Windchill Deployment Planning Checklist

Technical Brief

Supported Releases and Products

®
Windchill 10.0 & Windchill 10.1
®
Windchill PDMLink
™
Windchill ProjectLink
®
Pro/INTRALINK 10.0 & Pro/INTRALINK 10.1

Audience
This document intended for managers, system administrators, and solution
architects. It assumes that the reader has some working knowledge of the
technology and concepts associated with the following:
• Information technology
• Enterprise systems
• System testing and validation
• Project management
• Operating systems, relational databases, LDAP, web servers, application
servers, platforms, servers, storage, networking
• Windchill architecture, capabilities, and system administration

Support Policy for Enterprise Deployment Resources

This document is a resource that PTC has created to assist customers with
implementation and systems integration on specified system configurations. The
document is not PTC product documentation and it may not be updated in the
same way as PTC product documentation. Before using this document, verify
that this document is applicable to the versions of PTC products that you are
using. Because of the almost infinite variety of system configurations that
customers can have, PTC cannot and does not warrant that this document will be
entirely accurate for your particular configuration. Using the information in this
document may require specific knowledge, skills, or expertise with PTC or third-
party products. If incorrectly implemented, some of the information provided can
have significant negative consequences.

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Should you need consulting help with this document, you may be able to engage
the PTC Global Services organization or a PTC services partner who can assist
your company with its deployment of Windchill. If you require such assistance,
contact your PTC sales representative or authorized reseller.

If you would like to provide feedback to PTC on this document or have a specific
technical question about this document or about a PTC product, contact PTC
Technical Support for assistance. Support for this document is provided in
English. PTC Technical Support will endeavor to reply within two business days
to requests for support of this document.

Description
Use this document when planning Windchill customer deployments where PTC
Global Services are not fully engaged. The document provides a checklist of
activities that are critical to achieving a successful Windchill deployment but are
often missed or simplified by customers. The objective of this document is not to
define the required in-depth technical details but rather to highlight the overall
activities and general methods that should be carefully planned and
implemented.

Challenge
To help eliminate deployment mistakes that are often observed, PTC highly
recommends that you enlist the expertise of PTC Global Services or certified
deployment partners. If this is not an option, carefully consider and include the
items listed in the Windchill Deployment Planning Checklist in the Solution
section that follows.

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Solution
The following checklist of activities should be considered and included in your
Windchill deployment project plan. Additional planning activities can apply and
should be added based on individual circumstances.
Windchill Deployment Planning Checklist

Activity

1. Establish PTC support channels of communication

2. Define the value of moving to a new targeted release

3. Determine if system architecture changes are required

4. Determine if server hardware sizing or client sizing changes are

required

5. Evaluate release version compatibility requirements

6. Assess the impact of new features on existing and new process

scenarios

7. Assess the impact of new release features on existing

customizations

8. Identify fixes made and problems found in the new release

9. Identify relevant Best Practices and Technical Support Solutions in

the new release

10. Execute solution deployment installation, configuration, and tuning

11. Establish development, upgrade and test environments

12. Perform all aspects of required testing

13. Deliver user training to ensure a smooth “go live” activity

14. Gain final user acceptance and meet “go live” criteria

____ 1. Establish PTC support channels of communication

The PTC Customer Support website provides important technical information and
access to materials that will help in deployment planning, implementation, and
post “go live” support activities. It is important to navigate and become familiar
with the resources that exist on this site and learn how to use them most
effectively. Many of the materials linked in this technical brief can be accessed
from this site, including the PTC Customer Service Guide that provides an
overview of PTC technical support services and communications channels.

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____ 2. Define the value of moving to a new targeted release

Based on product and company roadmap plans, identify targeted business

improvements and schedules. You can obtain a definitive list of new product
features and solutions by reviewing the What’s New document for a specified
target release. By knowing company-specific business processes, scenarios, and
estimated usage frequencies, you can define target improvement metrics and
later, validate the realized improvements through testing.
____ 3. Determine if system architecture changes are required

When new corporate IT policies or collaborative partners and sites are added,
you should re-evaluate your system architecture components and footprint. If
applicable, review the Windchill Architecture Overview Technical Brief for
guidance in this area.

____ 4. Determine if server hardware sizing or client sizing changes are required

New major releases of Windchill can call for a need to increase hardware
resources. Additional hardware can also be required with a growing user base or
increased utilization of heavier applications and data (for example, CAD data
management). Refer to the applicable Hardware Sizing Guide to ensure proper
calculations relating to server hardware needs. Additionally, refer to the latest
client hardware and web browser recommendations.

____ 5. Evaluate release version compatibility requirements

When moving to a new product release, verify product release version

compatibilities. Use the Platform Support and Compatibility Matrices to ensure
that versions and patch updates are identified and planned properly. Additional
sources of product compatibility information could apply. Search the Windchill
Knowledge Base for pertinent Technical Support solutions. It is important to
adopt the latest maintenance releases to stay current with the latest fixes.
____ 6. Assess the impact of new features on existing and new process scenarios

Changes in the new target system version could intentionally, or unintentionally,

impact existing usage scenarios that are critical to the business. Initially,
reference the What’s New documents to determine areas of change. Access
User Guides and perform system benchmarking to obtain additional required
details that could include the introduction of new business process scenarios.
____ 7. Assess the impact of new release features on existing customizations

Changes in the new target system version could intentionally, or unintentionally,

impact existing customizations. You may be able to eliminate the need for
existing customizations or modify their future functional behavior. Initially,
reference the What’s New documents to determine areas of change. To obtain
additional required details, access the Customization Guides / User Guides and
perform any system benchmarks that are relevant.

