Scaling Up:
SCA Upgrade & Customizations Enhancement
Regina Andrew Detroit came to SuiteLabs with a new requirement: upgrading their SuiteCommerce Advanced site to the latest stable version. Running on older software means missing out on new features and, more importantly, increasing long-term risk. But a simple upgrade isn’t simple when you have years of custom work built into the site.
The core challenge was ensuring the new platform wouldn’t break existing, business-critical features.
Industry: Designer Lighting and Decor
Services: SuiteCommerce Development and Consulting
Our Approach: Analysis First
We didn’t just jump into coding. Our first step was a comprehensive Requirements & Analysis Phase. We needed to know exactly what we were dealing with before we could give a reliable timeline or budget.
This analysis involved:
- Customization Review: Identifying all custom features. Some could be replaced with new native SCA functionalities, while others were too important and needed to be re-done for compatibility.
- Code Base Deep Dive: We documented noteworthy findings and evaluated backend scripts tied to the web store to catch any hidden dependencies.
- Feature Enhancement: We looked for features that were clunky or outdated and proposed opportunities for revamping them as part of the upgrade.
Defining Priorities
to Manage Risk
The most crucial part of the analysis was defining clear levels of priority for every extension and customization on the site. This helped the client understand where the immediate risks were and what could be handled later.
We categorized every item into five levels of priority:
- Priority 1: The most critical items—incompatible with the new version or posing a high risk of breaking the site. These had to be addressed.
- Priority 2: Mid or lower risk, but highly recommended for an upgrade to ensure smooth performance.
- Priority 3: Extensions that were no longer used and could be turned off, ensuring we didn't leave behind any technical debt.
- Priority 4: Customizations not following current best practices but wouldn't immediately cause a break.
- Priority 5: Everything running smoothly that needed no changes.
Two Clear Paths Forward
Based on this detailed prioritization, we gave the client two clear options for the upgrade project:
- This option targeted only the highest priority items (Priorities 1, 2, and 3).
- This was the fastest path to getting onto the stable new SCA version, minimizing risk and technical debt from unused features.
Option 2: The Full Enhancement
- This option included all items from Option 1, plus all Priority 4 items.
- This path took longer but resulted in a cleaner, more modern codebase overall, ensuring all customizations followed leading practices.
The client now had a clear choice between speed/risk mitigation and a full platform overhaul. Once they made their decision, we executed the core upgrade, theme adjustments, extension fixes, and performed rigorous QA testing.
The result was a successful transition to the latest SCA version, providing a modern, stable platform ready for future growth.
The client's seal of approval says it all
Working with SuiteLabs has been a game-changer for us. Their expertise in SuiteCommerce Advanced, and their quick, detailed responses have really helped our e-commerce business succeed.
Ryan Shaltry
