PA Pool v2: The Update Nobody Expected

If you've signed up to help test the new PA Pool website and app, firstly thank you!

Secondly, you may be wondering what on earth has happened.

The short answer is:

Quite a lot.

The slightly longer answer is:

Imagine a cross between a technology project, a soap opera, a disaster recovery exercise and an episode of The Apprentice where nobody can find the project manager.

When I first announced plans for PA Pool v2, the aim was simple. Create a modern new website and mobile app with improved search functionality, better messaging, ratings, notifications, saved searches, shift calendars and lots of other features requested by members over the years.

Unfortunately, the journey from "great idea" to "working website" has proved somewhat more adventurous than anticipated.

Over the past year, development has been significantly delayed and, earlier this year, I found myself in the rather uncomfortable position of not having full control over the hosting, servers or development environment.

For a brief period, it genuinely looked as though years of work and investment might disappear into the digital abyss.

As many of you know, PA Pool is not run by a large organisation. It is essentially me, fuelled by determination, tea (and occasionally wine), trying to keep thousands of people connected to opportunities and support.

Thankfully, after a lot of work, expert help and more stress than I care to remember, the existing PA Pool website was successfully migrated into an environment fully under PA Pool's control.

Even better, the v2 codebase was recovered and is now accessible and running.

That doesn't mean it's ready. Far from it.

What we've discovered is that whilst a substantial amount of work has been completed, there is also a substantial amount of work still to do before v2 can be launched safely and confidently.

At the moment, I am working through a detailed audit of every area of the system to identify:

• What's working

• What's partially working

• What's missing

• What's broken

• What needs improving before launch

This process is taking longer than I'd hoped because, as it turns out, testing an entire recruitment platform properly is rather more complicated than clicking a few buttons and declaring victory.

The good news is that we now have visibility. We know where the project stands. We know the code exists. We know it can be developed further. And perhaps most importantly, PA Pool is no longer dependent on a single developer or single point of failure.

So where does that leave us?

Realistically, v2 is still several months away.

I know that's disappointing and not the update many of you were hoping for. However, I would much rather launch something that works properly than rush out something that creates problems for members.

In the meantime, the current PA Pool website remains fully operational and continues to help thousands of people across the UK find work, recruit support and make valuable connections every day.

To everyone who volunteered to help test the new platform: thank you for your patience, encouragement and support. I haven't forgotten you. The project is still very much alive. It's just taken a few unexpected detours along the way.

As always, I'll continue to keep you updated.

And when the time finally comes to open the doors to v2, I suspect we'll all appreciate it a little more after everything it has taken to get there.

Katy Etherington

Founder & Director

PA Pool