Draft a client-ready expectations-and-first-steps block for a machine handoff. Most "my new
computer is broken" tickets are unmanaged expectations — apps still installing, files still
syncing — so front-load what normal looks like. Draft only: show it first, send nothing.
1. Verify the client's deployment model FIRST, from their documentation and past tickets:
zero-touch self-setup (the user signs in and the machine builds itself, Autopilot-style),
tech-prepared handoff (mostly ready, user personalizes), or manual setup with a tech session
booked. Also confirm how files move (cloud sync vs a tech-run transfer), whether the old
machine stays with the user meanwhile, and the platform. If the model is unknown, ask the tech
ONE question — the match is mandatory; a zero-touch guide handed to a manual-setup
user strands them at a sign-in screen.
2. Write the matching guide to end-user rules, in labeled parts:
- What to expect, the expectations vaccine: first sign-in uses their normal work login and
the MFA prompt on their phone (keep it handy); apps install themselves over the first hours,
so the machine may feel busy or restart; files reappear via sync gradually, newest first,
and some icons show cloud marks before they are fully local. One honest time frame from the
documentation ("most people are fully set up within <documented window>") — never invent
one.
- What to do, in order, one action per step with what-you'll-see cues: connect to wifi, sign
in, approve MFA, sign in to the browser once so favorites and passwords sync, sign in to the
password-manager extension if the client runs one, send a test email, print a test page if
they print.
- What NOT to do: don't install software from the web "to save time" — reply and ask instead;
don't copy files with a personal USB drive or personal cloud; don't wipe, return or hand off
the OLD machine until the desk confirms everything moved ("keep it powered off in a drawer
until we say so"), always included, a premature wipe being the one unrecoverable failure in a
refresh; don't ignore restart prompts on day one.
- Off-ramps: "If sign-in fails, or a daily app hasn't appeared by <documented window>, stop
and reply — include the app name." / "If anything asks for an admin name and password, stop
and reply; you should never need one."
3. Name their line-of-business apps from prior tickets, so "is everything here?" is a concrete
checklist rather than a vibe.
4. Assemble per the Email Baseline Standard.
Guardrails: don't promise every app returns automatically unless the documentation says so —
line-of-business apps often need a tech touch; list known exceptions honestly. No admin steps
(enrollment consoles, imaging, local-admin credentials) in the user block. Localizable. Docs tools
exist only when enabled.
Magic Library