Our Execute Stage comes to life in a “scenario-based” guided tour that provides a contextual framework for DX Plan Execution. Ushering a fictional company through the process will help CXOs visualize steps in the process and identify potential challenges and opportunities on their way to plan launch.

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Jesse Bowman, Solution Architect for Galactic Gravity Inc’s digital transformation initiative ‘Project Pulsar’, rubbed his temple. Three rounds of data transformation activities and there was still a mounting volume of issues being identified. Twice as many as the last iteration, according to the Business Analyst Barry O’Connor. With an upcoming business simulation session, this increased number of issues was alarming, to say the least.

This data migration was turning out to be more work than they’d originally anticipated, and it was becoming increasingly clear that transforming the data was now the critical path to the project’s success. If they couldn’t get a handle on these issues that kept popping up, there would be no way to reach their go-live date with a workable solution.

Barry O’Connor, the young BA with flame red hair and an earnest expression, entered the conference room and gave Jesse a quick greeting.

“Right on time, as usual,” Jesse smiled. “Did you get everything prepared that I requested?”

Barry nodded. “I have the previously provided tips for validating data that you asked for. I also have slides prepared with an overview from the data migration kick-off, the validation workbook, and the GitHub bug tracker up and ready.”

“Perfect!”

As Barry set up to share his screen, Jesse organized some light snacks on the table and distributed some water bottles around the conference room table. Today’s meeting was a bit closer to lunch than he’d like, but it was the only time that worked for everybody on such short notice. If they wanted to make some real progress in their data migration, they’d need to start getting to the root of why issues keep multiplying even after 3 rounds of data transformation.

Confronting the Challenges of a Disorganized Data Transformation Process

The team began filing into the small conference room: first Marie, the Production supervisor, then Frank, the Purchasing agent, and finally Jonelle, a team lead from Finance.

Once everyone was accounted for, Jesse cleared his throat. “Thanks for joining us today; I know this meeting wasn’t part of the original plan, but I believe – considering the growing number of issues surfacing after our data transformation rounds – this extra review is crucial to allow us to continue making forward progress. As you’re all aware, each of us has been reviewing the data independently and recording issues and examples in the relevant data transformation workbook. I appreciate all of your efforts so far with that; I know that getting the data right is not an easy task, but it is critical to the success of the project.”

Jesse nodded to Barry to pull up the first slide – an infographic titled “A Critical Yet Complex Journey” depicting the components of data migration: Cleanse, Extract, Transform, Import, and Validate.

“I’m sure you all recognize this as our process for data migration. My goal for this meeting is to regroup, present the identified issues, and try to determine the root causes so we can resolve them and make significant progress in our data migration.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Marie, would you be willing to go first and talk through some issues you’ve identified this week after our latest iteration of data transformation?”

Barry shared his screen of the GitHub tracker and filtered the submissions by Marie’s name while the Production supervisor began speaking in her clear, measured voice. “Unfortunately, this round of data transformation has not produced any better outputs than the prior iteration, as I noticed the same issues as last time, particularly with the bill of materials.

“For example,” Marie continued. “I have BOMs showing for discontinued items. Some BOMs are missing for items that have been released to sell this quarter. Most of the related routes don’t have accurate run times, either. I’ve attached examples of each situation in the issue tracker.”

“Did you quantify the number of new products and discontinued products?” Barry asked as he drew up the indicated issue report. Marie confirmed that she had not.

Jesse spoke up in the least accusatory voice he could muster. “Do you think it’s possible that the very same BOM file was imported rather than an updated one?”

Marie shifted uncomfortably. “I suppose that is a possibility,” she admitted.

Jesse fidgeted with his pen to keep from showing his frustration on his face. How can you know if the data transformation activities worked if you’re not bothering to validate the data beforehand? he grumbled to himself. He jotted down a quick note to bring up later.

