Keeping Systems in Sync

Depending on the implementation plan, there are three scenarios for moving data processing from a legacy system to a PeopleSoft system. The first scenario is to cut over everything at once. When all students are fully implemented, you perform a cutover to the PeopleSoft system. Until that point, the legacy system is fully operational. No system synchronization is required.

The second scenario is the mutually exclusive implementation approach. For example, when a student is converted to an application in Campus Solutions, such as Financial Aid, the student is officially taken off of the legacy system's processing in that application. All of the student's other application processing—such as Student Records—is performed on the legacy system. There are two production systems. This approach increases the complexity of joining two data sources for interfaces and reports.

The third scenario is the parallel system approach. An alternative to having two production systems is to test each Campus Solutions application as necessary, but completely delete the application database and rerun a full conversion with the most up-to-date data from the legacy system until full cutover is achieved after full testing. This approach implies that the legacy system is in full use until cutover, but no new programs must be written—for example, the conversion program is reused and all reports continue to be produced from the legacy system. A variance of this approach is to write new data refresh programs that periodically update the various applications with student information entered in the legacy system. This variance provides for more up-to-date information for more accurate reporting and testing, but also implies the additional effort to program the refresh routine. Care must be taken in the refresh routine design to ensure that data in the PeopleSoft system is not duplicated or overlaid by the legacy data.