Implementation timetable

The implementation timetable has been designed to maximize our ability to respond to industry developments, while at the same time allowing generous testing and production periods before the satellite lease expires. The table below shows the major project milestones along with our target start and completion dates.

The target dates column assumes the availability of mature video and audio solutions. Depending on the state of the industry, it may be necessary to extend one or more of the phases of the project. Assuming we need to allow at minimum one full semester of testing for the pilot and production phases respectively, the status/fallback dates column shows the current status for items completed or in progress as well as the latest acceptable start and end dates for activities not yet underway. Our goal, however, is to stick as closely to the original target dates timetable as possible.

Activity/milestone	Target dates	Status/fallback dates
Functional requirements gathering	Oct. – March 1, 2004	Completed
Research and development	Oct. – April 30, 2004	Completed
Satellite replacement solution identified	May 1, 2004	Completed
Preparation for proof-of-concept and formal pilot testing	May 1 – Aug. 1, 2004	Completed
Proof-of-concept testing (features available: one-way video, two-way audio, basic access control, basic scheduling, and text chat)	Aug. – Dec. 2004	Completed
Formal pilot testing During the spring 2005, semester IHETS conducted a 16-week pilot using custom software built on FVC's Click-to-Meet platform. In January 2005, FVC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, raising concerns about the future of the FVC product.  In response, IHETS issued an RFP to review and select a new software platform for IHETS Interactive.  A semester-long pilot of the selected platform, Macromedia Breeze, will begin in September 2005	Jan. 2005 – Jan. 2006	In progress
Limited production	Jan. 1 – April 30, 2006
Full production (complete service with all features available to IHETS member institutions)	May 1, 2006
Satellite lease expires; service retired	June 30, 2006