Test/Sandboxed copy of MIS

[crispybits]

Looking to move into a data manager role and I was wondering if many people have a sandboxed copy of their MIS for running test configurations and changes without affecting the live database?

 

I ask because I went to an interview last week and when I mentioned that I would probably like to do things on a test database before going live to ensure that I didn't disrupt school operations I think I got a bit of a sideways glance as having said something unusual, however in some (but not all) of my previous data roles (I'm currently doing a second/third line general IT role in a school) I had a test database/dataset so I could roll out config changes or run experiments on that safe in the knowledge that if I fubar-ed everything I could just roll back and never affect business operations. I know we don't do this at the school where I currently work but I would view it as best practice if and when it's possible.

 

Is there a reason for this beyond the "nobody ever asked to do it before" such as licensing or similar that anyone knows of or is it just that school data management is a fairly late entry to the overall data sector and they're still catching up to common practices whilst working with limited budgets/infrastructure compared to corporate?

[Banjo]

Its easy to do with a VM if your using either SIMS or Facility. Just keep pushing the application updates across to the VM and restoring the backups into the the database. You can play to your hearts content.

[NotSoFast]

Progresso has a sandbox site that re-syncs every night. Quite handy when you're trying something that might break other things!

[crispybits]

Its easy to do with a VM if your using either SIMS or Facility. Just keep pushing the application updates across to the VM and restoring the backups into the the database. You can play to your hearts content.

Yep this was pretty much what I was thinking - a VM that can be snapshotted and reverted if things go bad or used as a reference if things go well for any given change.

 

Nice to know I'm not talking nonsense then, I think it was probably just a combination of heightened nerves at the interview reading things into stuff that wasn't there) and limited school experience with the one school I do know not doing this.

 

Thanks both

[bigdannyb79]

They are probably just thinking what exactly are you planning on doing that would disrupt the whole system ?! - but you right sometimes even the most innocent of activities can end up affecting something. I'd just be careful on how you word it - its a sand box for development outside of the live environment as appose to I'll do it on a test DB in case I break something ! And if they felt you were suggesting you would do most things offline they were maybe thinking you wont have time for that so then thinking you aren't overly familiar with the demands of the role. Pitched right having the skills to maintain a backup environment for testing etc should be a positive but just be careful how you word it.

[Banjo]

They are probably just thinking what exactly are you planning on doing that would disrupt the whole system ?! - but you right sometimes even the most innocent of activities can end up affecting something. I'd just be careful on how you word it - its a sand box for development outside of the live environment as appose to I'll do it on a test DB in case I break something ! And if they felt you were suggesting you would do most things offline they were maybe thinking you wont have time for that so then thinking you aren't overly familiar with the demands of the role. Pitched right having the skills to maintain a backup environment for testing etc should be a positive but just be careful how you word it.

 

For a better word, your actually testing the disaster recovery procedures if you build it from the backups.

 

I remember going to a school (Facility) that had somehow wiped most of their assessment data for that year out of the system. Unfortunately their SQL backups were not configured correctly and wouldn't restore. Luckily for the school the TT'er had taken an offline copy in Access about three works earlier that we could single table restore back into the live system. You would be surprised at the number of schools that don't test their DR until the 'doo doo' hits the fan.

Edited December 16, 2016 by Banjo

[bigdannyb79]

Agreed. Although if you after a data role I don't that is the angle you want to approach it from to appear as a strong candidate. Ultimately the information/intelligence we provide in schools is intended to support getting the best outcomes from our learners. I'd head more toward how you can impact the interactions between teacher and learner, parent to learner, teacher to parent etc as appose to server to backup device ! Your more likely wanting to appeal to a curriculum member of leadership than a NM who appreciates the considerations of a resilient reliable system.

[Ditto]

As @NotSoFast says, progresso offers a sandbox environment, although the refresh around about every 2 weeks - every day could be troublesome for some projects. And far too often I have to raise a support call to get the passwords reset so I can access - a task that's supposed to be automated - every day would be a real headache!

[john]

I had several Facility copies and DBs for mine and the Data Managers testing, this included ePortal, my encrypted laptop also had copies on it so I could work on the move was a great tool

[crispybits]

Agreed. Although if you after a data role I don't that is the angle you want to approach it from to appear as a strong candidate. Ultimately the information/intelligence we provide in schools is intended to support getting the best outcomes from our learners. I'd head more toward how you can impact the interactions between teacher and learner, parent to learner, teacher to parent etc as appose to server to backup device ! Your more likely wanting to appeal to a curriculum member of leadership than a NM who appreciates the considerations of a resilient reliable system.

Wow thanks for all the replies guys - muchos useful titbits to ponder on. Especially the above quote, which has definitely reset my sights onto thinking about what THEY want instead of what I can offer (which hopefully overlaps a lot, but the focus is important)