Merging Two Tracks: Supporting Drupal 5.x and 7.x in Parallel University of Calgary Dan Fitzsimmons Deb Huartson

Merging Two Tracks University of Calgary has been running Drupal 5.x since 2008 The university is now working on migrating all of its Drupal sites to 7.x by the end of 2013 How do we support two versions?

Agenda A little about the U of C Track 1 (where we were) (5.x)/ Track 2 (where we are going) (7.x) How did we get here? Support Model –Initial –Maintenance –Moving Forward Lessons Learned

A little about the U of C 8 th largest University in Canada 29,000 FTE students 5,300 faculty and staff 14 Faculties, ~55 Depts., ~36 Institutes

Where we WERE (5.x) 1400 sites use Drupal 5.x Running some complex configurations including: views, panels, cck, contemplate. Largely decentralized distribution (similar but different configurations) Pushed 5.x configurations to their limit

Where we ARE GOING (7.x) Centralized distribution model (based on Features and custom modules) Merging of custom content / templates Reintroducing best practices in Drupal 7.x

How did we get here? A wonderful technical team, but also… SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORT

Support Model Initial Steps Approached with a “Whatever it takes” mindset Maintaining two different versions of Drupal with very different configurations Advise clients on best practices and assisting them with migration of content Work with technical team to script most complex configuration changes between 5.x and 7.x so that sites can migrate to the new version

Support Model Maintenance Build training materials for both versions Teach Intro Classes in both environments Support Team is very accessible, there are only 4 of us for 1400 sites and counting. Ears always open to new modules.

Samples

Support Model Moving Forward Weekly Meetings Support/Technical Work closely with technical team to script migrations between versions Encourage 5.x sites to move to 7.x through presentations and communication with our clients. Meet with University Relations monthly to discuss campus wide initiatives Advanced Training on Views, Panels

Lessons Learned There were a lot of major changes in approach between 5.x and 7.x Lots of work was needed to develop a support model that could accommodate two versions running in parallel Reconceived best practices / simplifying our distribution

Lessons Learned Phased deployment based on complexity Style guide very helpful Some units were relieved that our websites would be getting new functionality

Questions? Dan Fitzsimmons Deb Huartson