SchemeServe has several environments used for different purposes, including everyday operations, testing new functionality and development.

Understanding the differences between these environments will help you decide where to test changes, explore new features or configure schemes.

1. What environments are available?

Important: Only Live environments have guaranteed uptime. Labs, Beta and Dev are testing environments and may experience interruptions or changes without notice.

2. Live Environment

Your Live environment is your main SchemeServe site, where you manage schemes, process policies and carry out day-to-day operations.

How to access Live:

• yoursitename.schemeserve.com
• Replace yoursitename with your SchemeServe site name.
• Live is the recommended environment for normal business operations.

Using a Second Live Site for Testing

If you regularly need to test scheme changes, rating adjustments or configuration updates without affecting your main schemes, we recommend considering a second Live site.

A second Live site provides a separate area where you can maintain and test schemes independently of your main site.

Benefits include:

• A dedicated area for scheme configuration and testing.
• The ability to test changes before implementing them on your main Live site.
• Greater control over the schemes and configurations being tested.
• A more suitable environment for ongoing product-building and configuration testing than Labs or Beta.

Please note: A second Live site must be maintained separately. Changes to schemes on your main Live site will not automatically be copied across.

To discuss setting up a second Live site, contact SchemeServe's Obsessive Support team.

3. Labs Environment

Labs is available to all SchemeServe customers and is primarily used to test new features and functionality before they are released to Live.

Labs is generally kept up to date and may contain additional features that are not yet available on your Live site.

How to Access Labs

• You do not need a separate site to access Labs.
• Simply amend your usual SchemeServe URL by adding .labs before .schemeserve.com.

Example:

• Live: example.schemeserve.com
• Labs: example.labs.schemeserve.com

You can log in using your existing SchemeServe credentials.

What Should Labs Be Used For?

Labs is recommended for:

• Exploring new SchemeServe features.
• Testing upcoming functionality.
• Understanding how new features will work before they are released to Live.

Important: Labs should not be used as an independent environment for making changes to your schemes.

Labs uses the same underlying site data as Live, meaning changes made to your schemes in Labs can also be reflected in Live.

For example, if you amend a rating file or change a question set in Labs, those changes may affect your Live scheme.

If you want to test changes to an existing scheme without affecting the original, a second Live site is the recommended approach.

4. Beta Environment

Beta is an alternative SchemeServe environment that has historically been used for testing.

However, Beta is now used less frequently, as it is not updated in the same way as Labs.

Unlike Labs, Beta is not necessarily kept up to date with the latest Live functionality or scheme configuration.

How to Access Beta

• When a Beta environment has been provisioned and updated for your site, you can access it by adding .beta to your normal SchemeServe URL.

Example:

• example.beta.schemeserve.com

You can use your existing SchemeServe login credentials.

Please note:

• Beta is not automatically available as an up-to-date environment.
• It is provisioned or updated when a Beta update is carried out.
• It may contain older schemes, settings or functionality.
• It is not recommended as your primary testing environment.
• For ongoing scheme testing, we recommend using a second Live site instead.

5. Dev Environment

Dev is an internal SchemeServe environment used by our development team.

It acts as a development and staging environment where functionality can be built and tested before progressing towards release.

Dev is not intended for customer use.

How Are Updates Released?

SchemeServe generally follows this release process:

1. Dev: New functionality is developed and tested internally.
2. Labs: Functionality is made available for further testing before release.
3. Live: Functionality is released for customers to use in their main SchemeServe sites.

This process allows new functionality to be tested before it becomes available in Live.

6. Logging In and Accessing Different Environments

For customer-accessible environments, you can generally use your existing SchemeServe login credentials.

The main difference is the URL used to access each environment.

Users with the appropriate Admin permissions can manage users and their access within SchemeServe.

What About API Keys?

Live and Labs use the same underlying interface, meaning API keys created on Live can also work when accessing Labs.

However, Labs should not be treated as an isolated testing environment for API changes that could affect Live data.

Beta is not recommended for ongoing API or scheme configuration testing.

7. Which Environment Should I Use?

8. Copying a Scheme for Testing

If you are using a second Live site, you may want to copy an existing scheme rather than building it again from scratch.

SchemeServe does not currently have a single button to clone an entire scheme. However, individual components can be copied.

To do this:

1. Create a new scheme by navigating to Admin > Schemes > Create New Scheme.
2. Export the existing Question Set as JSON and import it into the new scheme.
3. Download the rating file and upload it to the new scheme.
4. Import endorsements from the existing scheme.
5. Import rules from the existing scheme.
6. Copy document source content into new documents.
7. Clone reports and update their scheme conditions. SchemeServe assistance may be required for this step.

You should also review scheme settings, risk group IDs, integrations and other configuration to ensure everything works correctly in the destination scheme.

For full instructions, see How Do I Copy a Scheme? in the SchemeServe Knowledge Base.

9. Important Considerations

Before using an alternative environment, remember:

• Labs is not a separate copy of Live. Scheme changes made in Labs can affect Live.
• Beta may not be up to date. It is updated less frequently and is not recommended for regular testing.
• Dev is for internal use only. Customers should use Live, Labs or an appropriately provisioned alternative.
• Only Live has guaranteed uptime. Other environments may be unavailable or interrupted.
• Second Live sites require separate maintenance. Changes will not automatically synchronise between sites.

Need Help?

If you are unsure which environment is most suitable, or would like to discuss setting up a second Live site, contact our Obsessive Support team.

For ongoing scheme configuration and testing, we recommend a second Live site, while Labs remains the best place to explore and test upcoming SchemeServe functionality.