docs: add session log for user creation, dry run and OU moves

.claude-context/sessions/2026-05-20-user-creation-dryrun-ou-moves.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# User Creation, Dry Run and OU Moves
+
+**Date:** 2026-05-20
+**Project:** Staff-AD-email-disabler
+**Status:** resolved
+**Tags:** powershell, active-directory, new-aduser, dry-run, ou, staff
+
+## Context
+The Feb version of `Update-StaffAD.ps1` only updated or disabled existing accounts; new staff in the ASM export who had no AD account were just logged as "not found". Jess extended it to create accounts for new active staff, to move accounts between active and inactive OUs, and to add a safe preview mode.
+
+## Key Decisions
+- **Create accounts only for `ACTV` rows** not found in AD — `INAC`/`LEFT` rows with no account are logged as skipped (with their status) rather than created.
+- **`-DryRun` switch** — logs exactly what would happen (in magenta, `[WOULD ...]`) without touching AD, including creations and OU moves. Chosen over relying on `-WhatIf` because it needs to cover several cmdlets consistently and produce a readable log.
+- **OU placement driven by status** — active staff to `$ActiveOU`, inactive/left to `$InactiveOU`; current OU is derived from the DN and only moved if different.
+- **Never move Domain Admin accounts** — privileged accounts are excluded from OU moves so IT admin accounts that happen to appear in the export aren't relocated.
+- **New accounts built from the email** — first/last name parsed from `Firstname.Lastname@`, UPN and mail set to the email, placed in `$NewUserOU`, initial password from a script variable (not stored here).
+
+## Technical Details
+- Lookup: `Get-ADUser -Identity <payroll no.> -Properties EmailAddress, Enabled, DisplayName, DistinguishedName`.
+- Creation: `New-ADUser -SamAccountName -UserPrincipalName -GivenName -Surname -DisplayName -Name -EmailAddress -AccountPassword -Enabled $true -Path $NewUserOU`.
+- Current OU: `$adUser.DistinguishedName -replace '^CN=[^,]+,', ''`.
+- Config variables at the top of the script: `$ActiveOU`, `$InactiveOU`, `$NewUserOU`, `$DefaultPassword` (value `<redacted>`).
+- Counters tracked: created, email updates, disabled, moved, no-change, not-found.
+
+## Code Changes
+- `Update-StaffAD.ps1` — ACTV user creation; `-DryRun`; OU moves for active/inactive; Domain Admin exclusion from moves.
+- `README.md` — updated for new behaviour.
+
+## Open Questions / Next Steps
+- A `$created++` was double-incremented in one draft path (inside the success branch and again after it) — verify the final script counts creations once.
+- The initial password is a shared script variable; consider forcing change at next logon (`-ChangePasswordAtLogon $true`) if not already set.
+- Consider emailing the log to IT after each scheduled run.
+
+## Artifacts
+- `432d3d5` — Skip OU move for Domain Admin accounts
+- `9cfe3c8` — Add OU moves for active/inactive staff, included in dry run output
+- `ba9a9b9` — Add -DryRun switch
+- `8de674c` — Add ACTV user creation for accounts not found in AD
+- Repo: https://gitea.hideawaygaming.com.au/jessikitty/Staff-AD-email-disabler