1. Planning.

• Assessment
  Start by determining who necessitates access, the tools they need, and their reason for access. Outline present access rights and ascertain whether they can be limited or discontinued. An entitlement discovery instrument may be beneficial for enhanced transparency.
• Policy creation
  Develop clear policies for both granting and rescinding access. Include standards concerning who can request access, under what circumstances, and for how long. For privileged roles especially, set temporary parameters.
• Source of truth
  Synchronize your JIT access system with an Identity Provider (like Okta, Google Workspace, Azure AD, OneLogin). This will function as the absolute source for identities. De-escalating and escalating individual identities rather than shared accounts will allow for more precise authorization control and audit precision.

2. Execution.

• Self-service access queries
  Simplify the procedure by having users request access via the system, not through people. Increase adoption rates by integrating with instant messaging platforms such as Slack or MS Teams. Assure that requests specify who is making the request, the necessary service/resource/role, the duration, and the reason.

• Approval procedure
  JIT access provides an opportunity for organizations to delegate approvals to individuals with business context. Resource holders and business unit managers often possess more context than IT helpdesks. Speed up responses by using messaging platforms, providing approvers with all the necessary information to make an informed decision.

• Conditional approval workflows
  Integrate your predefined policies into workflows that decide access permissions. Embed them into workflows that stipulate who can access what and under which conditions. Assigning if-then conditions is an effective way of accomplishing this.

• Integrations
  ‍Think about integrating JITA with other IT and security systems to increase flexibility. Connect with IT ticketing systems for automated access based on ticket status, and with data classification systems to adjust policies based on data sensitivity.
• Automated provisioning and deprovisioning
  Become familiar with DocuSign to effectively grant and revoke access within the service automatically. This is crucial for JIT Access as it reduces reliance on waiting for people to make room. It simplifies automated deprovisioning of access, which is central to JIT access and the principle of least privilege access (POLP). Ideally, you should manage all permissions in one place rather than building or managing an environment for every app in your organization.Varying access methods may be necessary, i.e., utilizing SAML for authentication, SCIM for user provisioning, and APIs for precise access control decisions.

3. Maintenance.

• Regular audits
  Periodically examine access logs to ensure JIT access functions as planned. Watch for unusual patterns or behaviours or feed the logs into your SIEM. Automate the user access review process to speed up evidence gathering, delegate reviewers, and ensure your system is compliant with relevant industry regulations and standards.
• User training
  Educate users, especially privileged ones, about the importance of least privilege, JIT Access and how it functions. Ensure users understand how to request access when necessary.
• Feedback loop
  Consistently review your JIT access procedures. Seek feedback from users and IT staff to understand where improvements can be made. This structured approach will allow you to efficiently establish a robust Just-in-Time Access system for DocuSign.