Overview

Background

The Scientia Enterprise applications are the University's chosen application suite for providing a shared academic Timetabling service. The Scientia applications also provide an ad-hoc Room booking service for Staff and Students via Web Room Booking.

The Scientia applications work on a separate database for each academic year. Each year, there are therefore tasks to create the new database and instances of each application for the next academic year. The roll-forward tasks take place in stages at appropriate times in the calendar and the applications are then re-pointed at the switch-over. For the 2021/22 academic year, this switch-over for LIVE feeds was carried out in the 3rd week in July 2020.

The start of the new Timetabling year in 2022/23 will be Mon 25-July 2022 

This is compliance work that is too large to be delivered within the current support budget and is therefore run as a project each year.

 

Scope

The scope of this project is restricted to the tasks required to roll forward the timetabling and room booking applications for use for the 2022-23 Academic Year. The roll forward tasks are as documented on the Wiki and include any decommissioning tasks.

This year, there are additional tasks for the following

  •  a required upgrade to CalSync which was delayed from the previous roll-forward project
  • complete the same CalSync upgrade for exam scheduling
  • Moving the XML Data Feed for Bookable Rooms to remove reliance on the ColdFusion platform

The following  are not in the scope of this project:

  • Decommissioning of 20/21 database as this is required for historic reporting
  • Remedial or enhancement work to resolve existing issues unrelated to the roll-forward project
  • Investigation or resolution of existing  LIVE production infrastructure issues 

Objectives

The key objective for the project is to deliver the roll forward to allow activities (lectures, tutorials, labs, other misc classes) and rooms to be scheduled and allocation carried out for the new academic year.

Deliverables

The following deliverables have been identified for completion of the roll forward

Ref Deliverables Must Have/Should Have/Could Have
D1

Resource Booker Upgrade

  • Upgrade Resource Booker to version 3.0
Must Have
D2

CalSync Upgrade - Class Timetabling

  • Upgrade CalSync to resolve issue with accounts getting 'stuck' in O365
Must Have
D3

CalSync Upgrade - Exam Scheduling

  • Upgrade CalSync on the Exam Timetabling side
Must Have
D4

XML Feed to Bookable Rooms

  • Move existing XML feed off of the ColdFusion Platform
Must Have
D5

Core timetabling applications  - Roll-forward

  • Syllabus Plus Database (SDB) including Authorisation Manager database
  • Reporting Database (RDB) connected to 22-23 SDB
  • Enterprise Portal and Applications (inc. Script for populating UTF5 and Roles enabled for 22-23)
Must Have
D6

Deliver web applications  - Roll-forward

  • Staff Web Room Booking (WRB)
  • Student WRB (inc. Script for releasing the next available week for student bookings)
  • WRB Notifier
  • Web Timetables (inc. connector to RDB for reference data)
  • Onelan
  • RDB preparation for producing CTB, Bookable Rooms and Learn Feeds
  • Data Adaptor for Resource Booker ( as used by the Medical School)
Must Have
D7

Decommissioning tasks - 19/20;SDB / RDB & Web apps / 20-21;RDB & Web Apps

  • Decommission 19/20 SDB, RDB and 19/20 Web Apps
  • Decommission 20/21 RDB and 20/21 Web Apps
Must Have
D8

Deliver incoming interfaces 

  • Incoming interfaces and Syllabus Plus Data Adaptor (SPDA) (inc. Rollforward package for Academic rollover and initial loads)
  • SPDA 
Must Have
D9

Deliver Course Timetable Browser 

  • Course timetable browser repointed to 22-23
Must Have
D10

Bookable Rooms Website

  • Move XML feed to Bookable Rooms Website from ColdFusion to another platform
  • Feed to the Bookable Rooms Website repointed to 22-23
Must Have
D11

Learn Feed

  • Outgoing Learn feed re-directed to 22-23 database
Must Have
D12

Lecture Capture Feed

  • Feed to the Lecture Capture System repointed to 22-23
Must Have
D13

Reporting

  • Repoint BI universe to 22-23 RDB
Must Have
D14

CalSync

  • Office 365 calendars integration to be repointed to 22-23
Must Have
D15 

Switchover academic year in July and service wrap

  • Repointable URL changed to re-direct Web Applications to 22-23
  • 22-23 OneLan, PADS, Student WRB
Must Have

 

Benefits

This is a compliance project, and  will allow 2022-23 Timetabling planning to occur from March 2022, and allow the Timetabling service to continue into the new academic year, 2022-23.

 

Success Criteria

The following criteria will confirm the project has been successful in each of its objectives:

  • CalSync upgraded successfully
  • ResourceBooker upgraded successfully
  • XML feed to Bookable Rooms successfully moved
  • UOE2022 SDB available in Scientia Enterprise by  Jan 2022
  • 22/23 Web Applications available by 31st January 2022
  • In April 2022, incoming interfaces will start to populate 22-23  with data from IDM and EUGEX
  • Course Timetable Browser, Bookable rooms, Calsync process, Learn outgoing interface, Lecture Capture feed and the BI Suite will be switched to point at 22-23 RDB at dates to be agreed with the business.
  • From July 2022, all Web Applications will, by default, display/refer to  2022-23 as the current academic year when accessed by any user in the University.

Project Milestones

  Export all milestones

Stage Milestone Due Date
Plan End of Planning 29-Oct-2021
Execute Upgrade CalSync to v1.22 in TEST 03-Nov-2021
Accept UAT - CalSync V1.22 in TEST 16-Nov-2021
Execute Upgrade CalSync to v1.22 in TEST - Exam Scheduling 23-Nov-2021
Deliver Upgrade to CalSync v1.22 in LIVE 30-Nov-2021
Accept UAT - CalSync V1.22 in TEST - Exam Scheduling 30-Nov-2021
Deliver Deliver new 22-23 in Enterprise Timetabler 03-Dec-2021
Deliver Upgrade to CalSync v1.22 in LIVE - Exam Scheduling 07-Dec-2021
Deliver XML Data Feed to Bookable Rooms 09-Dec-2021
Deliver Deliver 22-23 database for the Web applications ( WRB and Web Timetables) 10-Dec-2021
Deliver Roll-forward Course Table Browser to 22-23 - Go-live 13-May-2022
Deliver Roll-forward Calsync feed to 22-23 - Go-Live 24-Jun-2022
Deliver Roll-forward BI Reports to 22-23 - Go-Live 01-Jul-2022
Deliver Roll-forward Incoming Interfaces to 22-23 - go-live 15-Jul-2022
Deliver Roll-forward Learn Feed to 22-23 - Go-Live 15-Jul-2022
Deliver Roll-forward to 22/23 Academic Year - all live feeds - Onelan etc at start of new 22-23 session 25-Jul-2022
Deliver Roll-forward Lecture Capture Feed to 22-23 - Go-Live 26-Jul-2022
Deliver Deployment Review 23-Sep-2022
Close Project Closure 07-Oct-2022

Project Info

Project
Timetabling Annual Roll-forward to 2022/23
Code
TTU023
Programme
Timetabling (TTU)
Management Office
ISG PMO
Project Manager
Alan Donald
Project Sponsor
Scott Rosie
Current Stage
Close
Status
Closed
Project Classification
Run
Start Date
04-Oct-2021
Planning Date
22-Oct-2021
Delivery Date
29-Jul-2022
Close Date
08-Nov-2022
Programme Priority
1
Overall Priority
Highest
Category
Compliance

Documentation

Plan