Guest Blog written by Mike Current, Upgrade Specialist – OnBase at DataBank IMX
When a homeowner decides to take on a home improvement project, the prospects are delightful. Increasing the value of your home, having better energy efficiency, and better aesthetics to show off to friends and family are in your immediate future! As you leave the DIY or sign that contract, you’re so excited about the prospects that you’re practically skipping.
However, the reality of life during a home improvement project is very different. There will be dust. Oh yes, there will be dust.
In this series, we’ve explored why your organization should upgrade OnBase, and given a handy checklist on how to prepare for your upgrade project. So by now, you know, without a doubt, that upgrades are a very necessary part of owning an OnBase system.
Today we’re going to talk about the elephant in the room. If you’re an OnBase admin, an upgrade is going to be disruptive to your normal flow of work. Also, if it’s been a while since your last upgrade, there may be a “fear of the unknown” as far as what to expect.
Our purpose today is to pull back the curtain and have a frank look at the things to expect during an upgrade.
New functionality
Obviously. It’s always fun to see what new bells and whistles you’re getting with an upgrade. Some new functionality might even be a game changer for your organization! But it’s always best to wait until the project is over to start turning on anything new.
Security Enhancements
If you’re not outsourcing your upgrade to our Pro Services team, you’ll want to do your homework to make extra sure that there are no new “default” security features which could cause you problems, such as new password policies.
Peer pressure for “Scope Creep”
Try to keep your peers or boss from tempting you to increase the complexity of your project by adding other projects to the OnBase upgrade timeline.
Meetings
You should plan on meeting with the project team at least once a week for status updates and to make sure no outside issues are causing roadblocks for any members of the team to get their work done.
End-user testing
Many of our clients are already taking advantage of this, but if you aren’t, you’re missing out on the best opportunity to catch any unexpected behavior before it hits production. Talk to your account manager if you need some guidance on this.
Issues
I know, I saved the best for last. But it’s important to know going into the project that in all likelihood, not everything is going to work as expected the very first time you’re going through testing. There’s a chance you might run into a genuine bug, but most often we see issues brought on by misconfiguration or environmental causes. Expect a few issues, but also expect to be able to find a root cause.
It’s been said that the strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. The best way to stare down the stress of a home renovation project is not to deny the upheaval it causes, but to embrace it. Your furniture will be in another room. You’ll be eating takeaway for days or weeks. And yes, you’re going to have extra dust. It’s fine. Keep the goal in sight!
Similarly, knowing what to expect and sharing that knowledge with your organization is the best way to mentally prepare yourselves for your next upgrade project. Being armed with this knowledge ahead of time can help make your next upgrade your best one yet.
5 reasons to upgrade | Planning for an upgrade | What to expect in an upgrade
