EPS Maintenance

EPS maintenance consists of the following six activities.

1. Maintenance Level

EPS offers three levels of maintenance, Gold, Silver and Bronze. The “Gold” level allows the user to specify a problem’s priority, assuring timely correction of latent problems, provides 24x7 hotline support for questions and problems and allows a customer representative to attend EPS’s monthly product steering meeting to voice opinions about the product’s future direction. The “Silver” level allows the user to influence a problem’s priority and provides 24x7 hotline support for questions and problems. The “Bronze” level allows the user to specify a problem and obtain hotline support during EPS’s normal working hours of Monday-Friday, 7 AM to 6 PM west coast time.


2. Problem Reporting

An EPPORA user can report problems and latent defects via the Internet around the clock or by telephone during EPS’s normal working hours. EPS uses a standard set of forms to record each potential problem and/or issue that are available online or offline. The report includes all pertinent information and if an actual anomaly can include the information and data needed to replicate the problem.


3. Problem Fixing

EPS’s technical staff is continuously working on improving EPPORA’s robustness, functionality and performance. Customers are provided access to an online status of all known problems, workarounds with estimated date of completion. Problems are resolved in priority order and made available to all users under a maintenance agreement at the next available product release.


4. Hotline Support

Hotline support assures a knowledgeable EPS technical staff member available to answer your technical questions concerning EPPORA’s use and in reporting potential problems.


5. Consultation, Customization and Enhancements

EPS is continuously enhancing its core product, EPPORA. Each month EPS’s technical and corporate management meet (along with “Gold” maintenance level customers) to discuss the prioritization of potential enhancements. EPS also provides senior project management consultants in the use of EPPORA, training project managers how to create meaningful requirements and effective project schedules and helping establish and/or critique an organization’s project management office.


6. New Releases

EPS has three types of releases, which are:



1.	Annual – At the start of each year EPS releases a new version incorporating all corrections to any anomalies and enhancements made to the product. This release goes through all formal testing to assure the highest possible quality and minimal perturbation for our customers.
2.	Emergency – When a customer or EPS identifies a problem that has major impact on an organization’s ability to effectively use EPPORA, then EPS’s technical staff corrects the problem in a timely manner and runs its standard test cases to assure no regressions exist in the product. The “Emergency” release is provided to all customers and only includes the changes needed to correct the high priority problem.
3.	Customized – Customers can request customized releases with special features used only by their organization. The level of testing depends on the customer’s needs.