We’ve given the content owners of our big, complicated, custom WordPress intranet a great way to safely stage their pages on a private site, then move changes over to the live site without having to copy the entire database. But when they need to launch a new section of the site, things get very complicated – and deploying a lot of new content to the live site on launch day is a stressful and time-consuming process. Content owners quickly get in over their heads when they try to manage a launch, so developers spend precious hours planning and executing content launches. Dark launch to the rescue! Borrowing ideas from software companies that use feature flagging of new software to test the waters, roll out gradually, or roll back quickly – we’re gradually moving new content areas over to the live site well before launch day, as the new content is developed. The cool thing is, no one knows the new content is there until we decide to make it available – not even the search engine – unless we tell them exactly how to find it. Content dark launch is saving our sanity and giving hours back to our developers, and I’ll explain just how it all works.

1. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Content Dark Launch
Taming big launches on the SAS intranet

2. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
I work on an intranet
It’s old enough to vote and drink, and has 1.3 million pages (maybe)
• So far we’ve moved some of it into
WordPress:
• 423 pages with parent-child
relationships,
• Plus another 482 posts that are
custom post types.
Employee
Information
LIFE
CAREER
Jobs
Benefits
Career
Resources
Recognition
Health &
Wellness
My Health
Life Insurance
Retirement
Time Away
& Leave
Employee-paid
Optional
Benefits
Memorial
Flowers or
Donation
New Employees
Exploring
Careers
Self-Reflection
Anniversary
Recognition
InsideSAS November 2016
Policies
Business
Title Change
Requests
Home Contact
Information
Emergency
Contact
Changes
Salary and Pay
Information
Payroll
HR Find It
Fast
Medical
Dental &
Vision
Prescription
Drugs
FSA
Important
Notices
COBRA
Step Therapy
FAQ
Prescription Drug
FAQs
Domestic Partner
Benefits &
Affadavit
Working Spouse
Domestic Partner
Premium Guide
Prescriprion FAQ
Generic
Incentive Program
Non-Preferred
Brand Name FAQ
Prescription FAQ
Prior Author.
Prescription FAQ
Quantity Limits
HCC Pharmacy
FAQ
HCC Pharmacy
Mail Order or
90 Day Process
Mail Order
Services FAQ
Prescription
Benefit FAQ
FSA Benny
Card FAQ
Notice of
Marketplace
Coverage
Notice of
Privacy Practices
COBRA
Rates
Termination
of Employment
Employer
Safe Harbor
FAQ
Fidelity
Consultations
Pre-Retirement
Checklist
Absence
System
Flexible Work
Arrangement
Automobile &
Homeowners
Insurance
YouDecide.com
Orientation
Welcome
Ambassadors
New Employee
Department
Welcome
SAS Virtual
Orientation
Program
Orientation
Department
Level
Orientation
Dates & Agenda
Benefit from the
Buddy System
HQ New
Employee
Checklist
Regional &
Remote New
HireChecklist
Diversity
Sales and
Technical
Academies
Interns
Advice for
New Interns
Hiring
Managers
Hiring a
Contractor
Hiring
Manager FAQ
Manager
New Hire
Checklist
iCIMS Hiring
Mgr Training
iCIMIS login
