Best practices for upgrading Resco software
This document should provide ideas and best practices when it comes to updating the Resco solution and its parts.
Sandboxing changes
The first practice that we highly recommend is to use the sandbox environment for introducing any kind of changes. This does not only apply to the Resco suite. Always test the new versions of Resco software and any other software or hardware that you want to use.
Update schedule
Resco is only able to fix any reported issues in the Resco software (Woodford, Resco mobile apps, Resco Cloud, Inspections, ...) by updating the appropriate part of the solution. Given the rapid improvements and changes in the mobile device world, Resco has committed to 3 major releases each year, where new features and major improvements are introduced:
- Winter release (usually January)
- Spring release (usually May)
- Fall release (usually September)
In between these major releases, bugfix releases can be introduced, in case of an issue that can only be improved by changing the solution or its part.
Preview release
Almost every month, we release a preview release. The preview includes both server components (Resco Suite/Woodford and all other server tools) and client components (mobile apps). Preview allows you to test your current customizations with the new, planned release. You can also test the new features. If you requested a brand new feature from Resco, you can test it early in the release cycle to make sure it matches your needs.
Preview/beta testing allows you, our customers, and partners, to check if there are any issues with the planned release on your existing (diverse, complex) customizations in advance. This gives us time to perform changes for the final release and avoid any unwanted issues at the launch of the new version.
Woodford
Woodford solution contains a set of web applications for the setup and management of various functions of the Resco suite.
Woodford is either updated automatically (Salesforce or Resco Cloud organizations) or manually (Dynamics CRM, Dynamics 365).
For manual installation, it is possible to manage the version that is used on production and sandbox. For example, you can skip some versions to save the time needed for testing each version. It is possible to accept the update request when running Woodford, after detecting a new version is available, or by importing a solution file.
We recommend using the latest version available, but keeping versions up to one year old is essential. Version older than a year cannot be supported, due to changes introduced between the older and the latest version.
When reporting an issue to Resco support, we will request you to test the behavior also using the latest version of the suite.
Woodford update is released after the new versions of mobile applications are available on the application stores. It is because when you publish the app project with the latest Publish Version in Woodford, while your users will have an older version of the mobile application, they can end up with a synchronization error (“Unsupported metadata version XX (XY) Update Application”).
To fix it, either let users update the mobile application to the latest version, to match the major version number of Woodford.
Another option is to publish the project using a different Publish Version that matches the major version number of the mobile application. This removes the functionality of the versions higher than the published version.
Resco mobile apps
Resco offers several mobile apps, such as Resco Mobile CRM, or the Inspections app.
By the mobile application, we are referring to an application that can be installed on a mobile device (Android, iOS, or Windows).
It is possible to install the mobile application using three approaches.
App store
Using an application store (App Store on iOS, Google Play Store on Android, and Microsoft Store on Windows), users can install the mobile application without the need for an administrator account.
When Resco releases a new release, uploads it to an application store, the update is verified by the store. This can take several hours or even days. Only after this the update is available on the application store and is ready for installation. This time cannot be influenced by Resco.
Updates for mobile applications provided by Resco are provided via these application stores. It depends on the user of the device whether the updates are set to manual or automatic; i.e., users control the behavior of the updates.
Versioning with this type of deployment is limited to the user’s application store setup We recommend using the latest version available, but keeping versions up to one year old is essential. Version older than a year cannot be supported, due to changes introduced meanwhile.
When reporting an issue to Resco support, we will request you to test the behavior also using the latest version of the suite.
Windows native app
In addition to the store apps, we also support a native Windows x86/x64 application, also called the “Windows desktop app” or "Windows 7 app"., This one is delivered as an MSI installation package that must be installed/updated manually by user/administrator. This requires administrator elevation/account.
The latest version of this application can always be downloaded from this link.
MDM
Mobile Device Management can be used for much more than just managing versions of the mobile application on user devices. But in the context of mobile application updating, using MDM you have full control over which version, when, and to what group of users will be installed.
You can use the application from the application store, or just need to request the installation file from us, specifying the platform that you and your users use, and specify the MDM provider. Resco support will provide you with the needed installation file.
MDM provides you with the ability to plan the release of each version based on your internal testing, release schedule.
MDM on the other hand adds another layer to the complexity of the update and change management, so you need to manage the cooperation between system, MDM, and mobile applications.
We recommend using the latest version available, but keeping versions up to one year old is essential. Version older than a year cannot be supported, due to changes introduced meanwhile.
When reporting an issue to Resco support, we will request you to test the behavior also using the latest version of the suite.
Custom app
Another option for versioning the mobile application is to get your own custom mobile application. You can get the custom app ordered/designed in Woodford and you will get an installation file, that you can place to the application store(s) or deploy to devices under your control.
Each build of the custom application is a paid service, but you can skip updates that do not have value for you (no interesting feature, update).
We recommend using the latest version available, but keeping versions up to one year old is essential. Version older than a year cannot be supported, due to changes introduced meanwhile.
When reporting an issue to Resco support, we will request you to test the behavior also using the latest version of the suite.
It means that at least one version upgrade per year is required.