UPDATE 2/12/2019
We are in the final testing stages for the new Application Templates and Traveler Applications. We decided to rearchitect Applications & Forms in November of 2018 to give Clients greater flexibility in question types, ordering and re-ordering, and creating continuity between Applications & Forms. The user interface for Traveler Applications is complete, and we are now hooking it up to the dashboards and the backend. We are also in the final testing stages for Custom Branding. Take a sneak peek!
UPDATE 1/20/2019
We finalized the new data schema and data transfer for Application Templates and Traveler Applications last week. Application Templates and Custom Branding will be under new testing & review by the end of this week. We’re beginning to hook up the Traveler Selects Alternatives for Competitive Programs and Transfer Application features to the existing user interface. Lots of “yes! finally!” features were tested and approved last week, like the ability to view a Program Brochure page without logging in and to share it out by link or by email.
UPDATE 1/1/2019
Happy New Year! Over the holidays, we worked with one of our development partners to make some key decisions impacting the rebuild of the Admin creating Application and Form Templates. We completed the first phase of the Custom Branding feature, established the final testing plan with the rebuilt features and across the entire software (UAT testing, cross-browser, mobile responsiveness), and closed out a whole slew of bugs on Program Brochures. We expect Denali to be out mid-semester (late Feb – early April is our optimistic/realistic/pessimistic timeline)
UPDATE 12/11/2018
After extensive research into issues that were causing merge conflicts with the front and the back end of the code, we made the decision to refactor Program Brochure pages and also re-design the Applications and Forms experiences for both Admins and Travelers. What this will mean to clients is a faster, more seamless experience when navigating Programs but also quicker load times in these areas of the product. Additionally, we had a breakthrough on the 907 Release (a brand new Applications Dashboard, being built concurrently with Denali) to be able to batch add tags to Program Terms.
UPDATE 11/14/2018
We are making great strides towards the Denali Release. Since our last update, our team has been working tirelessly to test the new release for Quality Assurance. We also accomplished a backend overhaul of the Traveler Profile to optimize performance. Lastly, as a part of our commitment to data security, we expanded security measures specifically related to our database in the new release.
Needless to say, we are looking forward to giving our clients access to the countless improved features, workflows, and capabilities in Denali. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to our Client Experience team.
UPDATE 10/22/2018
There’s still work to be done to ensure the code connecting the new front end (what you can see) to the back end (the database) is secure, performant, and as bug free as possible. For this reason, we are postponing the Denali Release to address some new data related bugs we found in our testing environment over the weekend of October 20th, as well as continue to close out bugs already identified by the testing team.
We understand this will have varying degrees of impact to your work, and feel an absolute urgency to deliver this release as soon as is both possible and responsible. The executive, product, and testing teams are working nights and weekends until the Denali Release is out.
The good news is, we are close. What we took on is the equivalent of remodeling an entire house from the foundation up and we’re at the stage where we’re, painting the proverbial walls, installing the carpets, finalizing the appliance installs, and preparing for final inspection.
UPDATE 8/15/2018
Our work on the Denali Release is coming along! In the last two weeks, we finished the creation of Applications and Forms. As we shared in the client webinar, the Denali Release will feature new question types for both Applications and Forms. We also finalized the Program Brochure template and the Program Dashboard. The Program Dashboard includes greater search functionalities to make it easier for Travelers and Administrators to find programs based upon specific criteria. Needless to say, we are pretty excited about some of the major features we moved forward in the past two weeks.
If you are a client and were unable to attend the client webinar, please contact us at support@via-trm.com for the webinar recording.
UPDATE 8/1/2018
This week, our team converged in Boulder, Colorado to focus our efforts on the forthcoming Denali Release. It was a productive week having all hands (and brains) on deck to tackle some of the next steps on our roadmap. Watch the Sneak Peek video here.
UPDATE 7/27/2018
Clients, please join us on August 8th, 2018 for the Via TRM Denali Release Client Webinar: RSVP here
Announcing the Denali Release!
What is the Denali Release?
Denali is the name of a major product release project that Via TRM has been working on for over a year. The new release introduces a brand new interface with 100+ new features and gives Via TRM clients the ability to customize their account to their visual brand.
Wait, what exactly is a Product Release or Product Launch?
It is a common practice in the technology world to name a product release or product launch, and sometimes even as a part of a themed series (e.g. think when Apple releases a new version of their operating system… “Tiger”, “Leopard”, “Mountain Lion”, etc.!). To bring it home for our education abroad clients, it is similar to launching a new international program — you have something new and exciting to offer the world.
In this case, Via TRM is releasing the second version of our Traveler Relationship Management software specifically for the field of education abroad. The Denali Release is our biggest product innovation since we launched our software to the public in 2015.
Why is it called Denali?
We chose the name Denali in a fond reference to the tallest peak in North America, the Denali Mountain in Alaska. Via TRM is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and many on our team are avid hikers and outdoorsy people. The metaphor of Denali motivated us to the challenge of re-thinking the entire user experience, which is a huge undertaking in technology terms and at times felt like climbing a mountain!
We hope the reward for our team and our clients will also feel like the moment when you reach the peak after a long hike.
What does Denali mean for the field of international education?
Today, excellent digital user-experiences are no longer just an expectation, they are a necessity. With our latest release, Via TRM empowers advisors through our simple, easy to use interface and engages students with program matching and gamification. Simply put, the Denali release will allow our clients to better manage their study abroad office and give them actionable insights into the students they want to engage.
We will be updating this blog post with the latest information on this exciting release as we prepare our clients, and the international education community, for Denali. Check back for the latest information!