If you've worked in IT for more than a minute, you know this pattern: project launches, everyone celebrates, and then… welcome to Day 2. You're suddenly buried under support tickets, ad hoc requests, patching, monitoring alerts, and users who say, "gotta sec?"
Day 2 operations are often a mess, not because people are slacking, but because they're reactive by default. But it doesn't have to be this way.
By bringing some project fundamentals into your Day 2 ops, you can add clarity, reduce chaos, and free up time for actual improvements instead of running around putting out fires all day.
Let's break it down.
What do we mean by Project Fundamentals?
You know how projects typically work: they've got goals, timelines, roles, risks, and some kind of plan that people (mostly) follow. Now, compare that to Day 2 operations: same environment, but in many instances zero structure.
Project fundamentals are things like:
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Defined outcomes (not just "keep it running")
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Backlogs and prioritization
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Milestones or checkpoints
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Reviews, retrospectives, lessons learned
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Risk and issue tracking
They keep projects from going off the rails, and they can do the same for your IT operations.
Why it matters in IT Ops
Day 2 is where most technical debt grows. It's where you're supposed to monitor, patch, optimize, automate, and scale, but instead, you're buried in tickets and trying not to drown.
When you apply project discipline to ops, you:
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Turn maintenance work into manageable workstreams
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Track and reduce recurring issues
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Prioritize what actually matters to the business
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Make room for automation and system improvements
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Run fewer things in an ad hoc manner
You stop surviving and start managing.
How has Kochasoft injected project discipline into Day 2?
1.
Defining real goals for operations
Even BAU activities must follow a plan, especially if you're patching systems within a pre-defined window. Setting a goal like “Achieve a 95% patch rate by X date” helps to maintain focus.
2.
Setting work management standards
Work is work is work. At Kochasoft, we like to work with our operations team to plan their work and have a set criteria around what kind of work should be planned. In most instances we plan work if it falls into one of these three categories.
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The activity will exceed 8 hours
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The activity will require cross-departmental support
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The activity requires some level of investigation
3.
Building a backlog
Once you define the work, track it in a backlog or action log. Prioritize it. Groom it. Sprint through it if that works for your team. We also use backlogs to track recurring incidents, tech debt, automation candidates, and monthly admin tasks.
4.
Assigning owners and time boxes
It's important to make sure tasks and workstreams have clear owners. Block time for backlog items to be focused on and delivered; otherwise, they'll never get done. You'll always get pulled into the urgent instead of the important.
5.
Establish regular reviews
At Kochasoft, we hold biweekly backlog reviews. During this time, we identify any new work and prioritize it. It's also a time for the team to discuss issues and blockers that may be preventing the completion of some of these tasks. When leading one of these sessions, ask the team, what broke? What's still not working well? What's been automated? What's eating your time? Treat it like a retro for your infrastructure.
Bottom line
Day 2 doesn't have to be a graveyard of good intentions. Treat it like a living, breathing project with goals, reviews, and structure, and you'll start making real progress instead of constantly treading water.
You don't need to over-engineer it. Just start small: define goals, create a backlog, and review regularly. Bring the same mindset you use for your projects into ops and stop the chaos!
