SUCCESSFUL UPGRADES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Gill Baker

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Overall aim is to improve the health and well being of the people of England through the resources available by: –supporting activity at national level to protect, promote and improve the nation’s health –securing the provision of comprehensive, high quality care for all those who need it, regardless of their ability to pay or where they live –securing responsive social care and child protection for those who lack the support they need

STAKEHOLDERS (1) 180 library staff users of Unicorn on 14 sites throughout England Function Group Leaders for each Unicorn Module(FGL) Systems Administration Team Lion User Group (LUG) Data Quality Circle (DQC)

STAKEHOLDERS (2) Public Enquiry Office (PEO) 5,300 Webcat users Our technical partners - ICL Our supplier - Sirsi Limited Customers of library and information services

ENVIRONMENT Central control of IT strategy and network Outsourcing and contracts management Project management methodology (PRINCE and SPICE) ‘Trailing Edge’ approach to IT All new software must be tested for compatibility with current systems before it can be implemented on the live network 80:20 principle

UPGRADING How? Project Management approach (SPICE) When? –‘trailing edge’ –funds –Sirsi’s availability? –Availability of IT personnel and test laboratory resources

TEST, TEST AND TEST AGAIN Test server in test environment User acceptance testing by FGLs Log issues with Sirsi, keep track of them Prioritise issues - what MUST be fixed before the upgrade? Hardware requirements

PROBLEMS Timescale and amount of forward planning required by DH Logging issues Communicating with all the key players Managing expectations

CHECKLIST Monitor listservs and Sirsi Web Discussion Forum Notify users of upgrade at least 4 weeks in advance Full-system backups before and after Circulate journals in advance of upgrade Make use of contingency plans, eg those drawn up for Y2k Training requirements ! Change procedures manuals

REMEMBER Research and analyse requirements Communicate with key players Don’t forget your customers In short, project manage your upgrade and take it as seriously as you would the implementation of a new system

COMMENTS FROM THE CONFERENCE SESSION Dera and DH are large, complex multi-site installations and benefit from having a test server. Some 95% of installations do not have test servers; test servers are not essential and in particular are not essential for small sites. To get on the right spot in the upgrade path, it is essential to read the relevant Release Notes. These notes are on the Customer Support pages on the Sirsi.com Web Site. Peter Gethin recommends that we look at the Customer Support pages at least once a week. Prepare and plan - the aim is to identify and manage risks and reduce any surprises.