Release at the press of a button thanks to automated deployment
The City of Zurich’s statistics department found that the manual deployment process was error-prone and lengthy. bbv automated the deployment and thus shortened the time considerably.
“bbv advised and supported us optimally in automating our processes. We can now spend more time on developing new features.”
Mauro Baster, Head of Data Management, City of Zurich’s, Statistics Department
Task: To automate software deployment
The register of buildings and dwellings (GWZ) is an application of the City of Zurich’s statistics department, which manages data on buildings, housing and land for the City of Zurich. The GWZ is used to conduct various surveys such as, for example, the level of vacant housing and premises or the rent index. It is also used to compile statistically relevant data that is sent to the Federal Statistical Office. It is also used to compile statistically relevant data that is sent to the Federal Statistical Office.
The department performed the deployment for its application manually, which was both very time-consuming and error-prone due to the complexity. This meant that a new version was only supplied when it was considered absolutely necessary. Changes could not be implemented quickly.
It seemed the best course of action was to automate the deployment using Microsoft’s release management tool, as this is already being used successfully by various departments of the City of Zurich’s Organisation and IT department. Release management is part of Visual Studio Team Services and the Team Foundation Server, which can be used to automate the deployment and testing of software in multiple environments.
Implementation: Microsoft release management roll-out
The experts at bbv used the release management tool for different environments (test, integration, production) and then divided the deployment according to the different system components: Windows Service, Web Service and Client. Powershell scripts were used for the implementation and configuration of the release management.
Automation of the deployment process means significantly less time spent on deployment. This makes the team’s work much easier as deployment used to take at least half a day, whereas now it can be done in just a few minutes. Changes are also supplied straight away, enabling a rapid and agile response to customer requirements and corrections. Deployment is much faster and significantly more cost-effective as a result.
Guidelines were created to train new employees in the new tool and its application straight away. Compared to the previous situation, the new tool is much more convenient. Now, employees who do not have in-depth technical understanding can also perform deployment.
Added value for the City of Zurich’s Statistics Department
- Improved quality, as automation significantly minimised the error rate.
- Faster test process: The time required for deployment reduced from several hours to a few minutes.
- Greater flexibility, as even slight changes can now be implemented straight away..
- New employees can be trained up quickly and perform deployment without in-depth technical understanding.
Our services in the project
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Micha Brandenberger
Micha Brandenberger has many years of experience in developing solutions and organising software development teams. As Head of Business Area Public, he helps public administrations to realise their digitalisation visions and supports them in the implementation of their software projects.
