FROM THE TRENCHES: OFFICE 2007 LESSONS LEARNED. Panelists: Joy Heath Rush Steve Roth Brian Donato

Transcription

1 FROM THE TRENCHES: OFFICE 2007 LESSONS LEARNED Panelists: Joy Heath Rush Steve Roth Brian Donato

2 Hosts Honora Wade, ILTA User Support Peer Group, Vice President Asima Macci, ILTA User Support Peer Group, Webinar Coordinator Joyce Laiserin, Moderator 2

3 Agenda Getting Started Project Scope and Planning Desktop Applications Rollout Performance and Customization Format, Compatibility, and New Features Training and Support Lessons Learned The Good, The Bad, The Ugly 3

4 Project Background: Sidley Austin Joy Heath Rush Firm 1,800 lawyers 2,000 staff 16 offices (6 in the US, 4 in UK/Europe, 6 in Asia) IT resources 7 IT staff devoted to project Major focus of 5 QA Analysts 13 training staff 18 IT Service Desk staff (7 x 24) Managed by PMO External resources Minimal for development Trainers, IT Service Desk, and Deployment Techs for rollout 4

5 Project Background: Sidley Austin Joy Heath Rush Old Applications Old Applications New Applications New Applications Office 2003 Office 2007 DeltaView 2.9 SoftWise Innova WorkShare Compare Payne Forms Assistant Payne Numbering Assistant No Change: Autonomy imanage 8.3 (DeskSite and WorkSite) Payne Metadata 5

6 Project Background: Sidley Austin Joy Heath Rush Project timeline Planned duration 21 months Actual duration 27 months All offices piloted simultaneously Rollout by region (US, UK/Europe/Asia) Noteworthy Heavy reliance on PSTs Laptop hardware became a concern Significant remote access component (VPN and Citrix) 6

7 Project Background: Arnold & Porter Steve Roth Firm 750 attorneys 1,300 computers 7 offices IT resources 70 IT staff 12 training staff 20 additional support staff 7

8 Project Background: Arnold & Porter Steve Roth Old Applications New Applications Office 2003 Office 2007 / Exchange 2007 Notes 6.5 Outlook 2007 Autonomy imanage 7.x (DeskSite) Autonomy imanage 8.2 (DeskSite) Old Applications DeltaView WorkShare Compare 5.2 Adobe Professional Arnold & Porter Tools Nuance PDF Software Payne Forms Assistant Payne Numbering Assistant Payne Metadata 8

9 Project Background: Arnold & Porter Steve Roth Project timeline Planned duration 300 days Actual duration 300 days Office 2007/Notes > Exchange/Hardware refresh Rollout strategy New desktop rollout and laptop hardware upgrade Complete re-image over weekends Re-imaged 1,500 PCs over 5 weekends Noteworthy Simultaneous and successful Office 2007 deployment and Notes to Exchange conversion 9

10 Firm Project Background: Vorys Sater Brian Donato 375 attorneys 875 total users 7 offices IT resources 35 IT Staff 4 internal trainers 16 external trainers for floor support 10

11 Project Background: Vorys Sater Brian Donato Old Applications Windows XP New Applications Vista Office 2003 Office 2007 Open Text DM Open Text DM 5.2 / Autonomy imanage 8.2 (FileSite) * DeltaView WorkShare Compare 5.2 Adobe Professional Nuance PDF Software *Fully transitioned to Autonomy imanage by end of year 11

12 Project Background: Vorys Sater Brian Donato Project timeline Planned duration was a 18 months starting in March of 2007 Still going 200 users are on Office 2007 Noteworthy Switched DMS Changed rollout plan to adapt Initially planned to rollout 40 users per week After change in DMS rollout all offices in about a month 12

13 GETTING STARTED: PROJECT SCOPE AND PLANNING JOY HEATH RUSH 13

14 Getting Started: Preparing for Success Project management Project documentation Team structure/accountability, status reporting Guiding principles Stakeholder buy-in Key dependencies Elevator talk Measures of success 14

15 Getting Started: Key Decision Points OS choice File format choice Upgrade methodology What survives? Integrated applications Non-Standard applications Handling of locally stored data 15

16 Getting Started: Pre-flighting Pre-Deployment survey Hardware review Which group, which non-standard The VIP process 16

17 Getting Started: Communication and Training Communication Internally project team; rest of IT Other admin departments Lawyers User feedback The double-edged sword Decision-making and exception processes Marketing and pre-learning All audiences Pre-training 17

18 Getting Started: Decision-Making and Strategies 18

19 Getting Started: Review What was successful? Upfront investment in project team structure, project documentation, and communication of guiding principles Detailed communication plan What would we do differently? Greater focus on performance issues Approach Emphasize its importance Earlier in the project Spend more time upfront on the feedback loop 19

20 DESKTOP: PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMIZATION STEVE ROTH 20

21 Desktop: Office 2007 Performance Office 2007 will be slower than older versions Add-ins!! Every vendor adds one Final image has 18(!!!) Word add ins Suggestions Test for problem add-ins Question necessity KISS principle 21

22 Desktop: Outlook Performance size, Size, SIZE!!! Notes > Outlook Biggest change: No more 30 gb mailboxes Need for archiving/message management solution Mailbox size Prefer to keep mailboxes under 3 gb 3 gb mailbox can have 4 gb+ offline cache Prefer <10,000 items in a folder (Inbox) Huge difference in workstation vs. laptop disk speed 22

