AJAE Consulting Ltd
AJAE Consulting Ltd. Newsletter 2010 Vol.3
In This Issue
Notable Quotes
Sharing Knowledge
Project Team Notable Quotes
Whenever my staff leap before they look, I use my favorite quote from Archie Bunker:  "Patience was a virgin"
 - submitted by Kim

Do you have a notable quote from your team that you would like to share?

Send it along; I can keep it anonymous if you like!

 
RE-SHARE
Sharing your feedback on Sharing Knowledge
 
RE: Testing: Know When to Say When

Don't forget Parallel Testing.
 
Transactional systems need to be parallel tested to be sure that legacy systems and the new systems produce the same results.
 
For example: accounting systems can be tested for a reporting period, production systems can be run with a week's worth of data.
 
Parallel testing need not be 'live', it can be done using historical data.
About AJAE Consulting Ltd.
AJAE Consulting is Robert Schulz, BSc., PMP.

I am privlelged to serve the forest and natural resource industries in Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

"Building Better Organizations One Successful Project at a Time"
 
AJAE Consulting Ltd.
34448 Kent Ave
Abbotsford, British Columbia V2S 2W8
604-855-5255
www.ajae.ca
 
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Greetings!
Northern California CoastIn addition to working with great people, I am also privileged to work in some beautiful locations.  The picture to the right is one of my 'offices' in Northern California, taken in February.
 
Sincerely,
Robert Schulz
AJAE Consulting Ltd.
604-855-5255

Who's Reading AJAE Consulting News?

Timber Companies: 4
Wood Products Manufacturers: 3
Forest Industry Service Providers: 8
Other: 2
Total Distribution: 27
 
Sharing Knowledge
Data Migration: Pilots Wanted
 
Data Migration or Data Conversion are two terms commonly referred to the task of moving data from the legacy system(s) to the new information system.

Data Conversion is every Project Manager's nightmare.  Technical folks, on the other hand, love it; nothing beats a good challenge.

Data Conversion effort/time/cost  is notoriously difficult to estimate without 'getting into it'.  If you are faced with a data conversion project involving older legacy systems, manual data sources, or from different technical formats, running a pilot may be a good option to reduce your risk and help you plan the overall effort.

A pilot conversion has these objectives:

1) to prove the data conversion methodology and assumptions
2) to better understand the current state of the legacy data with respect to it's 'cleanliness' and suitability for migration/conversion
3) to determine which data will be cleaned up prior to conversion and which data will be cleaned up after
4) to better estimate the overall conversion effort
5) to understand the 'time' required to carry out the conversion.  Some conversions may take several days of computer processing time, espeically spatial data conversions.


A good pilot convesion should contain:

1) a small subset of the overall data source(s)
2) the most comprehensive in terms of covering all legacy data sources and types
3) the dirtiest of the data if possible
4) a complete conversion methodology including a final load into the new system
5) contain enough data to facilitate the testers who are testing the new system
Did I miss something?  Have you done something different?

Send feedback to robert@ajae.ca, I'll print it in the next newsletter!