Start with one process
Choose a process with a clear beginning and end. For example: a salesperson prepares a quote, a manager approves a discount, and operations receives the accepted order. Write down exceptions, required information and the people involved. This example defines a project scope; discount approval may need custom work.
Compare the process with available modules
Walk through the process using the modules you intend to use. Separate configuration from custom development. Record required screens, permissions, documents and integrations. Price the missing work before expanding the first release.
Prepare data and connections
Identify which system supplies each record and how updates will be matched. Clean a small sample before importing the full dataset. For an integration, test duplicate requests and interruptions as well as the normal transfer.
Test, launch and hand over
Ask users to complete real tasks in a test environment. Verify permissions, calculations and migrated records. Rehearse data recovery and agree how to return to the previous system if launch fails.
- Handover: repository, configuration instructions and access list.
- Maintenance: people responsible for backups, incidents and updates.
- Next release: prioritized improvements based on actual use.
Worked scope: from quote to order
Consider a pilot for one sales team, one organization and one currency. A salesperson selects a sample customer and two products, prepares a quote, then hands an accepted order to operations. This is a proposed project exercise, with no customer outcome or prebuilt automation implied.
- Included: required customer and product fields, quote and order documents, and access for the salesperson and order recipient.
- Separate decisions: discount approval, document numbering, tax rules and required printout. Check the behavior in the selected version.
- Excluded from this pilot: online payments, automated shipping, accounting entries and a customer portal. Put these exclusions in the estimate.
- Result: a user can complete the agreed process and operations can see the correct data and state. Also define rejected quotes and order corrections.
What to accept at each stage
End each stage with an observable result and a decision from the accountable person.
- Scope: the process owner accepts the sample journey, exceptions and exclusions. Open decisions have a named owner.
- Trial: the developer demonstrates the workflow in a test environment. A user checks totals, states and permissions, including access from another organization.
- Migration: the data owner reconciles counts, identifiers and relationships. Failed rows have an explained outcome and a retry procedure.
- Launch: the operations owner demonstrates backup recovery, stop conditions and rollback. The process owner makes the launch decision.
Migration rehearsal and operational handover
Include a new record, an update, a duplicate and a row missing a required field in a small trial dataset. Record the expected result for each. Repeat the import and check for extra records or broken relationships. Before cutover, agree when writes stop in the old system and how later changes will be reconciled.
Hand over the application repository, setup instructions, configuration without secrets, access inventory, backup and recovery procedure, and incident contact path. Name owners for the application, data, infrastructure and updates. The receiving operator should be able to complete a recovery rehearsal from the instructions.