Completion Report
Project Summary:
Project Scope
The scope of this project is to upgrade the TEST and LIVE Perspective environments to version 4.6. This will involve a major release upgrade and will also require the intervening releases applied.
Objectives and Deliverables
The original project objectives and deliverables have been delivered
| Project Objectives |
| Project Deliverables | Success Criteria |
O1 | Ensure that the TEST (Training) environment is up to date and functioning as expected prior to the upgrades | D1
| Copy the LIVE database and application to the TEST environment |
|
D2 | Users to carry out testing of system prior to any updates/ changes |
| ||
O2 | Upgrade Perspective to version 4.6 in TEST, allowing sufficient time for users to test the system | D3
| Run through successive upgrades as required to move from v3.2 to v4.6 |
|
D4 | Complete User testing in the TEST environment |
| ||
O3 | An indication of what is involved in upgrades to the system to feed into future annual planning for subsequent releases | D5 | Full Implementation Record and Implementation plan for the upgrade to LIVE |
|
O4 | LIVE environment is upgraded to Perspective 4.6 | D6 | Upgrade LIVE environment to Perspective 4.6 |
|
Project Observations
In reviewing the project the following points should be noted;
- Having implemented the Perspective system in July 2013 running version 3.2, this was the first upgrade (version 4.6) to be applied. This required a new version of the application to be deployed along with a series of supplier scripts to be run to advance the database to its final version. Issues were encountered during the database upgrade and required technical intervention from the supplier. This was due to the number of changes to be applied to bridge the gap between the versions. This was further compounded by the fact that the supplier is Canadian based with around a 7 hour time difference
- Having resolved the Reporting issues on Test, these manifested themselves again on Live and were unable to be resolved despite several attempts. As a consequence, the decision was taken to commission a new SQL Server infrastructure which took additional time and was further delayed due to the heavy planned work being undertaken within Development Technology
- A good working relationship was established by all within the project team, and this particularly evident when unexpected issues occurred
- During the issues and delays, communication was maintained with the business contacts with regards to status updates, revised strategy and plans. During this elongated period of unresolved issues, the business was very supportive and appreciative of the efforts being undertaken to resolve the issues.
- The supplier helpdesk were supportive and helpful in attempting to resolve the problems - however this was not particularly straightforward due tto the time delays. This was mainly overcome due to the flexibility and dedication of the Development Technology lead who on multiple occassions, participated in on remote support sessions with the supplier, out of normal hours, very late into the night., which again was recognised and greatly appreciated by the business
Analysis of Resource Usage:
Staff Usage Estimate: 35 days
Staff Usage Actual: 37 days
Staff Usage Variance: 6%
Other Resource Estimate: 0 days
Other Resource Actual: 0 days
Other Resource Variance: 0%
Explanation for variance:
This project has successfully delivered an upgraded system to the business after overcoming a number of unexpected and time consuming challenges along the way.
In reviewing the project scope, budget and timescales, the following observations are recorded.
- Project Scope: There was a requirement to amend the agreed scope, whereby due to unresolved post go-live issues on the Live environment associated with reporting, there was the requirement to migrate the Test and Live databases to the new SQL server database environment running under the newer version of SQL server version 2014
- Project Budget. Having initially estimated this as a small project with a 50 day budget, the project has been completed in a reduced budget of 36 days
- Project Timescales. These have been significantly delayed due to two specific instances Firstly, the first planned deployment scheduled for 01/12/15 was delayed to 27/01/16 after unexpected functional issues associated with the Dispatch Log, the search functionality and Reporting were encountered Secondly, having deployed to Live in January 2016, post go-live issues were reported with regards Reporting. Whilst noting the issues, the business directed that the live upgrade should remain in place and workarounds were implemented whilst a solution was sought. This was subsequently overcome after migrating the database to the new SQL Server infrastructure in May 2016.
In reviewing the project the following points should be noted;
- Having implemented the Perspective system in July 2013 running version 3.2, this was the first upgrade (version 4.6) to be applied. This required a new version of the application to be deployed along with a series of supplier scripts to be run to advance the database to its final version. Issues were encountered during the database upgrade and required technical intervention from the supplier. This was due to the number of changes to be applied to bridge the gap between the versions. This was further compounded by the fact that the supplier is Canadian based with around a 7 hour time difference
- Having resolved the Reporting issues on Test, these manifested themselves again on Live and were unable to be resolved despite several attempts. As a consequence, the decision was taken to commission a new SQL Server infrastructure which took additional time and was further delayed due to the heavy planned work being undertaken within Development Technology
- During the issues and delays, communication was maintained with the business contacts with regards to status updates, revised strategy and plans. During this elongated period of unresolved issues, the business was very supportive and appreciative of the efforts being undertaken to resolve the issues.
- The supplier helpdesk were supportive and helpful in attempting to resolve the problems - however this was not particularly straightforward due to the time delays. This was mainly overcome due to the flexibility and dedication of the Development Technology lead who on multiple occasions, participated in on remote support sessions with the supplier, out of normal hours, very late into the night., which again was recognised and greatly appreciated by the business
Key Learning Points:
In completing this project, the following key learning points are noted.
- The system should be regularly updated, minimising the effort required during the upgrade process. The business have acknowledged this and will look to complete annual upgrades
- In acknowledging the issues regarding time-delays with the supplier, consideration to alternative support arrangements should be considered prior to the next upgrade
- The business arrangement of making key staff available to undertake the system testing should not be underestimated but repeated in the future, as this greatly enhanced the project turnaround during user acceptance and trying to resolve subsequent post go-live issues
- Communication within the project team must be maintained
Outstanding issues:
There are no outstanding issues .