VAMC Real-time banners launch plan

[jilladams]

There will be a slight change to the way that editors see banners publish. Nothing will change in the Drupal form.

Dev

• Create a vets-api Flipper: banner_use_alternative_banners
• Create CMS feature toggle, FEATURE_BANNER_USE_ALTERNATIVE_BANNERS
• Finish launch blocking tickets
• REPOs / MERGES for functional banner work ( not flipper creation)
  • vets-api endpoint / data work: can merge to prod
  • vets-website: can merge to prod BEHIND vets-api flipper
  • content-build: existing prod work must move behind CMS feature toggle (ticketed)
  • Drupal: no changes

Launch day should not involve merges or deployments. Everything should be in main in all branches, and be launchable using flippers.

QA

• In a Tugboat built from main across all branches: test, verify, and document the order of steps to launch based on testing:
  • Run QA test plan and verify - VAMC real-time banners: run QA test plan and verify all feature work #19887
  • Goal: no visible changes, and SPEED

Collab cycle - @Agile6MSkinner

• File CC intake - Collaboration Cycle for [Sitewide, Facility Pages , VAMC, Alternative Alert Banners] va.gov-team#96762
• Produce Architecture intent artifact, being mindful that we want approval of the concept that may apply to more things than VAMC BwSU in the future (operating statuses, etc) - N/A - Arch intent was not suggested in CC collab cycle ticket
• Schedule Architecture intent - N/A
• see if we can skip other touchpoints, with Governance team approval - they suggested: Design Intent, CMS request, Staging Review
• Product Staging Review artifacts
  • Architecture intent
  • QA artifact
  • Foundational accessibility testing artifact
• Schedule Staging Review with at least 4 business days from final artifacts being done, for Governance team to review
  • Scheduled for Fri 12/13 11a: Jill will be on PTO and is the main invitee to the calendar invite. If meeting changes, @Agile6MSkinner will need to coordinate direct with Governance team for updates / invitation.

Pre-deploy comms

• DM: Notify Helpdesk - @jilladams https://dsva.slack.com/archives/CT4GZBM8F/p1734372067656079
• PM / DM: Are there KBs to update? If so, edit and save Drafts. - @Agile6MSkinner / @jilladams - add updates t
  • About VAMC alerts and operating statuses
  • How do I update my Vet Center facility operating status?
  • How to edit a VAMC facility operating status
  • How to edit the operating status of an NCA facility
  • How do I update my VBA facility operating status?
  • How to edit a VAMC Facility
  • How to create a situation update
  • How to add a system banner alert
• Confirm the timing of when content pushes to GovDelivery under the new system (with Publish save, or with content release?). So far we know it gets added to a queue in Drupal on save, but we don't know when that queue goes out. - @omahane or @dsasser -- after content release
• PM: Send content to Justin for a Teams message in VAMC Editor channel to warn that a change is coming, along with timing - @Agile6MSkinner
  • Explain the change

LAUNCH

• If there are no published VAMC BwSU on day of deployment. Plenty of published banners.
• Notify CMS team of launch and need for support around content release -- https://dsva.slack.com/archives/CT4GZBM8F/p1734372067656079
• Configure flipper with user emails we need to test. Emails are in this slack thread
• Enable new alternative banners via vets-api Flipper
• Confirm that we see 2 sets of banners (duplicate): both content-build and vets-website versions. Keep this step to less than 5 minutes
• When we verify double banners, re-disable vets-api Flipper.
• Update vets-api flipper to change it from user-driven flipper to global on/off.
• Afternoon PST: Enable CMS feature toggle FEATURE_BANNER_USE_ALTERNATIVE_BANNERS
  • After a successful content release, content-build banners will disappear.
• Toward the end of that content release: Enable vets-webite flipper again. Alternative banners are now on. (Michelle has accepted the risk of temporary double banners in prod.)
• If that checks out: let Justin know we're live, for Editor comms
• Publish KB draft revisions

post-launch / tech debt

• Update https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-cms/blob/main/READMES/vamc-facilities.md#status-changes-to-lighthouse to be accurate for the new world
• VAMC real-time banners tech debt cleanup: remove flipper / feature toggle logic and flippers/ toggles #19468
• Real-time banners: re-establish Analytics on the new vets-website build #20041
• [VAMC real-time Banners]: Swagger Documentation #19908
• SPIKE: Make real-time banners dismissible if allowed #20064

[jilladams]

We can reference #19064 for help fleshing this out, once we've figured out what repos / branches / feature toggles we are / aren't using, in order to spell out launch steps.

