Standard work plan for key conversion plan for ERP and other system
implementations:
The high-level areas are described below. Under each of these areas, we look for a number of controls to
achieve specific objectives of: (i) data accuracy, (ii) data completeness, (iii) Cut-off/timing and (iv) general
system functionality and fit for purpose.
Migration Planning and Organization
Project planning and organization controls include the tasks performed by Conversion Team(s) to ensure
that
Conversion activities are well controlled
Assignment and allocation of resources are adequate,
Conversion requirements are clearly defined and
Progress communication and risk management methods are effective
Data Object Inventory
Data Object inventory procedures include
An analysis of legacy systems and data objects that will be included in the scope of the
migration to the target environment
A review of the legacy application to determine the usage of the data to be converted, including
the volumes, database structure, tables and fields.
Data Selection
Data Selection is the process of identifying the inherent conditions that the source data records must
contain to be considered for conversion. As a result of this process, formal data selection criteria will be
established, documented, agreed upon and incorporated into the conversion programs. The data
selection criteria must address all relevant conditions required by functional business users as well as
other dependent teams.
Data Mapping
Data Mapping requires a detailed analysis whereby each target data field is “mapped” with the
corresponding source data field for the purpose of identifying data transformation requirements (e.g., $
to USD) and data creation requirements. The data creation and transformation requirements are
addressed by the technical teams and incorporated into the conversion programs.
A second mapping analysis should be completed for the legacy data objects, whereby source data fields
with no corresponding target field can be clearly identified, analyzed and agreed upon by business users.
This may highlight the need for modifications to the target table to incorporate these “unmapped” source
fields.
Data Cleansing and Purging
Data Cleansing ensures that the source system data will conform to both the structure of the target
environment and the business requirements of the users. Data cleansing occurs at three levels. First,
field-level data cleansing ensures that legitimate values exist within each source field. Record-level data
cleansing addresses valid field dependencies within the record. Object-level data cleansing refers to the
validation of data objects and includes purging duplicate records and normalizing related records.
Data Reconciliation
Data reconciliation methods and procedures provide evidence of the accuracy, completeness and validity
of the converted data in the target system, thus mitigating project, system and operational risks
associated with data migration. Formally documented tests provide the user community, project
stakeholders, and management with substantive evidence of the conversion results.
Data Interfaces
Data Interface programs provide the mechanism by which data is migrated to target systems, applying
business logic and conversion rules to the transformation process. These programs support proper
conversion of data from legacy systems for one-time migration efforts. They are also used to aggregate
data from disparate sources to support ongoing operations. Development, implementation and testing
controls as well as platform stability are critical to ensure the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of
data converted to target systems.
Business Continuity and Recovery
Business continuity and recovery controls are established to address the recovery of business operations
and data in the event of migration failure or systems failure following go-live.