Excel · CSV
Mapping specification
One row per target field: source, type, sample values, transformation, lookup, default, validation and owner. Worked example rows show the level of detail that saves arguments later.
Templates
Templates we use on every migration
Branded PDF and Excel versions, plus plain CSV and text. Free to download and adapt. No email needed.
PDF · Excel · Plain text
Reconciliation checklist
What to count, total and spot check before you sign a migration off, and what to do about the records that didn't move.
PDF · Plain text
Cutover runbook outline
The sections every cutover runbook needs: freeze, final extract, load, checks, go or no-go, rollback and the first week after.
Getting the most from them
Mapping specification
- Work from the target backwards: list every field the new system needs, then find where each one comes from.
- Put real sample values in, odd ones included. A rule that looks obvious in words often isn't once you see the data.
- Get each row agreed by the person who owns that data, then give the sheet a version number. Every rehearsal and the final load run against a named version, so a late change is visible.
Reconciliation checklist
- Run it after every rehearsal, not only at the end, so the final run has no surprises.
- For every object, source has to equal loaded plus held back. If it doesn't add up, stop and find out why before going further.
- The business owner signs the sheet, not only the person who ran the migration.
Cutover runbook outline
- Fill the timings in from your last rehearsal, not from estimates, and size the freeze window from them.
- Write the go or no-go criteria down before the day, so the decision on the night is a check rather than a debate.
- Agree the rollback path in advance, including the point after which rolling back is no longer simple.
Want a second pair of eyes on yours? Send it over with a short description of the systems involved.
Describe your systems
Tell us what you are moving from and to, and how the data can be reached. No data or credentials at this stage: a description is enough.