Communicate catalog.data.gov production transition to stakeholders

[SueValente]

Communicate catalog.data.gov production transition to stakeholders

Parent Issue: Transition catalog-beta.data.gov to production catalog.data.gov

User Story

In order to ensure a smooth transition with no surprises, the Data.gov team wants to
communicate the production cutover plan to CDO Council members, known stakeholders, and
the broader open data community so they understand what's changing, when, and what
(if anything) they need to do.

Acceptance Criteria

• GIVEN the cutover date has been set
  WHEN stakeholders check their email or listserv messages
  THEN they have received advance notice at least 2 weeks before the transition

• GIVEN a CDO Council member receives the communication
  WHEN they read it
  THEN they understand the key improvements, the timeline, where to find the old catalog,
  and how to share the news with their teams

• GIVEN a partner organization that publishes data to Data.gov receives the communication
  WHEN they read it
  THEN they know their harvest sources will continue working and no action is required on
  their end

• GIVEN an API consumer or developer receives the communication
  WHEN they read it
  THEN they understand any changes to API endpoints and know that catalog-old.data.gov
  is available as a temporary reference

• GIVEN the open data community receives the announcement via the listserv
  WHEN they read it
  THEN they know Data.gov has a modernized catalog and where to send feedback

Background

We're transitioning from the beta at catalog-beta.data.gov to making the new catalog the
production system at catalog.data.gov. This is a big milestone and we want to make sure
the people who use and depend on Data.gov hear about it from us -- not by stumbling into
a different-looking site.

We have three distinct audiences, each with different concerns:

CDO Council members are our evangelists. They need to understand the "so what" for their
agencies and feel confident telling their teams about the improvements. They've already seen
the beta briefing, so this is the "it's happening" follow-up.

Known stakeholders and partner organizations (harvest source publishers like USBR, DOI,
NASA, Commerce, etc.) care most about whether their data is still being harvested correctly
and whether they need to do anything. The answer is no -- but they need to hear that clearly.

The open data community via the listserv is the broadest audience. They need a
straightforward announcement: what changed, why it's better, and where to go.

The legacy catalog will be preserved at catalog-old.data.gov (see related sub-issue) so we
can point people there if they need to reference the old system during the transition.

Sketch

Pre-Cutover Communications (send ~2 weeks before transition)

• Draft CDO Council email highlighting:

  • Cutover date and what will happen
  • Recap of the five key improvements (performance, stability, harvester, UX, deduplication)
  • catalog-old.data.gov will remain available through fall 2026
  • Ask them to share the news within their agencies
  • Where to send feedback or report issues

• Draft partner organization email highlighting:

  • Cutover date
  • Their harvest sources will continue working -- no action needed
  • If they experience any harvest issues post-cutover, who to contact
  • catalog-old.data.gov available as a reference

• Draft open data listserv announcement highlighting:

  • What's new with Data.gov (brief, accessible summary)
  • The transition date
  • Where to explore the new catalog
  • How to provide feedback
  • catalog-old.data.gov available for reference

Day-of / Post-Cutover Communications

• Send brief "the transition is live" follow-up to CDO Council
• Post announcement to open data listserv confirming the cutover is complete
• Monitor feedback channels for questions or issues and respond promptly