Administering Configuration Manager, Part I: Fundamentals and Asset Management (55313AC) — Lesson 3: Hardware, Software and Asset Intelligence

Learning Objectives

• Configure inventory cycles, classes, software metering, asset intelligence, normalization, and data quality
• Use resource explorer, queries, status, logs, reports, and evidence to understand managed assets
• Validate hardware, software and asset intelligence decisions with documented requirements, test evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Detailed Topics

• Configure inventory cycles: Configure inventory cycles, classes, software metering, asset intelligence, normalization, and data quality
• Use resource explorer: Use resource explorer, queries, status, logs, reports, and evidence to understand managed assets
• Validate hardware: Validate hardware, software and asset intelligence decisions with documented requirements, test evidence, risk controls, and measurable acceptance criteria

Guided Demonstration

1. Review the requirement, users, data, dependencies, permissions, risks, and expected result.
2. Demonstrate the relevant configuration, creation, development, administration, analysis, or support workflow step by step.
3. Capture settings, outputs, logs, screenshots, calculations, test results, and other useful evidence.
4. Compare the observed result with acceptance criteria and explain any corrective action.

Hands-On Activity

Create an asset inventory and compliance analysis.

• Document assumptions, prerequisites, and the planned sequence before starting.
• Complete the activity and preserve evidence of normal, boundary, and failure behavior.
• Record issues, corrective actions, reusable notes, and the next improvement priority.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify the business or technical decision that must be made.
• Compare valid implementation approaches and their trade-offs.
• Consider security, privacy, accessibility, performance, support, and operational impact.

Troubleshooting Focus

• Separate symptoms from causes and collect evidence before applying a fix.
• Check configuration, data, permissions, dependencies, capacity, connectivity, and recent changes.
• Validate rollback, recovery, ownership, user impact, and business continuity.

Validation Checklist

• The requirement, scope, inputs, and expected outcome are clear.
• The selected design or configuration is documented and follows approved standards.
• Normal, boundary, failure, security, accessibility, and operational conditions are reviewed.
• The result is supported by evidence and the next improvement is prioritized.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can explain and apply Hardware, Software and Asset Intelligence in a realistic scenario and validate the result with documented evidence.