CIoTP study plan

CIoTP · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Planning IoT systems

Inventory the stakeholders, use cases, and constraints that drive an IoT project charter
Draft requirements as measurable acceptance criteria rather than vague feature wishes
Map each requirement to the domain it will be designed, built, and maintained in
Identify the data governance and privacy obligations that constrain the plan

A one-page project charter for a realistic IoT deployment with 10 numbered, testable requirements and a stakeholder map

Week 2

Select device classes, connectivity options, and power strategies against the charter requirements
Produce a capacity estimate covering device counts, message rates, and data volumes
Sketch the end-to-end architecture from sensor to ingestion to storage to consumer
Justify each major technology choice with an explicit trade-off statement

An architecture diagram plus a decision log with at least 8 entries, each naming the alternative rejected and why

Week 3

Design the device provisioning and identity lifecycle from manufacture to decommission
Define the network segmentation and trust boundaries between device, edge, and cloud tiers
Specify the data model, retention policy, and schema evolution approach
Write the failure-mode analysis for loss of connectivity, power, and backend availability

A design document section covering identity, segmentation, and data model, with a failure-mode table of at least 10 rows

Week 4

Prototype the message schema and validate it against the week 3 data model
Build a minimal device simulator that emits realistic telemetry and fault conditions
Implement the ingestion path and confirm ordering, deduplication, and backpressure behavior
Compare the prototype against the design and record every deviation

A working simulator plus ingestion endpoint, with a deviation log and a short test-results summary

Week 5

Implement secure device onboarding with per-device credentials and rotation
Add over-the-air update handling with rollback on failed verification
Write automated tests for offline buffering, reconnect, and clock-drift scenarios
Instrument the code with structured logs and health metrics

A code repository with onboarding, OTA rollback, and a test suite that passes in CI, plus a coverage summary

Week 6

Provision a staging environment that mirrors the production topology
Automate deployment of the edge and backend components with repeatable scripts
Configure monitoring, alert thresholds, and dashboards for the key service indicators
Run a staged rollout rehearsal including a deliberate bad firmware push

A deployment runbook and a monitoring dashboard, validated by one successful rehearsal with rollback

Week 7

Define the operational SLOs and the on-call escalation path for the deployment
Build a maintenance calendar covering certificate rotation, firmware cadence, and capacity review
Create a troubleshooting decision tree for the five most likely incident classes
Practice one incident walkthrough end to end using the runbook

An operations handbook with SLOs, maintenance calendar, and troubleshooting tree, plus a timed incident walkthrough writeup

Week 8

Audit the whole project against the week 1 requirements and mark each as met or unmet
Document decommissioning and data disposal steps for devices and stored telemetry
Consolidate weak areas into a prioritized review list and close the top gaps
Rehearse explaining architecture trade-offs aloud in exam-style phrasing

A requirements traceability matrix showing every charter requirement mapped to design, code, and operations evidence, with a gap-closure list

Week 2: You can state the charter requirements from memory and defend each major architecture choice with a named alternative and trade-off

Week 4: The simulator and ingestion path run end to end, and your deviation log proves you can reconcile design intent with built reality

Week 6: A rehearsal deployment reaches staging, triggers a deliberate failure, and rolls back cleanly using only the written runbook

Week 8: Every charter requirement is traced to concrete evidence, and remaining gaps are fewer than five with a written closure plan