldap-groups-synchronization.html

Implement your training plan to end users on how to use Mattermost

Train on using Mattermost

Train on how to use integrations

6. Drive adoption

Incrementally roll out to additional user groups

See “Roll Out to Groups of Users”

Manage support requests and product requests from your end users

Resource: https://mattermost.com/support/

See the process below for escalating to Mattermost

Enable additional integrations and plugins to support user workflows

Resource: https://mattermost.com/marketplace/

Understand management tools available to support users

mmctl Command Line Tool Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool.html

Command Line Tools Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/manage/command-line-tools.html

Review the roll out

We recommend that you review your rollout on a cadence that matches your iterative approach to rolling out to users. Below are some areas to consider.

1. Review project charter success metrics

Perform end-user surveys and measure satisfaction
Verify use case fulfillment from original requirements gathering
Measure your response time and resolution rate for user support issues
Identify usage gaps and address or create a plan for addressing

2. Review and analyze usage

Review Project Charter success metrics - identify usage gaps and address or create a plan for addressing
Monitor site and team statistics

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/manage/statistics.html

Review: Total posts, total teams, total channels, total group chats, total direct chats, top channels, top teams

Analyze usage by lines of business and peak usage times

3. Analyze system performance

Monitor trends in CPU/memory usage
Review trends in database connections
Review trends in Go routines
Review trends in concurrent sessions

4. Harden security

Harden security controls around the web, desktop, and mobile security
Harden configuration management
Harden network security

Identify additional tests and scans

(Optional) Enable Compliance Reporting

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/comply/compliance-export.html

5. Perform maintenance tasks

Monitor for security updates (or sign up for email updates)

Resource: https://mattermost.com/security-updates/

Perform the first upgrade

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/administration-guide/upgrade/upgrading-mattermost-server.html

Determine upgrade schedule based on Mattermost release schedules and life cycle

Resource: https://docs.mattermost.com/product-overview/releases-lifecycle.html

Run System checks and either address or set address-by date