The following materials are intended to function as fundamental information for those involved in the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of physical access control systems. Looking especially at the full cycle of implementation from the end-user's standpoint, this primer highlights the important and often unforeseen issues that frequently accompany access control projects. Planning for these common issues frequently translates into saved time, resources, and investment, whereas a lack of awareness can lead cost overruns, lost time, and ultimately an unreliable system.