23 Desktop: Outlook Performance Cached mode vs. online mode Windows desktop search indexer Load time vs. daily usage Office SP2 Outlook speed enhancements 23

24 Desktop: Customization Overview Install full Office 2007 Many new features aren t appropriate in a law environment (e.g., SmartArt) Strategy Install all features in case a disabled feature is ever needed Support as much as possible Users use only what is needed Ribbons homegrown or outsource? Payne Tools Ribbons require DLL programming (C#, etc) Prepare to work a lot with developers Group policies vs. Office Resource Kit vs. direct registry modifications 24

25 Desktop: Customization Word Existing templates and macros Templates can be converted directly Macros may be a significant issue if Ribbon is built in-house AutoText Can be carried over in the 2003 Normal.dot Word will automatically convert them Custom dictionary Beware 2007 switch to Unicode text format over ASCII Outlook profiles Most settings on the Exchange server A&P: Multiple Outlook Address Books 25

26 Desktop: Customization Word Issues with Word and add-ins Word likes to disable add-ins Commands from add-ins may not stick to the Quick Access Toolbar 26

27 Desktop: Review What was successful? Ruthless approach to customizations Taking logical opportunity for change to retool and streamline other aspects of the desktop Duplicating 2003 settings as much as possible, while sticking with the 2007 UI Treating 2007 strictly as a UI change What would we do differently? Hit the PST issues harder sooner, particularly in terms of remote access 27

28 APPLICATIONS: FORMAT, COMPATIBILITY, AND NEW FEATURES BRIAN DONATO 28

29 Applications: XML vs Binary Format XML Advantages Reduced size Increased stability Improved data recovery Enhanced security Binary Advantages All existing content Inbound content overwhelmingly in binary format 29

30 Applications: File Format Considerations Client issues Have all clients installed the Compatibility Pack? Can they? Limitations on Collaboration Excel Technical issues Will file format impacts how add-ins work How file format impacts existing templates 30

31 Applications: Document Management Relationship between the DMS and the conversion plan Time required to test the integrated environment Issues Older versions of DMS may not handle xml files Compatibility Pack is not a conversion tool 31

32 Applications: Decisions and Considerations Default to binary (.doc) format All Office applications? Considerations User skills to manage multiple formats Support for collaboration Performance expectations with Office 2007 Moving to the future Criteria for making the switch to XML 32

33 Applications: New UI Quick Access Toolbar Style Gallery Zoom scroll bar Custom status bar 33

34 Applications: New UI Live Preview Excel Better filters User reaction 34

35 Applications: Compatibility and Training Potential compatibility issues Collaboration with clients Additional training that focuses on file format issues 35

36 Applications: Review What was successful? Deep dive into file format decision Selection of binary (.doc) format as the default Combination of Citrix environment and Compatibility Pack to handle short-term compatibility and interoperability issues What would we do differently? Treat DMS, not Office, as the critical application Test integrated applications earlier Assess impact of each add-in earlier Pay more attention to training and support of Excel and PowerPoint 36

37 Rollout: Training and Support Objectives for training New application skills Improve existing skills Compatibility issues Audiences and length of training Attorneys Staff IT Support staff Document specialists Groups requiring specialized training (e.g., IP, Marketing) 37

38 Rollout: Training and Support Documentation and handouts Reference manual Quick reference cards or other printed job aids Online resources What do users really use after they leave training? Presentation methods Instructor-led classroom training 1-on-1 (if so, who?) elearning Custom/Microsoft Tools Floor support Any metrics as to how many resources? For how long was floor support available? Did you use external resources? 38

39 Rollout: Training and Support Challenges How did you market training? What was the key to success? 39

40 Lessons Learned: The Good Applications Outlook: Most used; least changed Outlook: Better handling of OST files (quicker crash recovery) Outlook: Instant search (requires Windows Desktop Search or Exchange 2007) Excel: Fabulous new features Users Most users adapt easily to new UI For occasional users, the new UI is easy to use Reduced headaches xml and reduced document corruption Notice client appreciation that firm is using the latest applications IT Puts you on a fully-supported platform Excellent platform for SharePoint integration 40

41 Lessons Learned: The Bad Applications Performance and stability are not as good as Office 2003 Users can t customize the Ribbon (will be available in Office 2010) Outlook: Instant Search removes reason for users to reduce mailbox size Word 2007: Documents open more slowly Reduced stability of add-ins Users Expert users take time to get up to speed Some laptop users experience slower Outlook performance Resistant to thinking about document exchange again IT Increase in complexity increase support challenges Learning curve for internal developers Less mature platform more significant bugs to work out with vendors 41

42 Lessons Learned: The Ugly Applications Application integration requires thorough testing DMS may be less stable Third-party support is less than optimal Outlook: Performance of large mailboxes QAT: Users rely on it, but are frustrated by the loss of icons Users Excel and PowerPoint: Compatibility is challenging no matter what the file format Some users will be slower and less stable Why did we change? IT Managing user expectations on performance Solving stability issues is more complex due to large number of add-ins Expect to use some IT goodwill during the rollout 42

43 Wrap Up Thank you for joining us. Please complete the evaluations. 43