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Ariba 9r1 Best Practices Rob Steinberg Account Manager November 3, 2009. 9r1 Upgrade Lessons Learned Best Practices. Plan The “Whole” Project General Process Changes – model/test scenarios in the application, plan approach, and communicate! Redesigned Module/Feature Impact
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Ariba 9r1 Best PracticesRob SteinbergAccount ManagerNovember 3, 2009
9r1 Upgrade Lessons LearnedBest Practices • Plan The “Whole” Project • General Process Changes – model/test scenarios in the application, plan approach, and communicate! • Redesigned Module/Feature Impact • Test Scripts (refresh/rewrite implications) • Allow sufficient time for both testing AND fixing of issues • Resource need (both functional and technical) • Build out a 9r1 Demo environment • Perform hardware assessments early • If updated hardware is recommended, get the process started early • Ariba can give you guidelines, but the specifics will need to come from your hardware vendor • If upgrading hardware, upgrade Development, Testing and Production hardware • Realize that you will have many environments running at the same time • Production Support – 8.2 / 4r4 Dev & QA • Upgrade Project – 9r1 Dev, QA and Mock Cutover
9r1 Upgrade Lessons LearnedBest Practices • Plan your review of the new functionality • Things have changed in the user interface • Don’t wait until system testing / UAT to manage this change • Delta training (technical and functional) is available • Admin staff needs to understand architectural changes and administrative differences • Understand your customizations • Make sure Ariba has all documentation related to your customizations (and you have test scenarios) • Further testing (on-site) should be anticipated before end users are granted access to the system • Manage code/configuration changes during the upgrade
9r1 Upgrade Lessons LearnedBest Practices • Dedicate resources to upgrade test scripts early • Demo environment will be critical here • Incorporate different testing groups • Core Team • Power Users • Reduce / Eliminate other responsibilities of testers during the time scheduled for testing • Execute your comprehensive test plan • Make sure your test cycle for both System Test and UAT contains time to resolve the issues • Complete test cases should exist for both your basic functionality and your customizations • Expect more than one mock cutover • There are too many moving parts to get this 100% the first time • There will be multiple iterations of the cutover process to ensure a clean execution during go-live weekend
Don’t Forget the UsersChange Management • Involve the Users • User Advisory Committee • Set expectations • Select the members wisely • Involve in User Acceptance Testing (UAT) • Communication is Key • Well laid out communication plan • Overview session • Positive Outcomes • Reduction in post go-live support • Hoping for increased user adoption
Don’t Forget The UsersCommunication Plans • Article in Quarterly eNewsletter • Brown Bag meetings • Administrator presentations • Hands-on Overview Sessions • Lecture Style Overview Sessions • Customized Overview Sessions for key depts. • Key announcements on websites • Announcement on Company Portal