## TL;DR
Push the update as available first with a deadline 2 weeks out, allow limited user deferrals, then enforce during a maintenance window with advance notice. Communicate the why and the timeline twice; surprise restarts are what users actually hate.

## The error
```text
(Planning task; no error.)
```

## Steps
1. Test the update on a pilot group of IT devices for a week. Expected: no blocking issues. Never push a day-one OS release to the fleet.
2. In the MDM, configure the software update: download and make available, with an enforcement deadline 2 weeks out and a small number of allowed user deferrals. Expected: policy configured.
3. Announce: what is updating, why, the deadline, and what happens at the deadline (forced restart with countdown). Expected: announced twice (email + chat). One announcement is never enough.
4. Monitor adoption in the MDM dashboard as the deadline approaches. Expected: rising adoption. Nudge stragglers individually in the last 3 days.
5. After the deadline, verify enforcement completed and handle the exceptions (devices that failed need individual attention). Expected: fleet current.

## When to use
- Fleet macOS upgrades
- Security updates requiring restarts

## When not to use
- Emergency zero-day patching (faster timeline, different comms)
- iOS/iPadOS (similar but separate policies)

## Compatibility
- Jamf Pro or any MDM with managed software updates; macOS 13+

## Variants
### Rapid security response updates
Shorter timeline, stronger comms, and acceptance of some disruption.
### Lab or shared devices
Schedule outside usage hours; these cannot defer like personal devices.

## Why it happens
Unpatched Macs are a security finding, but forced restarts destroy trust in IT. The deferral window plus a hard deadline balances both.

## Edge cases
- Users on long projects need an exemption process, not just "update anyway".
- Track update failures separately; a 5 percent failure rate needs investigation, not nagging.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_3Wx0BsjNzocXg3Q_TyvIjQ