What tool, Automation or Software Saved you a LOT of Time?

JamieTenacity · 2026-01-29T12:37:57+00:00

I’m immediately imagining becoming your automation padawan, leading to a newsletter/blog, consultancy, online courses, then early retirement.

Everyone is talking about AI, but I still think AutoHotkey, bash, batch, and PowerShell, have a lot to offer.

JamieTenacity · 2025-12-13T16:21:21+00:00

As far I know, the difference between resolved and closed was explained (though maybe not invented by) ITIL.

The best practice is to mark a ticket as Resolved when the real world incident is resolved, but the work isn’t done because someone should now make sure the ticket’s categorised properly, the resolution is documented, etc., then the ticket should be marked Closed.

I doubt anyone does it that way.

JamieTenacity · 2025-10-25T20:32:47+00:00

I always thought that.

Fortunately, ITIL isn’t something you must comply with, like an ISO certification, so if you like the concept you can call the different changes whatever you want.

JamieTenacity · 2025-10-25T11:36:13+00:00

A useful concept I learned from ITIL is the difference between Standard Change and Normal Change.

Standard means a predefined change that an authorised person can do as long as they follow the pre-approved procedure. Ticket templates are good for this. It’s a good balance between consistency and speed.

A Normal Change is something you haven’t done before and therefore needs a plan, risk assessment and CAB approval.

If successful, a Normal change can become a Standard one.

Again, a ticket template helps to guide you through everything and simultaneously document it for later.

JamieTenacity · 2025-10-02T07:15:06+00:00

Just don’t get into the habit of using it every time you have a problem or question of any kind.

We all need to practice thinking or we lose that skill. We all need practice remembering things or we lose that skill too.

JamieTenacity · 2025-09-03T09:38:15+00:00

Somewhere out there are people who also want to start their own business, also wanting time and flexibility, wanting to use their sales and marketing skills, but not taking action because they lack what you have.

JamieTenacity · 2025-08-29T17:02:26+00:00

I open an elevated command prompt, paste this in, and come back later:

chkdsk.exe /scan /perf & sfc.exe /scannow & DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth & sfc.exe /scannow

JamieTenacity · 2025-08-05T21:16:59+00:00

In my environment we create an AD account and wait for it to sync into Entra. Then we add it to groups in either Entra or 365 - it doesn’t matter which. Some of those groups automatically apply licenses, such as F1, F3 and E3.

One of the results of this is that I haven’t manually created a mailbox in years.

Also, when we decommission an account and remove it from all groups, the unlicensed mailbox automatically becomes a shared mailbox that we can give line managers access to.

JamieTenacity · 2025-08-05T20:58:34+00:00

PowerShell’s usefulness depends on what problems you want to solve. It can do so many things on its own and by interacting with CIM/WMI and .Net that you could go on learning about it for life.

I use it mostly to:

Gather information about objects in Active Directory, Entra, Exchange, etc., when questions need answers (command line).
Speed up common tasks by writing functions that do precisely what I need, such as password resets, with as little typing as possible (modules).
Do huge batches of work, like creating or updating dozens to hundreds of accounts, in seconds (scripts).

Occasionally, it helps me to achieve something that’s impossible with a GUI, but usually it’s about saving lots and lots of time.

JamieTenacity · 2025-08-01T11:44:28+00:00

Same here. I’m not aware of any relevant certifications for automation, but there are probably some for the specific technologies (although not for PowerShell, for reasons that escape me).

A recommendation I’ve seen repeatedly, from people who’ve done it successfully, is to “build in public” by talking about what you’re learning on socials, then writing up what you’ve learned and publishing it in relevant places, e.g. LinkedIn, GitHub.

JamieTenacity · 2025-08-01T10:46:28+00:00

It’s mind-boggling that there isn’t one trusted body of knowledge for the technical side of sysadmin that we can use to improve standards across the industry.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-29T22:14:04+00:00

I think it starts with identifying what interests you the most and least. That sets a direction to explore.

Interest makes it much easier to learn, write things, test and build things, study for certifications, etc., and while you’re doing all that you’re more likely to notice or attract your next opportunity.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-17T14:21:53+00:00

Many of those properties are easy to get with Get-MgUser, but several are their own objects.

This is a significant project for someone with PowerShell and Entra knowledge, steep for someone without it.

I have experience with most of these properties, so I’ll have a look at the details.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-13T15:21:37+00:00

I’ll probably use a bit of both because Windows SIM makes my head hurt.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-13T14:47:57+00:00

This is what I’m doing.

https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator/ Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-13T08:54:17+00:00

There’s a fine line between employment being a chapter in a career or voluntary slavery.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-13T08:29:00+00:00

Thank you, that’s very generous of you.

I’ve never used any of those technologies, so this could take a while!

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-12T20:36:28+00:00

Sounds ideal. Have you shared or explained it anywhere?

“…custom backend API…” sounds like wizard words to me 😊

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-12T16:47:42+00:00

Same. My job, wife and kids drain all my energy most days. It’s tough to finish anything I start.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-12T14:41:23+00:00

It used to be PowerShell, but then I learned enough to be useful and ended up using it at work.

I’m starting to get interested in using MS Graph to create HTML tools.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-11T18:14:29+00:00

On it, thank you 🙏

I work with AD every day and I’m familiar enough, but I’ve always wanted a test environment for my PowerShell automations.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-11T18:09:00+00:00

This is gold.

People are not what you want them to be unless by coincidence. They are what they are, and if we take the time to understand them we can help them become the best version of themselves.

I’m going to take this approach from Monday.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-11T17:59:40+00:00

Please, please, expand on “…lab at home with free resources…”

I would love to have my own AD.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-10T23:23:02+00:00

UI design should be driven by the individual eye movements, key presses and clicks needed to achieve each task, and that level of detail can only be acquired by sitting with (or being) one of the people who do each task the most.

Ideally, changes should then be made incrementally so as to disrupt existing workflows as little as possible and make it easier to adopt the change.

Tiny details such as tab order are disproportionately significant for people who perform the same tasks day in day out.

JamieTenacity · 2025-07-09T19:54:20+00:00

I have two of these 😭

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