Why upgrade your Innovator environment and how to get there

Transcription

1 Why upgrade your Innovator environment and how to get there Tom Turner & James Gehan Services and Customer Success 1

2 Topics 1 Why to the latest Innovator How to Get to the latest Innovator Tips and Best Practices for 2

3 WHY UPGRADE? 3

4 Why to 11.0 SP12? Key Enhancements since ACE 2017 Enhanced Classification of Product Information Enhanced Digital Thread Navigation Improved End User Usability Performance & Reliability Benefits: Improved User and Team Productivity Helping Your Product Teams Reduce Product Costs 4

5 Recent Enhancements 11.0 SP10 April 2017 Enhanced Item Access and Reporting Views Query Builder Creates Query Definitions based on: Selected Item Type & Related Items (Relationships, Properties, References) Use desired Properties, Conditions, Sorting, and Recursion Find, Navigate and Display Related Product Information with Custom Tree Grid Views Use Query Definitions & Tree Grid View to define custom Tree Grids Navigate important related items and relationships Enhanced Product Structure Views Enhanced Document Control with PDF Watermarking Works with PDFs created by Office Connector or otherwise Create PDF of document with lifecycle-based watermarks 5

6 Recent Enhancements 11.0 SP11 Sept 2017 Improved Classification Management for Parts and Other Items Flexible definition of classes and properties across multiple Item Types Classification Admin can define Class structure and Properties End Users can classify Items to available Classification structure Enhanced Data Entry with Field type-ahead Lookups In Forms & Grids, Users can type into List, Item, and Classification fields Add People to Visual Collaboration discussions People mentioned in comments receive notifications even if they are not following the sender or the item Enhanced Flexibility and Usability with MAC Policy access control Attribute values may determine access control to Items for ITAR or other purposes New Capabilities for multiple File Representations for Parts, CAD Models File Representations are alternate representations of the contents of another file Used by new 3D conversion and viewing 6 Simplified API for Content Modeling Framework Content Modeling Framework used in application areas such as FMEA Content Modeling

7 Recent Enhancements 11.0 SP12 January 2018 New API support for Product Variety with Configurator Services Platform services for defining product variability APIs enable product options and constraint rules Text Rule Editor and Variant Tree Sample Application provided Enhanced Usability for Promoting Items Uses new Mass Operations screen to easily promote multiple items Results stored in an Mass Promotion record Expanded RESTful APIs Support for OData (Open Data Protocol) compatible RESTful APIs JSON as data serialization format & support for file upload New Mass Operations Dialog Improved search grid performance 7

8 Learn More at Aras.com Portal 8

9 How to Get to Innovator 11.0 SP12 9

10 Innovator Questions Frequently Asked Questions When can we start? When will we be done? How much effort will it take? Can we change our plans? How long will our production system be down? 10

11 Innovator High Level Process Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live Process Length of Process varies based upon several factors Plans: Completeness of Acceptance tests, Resource availability, subscriber priority for upgrade project Innovator Environment: type, Current Version, 3 rd party add-ons, Aras applications Additional Factors Good Communication is important Types Service Pack can be done by subscriber without Aras team Applies between SPs for an Innovator release Tools available to subscriber on CD image to run independently Managed Service Pack update with Aras team Started with 11.0 SP8 and includes upgrades to SP10, SP11 and SP12, tentatively planned through 11.0 SPs submits their Innovator instance to Aras for upgrade Major to a new major version of Innovator s between major Innovator releases (ex: 10.0 to 11.0) which may also application updates Potentially more test upgrade cycles with larger sets 11

12 A Good Starts with a Good Plan Upfront Planning of Target Innovator Release Review of platform specification between source and target releases Fill out upgrade questionnaire Review of Support Matrix of Aras Applications Confirm any partner-provided connectors are supported with Target Release (CAD, ERP, etc.) Identify any needed training for users with upgraded Innovator environment Document Acceptance Tests Upfront Consider current training documentation or customization specifications for starting points Identify which acceptance tests are most important to confirm Consider CAD Data Management or other connector tests Rough estimate testing needs Identify the number of tests, roles, and data to be considered ROM estimate of time needed to perform these tests to estimate how many resources may be needed Acceptance Test Plan Template 12

