Chimney Home provides a structured approach to testing, ensuring that financial institutions can verify configurations, functionality, and user experiences before going live. Understanding the different environments available is crucial to ensuring smooth integration and a seamless user experience once deployed.

Types of Environments

Chimney Home offers two main environments for testing and deployment: Staging and Production. Each environment serves a unique purpose in the integration process, providing a safe space for testing and a live environment for user access.

Staging Environment

• Purpose: The staging environment is designed for testing and validating configurations before releasing updates or changes to live users. It acts as a mirror to the production environment but without impacting actual members.
• Key Use Cases:
  • Testing new configurations or changes, such as adjustments to offer settings, branding updates, or communication methods.
  • Conducting end-to-end testing of integrations with calendar systems, email services, or third-party data sources.
  • Simulating different user journeys to ensure the accuracy and functionality of custom journeys, offer displays, and notifications.
• Data: Uses mock or anonymized data to mimic real scenarios without exposing actual member information. This ensures privacy and security during testing.
• Outcome: The goal is to identify and resolve issues in a controlled setting, reducing the likelihood of errors once updates are pushed to the production environment.

Production Environment

• Purpose: The production environment is the live system where real members interact with Chimney Home. It serves as the operational environment, delivering real-time updates, home valuations, and offers.
• Key Use Cases:
  • Delivering actual home value estimates, equity calculations, and personalized offers to members.
  • Engaging members through email and push notifications, based on real user data and preferences.
  • Monitoring engagement and usage metrics, such as offer selection and communication methods chosen by members.
• Data: Uses real member data and interactions, making it crucial that any changes to this environment are thoroughly tested in staging first.
• Outcome: The production environment is where members see the final product, so stability and accuracy are critical to maintain a high-quality user experience.

Key Differences Between Staging and Production

Understanding the differences between the staging and production environments is essential for a smooth transition from testing to live deployment:

Impact on Members

• Staging: No direct impact on members. Any changes or tests conducted here remain internal and are not visible to actual users.
• Production: Changes in this environment are live and directly affect members. Updates here will reflect in real-time within the members’ Chimney Home experience.

Data Sensitivity

• Staging: Uses mock or anonymized data, allowing teams to simulate various scenarios without risking exposure of personal data.
• Production: Uses actual member data, requiring strict data handling practices and caution to ensure member privacy and compliance with regulations.

Testing Flexibility

• Staging: Offers flexibility to test and make adjustments without fear of breaking live features or disrupting member access.
• Production: Changes must be carefully managed, as errors or misconfigurations can impact the user experience and require immediate fixes.

Use for Debugging

• Staging: Ideal for debugging and identifying issues in a controlled environment, helping to resolve potential problems before they affect members.
• Production: Not typically used for debugging, except in cases where issues cannot be replicated in staging. Debugging in production should be done with caution to avoid disruptions.

Best Practices for Testing

• Always Test in Staging First: Before making any changes to the production environment, test them thoroughly in staging to ensure compatibility and functionality.
• Use Realistic Test Data: In staging, try to use mock data that closely resembles real member scenarios to ensure accurate testing outcomes.
• Involve Key Stakeholders: Ensure that all relevant teams, including IT, marketing, and lending, review and validate changes in the staging environment.
• Monitor Production After Deployment: After pushing changes from staging to production, closely monitor member feedback and system performance to catch any unexpected issues quickly.

Moving Changes from Staging to Production

When updates have been thoroughly tested in the staging environment, the transition to production is a crucial step. Here’s a simplified process:

1. Validate in Staging: Confirm that all features, offers, and settings work as expected in the staging environment.
2. Sign-Off from Stakeholders: Obtain final approval from all necessary parties before deploying to production.
3. Schedule Deployment: Choose a time for deploying changes to production that minimizes member disruption, ideally during off-peak hours.
4. Deploy and Monitor: Once deployed, monitor the production environment for any anomalies or issues and be ready to address them quickly.

Summary

The distinction between staging and production environments ensures that Chimney Home’s integration with financial institutions is smooth and secure. By testing thoroughly in staging before deploying to production, institutions can maintain a stable, high-quality experience for their members. This structured approach allows financial institutions to innovate confidently while minimizing risk to their live systems.

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