Manage implementations
Manage implementations (about 15–20%) covers execution: governance, environments, build and release, go-live, and transition to support. You are framed as the architect who owns design integrity while the project manager owns schedule and budget.
Governance and design control
Maintain a solution blueprint, a decision log, and a change control process. Changes affecting scope, licensing, or integration contracts go to the change board with impact analysis. The architect approves deviations from the blueprint; the project manager approves effort.
Environments
Use LCS to provision and manage environments. Tier 1 is a single-box developer environment with direct database access. Tier 2+ sandboxes are multi-box, support integrations and RSAT, and can be refreshed from production. Production should never host test data or unapproved customizations.
Build and release
Work in Azure DevOps: backlog, repositories, build pipelines producing deployable packages, and release pipelines with approvals. Deploy through LCS, and record which build each environment runs so defects can be reproduced.
Go-live
Run a cutover rehearsal, a data freeze window, smoke tests, and a go-live readiness review. Define hypercare duration, escalation paths, and the support handover before cutover day.
Worked example
Two weeks before go-live, UAT finds a defect that requires a code fix. Reasoning: fix it in the development branch, build and deploy to a Tier 2 sandbox through the pipeline, retest the failing scenario, then promote to production under change approval. A direct fix in production would bypass Azure DevOps and be overwritten by the next deployment.
Traps
Refreshing a sandbox mid-test-cycle; hotfixing production without promoting the fix through source control; skipping the readiness review; no cutover rehearsal; leaving support ownership undefined after hypercare ends.