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Jonelle, the team lead from Finance presented her findings next, many of which overlapped with the issues Marie raised about the inaccurate or missing BOMs. She explained how these discrepancies were skewing costs and making profitability forecasting impossible. “In addition to these costing issues,” Jonelle continued, “I’m unable to balance the final quarter of last year’s imported account balances. I haven’t yet pinpointed the source, but I could tell you the dollar difference.”

“Had this been balanced in the previous iteration?” Barry asked.

Jonelle hesitated. “I’m not sure if all the periods had been checked last time. I will have to verify with the AP clerk, since he was tasked with reviewing this information.”

“So, you didn’t validate this data before it was imported into the system?” Jesse clarified.

“I mean,” Jonelle stammered. “I thought the AP clerk would have…”

Frank’s report was no more successful, though it was notably brief, given that he had virtually nothing to share. It appeared as though he had been putting off many of the testing activities until previous issues regarding an inaccurate vendor list could be resolved.

3 Takeaways to Ensure a Smooth and Successful Data Migration

After a 10-minute break in which the team members raided the snack table and stretched their legs in tense silence, Jesse took the floor. They needed to find a new way forward to avoid wasting time and resources on issues from the same underlying problems. He hoped he could communicate how critical these data transformation activities were to the project’s progress and success.

“Thank you everyone for all your efforts,” Jesse began, doing his best to sound grateful despite the hot mess of a review session. “I think today’s discussion has brought things to light that will help us progress once addressed. These data transformation activities are absolutely critical to the project’s success, and it’s important we make a few changes now that will set us up for success in the future.

I’d like to start off by highlighting three things that will make the rest of our data transformation activities go much smoother moving forward. First, it sounds like we have not been able to review some of the extracted and transformed data before it is then imported into the system for further review. We need to take that step moving forward, as this will help us identify any issues early on and avoid them from cascading into larger problems. Make sense?”

Heads nodded all around the conference room.

“Secondly, I believe it would be beneficial to schedule a joint data review in addition to the independent review we’ve been doing. This should help us better understand all of the data needs in aggregate and share some insights cross-functionally to prevent siloed thinking and potential gaps in our data.”

“Lastly,” Jesse took a deep breath. “I want to ensure we are not waiting for perfect data to perform testing activities. Barry – can you please share the validation workbook on screen?” The business analyst quickly obliged. “Notice the various tabs with one for each process area,” Jesse pointed out. “The sooner we are working with the data, the sooner we will identify any additional issues that must be addressed. If you have already been doing some of these tests, that’s great! Keep in mind that this is a starting point, so please consider expanding this list. We are happy to add additional validations to the workbook.”

Jesse provided time for questions as the team reviewed the validation workbook, and finally it was time to wrap up. “Thanks again for all your efforts. Data is the backbone of the system, making it absolutely vital to us all. Barry will send out notes and action items later today, and we will be in touch regarding future data review sessions.”

These fully customizable premium templates provide a clear path through the complexities of DX based on Victoria Fide’s proven Process for Transformational Change.

Elevate Your Data Migration

Data migration is a complex process, encompassing much more than simply moving data; it’s about ensuring the integrity and usability of your most critical business assets.

It can be easy to underestimate the challenges associated with data migration, and often organizations find themselves facing unexpected issues and delays. However, by investing time and effort into planning, testing, and validating your migration strategy, you can turn this daunting task into a strategic win for your organization.

In this meeting, the Solution Architect Jesse identified several key areas that need to be addressed in order to ensure a successful data transformation and migration:

  • Reviewing and validating extracted and transformed data before importing it into the system minimizes errors and ensures data integrity.
  • Conducting joint data review sessions helps align data needs and reduce duplicative efforts.
  • Performing testing activities before acquiring perfect data can help identify and address issues in a timely manner.

Data is the backbone of any organization. Elevate your data migration and keep your critical business assets safe with our Data Migration Plan & Tracker, a premium template designed to guide both seasoned experts and newcomers alike through every step of the data migration process, ensuring minimal disruptions. Sign up for our Data Migration workshop to equip your team to execute a seamless and efficient data migration process, and receive the Data Migration Plan & Tracker for free.

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