Technical maintenance and updates

E-LEARNING PLATFORM – TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE AND UPDATES – ELE-PRO-010-A

Version: 1.0  |  Last update: 03/11/2025  |  Department: IT & E-learning

🎯 Objective

Define the standardized process for maintaining and updating the
Dubai Precious Metals University e-learning platform
(dubai-precious-metals-university.com),
built with the MasterStudy LMS theme.
This procedure ensures continuous functionality, data integrity, security, and optimal performance of the platform.

👤 Who

  • IT & E-learning Administrator
  • Academic Coordinator (for functional validation)
  • Hosting Provider (OVH or equivalent, for server-level interventions)

🧩 Inputs / Outputs

Inputs:

  • List of plugins, themes, and system components
  • Maintenance calendar (monthly and quarterly checks)
  • Access credentials to WordPress, cPanel, and WorkDrive backups

Outputs:

  • System fully updated and secure
  • Verified backup available in WorkDrive
  • Maintenance report archived in IT records

⚙️ Process Steps

  1. Schedule Regular Maintenance
    Maintenance is performed:

    • Weekly: Minor plugin and translation updates
    • Monthly: Database optimization and backup verification
    • Quarterly: Full system audit and performance review

    Maintenance windows are preferably set outside student access hours.

  2. Perform Full Backup
    Before any update:

    • Access the hosting control panel (OVH / cPanel)
    • Perform a full backup of:
      • Database (via phpMyAdmin)
      • Website files (via File Manager or FTP)
    • Download the backup and store it in:
      WorkDrive › IT › Backups › ELE-PRO-010-A

    Rename backups using the convention:
    DPMU_Backup_[YYYYMMDD].zip.

  3. Update WordPress Core, Theme, and Plugins
    Log in to
    dubai-precious-metals-university.com/wp-admin.
    Go to Dashboard → Updates.
    Perform updates in the following order:

    • WordPress Core (if new stable version available)
    • MasterStudy Theme and LMS Plugin
    • Other plugins (update one by one, checking compatibility)

    After each update, reload the site front-end to ensure no visual or functional errors appear.

  4. Test Platform Functionality
    Once updates are complete, verify:

    • Home page and login page display correctly
    • Courses, quizzes, and certificates open without error
    • Student and instructor dashboards load properly

    If any issue arises, restore the previous version using the latest backup.

  5. Optimize and Secure
    • Run database optimization using a plugin (e.g., WP-Optimize)
    • Check website speed (PageSpeed / GTMetrix)
    • Update the security plugin definitions (e.g., Wordfence)
    • Verify SSL certificate validity and domain renewal dates

    Clean up unnecessary media or draft pages to improve performance.

  6. Record Maintenance Actions
    After each maintenance operation:

    • Fill out the maintenance log (ELE-LOG-004) with:
      • Date and time of intervention
      • Actions performed
      • Versions updated
      • Verification results
    • Store the log file in WorkDrive › IT › Maintenance › ELE-PRO-010-A
    • Send summary email to the Academic Coordinator for record validation
  7. Quarterly Review
    Every quarter:

    • Review plugin list and deactivate any unused tools
    • Check disk space and bandwidth usage
    • Evaluate performance metrics (loading speed, uptime, error logs)
    • Validate system stability and report to the IT Director

✅ Controls

  • Backup performed before any update (mandatory)
  • Post-update functional testing by Academic & IT team
  • Quarterly performance and security audit report

📁 Records

  • Backup files (ZIP + SQL)
  • Maintenance logs (ELE-LOG-004)
  • Performance audit reports
  • Stored in WorkDrive › IT › Maintenance › ELE-PRO-010-A
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