13 A Good Starts with a Good Plan Plan to Have Committed Testing Resources Plan for scheduled time every testing cycle for checking upgraded environments, confirming resolutions and reporting issues Reserve any necessary hardware environments for testing Clear prioritization of project needed to ensure testing resources can participate Consider testing resources who may help with training users or train-thetrainer activities Identify a Single Point of Contact for the Project Who is managing the upgrade project Who can Aras contact Plan Large New Customization/configuration projects after 13

14 Request an Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live Create Your Initial Plan requests an upgrade via Aras will send a questionnaire to subscriber to gather information about their production system. Current Aras Innovator Version & SQL Server Version Installed Aras Solutions (Project, PLM, QP, RM, etc.) Installed Community Solutions (CMII Wizard, Language Packs, etc.) Installed Partner & 3 rd Party Solutions (CAD Connectors for example) Aras reviews submitted Acceptance Test plans Aras will review initial test plans to scope initial testing phase time Aras creates schedule candidate and sends it to the subscriber aras.com

15 Start Request an Start Aras Pre- Test Testing Verification Go-Live submits snapshot of production instance Aras performs initial upgrade Aras performs the initial upgrade to the target release 15

16 Aras Pre-Test Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live Aras Performs Initial Testing of Instance Smoke Tests - Aras runs standard upgrade tests to confirm basic functions are working Exploratory Tests Old Issue Review Tests -specific issues from previous upgrades are evaluated to see if they are working Acceptance Tests - If submitted to Aras, Aras will run through subscriber acceptance test cases Issues Found Issues found during testing, will be fixed by Aras Issue status can be seen in MyInnovator for each subscriber MyInnovator 16

17 Testing Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live installs Innovator Instance Aras can help setup target environment Regression testing must be done a separate, test environment If applicable, install 3 rd party connectors begins evaluation of upgraded Instance In the this phase, identify processes that work in production, but no longer work after the upgrade Run tests from acceptance test document A successful first pass identifies ALL blocking regressions. Issue Reporting Prompt reporting of regressions is essential to speedy completion If needed, Aras reviews issues, addresses issues and creates an updated Instance Aras Delivers Test Pass Runs Regression Test Cases Verifies Resolutions + Reports Regressions 17

18 Verification Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live After initial regression testing by the core subscriber team, verification by the end user organization is important The business users typically confirm the upgraded Innovator environment meets their needs Once verification is complete, the subscriber should schedule the Go-Live with Aras aras.com

19 Go-Live Request an Start Aras Pre-Test Testing Verification Go-Live Typical Question How long are we down? It is a two phase process Phase 1 Update the Software code tree system is live during this activity Phase 2 Database Update System must be down for this phase Prepare production environment Install target release and related components Cutover Schedule cutover upgrade time Shutdown production environment, upgrade with Aras, Go-Live Go-Live d system is live Restart ongoing configuring of Innovator aras.com

20 Tips and Best Practices for 20

21 Best Practices Stay current Don t let your system lag by more than one major version behind the current release. Apply service packs when possible.. The more up-to-date your implementation, the less risk of complications. A robust Plan Understanding the scope of what will be done before we start If you have a system with a lot of customizations then you might want to add additional time for testing. We are happy to accommodate changes to the schedule. Review the Document, Proposed Schedule and Release Notes up front If you have questions, I would love to discuss them before we start the upgrade project. Review the proposed schedule prior to the start of the upgrade. It s a working document and will change throughout the project. Maintain Good communication between Aras team Able to communicate changes in subscriber activities ex: changes in availability test and report issues Communicate status of verifying the fixes promptly A robust Acceptance Test Plan Capture your PLM requirements as use cases with defined test plans. Observe any code freeze and minimize changes do not continue configure Innovator during the Process We do not mind merging any necessary changes during the upgrade, but they take time to merge. Do not use the new version production cutover as the time to switch to new hardware. Too many moving parts increases risk of complications. 21

22 Innovator Questions Frequently Asked Questions When can we start? Create an upgrade plan and send a request When will we be done? We provide an estimated date which may change based on testing, your plan, resources and reqts How much effort will it take? We provided some basic examples Can we change our plans? Yes but it may impact the schedule How long will our production system be down? Only during the database upgrade activities 22

23 Thank You!! 23