Data Conversion
John Ziakas
Ted Peay
Questar Regulated Services
1140 West 200 South
P.O. Box 45360
Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0360
Summary
Data conversion is the most demanding, costly, time consuming and misunderstood stage
of any AM/FM/GIS project. It represents the moment of truth, where for the first time,
management gets to see whether the system, as they envisioned it, is really a workable
solution for their needs. It is here where the results of incomplete or poor planning
become very obvious.
Conversion is typically 40 - 70% of the total project cost of any major AM/FM project.
The dependencies are on the level of quality, accuracy, source data, manpower and
custom software needed.
Establishing a spirit of cooperation and teamwork among all organizations is always a
good first step for any project. It is essential that communication processes be in place
internally as well as with vendors or consultants to ensure a successful project. Document
and publish all assumptions so that nothing is lost and conduct regular project reviews
throughout the conversion. Be proactive!
Several tasks need to be completed before conversion can begin. An FRS (Functional
Requirements Specification) will need to be developed which will become the primary
reference source during the conversion effort. All source documents will need to be
examined and inventoried, user expectations aligned with the project scope, quality
control standards established and data maintenance responsibilities agreed upon. A
sufficient commitment of resources assigned for the duration of the project is imperative.
The determination of use of vendors must be made. The benefits of using outside vendors
to aid in a conversion effort often outweigh the advantages of completing the conversion
in house. Due to the efficiencies and experience that a vendor will normally bring to the
table, the duration and cost of data conversion will be greatly reduced while the quality
will increase.
Two important documents that will aid you in selecting a vendor are an RFI (Request for
Information) and an RFP (Request for Proposal). The RFI is an information gathering
document that will be given to many vendors to aid in creating a short list for final
evaluation. The RFP is a much more comprehensive document that will contain all the
pertinent details of the project. The resulting proposals will be used to make a final vendor selection. The better this document is prepared, the easier it will be to make a
selection.
Take the time to research vendor references and if your budget will allow, make site
visits to these organizations to inspect their work processes. It is also a good idea to invite
the vendors to visit your site to inspect your records as well.
There are a number of issues that will cause a project to fail. These include, but are not
limited to, lack of management support, a poorly prepared FRS, insufficient planning,
insufficient resources, unrealistic user expectations and poor communication.
Once the project is approved the ‘project start-up’ phase will begin. A conversion team
must be assembled, project milestones established and communication guidelines agreed
upon. The source data will need to be identified, evaluated and reviewed.
The data will then need to be assembled and the condition of the data assessed. All data
must be scrubbed to ensure the vendor will have accurate, legible and consistent source
data. Provide exact copies to the vendor so you are working off of the same source data.
Identify your primary source of data and select secondary sources as backup. This will
ensure that adequate quality control can be maintained. Creating a database to document
the tracking and reporting of source data will also be helpful. Keep a project information
book up to date. This will include a copy of the RFP, Conversion Contract, source data
description, attribute list, meeting notes, quality control and project status reports.
You should conduct a conversion kick-off meeting where the vendor will come to your
site to agree upon the workflow that the project is to take. Provide a detailed agenda for
each meeting, which may include, administrative procedures, organization structure,
reporting and communication processes, project schedule, pilot test, deliverables and data
acceptance criteria.
Select a pilot area for a test prior to the conversion. The pilot should be short in duration
but representative of your project. Move through this phase quickly so that the conversion
can begin on schedule.
The remainder of the conversion effort is managing the workflow, data and resources.
Communication is truly the key to making the effort run smoothly and quickly.
Even though the conversion is complete, your work is not finished. You will likely have a
backlog of work to complete while your data was frozen during conversion. There may
also be additional conversion taking place internally that was easier to complete on site
that will still have to be finished. Conversion projects are very difficult and resource
draining. Celebrate your success with your users because they will all deserve it.
