A status of Received means that the ctcLink Support Organization has received the formal submission of an enhancement request. This request includes detailed information about the proposed change, the problems it aims to address, and the expected benefits. It serves as the starting point for evaluation, analysis, and potential implementation of the enhancement. The request will not move on to the future status’ until it is prioritized into the “next-up” queue and an “in-flight” item is close to deployment. 

Analysis of an enhancement request involves a high-level review to assess its basic feasibility and ensure that the requirements are clearly outlined in the submission.

Defining requirements is the process of identifying, documenting, and detailing the specific needs, functionalities, and constraints of the change request to ensure that it meets the objectives and expectations of stakeholders. This process involves gathering input from relevant parties, clarifying ambiguities, and establishing clear criteria that guide the design, development, and implementation phases.

The design phase of an enhancement request involves creating detailed specifications and project plans for how the proposed improvement will be implemented. This includes developing technical solutions, defining system modifications, outlining user interface changes, and ensuring that the design meets the defined requirements and business objectives. The goal is to produce a clear blueprint that guides the development and implementation of the enhancement.

The development phase of an enhancement request includes coding, technical development, and configuring the enhancement according to the design specifications, ensuring that all components work together effectively and meet the defined requirements. This involves the collaborative efforts of the Application Services team, ctcLink Functional Support team, and Data Services team to build and integrate the proposed improvement. The teams work together to address technical challenges, validate functionality, and ensure seamless integration with existing systems.

On hold means that the enhancement request is temporarily paused from progressing to other statuses due to various reasons, such as awaiting a response from a third-party vendor or pending input from another department outside the Support Organization.

System Integration Testing (SIT), conducted by internal teams within the ctcLink support organization, test the system from an end user’s perspective to ensure that application images, PeopleTools upgrades, enhancements, and problem resolutions are functioning correctly and meeting business needs. Security roles are validated during testing, and any issues found are resolved and retested before the change proceeds to user acceptance testing.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) ensures college users can confidently perform their jobs in the ctcLink system after application images, PeopleTools upgrades, enhancements, and problem resolutions are applied to production. The UAT process varies by the type of change. For images and PeopleTools upgrades, the ctcLink support team conducts a thorough analysis, communicates changes via the Image Overview Document (IOVD), and hosts Q&A sessions with colleges. College users perform hands-on testing for enhancements and major changes. Any issues found during UAT are resolved and retested before moving to production.

Ready for deployment indicates that the enhancement or change has been fully developed, tested, and approved for release. However, the ctcLink support organization is awaiting a specific implementation date, such as an image release, mandate date, or other scheduled timeframe, before proceeding with the deployment.