Are you planning to migrate content to a new system? Your project approach will depend upon your migration framework. In this blog, we will share insights on migration frameworks and when to apply them.
During project meetings with our customers, we always discuss modern approaches to ensure minimal disruption during the migration and to best leverage the benefits of the source platform. And we apply best practices throughout the project (as we have experience with hundreds of content migration projects and virtually every target environment, we have learned A LOT over the years!).
Xillio’s project managers and consultants typically begin collaborating with clients during the planning phase of a migration project. Early on, we help guide key decisions about the migration approach. For example, after completing the discovery phase, we deliver a detailed plan outlining which migration framework is best suited for the project.
As a project manager, you need to consider the following: Will you apply a “big bang” approach? Or migrate your content in stages? Successful project outcomes often can depend on whether the applied migration framework is the right one for the project. So what are possible approaches? Below are three of the most common frameworks we see with migration projects:
This is especially common with the migration of old archives and or content from records management applications. When users are primarily archivists and others have little or no need to access the application, the project can be executed as a one-time migration. Our approach is to follow our default Xillio migration process, in which we extract, analyze, design and test before we migrate. But in limited-scope and -impact scenarios, we run these phases only one time during the migration.
When the system is actively used by groups of end-users, a phased approach is often the best choice. Some common reasons to choose a phased migration include:
At some point in a past migration, you may have needed to freeze your content. At this stage, new rule applications and content updates are paused and replaced by a timeframe during which users need to manually manage their content. Manual changes must be recorded in both systems to ensure there isn’t a content gap: however, this is labor-intensive and error-prone. The solution is to automate migration processes: this will minimize or eliminate content freezes.
As you can see, deciding on a framework is a key step in a migration project. And of course, in large projects, you may have scenarios where more than one framework is required, depending upon content type, volume and users. And compliant migrations or projects where you are moving large volumes of content often have multiple iterations of the above.
Are you planning a content migration project? Contact us to learn more about our project approach or to see our software in action - we’d love to speak with you!