We are in the process of discussing the upgrade to RE 7. I am wondering if any of you who have already been through the process would answer a few questions: 1) Was the project manager from the Development Office, the IT Department, or a consultant from the outside? Would you have a recommendation about who the project leader should be and why? 2) How much time is involved for the project leader and others? We would like an estimate such as "It will take X people, X hours a day for X months" or some similar rule of thumb. 3) In retrospect, was there anything you wished you had done differently? Anything you are very glad that you did do? Thank you kindly, Kevin Eaton [i]--- Edited at 1/29/2004 4:48:49 PM by [Email Removed][/i]

We converted in September 03. It was a very smooth process. 1. The project manager should be from the Development Office (your RE guru) because they will need to read the conversion manual and understand the cleanup needs (if any) prior to the conversion. Our IT person did the actual conversion which took less than 1/2 a day. We have approximately 20,000 constituents. 2. Your time will depend on the size of your database, how much cleanup will need to be done and how much training you will need. I read the conversion manual and it was very specific about the things that needed to be "cleaned up". I would suggest you read the manual (available on-line) and let that help you decide the time. As I said the conversion itself was painless and took less than 1/2 day including the upgrade of 10 workstations. Because our IT did the actual conversion prior to our getting to the office that morning, there was little or no down time for us. 3. The one thing I wish I had done differently was the training itself. I took the RE7 Essentials 1 and 2 and I was bored. It was taught as if you were using RE for the first time. If you are already an avid user, you will be better off to just take the "transition class". Our conversion was a piece of cake and I think you will love RE 7. Call me if you would like ot discuss this further. Dottie Owens Development Information Manager Tennessee Performing Arts Center and The Tennessee Repertory Theatre [Email Removed] 615-782-4047 3.

Our IT department was more or less the Project Leader, they worked with Blackbaud to get 7.5 installed. We were down a few hours for the actual installation. IT made a timeline in MSProject for their side of thins.

We went live 2nd week of September, but it started with training in July. Two of us went back to Blackbaud for a week training. We used those training manuals, and I trained the staff for a week when I got back. It took me almost 2 weeks to get the training material together and I used some of our own live data the training.

We first did a test conversion before going live. After going live, we took RE down for at least a week to do the post-conversion, set up new queries, set user options, set security levels.

Be sure you make a copy of all your queries before the conversion, as well as copy down your User Options. User Options is what we had the most trouble with, because after you go "live" you loose all those options you had set in RE 6.4.

Hope this helps a little.

Rebecca S. Creamer
Database Manager
[Email Removed]
760-773-2968
----------------------------------
Eisenhower Medical Center
Foundation Office
39000 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

Rebecca: I'm interested in your "test conversion." Please elaborate. Was this to a stand-alone? Do you use RE in a network environment?

Shirley, We installed 7.5 on another server, and took a copy of our current database and restored it on this new server. We tested the new software for a few weeks to be sure everything was working properly with our data and that reports were good. Then we were ready to go "live", we took a cutoff of the database (release 6.4) and loaded it on to the new server and both systems were shut down to the rest of the users for almost a week, we did not enter gifts at that time. We kept 6.4 up for at least 3 months, just in case we had problems. Rebecca S. Creamer Database Manager [Email Removed] 760-773-2968 ---------------------------------- Eisenhower Medical Center Foundation Office 39000 Bob Hope Drive Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

As mentionned, the actual task of converting your database from 6 to 7 and deploying client stations is quite quick. Keep yourself 1 full day (2 days if you usally have things go haywire!). Depending on the size of your org and how indepth you use RE, you might want to do a "Pre conversion". This is where you would do a conversion on a test server, not affecting your RE6 db yet. You could then reconstruct your REOpen and Crystal reports (if you have any) and run an overview to make sure everything is OK. You will also want to look at the new features RE7 offers. For example, the new package field and the new Gift sub type field. These can often bring on changes in your "Post conversion". Don't spend too much time in the test DB creating querries and reports as these will have to be redone in your final conversion. After conversion is where you might spend a lot of time and effort. For one, training is essential. Your users must be familiar with the new RE. For example, Addresses has changed quite a bit, so you want to make sure everyone that uses those addresses is on the same page. A 6 to 7 conversion is also a good time to review all of your data processing procedures. You will need to redo any in house manuals you have on RE6. You might also want to review your gift structure. Those new packages and gift sub type can be life changing. If you do not do an RE Post to GL, this might be a good time to take a second look at it. The gift sub type gives you more flexability when it comes to GL posts and the new gift adjustments also impacts your GL. These features, when used well, can dramatically improve the consolidation of accounts between RE and your GL. Just make sure you try to cover everything before starting your conversion (obviously, right?). The RE Conversion guide (conversion.pdf) is a great guide to help you remember everything. If you have a project planning software (ie MS Project), use it. It can really help you get a scope on time and duration. A tip, never estimate that one thing takes less than a day (ie installing RE7 can take 2 hours, but plan one day). [b]William da Silva[/b] President, eSimpleIT Technology and organisation simplified [Email Removed]