Challenges

There were many challenges to solve in this project. In the first place we wanted a system that is intelligent enough to serve the right pages from the right platform. In the beginning of the new platform only news items were served from there. In every sprint we built new functionality and migrated that functionality over to that platform.

Another challenge was user data, we build a unique single sign on system and single data store in the old platform. When it was time to move over the user functionality we migrated the data from the old platform to the new platform.

For the editors it was a good moment to review the content and migrate it. In this stadium the editors can move pages over to the new platform by itself. In the last sprint we killed the old platform. So, all content and functionality is migrated to new platform without a big bang, but incremental in a pace that the internal organization could handle.

1. **Migrate the website without an big bang**

In previous upgrades the client had developed a new website and after months of developing the new site was there and it took a lot of time of the internal organization to test it, fill it with content and get the site live. So we came up with an hybrid Drupal platform strategy and this worked out exact as we had planned. A calm upgrade, step-by-step, where the client had enough time to their tasks because we upgrade and migrated every time a bit.

1. **Single authentication platform**

In the hybrid setup we wanted users to use functionality in both platforms, so we have made a smart hybrid setup so the user data was stored in the old platform, with a single sign on also logged into the new platform. By the time we were moving users to new platform we also migrated the user data to new platform.

1. **Review all content**

The client want to review all content, herefore we built some smart overviews to tell the client which content was migrated and which content not.

1. **Migrate all functionality and tools and make it better**

Before we migrate and (re)build functionality we have reviewed it, what can better and what should we keep and what should be removed. By the chosen strategy we were able to this in a calm way.

1. **Migrate and redesign**

The organization merged with another organization. The result of this was a complete new corporate identity and branding guidelines. So we implemented a redesign in the same pace as we migrated the website to the new platform, step by step. We did some small effort to give the old platform the same header and footer and some basic styling, to ensure the user gets the new feeling on the old platform as wel. The new platform was developed in the new redesigned style.

1. **Editors should be able to move over pages to the new platform without an developer**

In this smart hybrid setup we wanted editors be able to move over pages to the new platform by itself. We have made some tools to that and so it was possible that the editors moved the pages in their pace.

1. **Drink beers afterwards**

This was the most challenging part of the project, during Covid, obviously we couldn’t come together. But the client came a few weeks ago with beers to celebrate the project afterwards! Cheers!