Description

Introduction

In the fast-evolving world of digital commerce, staying current with the latest platform capabilities is crucial for business competitiveness, security, and performance. Optimizely Commerce regularly releases updates and new versions that bring enhanced features, improved architecture, and optimized performance.

This training is designed to guide developers, administrators, and technical leads through the process of upgrading and migrating existing Optimizely Commerce installations to the latest versions. Participants will learn best practices, step-by-step migration strategies, risk mitigation techniques, and practical troubleshooting tips to ensure a smooth transition with minimal downtime.

By the end of this training, attendees will be able to confidently plan, execute, and validate an upgrade or migration, leveraging Optimizely’s full potential for business growth.

Prerequisites

1. Technical Knowledge
   1. Basic understanding of Optimizely Commerce architecture and modules.
   2. Familiarity with .NET Framework / .NET Core.
   3. Experience with SQL Server, IIS, and web application deployment.
2. Practical Experience
   1. Working knowledge of current Optimizely Commerce installations.
   2. Experience with site management, catalog configuration, and extensions.
   3. Basic knowledge of version control systems like Git.
3. Tools & Environment
   1. Access to development and staging environments.
   2. Latest versions of Visual Studio, SQL Management Studio, and other necessary development tools.
   3. Understanding of backup, rollback, and testing procedures.

Table of Contents

1. Overview of Optimizely Commerce Versions

   1. Version history and release notes
   2. Key features and improvements in the latest versions
   3. Deprecated features and breaking changes

2. Upgrade vs. Migration

   1. Definitions and differences
   2. When to upgrade and when to migrate
   3. Risks and considerations

3. Planning the Upgrade/Migration

   1. Pre-upgrade assessment checklist
   2. Compatibility analysis for custom code and third-party modules
   3. Data migration and integrity considerations
   4. Rollback and disaster recovery planning

4. Environment Preparation

   1. Setting up development, staging, and production environments
   2. Backing up databases and file systems
   3. Version control and branching strategies

5. Step-by-Step Upgrade Process

   1. Upgrading core Commerce platform
   2. Updating extensions and plugins
   3. Updating front-end components and templates
   4. Verifying configuration and settings

6. Migration Strategies

   1. Migrating from older versions to latest Optimizely Commerce
   2. Database schema migration and data transformation
   3. Moving customizations and extensions
   4. Handling media assets, catalogs, and inventory

7. Testing & Validation

   1. Functional testing of upgraded components
   2. Performance and load testing
   3. Regression testing for custom code
   4. User acceptance testing (UAT) strategies

8. Troubleshooting Common Issues

   1. Handling upgrade failures and rollback scenarios
   2. Resolving database conflicts and schema issues
   3. Debugging code compatibility problems

9. Best Practices & Recommendations

   1. Maintaining long-term compatibility
   2. Continuous integration and automated testing
   3. Documentation and knowledge transfer

10. Hands-on Lab / Demo

    1. Live demonstration of an upgrade/migration process
    2. Participants perform guided upgrade exercises
    3. Q&A and discussion of real-world scenarios

11. Summary & Next Steps

    1. Key takeaways
    2. Resources for ongoing learning
    3. Planning for future upgrades