1. Planning.

• Assessment
  Start by pinpointing who needs access, the schemas and tables they require, and for what reason. Document existing access rights and examine if they can be reduced or fully removed. Consider using an entitlement discovery tool to gain enhanced visibility.
• Policy creation
  Create explicit policies concerning how to grant and revoke access. Develop guidelines about who is eligible to request access, under what circumstances, and for how long. Provide specific time-bound parameters, particularly for elevated roles.
• Source of truth
  Link your JIT access solution with an Identity Provider (like Okta, Google Workspace, Azure AD, OneLogin). This will serve as the authoritative source for identities. A focus on de/escalating individual's identities over shared accounts will afford a better control on authorization and increase the precision of audits.

2. Execution.

• ‍Self-service access requests
  Streamline the process by enabling users to make their own access requests through the system, doing away with the need for a middleman. Increase adoption rates through the integration with IM platforms such as Slack or MS Teams. Ensure requests detail who's making the request, the necessary service/resource/role, duration of access, and the underlying justification.

• ‍Approval process
  JIT access provides an opportunity for organizations to delegate approvals to those with a better understanding of business context, such as resource owners and business unit managers. Accelerate responses through messaging platforms, providing approvers with all the relevant information to make informed approval decisions.

• ‍Conditional approval workflows
  Incorporate predefined policies into workflows that are responsible for deciding access rights. Consider a system of conditional approval, where certain conditions trigger access approvals, for instance, if identity group "X" requests access to "Y", approval must come from "Z" and “M” should be notified.

• Integrations
  Consider linking JIT access with other IT and security systems to enhance its flexibility. Connections could include IT ticketing systems for access permission based on ticket status, or data classification systems to adjust policies based on sensitivity of data. Collaboration with on-call schedule software could facilitate automated approvals during crises. Training systems could grant access upon completion of training.
• Automated provisioning and de-provisioning
  Understand PostgreSQL to automate the granting and revoking of access within the service effectively. This is crucial for JIT Access as it reduces dependence on people, and allows for automated deprovisioning of access which aligns with the principle of least privilege access (POLP). Ideally, all permissions would be managed from a single location, eliminating the need to set up or manage a separate environment for each application within the organization.
• Access methods
  For PostgreSQL JIT Access, APIs are favored due to their flexibility and real-time capabilities. However, a combination of methods may be required. For instance, using SAML for confirmation of identity, SCIM for user provisioning, and APIs for granular access control decisions.

3. Maintenance.

• Regular audits
  Conduct routine checks on access logs to verify that JIT access is functioning as expected. Look for any abnormal patterns or behaviors either directly or by feeding these logs into your SIEM. Automate the user access review process to speed evidence collection, assign reviewers, and ensure system compliance with relevant industry regulations or standards.
• User training
  Train users, particularly privileged ones on the importance of least privilege and JIT Access and its workings. Also, ensure they understand how to request access when it is required.
• Feedback loop
  Incorporate regular reviews of JIT access routines and seek feedback from users and IT staff to see where improvements can be made.

By adopting this structured methodology, you can effectively implement a robust Just-in-Time Access system for PostgreSQL.