Project Documentation

OSA Final Project Report

To record how well the project has performed against its Project Initiation Document. This publication contains the following topics: Project objectives; Changes; Quality Work; Post-project Review.

Lessons Learnt

To pass on any lessons that can be usefully applied to other projects. The variety of activities for each workstream makes meaningless any attempt to report by topic for the overall project. A report by workstream is adopted instead below.

PC Reuse Case Study

Reusing PCs as Thin client devices using an open source solution by Cheshire County Council

OS Desktop Implementation Case Study

An implementation of open source software across the library service at Birmingham City Council (BCC) has demonstrated that open source software is a viable alternative to proprietary software.

Linux on the Desktop

An investigation into the viability of Linux as a Business Desktop Operating System by SOCITM

Certified Open Brochure

Defines and maintains the characteristics that products & services must achieve if they are to be seen as fully open

Certified Open Competency Framework

This framework attempts to capture the full range of skills required by individuals and organisations who engage (or plan to engage) with Open Source projects. While the range of skills represented is large, only a subset of the full skill set may be required in a given situation.

Building a Business Case

Written by Bristol City Council for the Open Source Academy, it offers a guide to the critical issues involved in making a business case for office software migration. Throughout the report, Bristol share information on their experiences, so that other Councils can learn from an early adopter.

A Feature Comparison of MS Office, Star Office and OpenOffice.org

When Bristol City Council began to investigate its options for a new office software suite, the biggest issue for users was compatibility with their existing software.

Methods used for deployment and migration to StarOffice

When Bristol City Council decided to introduce StarOffice as its new standard office software suite, it was on the basis of a thorough investigation of the work needed to configure StarOffice for Bristol’s specific requirements, package the software, deploy it to more than 5,000 workstations, and assist the end users with their migration towards using it as a replacement for their previous software.

Communications used during the migration to StarOffice

During 2005/06 Bristol City Council carried out a project to migrate from a mixture of office software to StarOffice 7. This affected all parts of the Council organisation and involved more than 5,000 users. This was a major change that both introduced the use of a single office software suite across all departments and moved to software with a different background to the previously used packages.

User training provided during migration to StarOffice

During 2005/06 Bristol City Council carried out a project to migrate more than 5,000 users from a mixture of office software products to StarOffice 7. Staff within the Council needed to use the new software at a variety of skill levels and suitable training had to be delivered as part of the project.