March 11, 2021

The move to the upgraded ODB will happen on March 27, 2021.

In the next two weeks, the following dates are important to you:

  • March 15 – 17 – There will be an ODBv4 ‘Open House’, allowing employees to play with a ‘test’ ODBv4. Details on how you can visit the new application will be found in the ODB Site Status section when you log into the current ODB.
  • March 22 – 26 – Daily announcements will be made within the current ODB to employees about the transition.
  • March 24 – TAMS will be turned off in the current ODB.
  • March 26th – (Late evening) the current ODB will be taken off-line.
  • March 27th and 28th – All weekend the ODB is offline. Paper forms will be used for OIs, Support notes, etc.

How we Are Feeling

There is a nervous tension in our IS&T Meetings nowadays. The move to the next version of the ODB will happen in about two weeks. All of our focus is on making sure that the ODB move doesn’t add any hurdles to your daily work. We are testing and re-testing. Every week we practice the steps that we will take on March 27th, the day the move takes place. Even as we feel more confident every day, in the back of our minds we wonder if we might have the perfect touchdown, only to have the whole thing blow up moments later. SpaceX had this problem recently. [Warning: video of a rocket exploding after landing.]

We have an amazing team of internal and external experts who are helping us and we are very excited about the new look, and updated technology that ODBv4 is built on. The functionality of the ODB remains the same, and we have taken the opportunity to strengthen some of the underlying engines that support the work you do. If you want to see what the ODBv4 looks like, visit some of the videos for the Person Profile Page, Program Manager Homepage, Service Portal, or Commonly Used Forms.

Here to Help:

If you have any questions or concerns about the ODBv4 transition contact John van Dijk, Information Systems Manager at jvandijk@christian-horizons.org