Jamf Onboarding Automation

Overview

Owned the macOS onboarding strategy at Ontinue, redesigning how new hire laptops were provisioned and brought into compliance across a 300+ device fleet.

Problem

New hire laptops previously took 2+ hours to become compliant before a new hire could even sign in. Onboarding required helpdesk staff to hop on a call with every new hire to walk them through setup manually, tying up IT time and delaying the new hire’s first day.

Approach

Rebuilt onboarding around Smart Groups, Jamf Setup Manager, and AutoPKG, with custom scripts (published publicly on my GitHub) handling app installation, configuration, and compliance checks automatically at first login — no helpdesk call required. Built department-specific onboarding paths so each new hire’s Smart Group placement determined which apps got installed automatically (e.g., Docker for Engineering, Visio for Finance), instead of shipping every device with the same generic software set. Paired the automation with new documentation and a self-service process handed directly to the new hire, so onboarding required little to no IT hand-holding.

Architecture

Smart Groups scope devices into the correct onboarding policies at enrollment, branching into department-specific paths that install the software each team actually needs. Jamf Setup Manager sequences the setup experience for the end user, while AutoPKG keeps required software packages current and ready to deploy. Custom scripts verify compliance status in the background and self-serve documentation guides the new hire through anything requiring their input.

Outcome

Cut new hire laptop compliance time from 2+ hours down to a self-directed process the new hire completes on their own, and eliminated the need for helpdesk to join onboarding calls.

Lessons Learned

Automation alone doesn’t remove the human bottleneck — pairing the scripted setup with clear, self-service documentation was what actually got helpdesk off the call and let new hires onboard independently.