Assessment tools

Project assessment or business case

Microsoft Rapid Economic Justification guide

The Microsoft Rapid Economic Justification guide walks you step-by-step through the project assessment process in two to four weeks — from fiscal analysis to boardroom presentation. It includes tools, templates, and how-to information to help you make a compelling business case for an IT project.

Microsoft Rapid Economic Justification guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152858)

Hardware inventory and compatibility

Microsoft Assessment and Planning ToolKit (MAP)

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) is an inventory, assessment, and reporting tool that can securely run in small or large IT environments without requiring the installation of agent software on any computers or devices.

MAP performs a detailed analysis of hardware and device compatibility for migration to Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Application Virtualization, and Windows Vista. The hardware assessment looks at the installed hardware and determines if migration is recommended. If it is not recommended, the reports tell you why it is not.

In addition, MAP has expanded its capabilities into assessment areas of Hyper-V server virtualization, desktop security, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 migration.

MAP will be updated for the release of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 in 2010.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit for Microsoft Office 2007 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152859)

Software inventory

Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer (MSIA)

With the Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer (MSIA), you can generate an inventory of core Microsoft products installed on your local computer, or throughout a network.

MSIA is built specifically to be a starting point to working with Microsoft Software Asset Management. To that end, it will work with networks that have up to 250 computers and will locate only Microsoft software.

Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152860)

Microsoft Software Asset Management (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152861)

Office add-ins

AddInSpy

AddInSpy is a diagnostic tool that detects all registered Microsoft Office add-ins on a computer and reports information about the add-ins. The tool works with all versions of Microsoft Office applications that support COM add-ins, as well as all types of COM add-ins. The tool is available as a free (unsupported) download on the MSDN Code Gallery.

Using AddinSpy and AS Diagnostic Tools for Microsoft Office Add-ins  (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152862)

AddInSpy MSDN Code Gallery (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152863)

User settings

User State Migration Tool (USMT)

You can use Microsoft Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) 3.0 to migrate user files and settings during large deployments of Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems. USMT captures desktop and application settings, as well as user accounts and users' files, and then migrates them to a new Windows installation.

One component of the USMT is ScanState. ScanState scans the source computer, collects the files and settings, and creates a store. ScanState does not modify the source computer. By default, ScanState compresses the files and stores them as an image file (USMT3.MIG).

User State Migration Tool 3.0 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152865)

File and document management

Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM)

The Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM) checks for, and reports on, file properties to help you analyze your environment and determine any issues that you might experience when you convert from Office 97-Office 2003 file formats to the 2007 Office system and Office 2010 file formats.

Introduction to Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM)

Security

Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 4.0

Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 4.0 (MSAT) consists of more than 200 questions that cover infrastructure, applications, operations, and people. The questions, associated answers, and recommendations are derived from generally accepted best practices, standards such as ISO 17799 and NIST-800.x, as well as recommendations and prescriptive guidance from the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Group and other external security sources.

Microsoft Security Assessment Tool  (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152866)

Security

System Center Configuration Manager

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager can assess, deploy, and update servers, client computers, and devices — across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments.

Client status reporting in Configuration Manager 2007 R2 provides up-to-date information about the manageability of clients in a Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy. This information can be used by the site administrator to identify individual client problems and to maintain a more accurate site database. It can also help to increase software distribution success rates. 

System Center Configuration Manager TechCenter (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152867)

Licensing

Microsoft Volume Licensing

Microsoft Volume Licensing provides a variety of online reporting services and tools that you can use to track and manage your existing Microsoft software assets.

Manage Your Volume Licenses (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152868)

Configurations

Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)

The Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is the UI console to author and report on Group Policy objects (GPO). The GPMC displays linking, permissions, and security filtering information relevant to a GPO. It also generates settings reports of a GPO in either HTML or XML format.

Group Policy Management Console Technical Reference (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152869) 

Reporting on GPO Settings (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152870)

Configurations

View XML content from Office Customization Tool customization files 

The article View XML content from Office Customization Tool customization files provides a sample Microsoft Visual Basic script that administrators can use to view the settings stored in Office Customization Tool (OCT) MSP files.

View XML content from Office Customization Tool customization files

Help

Microsoft Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS)

Microsoft Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS) offers customers 1 to 15 days of deployment planning services, based on the amount of Microsoft Software Assurance that they purchase on Microsoft Office software. Customers will work with the consultants to develop a high-level desktop deployment plan for their environment and assess the overall cost for upgrading to the latest versions of Windows and Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Volume Licensing Software Assurance (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152871)

You can find a Desktop Deployment Planning Services provider in your area by using the Microsoft Solution Finder  (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=152872).