Electronic Record Keeping, Billing Systems - How to Make the Best of a Data Conversion

If you are planning to implement a new electronicThe solution is advanced planning.
record or billing system now or some time in theAs Stephen R. Covey teaches, it is important to
near future, you may be concerned about or"begin with the end in mind". For a data
interested in moving data from your currentconversion this means to identify what you
(legacy) system into your new system. Theexpect from the conversion and to document
purpose of this article is to share some of theHOW you will know your expectations have been
things we have learned that may help you avoidmet.
pitfalls that are common to data conversions.Balancing financial transactions in the new system
Most data conversion related problems can beagainst the old system is an obvious and
avoided with informed, pre-conversion planning.important step but is frequently not well planned
There are also some questions, which if answeredfor. There are often balancing differences as a
early in the process, will be a great help in theresult of the conversion (remember the Buick
overall project to implement the new software.engine going into the Oldsmobile) so one must
Data conversions create problems just by theiridentify them and decide how they will be
nature of moving data items in one format to aresolved. For example, a system that does not
database that uses a different format. Think ofcontain transactions for late penalties in the
taking the engine from a Buick and installing it inhistory file but does include those fees in the
an Oldsmobile. It can be done, but even thoughindividual account balances, creates a balancing
the cars are quite similar in design and are usednightmare for the unsuspecting data conversion
for the same functions, this is far from a simpleteam. One solution is to decide ahead of time that
project and some things just won't "convert" well.all late penalty fees from the old system will be
Let's discuss just a few of the potential problems.lumped into one reconciling transaction per
First, data migration, or the movement of datacustomer. The process is to determine what that
from one system to another, whether in aamount will be for each customer and a total for
one-time data conversion or an ongoing databaseall accounts. Then determine and document the
interface, must begin with a plan to maintain dataresulting error in the history file and how it will be
integrity. The new system probably has betterhandled. When it comes time to balance the
data integrity rules built into it than the legacyconversion, this information will save your
system that you have been using for years. Thisconversion team hours of needless work and
will lead to some conversion issues such asdramatically increase confidence in the accuracy
duplicate Social Security Numbers (SSN) that areof the conversion.
allowed in the old system but not the new one. ASome questions you might get answers to in
new system is only as good as the data thatpreparation for your conversion fall into one of
gets moved into its files. If the data from thetwo categories, technical and data.
legacy system has errors or is less than accurateTechnical questions:
(based on control or edit features in the newWhat are the legacy system specifications
system such as not allowing duplicate Socialincluding the release number and date?
Security Numbers), the data will not get betterWhat is the Database engine?
when it is moved into the new system. It may inCan a report be produced with relevant data and
fact, get worse. Frequently, vendors who sell andsaved to a file rather than paper?
install software do not know the right questionsIs the legacy vendor available to assist with the
to ask that will help their clients identify anddata extract?
resolve data integrity problems in their legacyAre there multiple source files and/or databases?
system. It is therefore incumbent upon theData questions:
purchaser to understand and develop a plan toHow many primary records are in the legacy
resolve data integrity issues before thesystem? There are many files and many records
conversion begins.in each file. We look for a common record type
One solution is to make corrections in the legacysuch as "customer". The number of customer
system and bring all data into a consistent level ofrecords provides a relative size of the conversion
completeness and accuracy, thus beginning withbecause the number of records in most, if not all,
the best possible set of data items. This meansof the other record types are correlated with the
fixing all known data problems that exist in thecustomer records.
legacy system. One challenge with this approach isAre there data items you do not want
identifying the data problems. This usually occursconverted?
when someone in the office has developed a wayAre there records you do not want converted?
to work around their problems rather than fixDo you have a statistical report for use in
them, so they won't necessarily think of them asvalidating the conversion? Statistics could include
problems. However, the new system will not haverecord counts by type of record, financial
the same facility to handle a "work around" as thebalancing information, and others of your choosing.
old system. An example is the missing SSN to beWhat is the expected time line for going live?
discussed shortly.How long can you maintain paper records of data
Another example is a situation where deletedthat must be entered into the record system
records are not actually purged from thewhile the final data conversion is being completed
database. We recently converted a billing systemand validated?
that was supposed to have 6,000 customerThese represent a sample of the questions
records. When we reported to the utility agencywhose answers will provide good information to
that the conversion file actually had 23,000set the stage for a successful conversion.
customer records, it was a real surprise. After aOther questions and examples could be cited but
brief discussion they realized the database hadthe point is clear. Planning and gathering
never been purged of old customer records. Weinformation will go a long way in preparing for a
encouraged them to purge old customer recordsconversion that will go smoother and take less
and related history records based on a date oftime.
their choosing. The cost to purge was minimal.For those who are concerned about taking extra
The end result was a converted database withtime for this planning and preparation work, let
12,000 customer records instead of 6,000. Thisme reference research done on this very subject
gave the organization an excellent converted filesome time ago. This study reviewed the cost of
with which to begin using their new system. Themaking a change in the design of a computer
file included information on customers theysystem before or after the actual programming
unknowingly would have lost had we convertedwork had begun. The results of the study clearly
only the 6,000 "active" accounts.demonstrated that when a change is made in the
Other problems occur when the user fails todesign after programming has started, the cost
communicate necessary information to thewill be several times greater than for changes
conversion team. Frequently this happens becausethat are made during the design phase and before
information that is obvious to the user andprogramming begins. Similarly, the design work for
therefore taken for granted, is not obvious to anconversions will solve problems at a fraction of
outsider. An example might be one of thethe cost of finding and fixing problems during the
following: there is no city name entered becauseconversion itself.
all entries in the database are in the same city.Plan, prepare, and know the end before you
Another example is the substitution ofbegin, set expectations and consider outsourcing
999-99-9999 for a Social Security Number whenyour data conversion project.
the actual SSN is unknown.