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| Data Migrations Series |
A concept is a document that describes at high level the set of necessary steps and their implications to achieve a desired result, typically making the object of a project. A concept is usually needed to provide more technical and nontechnical information about the desired solution, the context in which a set of steps are conducted, respectively the changes considered, how the changes will be implemented and the further aspects that need to be considered. It can include a high-level plan and sometimes also information that typically belong in a Business Case – goals,objectives, required resources, estimated effort and costs, risks and opportunities.
A concept is used primarily
as basis for sign-off as well for establishing common ground and understanding.
When approved, it’s used for the actual implementation and solution’s validation.
The concept should be updated as the project progresses, respectively as new information
are discovered.
Creating a concept for
a DM can be considered as best practice because it allows documenting the
context, the technical and organizational requirements and dependencies
existing between the DM and other projects, how they will be addressed. The
concept can include also a high-level plan of the main activities (following to
be detailed in a separate document).
Especially when the
concept has an exploratory nature (due to incomplete knowledge or other considerations),
it can be validated with the help of a proof-of-concept (PoC), the realization
of a high-level-design prototype that focuses on the main characteristics of
the solution and allows thus identifying the challenges. Once the PoC
implemented, the feedback can be used to round out the concept.
Building a PoC for a DM
should be considered as objective even when the project doesn’t seem to meet
any major challenges. The PoC should resume in addressing the most important DM
requirements, ideally by implementing the whole or most important aspects of functionality
(e.g. data extraction, data transformations, integrity validation, respectively
the import into the target system) for one or two data entities. Once the PoC
built, the team can use it as basis for the evolutive development of the solution
during the iterations considered.
A strategy is a set of
coordinated and sustainable actions following a set of well-defined goals,
actions devised into a plan and designed to create value and overcome further
challenges. A strategy has the character of a concept though it has a broader scope
being usually considered when multiple projects or initiatives compete for the
same resources to provide a broader context and handle the challenges, risks
and opportunities. Moreover, the strategy takes an inventory of the current
issues and architecture – the 'AS-IS' perspective and sketches the to 'TO-BE' perspective by devising a roadmap that bridges the gap between the two.
In the case of a DM a strategy
might be required when multiple DM projects need to be performed in parallel or
sequentially, as it can help the organization to better manage the migrations.
A plan is a high-level
document that describes the tasks, schedule and resources required to carry on
an activity. Even if it typically refers to the work or product breakdown structure,
it can cover other information usually available in a Business Case. A project
plan is used to guide both project execution and project control, while in the
context of Strategic Management the (strategic) plan provides a high-level
roadmap on how the defined goals and objectives will be achieved during the
period covered by the strategy.
For small DM projects a plan can be in theory enough. As both a strategy and a concept can include a high-level plan, the names are in praxis interchangeable.
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