The “Upgrade Like a Rock Star” series highlights insider tips and tricks for a smooth transition to Voyager 7S, Yardi’s newest and most robust property management platform. For this installment, Yardi caught up with Will Newton, Director of Support Systems at Avesta Homes. His team converted from Voyager 6 to 7S more than two years ago. The transition took about four months. Getting Started Newton and his team began by promoting employee buy-in. Newton and a Yardi consultant visited each of Avesta’s four regions to drum up curiosity and excitement about the new software. “We basically did a little tour around each of the regions and got everybody pumped up about it,” begins Newton. “So, just kind of a quick, ‘here’s all the new functionality that you’re going to see. It’s much prettier and easier. You’re going to like it!’ That kind of got everyone excited about using it.” Testing and Implementation To make testing fun, Avesta turned the process into a competition. “We’re a pretty competitive company,” laughs Newton. “I had a little scoreboard thing going. I’d run queries on how many lines of code you did, how many update statements occurred, and other stuff that was more tangible for people.” These competitions helped the staff systematically sift through each of Avesta’s custom menus. Staff confirmed that pages and links functioned properly, and that pages appeared identical on various browsers. To avoid burn out and maintain regular workloads, staff limited tests to one hour per day. Avesta then hosted six on-site trainings, one for each region and two at the central office. During each occurrence, the offices shut down for a few hours so that all of the staff could be present. Regional subject matter experts, or SMEs, demonstrated specific, commonly used functionalities...