Data Conversion - Many Souces, One Target
Sources
The most valuable step in the data conversion process is documentation of what you have. What data sources exist in your company? Where are they located? How are they used in your work flow processes? What specific information is on each source? What attribution is kept on each item? How would a human or a computer identify each item? For each item, what is its exclusive, primary or secondary source?
Already, this may sound like a huge intensive project in itself, because it is a critical path item. A valuable exercise in discovering hidden information or information that is known by very few people, it can also point out what information is missing.
Source documentation needs to be started early. This can even be done before a conversion project is identified, and is very helpful if completed before data modeling begins. A clear picture of what and how information is used today will insure those items are not forgotten. As new information is considered for inclusion in the data model, identifying its source must be considered as well. Once the new information is selected and the source is identified, it must be added to the conversion matrix.
There are many ways to extract information from the data sources depending on how the information is stored. There are experts with tools who can “reverse engineer” data to achieve these results; a helpful step toward getting started or building much of the documentation. The results will tell you how the data was structured, but additional work is needed to list the actual data values. Studying that information and conducting user interviews can explain why it is the way it is.
Field Inventory
If a specific field inventory has not been identified, the source matrix may suggest one. Completion of the data model and the relationship matching in the conversion matrix can finalize those decisions.
The premise of this paper suggests a limitation of information that a field inventory can provide. If a field inventory is planned, it is tempting to gather “just one more bit of information since we are out there anyway”. Some information may be acquired for “free” if the specialist is waiting for a GPS coordinate. Most items will cost more time and money, so it is important to clearly define a strict scope of work and stick to it. Judge the true usefulness of each piece of information. Will office staff be running queries and reports on that information? Will this information only be needed occasionally for specific instances and be verified by a field visit?
The scope of work here has another important use; it is documentation for this source of information. Once it is complete, it can be included in the conversion matrix.
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