Once
a postal administration has confirmed its
interest in one of the Postal Technology
Centre’s client-server applications,
deployment of the system can begin. Deployment takes
place in three main phases:
- Site survey visit
- Implementation visit
- Follow-up visit (on request)
A UPU technical
expert visits
the client postal administration’s
site during each of the three phases.
Korea
The
primary purpose of the site survey is to
define the objectives
of the project.
During this phase, the UPU representative
works with the postal organization to understand
their current operational process
and also the future
process expected from the application.
This knowledge is used to determine
the configuration, the hardware infrastructure
and the production sites.
The objectives of the
site survey visit are to:
Demonstrate
the application
Identify
the liaison
and management personnel
who will be responsible locally
for the project
Assess your specific operational
requirements
Determine
the needs
for technical training
Delegate
the tasks and responsibilities
of the two parties (the Posts
and the PTC)
Obtain
precise figures for volumes
of mail items or money orders
Ascertain
reference data requirements
Assess
physical conditions and existing
infrastructure in facilities
if necessary
Calculate
the global cost of the
project
Assess
equipment and network infrastructure
Test
the local communications
infrastructure
Evaluate
POST*Net and PSSG requirements
for type of connection and frequency
of transmissions
The information gathered during the site
survey visit makes it possible to calculate
the global cost of the project and to write
a project plan explaining the conclusions
for each topic mentioned above. This
project plan details all project steps,
prerequisites, estimated costs and responsibilities.
It must be accepted and signed by both parties.
The document then
serves as a contract between the
Post and the PTC of the UPU. The signature
is the prerequisite for the continuation
of the deployment project.
Typically, a site survey visit lasts five
working days, but its duration depends
on the number of sites in which the postal
administration initially plans to install
the system.
- For financial projects, identify potential
partner countries
- Establish a calendar for the phases to
follow
Iran
During
the implementation visit, a UPU
technical expert installs, tests, and configures
the system.
Technical and functional training on the
application is also provided to enable the
Post’s technical team to provide support
to end-users and to execute the daily maintenance
tasks.
The main activities for the implementation
visit are:
Validation
of installed equipment and network
infrastructure
Testing
of the POST*Net connection for
reliability and performance
Installation
and validation of the
operating system, SQL, and the
database
Basic
configuration of the system,
including user workstation profiles
and privileges
Training
postal enterprise staff
Troubleshooting
Observation
of EDI exchanges
The installation visit typically lasts
two weeks.
South Africa
The purpose of the follow-up mission is to review
the installation and to check that the application
is working properly.
The follow-up visit typically lasts
five working days
and takes place after the application has
been in production for six months.
It is the opportunity for the postal administration
and the PTC to finalize the project and
to draw conclusions.
The final report contains:
An
evaluation of the day-to-day
operation of the system:
comfort of use, quality of technical
support, user satisfaction
