12 Step EPDM Upgrade Checklist
SolidWorks Enterprise PDM (SolidWorks EPDM) is not a difficult system to upgrade, but any IT system requires preparation and planning to upgrade effectively. Since we do this all the time for our clients, we thought it made sense to share our SolidWorks EPDM upgrade best practices to save you time and effort in planning your next upgrade. What follows is a 12 step checklist, with explanations, of the steps to follow in upgrading SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.
1 – Approval Received
Obtain the necessary approvals for the upgrade. This may seem like red tape, but the approval process may save you a lot of headaches by notifying the right managers, having IT resources on standby, and requiring that users be notified in advance.
2 – Technical Requirements Met
Ensure all hardware meet the minimum specifications for the new software. If not, take a sidebar to address the issue – you may need to purchase additional hardware. It is better to have this conversation now than to suffer through months or years of poor system performance.
3 – Software Media and Licenses Secured
Make sure you have the right versions of Enterprise PDM. You should have a copy of your current version, as well as a copy of the version to which you plan to upgrade. Verify that you have all of the licenses (license files) that you will need for the upgrade.
4 – Testing Planned
Plan your testing by securing test hardware for the server(s) and for the client(s). Document the steps you plan to follow during the test upgrade so you have a checklist for production upgrade day (Upgrade Checklist). Create checklists for testing so that you are confident that mission critical functionality is being tested (Testing Checklist). If users can’t take the time to create a testing checklist (or to validate the checklist that you create), then they should be prepared for the consequences of finding a bug or regression after production rollout. Don’t forget to include customizations or integrations with other systems in your test environment.
5 – Backups Validated
Take backups and then validate your backups. If you’re not sure that your backups are functional (that you can restore from them), then you shouldn’t go past this step. Think about how you’ll feel if you need to roll back to your backups only to realize that you didn’t validate them before starting the process. Avoid that “pit in your stomach” feeling by checking the backups now. Why not restore your backups to your test system and kill two birds with one stone (the backup is verified and the test system is full of production data)?
6 – Test Upgrade Performed
Perform your test upgrade and associated testing. Be prepared that this process might require iteration and may take several weeks. Score yourself on how successful you were honestly. Share the results appropriately to determine whether to proceed or not.
7 – Rollout Plan Determined
Develop a rollout plan for all of the things that will be different between your test upgrade and your production upgrade. Consider things like:
- How many client machines do I need to touch? Do I have enough time or help to get that done during the upgrade window?
- Do I have to upgrade archive servers at remote locations? Will there be time zone implications and have local users been notified?
- For employees that are out of the office, how will their machines get updated?
8 – Support Team Notified
Notify all of your supporting personnel of your production upgrade plans in advance. This includes any internal IT support you may have as well as your SolidWorks VAR or consulting service provider. If they know ahead of time, they can be prepared to 
support you before and after you “flip the switch.” This is particularly important if you want or need support after business hours or over a weekend. Everyone will be much happier to help if they are planning to take a call from you at midnight than if you wake them up unexpectedly.
9 – Training Complete
Train users and other administrators on the changes that they will experience. Don’t think of training as multiple days of classroom lecture – remember that training can be as simple as an email explaining what to expect. You can probably avoid 20 phone calls immediately after production rollout if you take the time to send an email, document, or screenshot to users ahead of time. How many times do you want to explain why the icon changed from red to blue?
10 – Upgrade Complete
Upgrade the production system. Here is a short checklist of things to do when upgrading EPDM (the technical upgrade is the easy part):
- Lock users out of the system (to prevent data from being added)
- Backup the system and perform whatever validation is necessary
- Execute the upgrade steps that you created previously; use your Upgrade Checklist
- Run the same testing procedures that you ran previously; use your Testing Checklist
- Assess where you stand; proceed or roll back if required
- Upgrade client computers
- Make the system available to users
11 – System “Live”
Take the system “live” by notifying users that the system is back up and running. Wait for help requests to come in and triage them, relying on your supporting team as needed.
12 – Project Closed
The final step should be to wrap-up the project by reporting a quick status. Once the support requests have died down, you should be able to send a quick note to everyone involved to let them know:
- How successful the upgrade was
- What issues, if any, remain outstanding
- What help, if any, is still needed from your supporting team
Remember the 5P’s “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” By following the steps in the checklist above, you’ll be leveraging Razorleaf’s years of experience at deploying and upgrading SolidWorks Enterprise PDM. These EPDM best practices will help ensure a successful upgrade project. If you have anything to add (perhaps your own best practice), please leave us a comment below. 
And if you need help planning or executing an upcoming upgrade, or want some standby technical support, please contact us.
Tags: best practices, checklist, Enterprise PDM, Enterprise PDM best practice, SolidWorks EPDM, test environment, training, upgrade
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