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"Easy Upgrade" principals
xStepa
Member Posts: 106
Hi there!
As the newest NAV versions are intended as "Easy Upgradeable" I need to know, if there's some list of suggestions what never do to keep NAV in best condition for future upgrades (using automation tools). I've found "C/AL Coding Guidelines", but it doesn't seem to be relevant to upgrade tools - it's too general without obvious relation ...
Any suggestions please?
Thank you in advance
Stepan
As the newest NAV versions are intended as "Easy Upgradeable" I need to know, if there's some list of suggestions what never do to keep NAV in best condition for future upgrades (using automation tools). I've found "C/AL Coding Guidelines", but it doesn't seem to be relevant to upgrade tools - it's too general without obvious relation ...
Any suggestions please?
Thank you in advance
Stepan
Regards
xStepa
xStepa
0
Comments
Just my two cents.
Partly the "Easy Upgrade" story that Microsoft is now telling is marketing based on the tough time many customers had to go from classic to role tailored.
If you are nice to NAV upgrades are always easy.
There are a couple of things that Microsoft have done. The biggest changes that justify "Easy Upgrade" are Page object and PowerShell.
In Classic Client form was hard to upgrade especially when you start moving controls from positions.
The PowerShell is great, but we already had MergeTool which also did automatic merge and still does things that the PowerShell does not. Like looking at object control IDs.
Yes there is a list of things you can do. Preventing "raw source code modification" is the best approach. Not only in the new versions, this has always been the case.
I am currently assisting in an upgrade from one of my oldest implementations from 2.6 to 2015. I've designed that software to be loosely coupled back in 2001.
Now, after upgrading the pages, RDLC, Dimensions and what have you that was not "Easy Upgrade", the new PowerShell merge CU7 into RTM with almost 99% automatic merge, using principles I used in 2001.
Hope this makes sense. Try losing the marketing sun shades.
Treating it as marketing is a good start. As for real world installations, you have to deal with what's already there. Since many installations that are left for an upgrade are the older, heavily modified ones, there is no easy upgrade for them. The bad things already have happened, most of the time. The tools provided by microsoft are not mature enough for this. You have to do many things by hand: workflow redesign (list first, not card), menus (a real PITA in itself), all the custom forms, reports. Dimension handling for customized functionality. OCX -> .net.
If you count everything together, it's an ERP Redesign with extensive data migration. The effort required is in the same range as a new implementation.
When you go from 2013 to newer versions, it's far easier. Question is what the additional benefits are. Even with these, I would expect substantial cost to occur. The microsoft tools might fit better, but I wouldn't count on it.
With best regards
Jens