(Hiring Mgrs)
Recruitment
And Hiring
Process
Performance
Career
Resources FAQ
Leading Change
What Is
Change Mgmt
Process?
How Effective
Am I as
Change Leader?
How Do People
React to Change
How do I
Lead so Others
Commit/Comply
Workday
Performance
Help
Goal Setting
With your Team
Check-in
Conversation
Tips
Giving and
Receiving
Feedback
Intern
Employment
FAQ
Intern
Program
Specialist
The Interview
Tips for
Managing
Interns
Women and
Minority Intern
Program - R3
Using Goals
Using
Feedback
Using Activity
Stream
Using
Documents
Competencies/
Skills
Competency
Proficiency
Scale
SAS Staff
Favorites
Career Planning
Discussion
Worksheet
Managers
OUR
COMPANY
Benefits
Contact Info
SAS Library We Celebrate
Anniversary
List
CEO Award
Of Excellence
HR Contacts
Employee
Resources
(HR)
Flexible Work
Arrangement
Information
Technology
R&D
Around SAS
Job-related
Policies
Compensation
Overview
Global Career
Framework
Tips, Tools
& Resources
People Insights
Name Change
Instructions
Workday
Verify
Employment
Building Skills
Making it
Happen
LMS
Networking
Basics
Career
Mentoring Tips
Personal
SWOT
Analysis
Employee
Referral
Program
Internal Mobility
Specialist
Assist with
University
Recruiting
Contact outreach
specialist
Best Workplace
ForWomen
Best Workplace
For Grads
Pro Patria
Award
US Veterans
At SAS
Using Goals
For Managers
Exploring
Our Brand
Expressing
Our Brand
Sales &
Marketing
Portal
About HCC
About RFC
Setting Up a
Home Office
Manager tips for
Anniversaries
Volunteerism
Holiday
Closings
2015 Intern
Bios
Intern Expo
Resources for
Outreach in
Schools
HR Business
Partners
HR Contacts
Open
Enrollment
Summary
Plan
Descriptions
My Money
Adding &
Dropping
Dependents
Health Benefits
Forms
Health Benefits
FAQs
Insurance
ID Cards
Updating
Pers. Information
Mail Order
Process, Current
Health
Employee
Vendor Program
Guidelines
Regional
Employee
Discounts
Retiree
Discounts
Blood Drive
Team
Development
Retirement
Resources
Discounts by
Category
Employee
Vendor Program
Discounts
A to Z
Discount
Center
Campus
Conveniences
Alterations Banking
Book
Exchange
Campus Cuts
Car
Detailing
Dry Cleaning
LeBleu Water
Delivery
Massage
Therapy
Nail Salon
Personal
Shipping
Racquet
Stringing
Shredding Skin Care Tax Prep
The Foot
Matters
The Produce
Box
Massage
Questionnaire
Payroll
Deduction
Form
LeBleu Delivery
Schedule
Nail Salon
Questionnaire
Microderm-
Abrasion consent
form
Skin Care
Questionnaire
Fitness and
Leisure
Guide to
The RFC
Adult Swim
Instruction
Aquatics
Campus Trail
Guides
Court
Schedule
Field
Schedule
Group
Exercise
Schedule
Recreation
& Leisure
Regional RFC
Programs
Sports
Yoga
Classes
RFC Newsletter
Reserve a
Court
Arts, Crafts
And Hobbies
Kid activities/
Sports
Special Events
And Outings
Picnic Packs
RFC Clubs
RFC Clubs
Guidelines
Health Care
Services
Adult Health
Maintenance
Cary HCC
Services
HCC
Pharmacy
Hot TopicsForms HCC Policies
Primary/Urgent
Care
Regional
Employee
Services
Caring Closet
Wellness
Biofeedback
Employee
Assistance
Program
Guided
Relaxation
Health Care
Seminar
Archives
Meals &
Recipes
Mental Health
Resources
Mind Body
Classes
Nutrition
Resources
Nutrition
Seminar
Archives
Nutrition
Smart Phone
Apps
