War-game a device refresh cycle by proving each device class has a named owner, a measured collection window, and a reverse path before the calendar starts governing every device claim.
Device refresh cycles fail when "refreshed" means a checkbox without a decision artifact, when teams dual-count a draft exception as both approved and live, and when high-risk device paths still pin to one thin roster because the map is incomplete. The review needs one written inventory of device classes, one owner who can deny a risky shortcut, and a documented consequence when a failed collection ages past the deadline.
Map the cycle before seating
List device classes by team, collection window, owner roster, last skip reason, owner of the line, and evidence required to keep the claim. Attach open tickets, overdue collections, and any emergency waiver in the last quarter. Name which classes are out of scope and why. If a production device class is omitted, show the residual risk in the same packet.
Decide allow, revise, or hold in advance. Include the fields that compute overdue-collection status so two reviewers reach the same label from the same exports.
Decision gates
- Roster proof. Every critical class has at least two named owners who completed a timed dry run in the last quarter.
- Collection proof. Exports show when each device expires and who receives the overdue alert.
- Wipe proof. Logged wipes list owner, expiry, and restore path; shared overrides fail the gate.
- Conflict proof. No device owner certifies their own standing exception without a second set of eyes.
- Abort proof. A named person can freeze collections at week end without waiting for the system owner.
Run four cases in Pingpong: a team still pinned to one overloaded depot, an exception that left a laptop live without IT review, a class that mixed contractor and employee devices, and a request to skip a production class because volume is rare. Start from the documented cycle language. Ask who can extend a collection window and which export proves completion. Any step that depends on an unnamed person becomes a freeze condition.
Replay one prior refresh incident under the proposed rules. If the incident would still age without a reverse owner, revise the rules before calling the cycle ready.
Pair with the IT ops lead seat, an identity provider cutover stress test, a SaaS license reclaim review, and an access review cadence. More operating decisions live in the war-game decisions hub.
Close only when approved and blocked labels can be reproduced from stored exports without a verbal override.