Preparing Data for Conversion

After you have identified the legacy data to be converted, you must prepare it for conversion. For example, when coming from the legacy system, data may be packed in EBCDIC format. These fields should be reformatted into a conversion-ready unpacked flat file in ASCII standard format. Usually, a COBOL program is written and run on the database server to create a file placed on the legacy system.

Conversion-ready data does not have to reside in a single file. The program may be designed to create multiple files during the formatting process, with each file only containing data pertinent to a single or related set of Campus Solutions or Contributor Relations destination tables. Smaller file sizes are more manageable and result in faster conversion processing. Also, the data preparation program itself may be broken into multiple programs based on the destination table.

One of the largest time-consuming tasks of the conversion project can be data cleanup. One way to minimize this task is to clean up the data before importing it into the PeopleSoft system. This can be done by using the data preparation and extract program. This program contains more logic to ensure data validity and therefore takes a longer time to program and test, but the program reduces processing time during the data cleanup.

Another option to reduce the data cleanup effort for the conversion team is to create reports for review by appropriate functional experts, technical experts, employees, and managers. These reports can be used for data verification and correction before the data is entered in the database. Correct invalid legacy data before preparing for conversion.

Not all data conversion must occur through background programs. You may determine that online application data entry is necessary for prompt tables and other required PeopleSoft tables for which there was no legacy data.