Overcoming Challenges in a High-Risk Firewall Rule Uplift Project
Nazmul Hasan Jabir
Introduction: Managing a high-impact project involving an upgrade of firewall rules for over 3,000 devices and 1,250+ users presented significant challenges. The project aimed to uplift Citi’s security infrastructure, ensuring stricter control across VDI and physical machines. With the potential for business disruption, effective management and resolution of challenges were critical to the project’s success.
1. Managing Timelines and Interpersonal Issues with the Engineering Team
One significant challenge in the firewall rule uplift project was ensuring the engineering team met their deadlines. The engineers consistently missed timelines, which created tension and potential project delays. To address this, I adopted a positive approach, providing encouragement and reinforcing the importance of meeting commitments, as their performance was highly visible to the project sponsor.
Despite this, missed deadlines continued, so I took a more structured approach by requesting commitments in a group message to hold individuals accountable. This led to tension with one engineer, who responded unprofessionally by insisting that non-critical tasks were urgent and refusing a one-on-one meeting to discuss the issue.
To resolve the situation constructively, I escalated the matter to the engineer’s manager while ensuring confidentiality to avoid further conflict. The manager appreciated my approach and spoke to the engineer, resulting in improved communication and collaboration as the project progressed.
2. Challenge: Resistance from Business Technology Teams The Business Technology teams presented another challenge, showing reluctance to approve the proposed firewall rule changes. Resistance included delayed responses and dismissive attitudes during meetings. I tackled this through strategic communication, presenting thorough documentation and aligning the project objectives with their goals. By holding regular discussions and being transparent, I was able to build trust, leading to their eventual support.
3. Challenge: Operations Team Approval The Operations team also posed a challenge, with their established processes conflicting with our proposed changes. This required significant effort in collaboration and alignment. I engaged with their leadership, organized workshops, and provided clear, detailed explanations on the benefits of the upgrade. This approach helped foster mutual understanding and paved the way for their approval.
4. Initial Disruptions and Lessons Learned During our first release, we encountered two significant disruptions. These events underscored the high-risk nature of the project and highlighted the need for continuous improvement. I led post-incident reviews to analyze the root causes and applied these lessons to our final release strategy, ultimately ensuring a seamless deployment.
Conclusion: Overcoming these challenges required a combination of patience, strategic thinking, and clear communication. Addressing resistance and managing timelines effectively were key to successfully completing a project that was vital for Citi’s security infrastructure and impacted a large number of devices and users. The project’s success demonstrated the value of adaptability, stakeholder management, and the ability to learn and evolve through challenges.
Key Takeaways:
Navigating challenges requires a balance of positive reinforcement and accountability.
Transparent and strategic communication is crucial for aligning with resistant teams.
Lessons learned from setbacks are valuable for refining project strategy and execution.