R18 Upgrade for Colleague
Executive Summary
Overview
In early 2006, Datatel announced the delivery of Colleague Release 18 (R18), a substantial upgrade to its Release 17 (R17) software. Critical changes included the option to use either SQL or Oracle as a backend database (formerly limited to Unidata), a completely overhauled architecture and the improved management of software updates.
Despite being touted by the vendor as a “behind the scenes only” upgrade, in reality the implementation process still demands substantial end user involvement and testing. The new release also requires every custom process and report to be developed using its proprietary Envision toolkit. Because LSCS has literally hundreds of non-Envisionized custom processes and reports used for mission critical operations, the IT Applications team in February 2007 began collaborating with LSCS staff system-wide to identify and rework these items and that effort continues today.
Originally, the R18 upgrade was scheduled for March 2008 but was postponed when new IT leadership discovered the Colleague environment needed a substantial hardware upgrade. Funding for the hardware was soon secured and recently a cross-functional, system-wide project team was convened and charged with successfully migrating LSCS to Colleague’s R18 system by mid-June 2008. Because IT resources are limited, time is short and the project impacts mission critical operations, Datatel consultants have been hired to assist with testing and troubleshooting the new R18 system. Technical resources from Datatel will also be available over GO LIVE weekend.
Project Purpose & Objectives
The purpose of the R18 Project is to successfully migrate LSCS from Colleague R17 to R18 which includes, but is not limited to, the following objectives:
• Upgrade Colleague system hardware for R18 environment
• Thoroughly test Datatel-delivered processes & reports in R18
• Research, identify and rework custom processes & reports in R18
• Thoroughly test new custom processes & reports in R18
Project Team
In addition to the many IT staff required for a project of this magnitude, the R18 Project Team also includes a cross-functional, system-wide group of Colleague “super-users” organized into smaller testing teams and led by a System Office team captain. Using the recent successful Chart of Accounts project as a model, an estimated 60+ staff will be involved in testing R18.
Project Timeline & Deliverables
A substantial amount of research and rework has already been done by IT systems analysts in preparation for R18. Next steps include creating the new R18 environment and the functional testing of the rewritten processes and reports. Below are key milestones leading up to the successful implementation of R18:
April
• Research & Rework Colleague R17 for R18 Compliance Continues
• Upgrade Colleague System Hardware
• Testing Team Kick-Off Meeting
• Weekly Testing Meetings Begin
• Project Update to System-Wide Councils
May
• Research & Rework Colleague R17 for R18 Compliance Continues
• Weekly Testing Meetings Continue
• Updates to System-Wide Councils Continue
• Email Blasts to All Employees Begin
• Flyers & Posters Distributed to Campuses Announcing System Unavailability
• LSCS Web Sites Updated to Announce System Unavailability
June
• Email Blasts to All Employees Continue
• “Go/No Go?” Decision By Testing Team Captains
• Colleague R17 System “Frozen” One Week Prior to GO LIVE
• GO LIVE Begins: All Colleague and Related Services Unavailable (Thursday, June 19th @ 5pm)
• R18 Implementation Occurs
• GO LIVE Completed: All Colleague and Related Services Restored (on or before Tuesday, June 24th @ 8am)
Please contact Marian Burkhart (x6579) for more information