____ 8. Identify fixes made and problems found in the new release

Access the new PTC Update Advisor to understand what fixes and known issues
are in the new target release. Having this latest information is critical in
determining the value and impact in making the move. To be sure to have the
latest information, you can subscribe to Technical Support solution updates that
are emailed to subscribers upon any change in status.

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____ 9. Identify relevant Best Practices and Technical Support Solutions in the new release

At any time, you can access the PTC Knowledge Base to view the most recent
and up-to-date information on any topic or area of interest. A powerful search
engine enables you to filter out extraneous information and drill down to the exact
level of detail required. Best Practice and TAN/TPI references are notable
findings.
____ 10.Execute solution deployment installation, configuration, and tuning

Installation / Configuration and Administration Guides provide details on basic

Windchill deployment needs. Additionally, hardware-specific deployment guides
will become available as a result of PTC’s growing relationship with hardware
vendors. Also, the Windchill Administration - Configuring Your Windchill
Environment can be referenced to help achieve optimal system performance and
behavior and the Windchill Client Inspector Deployment and Administration
Guide can be referenced to help achieve optimal client performance and
behavior.

____ 11.Establish development, upgrade and test environments

In addition to the targeted production system, you must plan and make
arrangements to support separate development, upgrade, and test environments.

A separate development environment is needed if you are planning to deviate

from an out-of-the-box solution. Configuration managed development is critical
to ensure a professional, traceable, and maintainable custom code base.

Establishing an upgrade, or migration strategy also needs to be considered. This

is a separate and significantly large topic to research, plan, and execute.

Finally, it is important to procure and establish a test system (matching the

production system in configuration and data) to support pre “go live” validation
activities. Maintaining such an environment after a production “go live” also
supports the testing of planned changes (configuration and software) before
committing them to production.

The Windchill Rehosting Guide can be used to help create these environments.
____ 12.Perform all aspects of required testing

Write and maintain a formal test plan and production “go live” criteria that include
the following:

1. Once configured, the system is baseline tested to ensure that all modules are
operational and well-performing.

2. Rigorously inspect and exercise the system that contains a full set of
production data to ensure the state, correctness, and usability of the data.

3. Perform functional testing that involves critical product scenarios and data to
ensure that all business processes can be accomplished. Test for regression
in areas where fixes or modifications are significant.

4. Perform single-user performance testing using typical and extreme cases to

ensure system configuration and tuning is accurate and effective. The
Windchill Creo Performance Benchmark is available and gives examples of
performance testing, making baseline comparisons, and troubleshooting.

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5. Where high volume, concurrent system usage is planned, consider using a

multi-user scalability testing method. In such cases, network simulation
software can also be used to simulate complex global environments.
Concurrent user training sessions can also provide valuable information
regarding multi-user system behavior.

6. Begin to take measurements that can confirm the defined value that you set
out to achieve. Release criteria metrics must also be collected and shared as
you converge on the planned “go live” event.
____ 13.Deliver user training to ensure a smooth “go live” activity

Consider using classroom or web-based end user training for the overall project.

Evaluate and consider extending PTC University course curriculums to cover

new processes or changes to specific business rules, standards, and scenarios
of the company and its extended enterprise. End user training should focus on
user role and business scenarios wherever possible.
Note: PTC also recommends system administration training for post “go live”
system monitoring, maintenance, and best practice mentoring. System
Administration and deployment team training should be taken as early in the
planning process as possible.

____ 14.Gain final user acceptance and meet “go live” criteria

Schedule one or more user acceptance test (UAT) sessions that are performed
by the business user champions who have been involved in the project. In this
final phase of testing, perform end-to-end scenarios using production scale data.
This is also the time to formally verify that the final “go live” criteria, including key
stakeholder sign-off, is met.

Summary
Windchill deployment planning involves many interrelated activities that must be
well-coordinated and thoroughly defined. This document provides a checklist of
activities that are critical to achieving a successful Windchill deployment but are
often missed or simplified by customers. If you are so inclined, PTC strongly
suggests that PTC Global Services or certified deployment partners be engaged
to help ensure your success.

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Reference List
• Administration Guides 10.0 & Administration Guides 10.1
• Customization Guides 10.0 & Customization Guides 10.1
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - HP-UX Platform
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - IBM AIX Platform
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - Linux Platform with Oracle Database
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - Microsoft Windows Platform with Oracle Database
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - Microsoft Windows Platform with SQL Server
Database
• Hardware Sizing Guidelines - Sun Solaris Platform
• PTC Customer Support
• PTC Customer Service Guide
• PTC Knowledge Base
• PTC University
• PTC Update Advisor
• Upgrade Guides 10.0 & Upgrade Guides 10.1
• User Guides 10.0 & User Guides 10.1
• Technical Support Subscriptions
• What’s New 10.0 & What’s New 10.1
• Windchill Admin – Configuring Your Windchill Environment Guide 10.0
• Windchill Admin – Configuring Your Windchill Environment Guide 10.1
• Windchill Architecture Overview
• Windchill Client Requirements 10.x
• Windchill Client Inspector Deployment and Administration Guide
• Windchill Creo Performance Benchmark
• Windchill Installation and Configuration Guide 10.0
• Windchill Installation and Configuration Guide 10.1
• Windchill Rehosting Guide
• Windchill Software Matrices 10.0 & Windchill Software Matrices 10.1
• Windchill Web Browser Comparison

©2011 Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). The information contained herein is provided for
informational use and is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for PTC products and
services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services
and nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. PTC shall not be liable
for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. For important Copyright, Trademark,
Patent, Licensing and Data Collection Information see the About Box, or Copyright Notice, of your
PTC software.

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