Phase V: External Review, Testing & Release Prep
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PLEASE NOTE This guide recently transferred ownership and is now maintained by the Veteran Facing Forms team. We’re working through some revisions and encourage you to submit an issue ticket if you have feedback about how we can improve this guide!
🧑🚀 Preparing for Staging & Launch
The goal of this Phase is to scope and proceed through the remaining reviews and notifications, and align your team on the final steps to take before the release.
⏮️ What Your Team Should Have Completed/prepared Before Starting This Phase
🧑🍳 What Your Team Will Have by the End of This Phase
The Design Feedback and Testing work from Phase IV, including:
Feedback and sign-off on design, flow, QA, and analytics
A testable prototype or mockup that meets VA standards
Preparation to move to Staging
Approval/review of form and any updates changes (PO and Form Owner)
Testing your form in staging
Notifications to the VA Notify Team and CAIA about the planned release
A go/no-go plan with launch-blocking issues defined
Team alignment on final steps to take before Launch and Post-Launch
⭐ Steps
Step 1: Launch-blocking issues addressed
These are accessibility, design, or QA that are found during Staging Review. These must be fixed before the form can launch to production.
Carefully follow the accessibility, design, and QA guidelines throughout the form-building process so that your form is as close to compliant as possible from the first review.
Step 2: PO and Form Owner review, feedback, and approval
Get approval/review of form. Turnaround time on feedback from the PO and Form Owner may take several weeks, especially if they need to consult other stakeholders.
Meet with stakeholders biweekly
Work through forms as early in mockup as possible
Live demos
Demo EARLY and OFTEN
Build in appropriate time to respond to feedback.
Step 3: Notify the VA Notify Team
The VA Notify Team facilitates an excellent communications experience from VA Business Lines to Veterans across any digital channel.
Coordinate with them ahead of your launch so they can make this experience possible.
Locate and prepare VA Notify Team contact information and to learn more their process.
Let VA Notify Team know that a new form is being released to implement Notification Confirmation Email.
Step 4: Notify CAIA
You may have already worked with CAIA in a previous phase, and this will be a touchpoint for closing the loop on that work. Notify #sitewide-content-accessibility-ia when you plan to release the form.
Step 5: Create GitHub ticket
Create ticket in team repos to notify users/channels
Step 6: Create Analytics Intake Ticket
This will enable metrics tracking for the form on a Domo dashboard
These dashboards are standardized across Forms
Follow guidance and file ticket here
Begin request process about a month before you anticipate launching the Form
Step 7: Pre-launch meeting
Set up a quick meeting with team prior to launch
The VA Notify Team facilitates an excellent communications experience from VA Business Lines to Veterans across any digital channel.
Coordinate with them ahead of your launch so they can make this experience possible.
Step 8: Testing your form in Staging to Central Mail / VBMS
(NOTE: These steps are ONLY if you use the Benefits Intake API to submit your form)
Steps
Submit test documents to the Benefits Intake API, this returns an UniqueID, (UUID).
Using UUID submit test documents to the QuickSubmit Form Validation Service API (skip this step if you are not testing the Form Validation Service)
Email the list of UUID’s to gcio-viccs-ops@gcio.com.
You will receive an email when the packets have been uploaded to the CMPortal. This email will include the UUID and the associated PacketID’s created for each UUID.
Notes
Processing time is dependent on the volume and complexity of the test submissions. We usually complete tests within 8 business hours of request.
Scheduling of test requests are preferred so that we can align appropriate resources to support request.
Submission Status within the Benefits Intake API will not be updated while processing unless specifically requested.
MMS created packets will not be routed to VBMS unless the packet is worked in the CMPortal and the upload action is taken.
🔮 Continue to phase 6 →
Help and feedback
Get help from the Platform Support Team in Slack.
Submit a feature idea to the Platform.