We release an update to our website around once every six weeks, this can be anything from minor bug fixes to major overhauls and new functionality.
We have a large group of customers and it is difficult to release without impacting them in some way, so to minimise this we have a site release process to ensure we minimise disruption and eliminate the chance of bugs creeping through.
Small changes, large benefits
Change requests (RFC's) and bug reports come to us from our customers (both staff and the public) and are added to our ticket system (TRAC), we group changes up into 'releases' and give the release a version number (the website is currently on version 5.0.3). Doing it this way means we can develop, test and release small changes in one batch, rather than piecemeal.
Without development and test environments we can't roll out changes and guarantee customers won't be affected by downtime. We work on a separate development environment which is a copy of the live site; all work is done here first and tested by another developer to rule out any obvious bugs and ensure quality.
A fresh pair of eyes
Once we are happy that it has passed our own tests we pass it to the owner (the person who requested the change) to ensure it meets their the specification, this is know as User Acceptance Testing (UAT). At this stage it is unlikely that any bugs are found, instead we are focusing on the quality of the development.
With some releases we ask all staff within the council to test some of our new developments. In the future we will be using this blog as a way of getting further testing done by small public groups.
Once everyone has confirmed and signed off we pick a date to release; usually at the beginning of the week as it gives us time to monitor and fix any problems.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
In our experience we have found that as long you let people know what is going on and keep them updated, some disruption is perfectly fine so we always:
- Add a notification to our intranet to inform staff.
- Let all support staff (help desk) know in case any customers do call.
If the change is major and likely to require downtime we will publish notice on our website and email all staff.
Release day
Release day can be stressful, we try to do our update as early as possible, but without affecting the 9 o'clock rush. We update a small part of the site first, test it again and then update the whole site, which usually takes about an hour.
After a successful release we like to celebrate with cake, usually the larger the release the larger the cake, we usually rely on Martin to buy but donations are gratefully accepted.
Get involved
We are now accepting suggestions and feedback through this blog, you can leave us feedback or send us ideas and help make our website better and you might see your change as part of our next release.