SPOTLIGHT:  Microsoft Office 2007 Rollout

Project Sponsor: Jennifer Haas
Project Managers: Lori Christianson

Background

Microsoft released the most recent upgrade to its Office Suite in November 2006. Client Services began seeing Office 2007 increase on campus when students began arriving with new computers for the fall semester of 2007. At that time a compatibility pack was pushed to all UST owned assets to allow users with Office 2003 to open documents sent to them by students and began planning for the eventual campus wide rollout.

The upgrade includes a huge transformation of the user interface with the addition of the “ribbon” and the “button.” To begin the process, Client Services staff received an overview of the changes in Office 2007 and upgraded the department computers in April 2008. Throughout the fall of 2008, the upgrade expanded throughout IRT to provide additional testing and troubleshooting of the process.
To prepare UST for the transition, Client Services created plans and implementation related to communication, documentation, training, technical issues and compatibility. 

What are the planned steps of the project?

• Communication plan detailing target audiences, content, communication vehicles (bulletin articles, targeted emails, information sharing sessions)
• Documentation plan detailing target audiences, content, and location
• Training plan detailing target audiences, content and how training should be delivered. 
• Software compatibility testing to ensure compatibility with Microsoft Office 2007 or research alternate solutions.
• A technical details plan that includes items such as: image settings, troubleshooting, and implementation.

What is the project timeline?

Date	Milestone/Event
January 2008	Begin software testing
June 2008	Complete software compatibility tests
April 2008	Upgrade Client Services computers to Office 2008
July 2008	Begin communication to UST community
November 2008	Upgrade remaining IRT computers to Office 2008
January 2009	Technical details integrated into rollout planning
February 2009	Training plans and documentation complete
March 2009	Rollout and training begins

Results
Client Services began the rollout the first week of March 2009. During the month of March, Office 2007 was pushed to over 700 computers across campus. IRT staff has offered six presentation sessions and 6 hands on sessions which provide an overview of the differences in Office 2007. These sessions were attended by 130 people. Individual staff members have also provided individual department training as requested. Training sessions are offered through April and the Office rollout will continue into the summer months. By the start of the fall semester, Client Services plans to have all UST owned assets upgraded to Office 2007.

Website:  http://www.stthomas.edu/irt/support/hardwaresoftware/office2007.html
FAQ: http://www.stthomas.edu/irt/support/hardwaresoftware/MSOffice2007faq.html

If you would like more information about the Microsoft Office 2007 project at UST, contact Lori Christianson at (651) 962-6286 or by email at lori_c@stthomas.edu.