[jilladams]

@Agile6MSkinner @laflannery @dsasser @mmiddaugh @SnowboardTechie (and @eselkin @omahane for sanity checks) Notes from launch discussion are added to the launch plan. Please give it a read through and make sure it makes sense to everybody?

[jilladams]

From planning today, we realized that testing in lower environments is going to be next to impossible if not on local, same as re: some other tickets where we need both a CMS feature toggle to control content-build, and a flipper to control vets-website:

Laura's summary:

• Tugboat is not feasible because we can't preview CB and VW branches-that-aren't-main changes together
• There is no front end for staging CMS: if we turn a toggle on there, we won't be able to see it in staging FE
• Review instances can't preview CB and VW changes together

We can get confidence testing locally, but then anywhere in between will be a :woman-shrugging::skin-tone-2: 🤷‍♀ until we get to production, which is also a juggling act getting a feature toggle flipped on via content-release and then feature flipper on via flipper admin. We will need to factor all this in for this project as well.

J/K: next comment clarifies

[jilladams]

INCORRECT! We can test in Tugboat.

• Merge everything to main in content-build and vets-website, behind flippers
• Build a Tugboat from main(s) across all branches
• Use https://dev-api.va.gov/flipper/features to control flippers for Tugboat

Added to ticket body

[jilladams]

@SnowboardTechie @dsasser @Agile6MSkinner @laflannery Closing loop on how to test / ship for lower envs testing and for prod:

For testing

We can use the vets-api flipper as-is: on, or off, for everyone. That will work in Tugboat.

For prod double-banners verification

We can use the vets-api flipper config to specify a set of users. We enter those users, turn it on, and only those users will see double banners. This is not EXACTLY a replica of lower env testing, but it's not a code change and is safe enough. Also: it will be a double banners test in prod, and that's the goal. We think it will be fine this way.

To enable that: everybody cc'ed here: please:

• Go to https://va.gov
• Login as yourself, however you do that.
• Double check the email you used, and add add it to this slack thread, so we can track it for launch day: https://dsva.slack.com/archives/C0FQSS30V/p1731700890819489

[jilladams]

Also: I think the body of this ticket is now updated / accurate across the board. I'd love to make sure others agree.

[laflannery]

@jilladams everything looks good on the QA front. I have 1 question though - Will I be doing the foundational testing? If so, I would imagine I would do that in Tugboat at the same time as functional QA?

[jilladams]

Yeah, hadn't gotten that far yet, but that sounds right that whoever does Foundational testing (for the Collab Cycle artifact) would need to do it on Tugboat

[jilladams]

https://dsva.slack.com/archives/C0FQSS30V/p1734369322725169

Re GovDelivery timing for Situation Updates email, I found documentation on the timing! It is after a successful Content Release

[jilladams]

Re: enabling flipper for certain emails, I am confused. Asked for help here: https://dsva.slack.com/archives/C0FQSS30V/p1734372421339439

Laura, Bryan, and I have been added to the flipper.

Looks like this banner should appear all week, for testing: https://www.va.gov/augusta-health-care/

Those of us on the flipper should see double banners once logged into VA.gov.

[jilladams]

Older steps, in case we need to revert:

• Configure flipper with user emails we need to test. Emails are in this slack thread
• Enable new alternative banners via vets-api Flipper
• Confirm that we see 2 sets of banners (duplicate): both content-build and vets-website versions. Keep this step to less than 5 minutes
• When we verify double banners, re-disable vets-api Flipper.
• Update vets-api flipper to change it from user-driven flipper to global on/off.
• Afternoon PST: Enable CMS feature toggle FEATURE_BANNER_USE_ALTERNATIVE_BANNERS
  • After a successful content release, content-build banners will disappear.
• Toward the end of that content release: Enable vets-webite flipper again. Alternative banners are now on. (Michelle has accepted the risk of temporary double banners in prod.)

[jilladams]

Michelle confirmed comms with Justin are handled: https://dsva.slack.com/archives/C0FQSS30V/p1734549522565589?thread_ts=1734546797.860759&cid=C0FQSS30V

Launched!! Closing!! 🎉