ITM/LMS Data Migration

Why is it so important to carry out a data integrity test and data cleansing process as part of your implementation?

How Prepared are you?

When it came to a migration project most of our customers did not realise they had a problem. This only became apparent when they attempted to answer the following questions:

1. How accurate is my current reporting and analytics?
2. Who actually owns the data I am looking to migrate?
3. Are there any data access constraints?
4. Do I know the current quality and integrity of the data to be migrated?

As a direct result these customers were not in a position to answer the following:

1. How much time/effort will be required to get the data up to a suitable quality for migration?
2. Do we fully understand the mapping requirements between the legacy and target systems and what test and control measures need to be put in place to ensure the migration is successful?
3. Is there a budget line on the project plan for this activity?
4. What measures and controls can I put in place to ensure my data stays accurate in the new system?

Knowing the answers to these questions will significantly improve the project’s success and impact – and that’s where MDLman can help.

Our solutions area

Working with you

We are very flexible in the way we work with you to help you answer and solve the questions above. This can range from a simple advisory role right through to managing and implementing your entire data migration.

To help, we designed several service packages and developed a clever piece of software ‘MDLresolver’ – a data cleansing and transformation tool, which we use to streamline any part of the whole migration process.

If you are an implementation partner or want to bring the project in-house, we are happy to train you on our methods and how you can use MDLresolver to manage your own migration. It is up to you how much you want to do yourself to assure a successful project.

Find out more about MDLresolver

For any ITM/LMS data migration, we typically become involved in one of three phases:

Pre-migration

Implementation

Live

Pre-migration – data preparation

The best time to look at existing ITM/LMS data is right at the start of the implementation project and ideally, this should form part of an ITM/LMS implementation checklist. Data Profiling and measuring the quality of the data means that Project Managers can more accurately identify the amount of effort and time required to clean data and fix data integrity problems. Using MDLresolver at this early stage makes this process quick and easy.

MDL Data Migration Scope

We offer a ‘pre-Migration Data Assessment’ to help you and/or your customers understand the extent of the legacy date quality issues. Using this service, you can now assess and scope how much work and effort will be required to resolve data issues before transformation and migration occurs. Too often, this area is ignored and the resulting ‘data shock’ can jeopardise a migration project and impact on the delivery schedule. The process is simple – you give us access to some sample date file(s) from the legacy system(s) and then we conduct the Assessment to provide you with an accurate picture of the data quality and the necessary remedial work. To find out more about this service please contact us. info@mdlman.co.uk

Implementation – ITM/LMS data migration problems

Many companies start a new ITM/LMS project without considering potential data migration problems. It is only when they are asked to provide data for the new system that they first encounter data transfer and integrity problems. This puts additional stress on the already stretched IT, Learning & Development and HR departments, particularly if they try to fix the problem themselves without the tools and a structured process to follow. This results in project delays, increased costs, end user dissatisfaction; and even potential interruption to business.

At MDLman we have the experience of fixing data migration problems and again our consultants use MDLresolver to quickly resolve these common problems with data migration projects.

Overcoming data migration problems

Typically, we are bought in by either the ITM/LMS provider or the customer directly when they first encounter problems during the data upload phase of the project. As this is part of the critical path, even a slight delay at this stage will be harmful to the success of the project. Once again, our consultants use MDLresolver which not only maps the data from the legacy system to the requirements of the new target system but also can be used to reformat the data, remove unwanted characters and highlight any inconsistencies that may prevent a successful data upload. As a result, we have seen data load failures drop by over 90% and data load throughput increase by over 400%.

Live – Fixing common production data and integrity problems

Once in production, any ITM/LMS is only as good as the data entered. There is often a requirement to remove duplicate data, carry out address verification or fix data integrity problems where links have been broken. This situation is caused by the absence of field verification at point of entry and is exacerbated in a new system if the data cleaning process wasn’t completed thoroughly prior to data load. MDLman can help you address all these problems by implementing a maintenance process using MDLresolver to regularly check the integrity of your production data to ensure it is always accurate. By doing this, the ITM/LMS can operate at the optimum level, analysis can be conducted with confidence and end-user satisfaction increases because there are less trouble tickets raised as a result of data issues.

Engaging MDLman ensures your ITM/LMS project can be delivered on time and within budget. In addition, after deployment, we have seen an increase in customer satisfaction from Learning & Development and HR functions and the end user because the system is working well and delivering value.

SEE MDLresolver IN ACTION