Seminar
Calendar
Stress, Balance
& Life Skills
EAP
Confidentiality
EAP Program
Benefits
Plan Your Plate
Mental Health
(Adults)
Mental Health
(Children &
Adolescents)
Academy of
Nutrition &
Dietetics
Family Support
Breastfeeding
Support
Adoption
Eldercare
And Aging
College and
Careers
Relationships
Marriage &
Divorce
Grief & Loss
Caregiving
Resources
Housing
Options
Making
Marriage Work
Resources
(Adults)
Resources
(Children)
Family Life
Medicaid &
Medicaire
Benefits Family
& Medical
Leave Policy
Advanced
Directives
SAS Library
Work/Life
Reader list
Education
Vendor
Discounts
SAS Scholar
Award program
2016 College
Series
Recording Link
On-Time
College Help
Child Care Camps @ SAS
SAS
Scholarships
Child Care
Policies
Community
Subsidy
On-Site
Child Care
Regional
Subsidy
Child Care
Handbook
SAS Child Care
Health Policies
Camp
Registration
STEM Camp
Specialty
Camps
Cary Academy
Application
Application
Instructions
About
Work/Life
Feedback
Form
Location
Staff
Front Desk
& Reception
Adoption
Mentoring
Program
Adoption
Articles &
Resources
Online
Resources
Breastfeeding
Seminars
OTC Drugs
Nursing
Buddies
Pump Room
Scheduling
Test Prep
Options
Online Resources
Seminar
Archives
Parenting
Emerging
Adults
Children
0-12
Tweens &
Teens
Special Needs
Parenting
Building Blocks
Of Parenting
Communication
Conflict
Resolution
Parenting
During
Divorce
The Divorce
Process
Admission Forms
Early Care
Sign Up
Day Care
Menu
Preschool
Menu
Parent
Advisory
Committee
Subsidy
Reimbursement
Counselor
In Training
Summer
Camp
Winter Camp
For Sale
Locker Rooms
Medical
Clearance
Staff
Sundays
At the RFC
Aquatic
Sport Leagues
Aquatics Class
Descriptions
Family Swim
Guidelines
Natatorium
Rules &
Information
Calendars
Aquatics
Class
Schedule
Fitness
Program
Personal
Training
Group
Exercise
Program
Fitness
Manuals &
Resources
Runners
Depot
Move of the
Month
Mobile
Fitness Apps
Training
Program Archives
Weight Room
Policies &
Guidelines
Incentive
Programs
Commit to Quit
Contract
Healthy
Lifestyle
Guidelines
My RFC Dollars RFC Dollars
RFC Dollars
Draft Form
Outdoor
Adventure
Program
Kids Corner
Aquatic
Programs
Kids Release
Forms
Kids
Activity/Sports
Programs
Teen Training
Teen Training
Guidelines
Community
Sports
Courts and
Equipment
Disc Golf
Free Play
The Players’
Club
Disc Golf
Course
Disc Golf
Scorecard
Discount
Center
Fitness
Planning a Cary
Visit
Wellness
Reimbursement
Guidelines
Reimbursement
Application
Programs
T’ai Chi
Program
Hang 10 Yoga
Strike a
Pose Archive
Regional
Discount Ticket
Request Form
Patient
Survey
CDC: Hepatitis
C Screening
Understanding
Prostate
Changes
Is a PSA Test
Right for You
Pros & Cons of
PSA Testing
Pap and HPV
Screening
Pharmacy Staff
What if I’m not
A Primary
Care Patient?
Pediatric
Primary Care
Primary Care
Enrollment
Primary vs
Non-Primary
Services
Travel
Immunizations
& Advice
Patient
Testimonials
Primary Care
FAQs
Urgent Care
After Hours
Check Out an
Item
Meet the Staff
About Our Staff
Giving Back
Charitable
Contributions
Communications
Guidelines
Education
Initiatives
Giving Tuesday
Staff
Policy
Documents
SAS Brand
Time Away
Policies
Time Away
Forms
Bulletin
Board
Café Menus
Job
Descriptions
Job Postings

3. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
We’ve given our
content owners a
way to stage
content
And then move it
over to the live site
Ideally… without
developer
intervention.
Stage
Live
RAMP

4. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Each section is a launch

5. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
The old launch process
• Try to plan with incomplete information
• Spend hours on a Skype call in crisis / boredom mode on launch day
• Have visibly broken stuff on the live site for periods of time, frantically fix
• Collapse

6. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Problems
1. Stuff we didn’t know about isn’t discovered until it’s obviously missing
after RAMPing
2. Stuff is broken after RAMPing
3. RAMPing takes a looooong time.

7. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches
Our launches were
often surprisingly
complicated.
The launch plan for
four pages might
include 50 different
items.

8. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
SAS Camp
• Four pages
• Two sliders
• 14 CPT + 14 icons for the sliders
• Five policies (CPT)
• Two “cross-promotional widgets” (CPT, with images)
• 8 images
• 1 parent page (add five more images for that…)

9. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
How small can you make that launch?
Like just one page maybe?

10. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Content Dark Launch
The dream
• Separate deploy from launch
• Deploy continuously as content becomes
ready
• Keep it hidden until it is ready
• Flip a switch on launch day

12. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
The Transporter
Define Dark Launch areas

13. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
The Transporter
Daily Dark Launch

14. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Feature Toggles
Martin Fowler
"Toggle tests should only appear at the minimum amount of
toggle points to ensure the new feature is properly hidden.
There could be many screens in the pet survey feature, but if
there’s only one link on the home page that gets you there,
then that’s the only element that needs to be protected with
the toggle tag. Don’t try to protect every code path in the new
feature code with a toggle, focus on just the entry points that
would lead users there and toggle those entry points.”
martinfowler.com/bliki/FeatureToggle.html

15. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Our ”edges”
• Mega menu
• Links within already launched content
• Sometimes, the left nav

16. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
The Deflector
Selectively redirect links within visible areas
• Redirect links from visible areas to hidden areas.
• Users provide a mapping of new pages to current pages.
• If a click has a referrer – redirect.

17. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Left nav

18. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Left nav
Automatically generated

19. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Left nav
• Left nav is generated by a custom walker
• Reflects the page tree
• If a hidden page is deployed into a visible section, it has to remain hidden
from left nav…
• Unless we’re viewing the hidden page.

20. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Left nav
Filter the custom walker
• A filter that uses Transporter categories to filter what is seen in the left
nav
• Only do the filtering on the live site
• And only do it when on a page that is not hidden… don’t filter when on
hidden pages.

21. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
What about search?
We don’t want hidden pages in the search engine!
• Search engine can only index what it can reach via crawling link to link.
• No links into the hidden pages, no way to crawl them.

22. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Dark Launch
• Transporter – move batches of dark launch
content over to the live site
• Deflector – redirect links in visible content away
from dark launch areas
• Left nav filter – to hide DL pages, except when
you’re in the DL section
The mechanics of
dark launching.

23. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
The Dark Launch Process

24. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Readiness
Review with onboarding folks –
• Is the structure of pages mostly there? Are the pages in the right
templates?
• Are the landing pages okay to be visible?
Dev team analyzes –
• What are the edges? Cross links with live sections, mega menu, left nav,
landing pages.
• How big is this? Is it really four pages… or four pages and another 50
posts and files packed into those four pages?

25. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
2. Begin Dark Launch
• Dev team creates a DARK LAUNCH category, adds it to all the posts.
Configures Transporter.
• Deflector configuration is updated, if needed.
• Daily dark launch begins. Problems resolved as they occur.

26. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
3. Launch planning
• Launch date set.
• Person responsible for onboarding provides the dev team with extensive
documentation
• Dev team prepares launch plan.

27. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
4. 3-2-1-GO!
• Content freeze 3 days prior to launch
• Final dark launch(es)
• Day of launch, make it all visible.
• Update mega menu on stage
• Update transporter configuration
• Update deflector configuration
• RAMP these changes

28. Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Problems solved.
1. Stuff we didn’t know about isn’t discovered until it’s obviously missing
after RAMPing
2. Stuff is broken after RAMPing
3. RAMPing takes a looooong time.

29. sas.com
Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Any questions?
Lisa Linn Allen
@LisaLinnAllen