Data#3, an Australian based Systems Integrator and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner are currently 'dog fooding' the Windows 7 Release Candidate.
We invite you to follow our deployment of Windows 7 in real time.
No need for the backup, the process went as it should. This time on the 64 bit version as the driver issue for the WWAN adapter had been resolved.
Needed a couple of the tier 2 applications installed and didn’t even know it had happened later during the afternoon. The deployment process is working well. Excellent job Shaun!
189 down and about the same to go.
Kim
The doctor is in, I have made the appointment, my upgrade from RC1 to RTM is booked for Wednesday. No fear this time round, we have followed a process, limited risk (might discuss this later …). Have a backup of my important things (just in case).
The options are upgrade or bare metal, but for me the new clean install is most important, if there are problems I don’t want to take them with me. Other choices 32bit or 64bit? Need to check the latest compatibility tests. 32bit at present due last time to WWAN hardware driver problems.
Will let you know how this goes
kim
Well the production deployment is well underway with this being week 2 in a five week program. This week includes the office in Melbourne and a group of users from our head office in Toowong.
My last comments were about training and where to draw the line in relation to how much was enough for the organization. The survey results were particularly useful to give an insight into the organizations self assessment of their skills at the OS level. The results left us with a fairly even spread with 60% responding with a need for training and this was split 40% for a “little” training and 20% for full training.
The 40% is being delivered through a “lunch & learn” approach run in all locations as indicated over lunch. The other 20% are receiving more in-depth coverage in a 1- 1.5 hour session depending on QA.
The actual survey results may be of interest to some so they are below:
1. I am confident with my knowledge of the operating system on my personal computer at work and home?
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Yes |
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No |
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Total: 327 |
2. What Operating Systems do you use at work and at home?
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Windows XP |
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Windows Vista |
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Windows 7 Beta or Release Candidate |
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Windows XP; Windows 7 Beta or Release Candidate |
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Windows XP; Windows Vista |
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Windows XP; Windows Vista; Windows 7 Beta or Release Candidate |
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Windows Vista; Windows 7 Beta or Release Candidate |
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Total: 326 |
3. Do you know how to change your screen resolution?
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Yes |
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No |
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Not sure |
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Total: 326 |
4. Do you know how to successfully add a network printer?
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Yes |
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No |
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Not sure |
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Total: 327 |
5. Where do you find the System Properties of your PC? Do you:
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Right-click on the desktop > Properties |
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Right-click on the network places icon > Properties |
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Right-click on the start button > Properties |
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Right-click on My computer > Properties |
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Not sure |
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Total: 326 |
6. Based on my understanding of Windows 7, I will require:
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No Training, I’ll be just peachy thanks |
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Perhaps a little, just to get me started |
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I may need an hour of your time to show me the ins and outs |
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Total: 326 |
Kim
When deploying any new application or process in the business the challenge is to get the right training mix for the different level of skills within a business. Over do it and staff will under commit due to the time commitment, under do it and you will impact their productivity. There can be a number of inputs into establishing what you can expect.
1. The first is easy, technology skills are omnipresent in most organizations, and probably have been for the past 10 years. So if you have a business that is growing then you will be hiring these skills whether part of the prerequisites for a position or not. But the volume and quality of the skill can vary quite a lot.
2. Taking a close look at your organizations age demographic will aid in establishing where your organization sits as well. We run staff surveys each year as a way of establishing the satisfaction level of our employee’s one of the questions is a simple age grouping question. (payroll can of course provide this).
3. The third for us was to survey the employees in order for them to self access their own skills. The intent is to keep it short and simple in order to get the best result. I considered making the response mandatory prior to a user being upgraded but felt that was unnecessary, as the people that need help will respond, those that don’t wont. Don’t over complicate it. Questions are below.
