Training course iMIS Orientation
iMIS EMS is the latest edition of iMIS. It is 100% Desktop free and cloud‐based. It unifies your member database, online payments, website, and third‐party applications into a single cloud‐based engagement management system (EMS)TM leading to operational efficiencies, revenue growth, and continuous performance improvement.
To better understand the many components and tasks, the upgrade process is broken into phases.
Phase 1: Planning for an upgrade
Do the following to complete phase 1:
Determine if you need to collaborate with ASI Client Success through one of the iMIS EMS Upgrade Packages. The packages are for clients, partners, and AiSPs.
If you are a partner (AiSP or CiP), review the Path to Digital Transformation.
Review How to upgrade to iMIS EMS to identify which upgrade path applies to you.
Review Considerations before beginning an upgrade.
Review and understand the Desktop migration to the Staff site article, which details the iMIS Desktop features that have and have not been migrated to the Staff site.
Review and understand the Upgrade Changes.
(optional) Download and import the Upgrade Dashboard files before getting started with the pre-upgrade checklist.
Create a backup (copy) of your iMIS 2017 database. Using the backup, complete the following:
Complete the Pre-upgrade checklist.
Run the Upgrade scripts.
Run the Database Validation Scripts.
Order an iMIS EMS staging (test) site from ASI to begin testing. See How to upgrade to iMIS EMS.
Phase 2: Staging the upgrade and performing tests
Do the following to complete phase 2:
Test iMIS EMS
Using the iMIS EMS test site, the client must work through the testing documentation:
Global Payments gateway
During the testing phase of iMIS EMS, you will start the process of transitioning from your current gateway provider to either the Global Payments (NA & AP) or Stripe (UK & EU) gateways. To begin the process, fill out the Enrollment Form.
Customization replacements
Complete the following related to the ListNonImisDatabaseObjectName upgrade script:
Client and AiSP or ASI Client Success discuss and analyze the results of the ListNonImisDatabaseObjectName script.
Replacements for customizations are created and implemented in the iMIS EMS test site.
Client tests all customization replacements and confirms they are ready for go-live.
Third-party integrations
Complete the following:
Third-party integrations are identified.
Communication between the third-party vendors and clients has started. Vendors are aware that an iMIS upgrade is occurring in the near future.
Identify all queries that are accessing the REST API. These queries must be explicitly granted API access post-upgrade, so it is important that they are identified during the pre-upgrade stage. See IQA Security Update and Updating queries that must access the REST API for more information.
Helpful resources:
- Upgrading with a TopClass integration
- Upgrading with a Higher Logic integration
- Accessing the API endpoint
- Updating queries that must access the REST API
- Integrating with iMIS
- Cloud-safe tailoring and customizations for iMIS
- Standards for third-party integrations
Other items to review
If you currently offer members the option to renew their memberships for varying term lengths (e.g. 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms), you must use the out-of-the-box implementation. See Converting custom multi-year billing.
If you currently use iMIS Desktop campaigns and appeals, you must review and complete the items outlined in the Migrating campaigns and appeals from Desktop to EMS article.
Phase 3: Preparing for the live upgrade
Do the following to complete phase 3:
Complete and sign the iMIS EMS Checklist .
Notify ASI Cloud Services to say you are ready for a live upgrade and attach the iMIS EMS Checklist.
Schedule a live upgrade date with ASI Cloud Services.
Note: Contact ASI Hosting at least two weeks in advance of the desired upgrade date. It is recommended the live upgrade is scheduled on a Monday or another day earlier in the week. This ensures you have available resources if something important occurs. Additionally, schedule around any PTO, holidays, big events, or long weekends.
Communicate the live upgrade date with all third-party application vendors.
Important! It is the client or AiSP's responsibility to coordinate with the third-party integrations to ensure no connections are broken post-upgrade.
Any changes made in the test site do not automatically transfer over on a live upgrade. Create a list of to-do items that must be manually recreated or changed after the live upgrade. Items such as content records, queries, and business objects can be manually exported from test and imported into the live system.
Assign someone the task of disabling Process Automation tasks associated with dropped stored procedures. See Disabling Process Automation tasks using custom stored procedures for details.
The evening before the live upgrade date, complete the Pre-upgrade checklist items that are remaining.
Phase 4: Performing post-upgrade tasks
Do the following to complete phase 4:
- Post-upgrade checklist
- On premise post-upgrade tasks (on-premise upgrades only)
- Export the out-of-the-box objects from the test site and import them to the live site.
- Manually update any remaining items that are using the new objects, such as panels, process automation tasks, and anything else that cannot be exported from the test site.
- Import BOs and queries to the live site.
- Delete any old queries no longer needed due to the imported replacement queries.
- Run queries in the live site to confirm they are properly working.
- Update all areas that were using an old or deleted query, such as content records or Process Automation tasks.
Set up the Global Payments gateway.
Complete the post-upgrade tasks:
Reconnect the third-party applications.
Complete the following related to ListNonImisDatabaseObjectNames - Result Set 5 :
Complete the following related to ListNonImisDatabaseObjectNames - Result Set 6:
If applicable, disable the Process Automation tasks using dropped stored procedures.
If applicable, update custom websites to use new Classic_Constellations template.
(optional) Update the contact account pages to use new iMIS EMS layout.
Update the live site with any changes from the test site.