Onboarding Process for DOW Deployment

This guide outlines the implementation process and shared responsibilities between your team and the 2F platform. It covers each onboarding phase, the required artifacts, and how the team will work together to securely deploy your application to Game Warden.

Implementation phases & milestones

Phase	What Second Front Does	What You Do
Kickoff	Assign a Mission Success Manager (MSM). Provide onboarding resources and guidance.	Assign technical and security leads. Review onboarding checklists. Obtain a signed MFR from your Government Mission Owner. Begin collecting technical artifacts.
Configuration	Provision the Development (DEV) environment. Configure Helm charts and CI/CD pipelines.	Provide container images and initial documentation. Complete access control configuration using Platform One (P1) SSO, Keycloak, and Government Access Cards (required for IL4+ deployments).
Security Review	Perform Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST). Support completion of the Body of Evidence (BoE) and Software Approval documentation.	Perform Static Application Security Testing (SAST). Submit scan results to Second Front. Remediate or justify identified CVEs. Complete the Body of Evidence (BoE). Complete the Authorization Boundary Diagram.
Approve	Submit the Authorization Package for Authorizing Official (AO) approval. Prepare the Staging (STG) environment.	—
Validation	Deploy the application to the STG environment. Assist with validation activities and test execution.	Perform final functional testing in STG. Confirm production readiness.
Deployed to Production (PRD)	Deploy the application to the Production (PRD) environment. Monitor initial application health and performance.	Confirm production readiness. Begin onboarding end users.
Deployed to Classified Networks	Work with your team to prepare documentation required for Department of the Air Force CloudWorks (DAFCW) intake. This process can begin after the Authorization Package has been submitted.	Provide the documentation required by DAFCW.
Day 2 Operations	Provide ongoing operational support. Conduct quarterly business reviews. Collaborate on growth and roadmap planning.	Participate in regular sync meetings. Review logs and security scan results. Plan future roadmap milestones.

Shared Responsibility Model

Second Front uses the Shared Responsibility Model to define customer-owned and Second Front-managed responsibilities, streamlining implementation and compliance. Refer to Game Warden's Shared Responsibility Model for more information.

Required technical artifacts

To support a smooth and secure implementation, collect, review, and submit the required items. listed in the Technical Artifacts guide before you begin the onboarding process.

Security requirements

Security is core to the 2F platform. Prepare the following:

Requirement	Details
Authorization Boundary Diagram	Required for BoE and initial implementation planning. Must include all outbound integrations or API dependencies to start Approval to Connect (AtC) workflows.
CVEs & Remediation	You'll use Findings to manage container scans. Address CVEs per the Acceptance Baseline Criteria.
BoE	Gather required details beforehand to avoid bottlenecks.
SAST Scan & AI Attestation	Prepare static analysis outputs and AI-related disclosures, if applicable.

Technical considerations

To ensure a smooth deployment process, your team should review:

Requirement	Description	Documentation
Access Control	Integrate with Keycloak and test JWT authentication.	Access Control Guide
CNAP Whitelisting	Required for deployments to IL4+ environments.	CNAP Whitelist
Logging & Monitoring	Integrate with the Game Warden observability stack using Loki and Grafana.	Observability Stack
Pipelines & Image Push	Push hardened container images to the Harbor Registry.	Push Images to Harbor

Action items & best practices

Assign a dedicated technical and security lead
Schedule weekly/bi-weekly syncs with your Game Warden team
Set up P1 accounts for all relevant team members
Review observability tools and security scanning expectations
Begin preparing your BoE, authorization boundary, and technical artifacts
Push the initial image to the Game Warden registry at the start of the onboarding process

Helpful links