The 5 Golden Rules for a Successful Identity Management Project

IGA (Identity Governance and Administration) solutions, also known as IAG (Identity and Access Governance) solutions, are implemented to manage user identities and their access rights. They establish a formal framework to ensure that the right people have access to the appropriate digital services at the right time, and only for as long as necessary to perform their duties. An IGA project goes beyond deploying a technology or product: it is a true transformation project that requires seamless coordination across multiple departments.

Two possible scenarios for implementing an IGA project

Organisations typically encounter two scenarios when implementing an IGA solution.

• Deploying an entirely new identity management solution from scratch.
• Replacing an existing identity management system with a new solution.

Regardless of the scenario, several key factors must be considered: time constraints, since an IGA project can be lengthy depending on its complexity and scope; financial constraints; product capabilities and their evolution; and organisational challenges.

For new implementations, the focus is on designing a solution that aligns with the business needs identified during workshops between the vendor, the integrator and the client.

For replacement projects, whether transitioning from an internally developed system or a third-party solution, the priority is to bring added value. That requires a deep understanding of the existing system and leveraging all features of the new one. The transition involves various planning and realignment workshops.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Implementing an IGA project represents a major transformation that affects an organisation on multiple levels. There are two key pitfalls to avoid.

• Optimism bias — overestimating the perceived value of the solution and the speed of execution, while underestimating risks and costs. Recognising the bias helps mitigate it.
• The tunnel effect — the gap between initial project expectations and the final outcome, often caused by poor communication or misunderstandings among stakeholders.

To avoid these issues, adopting best practices is essential.

5 key success factors for an identity management project

Change management

• IGA implementation affects not just IT but all employees. Awareness, training and engagement are crucial.
• In multi-site environments, all entities must be integrated into the project to ensure a unified approach.
• HR teams play a crucial role, as identity management automates administrative processes, shifting some administrative responsibility from IT to HR.

Data management

• Identity and access rights modelling must be carefully designed, whether for a new system or a replacement.
• Processes for onboarding, offboarding and internal transitions must be optimised.
• Cleaning and standardising data sources is crucial for ensuring accurate access management.

Scope definition

• Clearly define the project scope at the outset, detailing target users, IT environments, approval workflows and access policies.
• A well-defined scope enhances project control and prevents uncontrolled changes, which can indicate poor requirement gathering.

Data reliability

• Identify authoritative data sources and ensure their uniqueness and availability.
• Determine which systems will be integrated first, and verify interface readiness.

An incremental project approach

• To avoid the tunnel effect, an incremental rollout is recommended.
• Start with a core implementation, such as integrating Active Directory and a key business application.
• Additional features — connectors, workflows, automation rules — can be added progressively.

Project approach for an IGA implementation

To ensure project success, a structured approach is essential.

• Scoping workshops, to define project needs and align expectations between business and technical teams.
• Project plan validation, to assess feasibility and resolve gaps between expectations and system capabilities.
• Progress monitoring, through regular status meetings to track implementation.

Key workshops include:

• Existing system review — HR and IT discussions to refine onboarding and offboarding workflows.
• Data integration strategy — deciding between manual and automated data inputs, defining connectors, and managing identity conflicts.
• Workflows and reports — establishing notification and approval mechanisms for access requests, and tracking system activity.
• Provisioning connectors — defining password policies and implementing role-based access controls.

Deployment methodology for CyberElements

Having outlined the key success factors for an identity management project, here is the methodology used for deploying the CyberElements solution.

Scoping workshop

• Project plan review — validate the alignment between the expressed needs and the proposed product and project solution, and analyse and resolve any inconsistency with the consulting teams.
• Scope integration — implement the project scope based on the elements defined and validated during the scoping phase.
• Regular progress updates — ensure continuous monitoring and alignment with the project.

At each stage we conduct various scoping workshops to validate both functional and technical elements.

• Existing system review — a joint IT and HR workshop to assess and refine employee onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Data integration strategy — determine whether upstream data feeds will be manual or automated, identify which connectors will be used, and establish methods to handle duplicate names and multiple identities.
• Workflows and reports — configure notifications based on predefined time-based triggers. These notifications function as workflows sent to designated stakeholders in IT, HR, management and elsewhere, and can also alert supervisors to impending employee departures or contract terminations. Reports provide insights into system access logs, assigned permissions and the timeframe of access rights. Native reports are available in the solution, and can be customised to meet specific client requirements.
• Provisioning connectors — define password policies related to the user lifecycle, prioritising business rules first, followed by technical attributes.
• Technical workshop on attributes — define and configure attribute handling within the identity management system.

Ensuring a secure and efficient identity management project

Deploying an IGA solution brings about a significant transformation within an organisation. But it remains an essential initiative for secure identity and access management.

The success of an IGA project requires strong engagement from HR teams and all relevant stakeholders. They must be informed, involved and trained, so they understand both the impact and the value of the new system.

CyberElements, along with its integration partners, offers a simple and efficient project approach, with the primary goal of delivering added value as quickly as possible. CyberElements incorporates scoping workshops throughout the project to validate, adjust and refine your constraints and challenges.