Migrations can be a headache, and too often we see organizations jump head first into a migration without proper planning. There are four very important stages that will help you execute a successful ECM migration.
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Early pre-migration planning
This kind of planning is extremely important to a successful migration. You want to start off by assembling a cross-functional team to get a good picture of the reality of your ECM systems. This same team can also assess the future needs of an ECM system. Then you can move on to evaluating the use of other silos such as files hares and other ECM systems. Some of the most important steps involved in pre-migration planning are to find out what you don’t know and to understand the history behind your ECM system.
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Evaluation of migration solutions
In this step, you want to start out by determining whether your migration requires a product, tool, custom solution, or a combination of these. Each migration is different so it is important to determine how robust of a solution you might need. You also want to make sure that the solution can handle the unexpected. Rarely in a migration, you will avoid all obstacles that might stand in your way, so you want to make sure the solution or product you choose can handle the unexpected. If you need help with your pre-migration analysis, you might consider a solution that has the ability to deliver that.
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Migration planning
After you have selected a migration solution you move on to the set-up of the migration itself. You want to plan for usability changes, identify and resolve any data incompatibilities and map all compatible data. User adoption is key to a successful migration, so make sure that you avoid recreating the source system experience. Another key component of this step is to identify and plan for any custom processes. During most migrations, unexpected or custom processes present themselves so don’t be too surprised if it happens to you.
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Testing
Effective and successful migrations will include extensive testing. Despite all the planning that went on in steps 1-3, there is always a chance that irregularities, errors, and unforeseen conditions will arise. You should also never rush testing or bypass it because you think it is too time-consuming. Make sure you allow enough time to thoroughly test your migration before it goes live. Testing will give you the best chance for success, and will, in turn, save you some time.
If you are at ARMA NCR Fall IM Days in Ottawa, you probably just listened to a panel of experts talking about these best practices. If you are interested in learning more, visit the SeeUnity booth and download our whitepaper here!