open office project at comune di bologna

Massimo Carnevali

OOo MigrationSome methodological considerations on migrating a medium size Municipality to OpenOffice.org

Municipality of BolognaICT Manager Wednesday 4 November

OOo Migration Slide 2Massimo Carnevali

Agenda● Who ?


Agenda● Who ?● What ?


Agenda● Who ?● What ?● Where ?


Agenda● Who ?● What ?● Where ?● Why ?



● Why not ?



● Why not ?● How ?



● Why not ?● How ?● Then ?


Who ?● Municipality of Bologna (ICT

Department)● University of Bologna (Computer

Science Department)● Yacme


Who ?● Municipality of Bologna

● 3600 PCs● 65 locations● About 600 applications based on:

● Web● IBM Lotus Domino● IBM Mainframe● SAP


What ?● Move 3600 PCs from MS Office 97

to OpenOffice.org 2.4.2● 1800 Full migrations● 900 Partial migrations (Office 97 remains but

it's “hidden”)● 900 Coexistence

● Completion status at 10/2009: 80%


Where ?


Why ?MS Office 97 End Of Life

Next ?

Proprietary Solution vs Open Solution


Why ?● Open Solution = OpenOffice.org

● Cost saving● Resources shift to local IT operators

● Which both lead to politicians● Being part of a community● Data durability● Unlocking from vendor● We believe in it !


Why not ?● Complexity● Blocking applications● Smart users → complex macros● Niche environments● Bad formatting (tables, filters ...)● Fear of change


How ?104 Fundamental concepts:

1. Widely share your project model2. Sink the ships3. Push hard the first 100 days4. The “end point” is the “human being” not the

computer (“I want to do the same stuff, more or less, the same way”)

5. ...


How ?Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,


How ?Communicate

● Before doing things● UP, to the management● DOWN, to the user● Explain how to find help (more important than

actually giving help) :-)● Give a strong message of improvement not

of cost saving


How ? - Step 1Seeding (March – September 2008)

● 3 days of brainwashing for 70 “Technical leaders”● Manuals, documentation and software for everyone● Go to the field and play

● Teach to Teachers● For the internal education department

● Focused communication● Managers● Politicians● Users● Mass advertising


How ? - Step 1 and a halfTechnicalities (March – Sept. 2008)

● Re-packaging● Compatibility – Usability - Marketing

● Distribution● Install in new PCs (corporate master)● OCS Inventory NG – CMDBuild

● Get ready for formatting problems (on demand)● Viewers● Conversion process


How ? - Step 2Pilot (October – November 2008)

● Don't pilot in the ICT Department !● Culture Department

● Open minded users● Aware of their IT knowledge limitations● Smart IT contact inside the department

● 500 PCs → 75% full migration● Positive feedback from users● Lessons learned


How ? - Step 3GO ! (2009)

● Replace internal education● Sink MS Office where possible, hide it where you

can't, coexist only if there are blocking constraints● Give support:

● Informal (IT referents, phone calls, Federica)● Formal (OTRS already in place to handle tickets, a new

OpenOffice.org queue added)● Nearly done (80%)


Then ?● Application evolution/replacement →

remove MS Office dependencies → complete total migration

● Move from OpenOffice.org 2.4.2 to 3.x → BIG problem → uninstall & reinstall → BAD

● Find a new job


Thanks [email protected]

open office project at comune di bologna

Technology

migration positive feedback

ict department

partial migrations office

formatting problems

end of lifenext

dont pilot

end point

days of brainwashing