The final phase of the migration to the new Dgroups platform (Dgroups 2) from the old platform (Dgroups 1) has begun this week. This post summarises progress and plans.
No new Groups on Dgroups 1
The people who create Dgroups (known helpfully as creators) have been asked not to create any more on the old platform, Dgroups 1. It will also be helpful if activity can be reduced during the next two weeks, although we completely recognise that may not be possible for business reasons. If this causes any difficulties please get back to us in the migration team (by commenting on this blog).
MIGRATION
- The testing phase of the new platform is finished. Thanks very much to those of you who participated in that testing phase. The comments you made have been recorded.
- The new software platform is stable. Email is being delivered and group management functions are available on the web interface. Basic administration functions through email are in the final stages of completion
- All active groups will be migrated next week (the week beginning 2nd February). ‘Closed’ groups will be migrated later, as read-only.
- As you would expect, there are differences in the way that the new system operates from Dgroups 1. We are working on simple support documentation which will be available by the end of this week.
- The new supplier, WA Research, is still working on the some areas of functionality, notably the web interface, and there are some changes already in the pipeline. However, the absolute priority is the migration and it will be important to allow both the teams and users to get used to the new environment and review it as a whole before there are major changes.
Technical Support: Users Talk to Your Administrator, and Administrators Talk to Your Dgroups Creator
The first line of support for Dgroups users is the Dgroup’s administrator, while administrators can call on their Dgroups creator for support. This pattern will continue in Dgroups and it is a great way to spread knowledge about how to use the new system effectively.