I am confident with my knowledge of the operating system on my personal computer at work and home?
a. Yes
b. No
What Operating Systems do you use at work and at home?
c. Windows XP
d. Windows Vista
e. Windows 7 Beta or Release Candidate
Do you know how to change your screen resolution?
f. Yes
g. No
h. Not sure
Do you know how to successfully add a network printer?
i. Yes
j. No
k. Not sure
Where do you find the System Properties of your PC? Do you:
l. Right-click on the desktop > Properties
m. Right-click on the network places icon > Properties
n. Right-click on the start button > Properties
o. Right-click on My computer > Properties
p. Not sure
Based on my understanding of Windows 7, I will require:
q. No Training, I’ll be just peachy thanks
r. Perhaps alittle, just to get me started
s. I may need an hour of your time to show me the ins and outs
So armed with this information formulate a plan …. Give me a few days to get the plan sorted … with an expert of course
clint … clint … clint … where are you when i need you
Kim
I know a sensationalist headline to get your attention. Just to refresh, I am a manager, I need my business tools to work reliably, I move around a lot (within the office), I use a docking station, external monitor and keyboard/mouse at my desk; I use WWAN capabilities at least a few times a week and connect to a home network most days as this is often part of my working environment.
So what don’t I like about the win 7 build I am running ……
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Nothing, in comparison to XP for reliability, speed and ease of connectivity it is a dream. So perhaps you need to refer back to my first post about credibility if you need to.
Kim
Well all has been quiet the last couple of weeks on the win7 front. Slightly distracted around financial year end activities. The build has been working well, very reliable to date, my rebuild is the 32bit version as there are some gaps in compatibility for a couple of apps we require on the 64bit. Some are now solved. As a strong CISCO organisation our VPN access is critical to our business and there were some early problems. We have now moved past this and will be reviewing our options for VPN that will include solutions from CISCO, Microsoft and our communications carrier.
The closed pilot kicks of shortly and have a mix of people involved, mostly from the technical teams but have some sales and senior execs in the mix. The intent is to insure we have our administrative and management tools for the SOE well sorted.
kim
Well generally happy with the new build, seem to notice the improved battery life more than any other one thing. I have been a little more mobile than normal, but a noticeable positive difference.
Standby also seems more reliable when moving between wired, WLAN, WWAN and home networks ( no excuses for not being in contact 
)
We still need more work on the build, however I used the windows transfer utility and so believe I brought some configuration problems across from the beta build I was running.
I run a docking station and 24″ monitor for my laptop and the reconnection process is not always perfect. I will spend some more time on this as it is part of our standard laptop environment at present.
kim
well it did take a little longer than expected and I did push for the new build before the team was ready, and I did have the first of a newish laptop model and the disk drivers were ……..
most of our applications are web enabled and hence moving to any available computer means I am still 90 % functional so dependency on a personal device is not a major problem.
minor problems … the irritating flicker has gone, ie8 is less of a problem on some important internal web based apps, perhaps the start up time is a little longer (being picky here) far better than xp and vista.
running the forefront client for security as win 7 compatibility with our existing corporate solution is a problem … perhaps we will make a change, will give this some more serious thought.
kim
We had an interesting session today with a Microsoft consultant working through the Alinean Profiling assessment tool. Essentially is used to access an organizations “maturity” level in relation to infrastructure optimization. Our exercise was particularly focused on our specific desktop deployment. It’s a very complete process, captures demographic, the current state of controls, integration, procedures, and automation and then put a value on the benefits.
Have just received the report (a light read of 158 pages) and requires an in depth review to look for the take outs from the process.
I will look to update this thread after reading the report
Kim
officially over …
I am currently blogging about my Windows 7 Deployment experience. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
week 5 of the deployment is now complete and with approx 430 upgrades completed the project comes to an official close. the next few weeks will see the official project handover to my internal team for completion of the stragglers and ongoing management. The stragglers comprise a few special needs users with quite specific application requirements, staff that missed the process due to leave and off site project responsibilities and a few who be avoiding us … we know who they are.
i am finalising a new survey at the moment to send to users for some feedback and will post this later in the week.
anecdotal feedback is good, but we need some firm mesures to prove the original business case from an enduser point of view. the impact on the systems team will take a little longer to realise, but we should see change within the next 2 months as user skills improve with the new version.
kim