9. For Migration Specialists – Import and optimize data from other systems
This learning path leads from data inventory through mapping, test runs and checksums to a productive start, the result of which is technically proven.
A migration is the moment in which years of lived company history change their technical home. Every partner, every item number and every open item has meaning - not just column content.
The truth is in the mapping
The real work begins before the first import: understanding sources, translating terms, defining leading systems, deciding on duplicates and defining proofs of completeness. Speed comes from clarity, not from skipping checks.
From raw stock to controlled import
- Inventory data sources, ownership, volume, quality and legal retention.
- Define target objects, field mapping, keys, mandatory values, transformation and duplicate rules.
- Clean up and version an immutable source state.
- Import into an isolated test company database in technical order.
- Compare record counts, totals, samples, relationships and complete business channels.
- Plan delta, lockout time, fallback, and go-live release.
Evidence instead of gut feeling
- Each target value has a source or documented rule.
- Old and new IDs remain traceable via a mapping table.
- Checksums are calculated identically before and after import.
- Errors can be repeated without double importing.
- Specialists responsible confirm acceptance in writing.
The typical breaking points
- Direct production imports make learning expensive.
- A high number of data records proves neither relationship nor technical accuracy.
- Manual corrections after import disappear without a log.
This is what you take with you
They transform a risky data transfer into a provable, repeatable transfer of process knowledge.
In this chapter
- Basics
- Data inventory, mapping and management rules
- Cleanup, order and references
- Test migration, checksums and acceptance
- Cutover, fallback plan and go-live
- SQL or CSV?
- File attachments
Related topics
- For migration specialists – transferring and optimizing data from third-party systems › Basics
- For migration specialists – transfer and optimize data from third-party systems › Data inventory, mapping and management rules
- For migration specialists – transfer and optimize data from third-party systems › Cleaning, sequence and references
- For migration specialists – transfer and optimize data from third-party systems › Test migration, checksums and acceptance
- For migration specialists – transfer and optimize data from third-party systems › Cutover, fallback plan and productive start
Frequently asked questions
**What is the most important migration document?**
The mapping and decision overview: source, target, rule, key, mandatory value, owner and audit evidence.
**When is a migration finished?**
When data, relationships, totals and representative processes have been technically approved - not just when the import script ends.