Solution Health Check

"is your McLaren Enterprise in good shape?"

The initial implementation of a McLaren Enterprise solution is based on a set of requirements as well as an estimate of volume of data. However the reality of the volume of data may be quite different. This may be as a result of new departments/groups using McLaren Enterprise or the inclusion of new large projects. Thus over time the metrics of the McLaren Enterprise solution will change. This includes an increase of:

• Repository Objects including:
  • Documents and Drawings
  • Projects
  • Audit Records
  • Associations (including CAD specific ones)
  • Groups
  • Permission Sets
• Supporting Data including:
  • Additional Picklist Items (Reference Data)
  • Queries using new repository objects (e.g. searching for unique Document Number)

From time-to-time McLaren Enterprise will have to be upgraded. This typically because of three types of changes:

• Changes to your standard infrastructure. This could be changes of services and/or clients, the underlying EDMS or perhaps a client software application (e.g. AutoCAD)
• Improved communication between McLaren Enterprise and the underlying EDMS architecture
• New design based functionality required by McLaren customers (e.g. Change Requests)

One of the main benefits of the McLaren Enterprise software is the methodology applied to the upgrades. The upgrade addresses the infrastructure components as well as the components that are responsible for the communication with the underlying EDMS architecture. The upgrade does not implement new design based functionality. The upgrade methodology is accommodated by separating McLaren Enterprise into a series of Applications:

• Core
• Foundation
• Transmittals
• Assets
• McLaren Services for Outlook

The components responsible for communicating between the design and the underlying EDMS architecture are defined in the Core Application. Your company's business process design is implemented in the remaining Applications, including some company specific Applications.

A McLaren Enterprise upgrade is concerned with upgrading the Core Application only. The McLaren Enterprise Core Application is backward compatible, thus ensuring the continued integrity of the business process design defined in the remainder of the Applications. In practical terms this means that when upgrading McLaren Enterprise:

• You do not have to undertake configuration change to maintain the business process design
• You are isolated from changes to the underlying EDMS architecture and
• You do not have to undertake major retesting

The one obvious downside to this approach is that the upgrade does not take into account the new design based functionality in the new version of McLaren Enterprise. Clearly the number of McLaren Enterprise versions between the initial implementation version and the current version defines the volume of implemented CRs that your Solution may not have taken advantage of.

For further enquiries please contact us.

The Solution Health Check seeks to identify performance and functionality improvements for existing McLaren Enterprise Solutions.