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10 Compatibility Tests for Your Legacy Migration Proof of ConceptBefore any legacy migration comes testing and planning. We know the first step in this: legacy migration proof of concept. A legacy migration POC is a test migration that will be translated on success to the full-scale one. It allows you to run a limited demo of the modernized system, examining patterns, workflows, and changes.
A legacy migration proof of concept has various criteria, which we can classify into ten tests. These include functional parity, data migration testing, pattern-by-pattern conversion, discrepancy testing, performance benchmarking, external interface compatibility, security and compliance, UI and workflow consistency, exception and error handling, and rollback and recovery readiness.
There are certain criteria to ensure a careful legacy migration POC as well, like pre-migration characterization, scope ranges of each part of the test, parallel testing, quick fix determination, regression testing, modernization degree and type, duration of the POC, and the number of technical experts needed.
In the end, the success of your legacy system modernization will depend on how well the POC was done. You might have to modulate parameters for a successful legacy migration proof of concept, but you don't have to do any adjustments afterwards in the full-scale migration, which is a boon for enterprises.
ArticleAny legacy system is modernized after test migrations and pilots. They take weeks to complete and provide the validation needed before the go-ahead. We think everything in the full-scale transformation has happened seamlessly with no mistakes.
Yet, a record cannot be found five months in. An error that cannot be ignored shows up. A dependency that was supposed to have been there is now absent. You think these are all mistakes. They are actually the result of failing to create a proper legacy migration proof of concept.
A legacy migration POC is the first step towards modernizing your current tech stack in a planned manner. With a sound POC, your project is less likely to fail, be it due to data complexity, time, or budget.
According to Gartner, most data migration projects (83%) often fail or go over the planned timeline or budgets. Many of these would have succeeded at every stage of the process if there was a foolproof POC to follow.
If you are going for legacy system modernization and do not know of any method to create a proof of concept that lasts and delivers, let us be of assistance. This blog discusses ten compatibility tests to follow and the precautions you should take on the way.
You know what a proof of concept (POC) is. You know it is performed as the first step of any technological innovation. However, have you ever considered it for your legacy transformation project?
A legacy migration proof of concept creates a modernization demonstration that uses a limited portion of the current system to conduct tests to figure out what will help and what will not in the target system. It is staged early (before a pilot completion), most usually as the first step towards transformation.
The best way to find out if a method can be utilized or a technology can be implemented is through a legacy migration POC. It negates any migration risks by validating the feasibility of the process before investing in full-scale modernization.
Many attempts at legacy migration often end in failure because they did an improper or rushed POC. The section below is a perfect example of all the tests your legacy migration proof of concept should conduct for a foolproof migration.
When migrating your system from the legacy infrastructure to modern platforms, a viable new system/legacy application compatibility testing is necessary to ensure that every part of the legacy modernization path follows your plan. This includes the following ten tests across the process:
One of the first steps in legacy system POC testing is to conduct a characterization test. Use a representative set of data in the legacy as well as the target platform and provide the exact input to compare the output from both.
A lot of development teams do this test after migration; don’t make that mistake. Doing a functional parity test beforehand makes sure the ‘before’ and ‘after’ results match in outcome and logic. In other words, the new system should reproduce the exact output and recreate the same rules to maintain the parity expected.
Most people do functional testing and forego data migration testing, without realizing that the system can still perform with incomplete or corrupted data even after a transfer. The only way to ensure that data formats, records, and relations remain intact is through a data migration test.
It is the best way to check whether all the data remains accurate, complete, and related to each other as before. The correctness of their referential integrity is especially useful to combat dependency complications.
A major portion of legacy migration proof of concept is the pattern-by-pattern conversion testing for the migration. You have to identify each legacy code pattern and test them in isolation for individual evaluations.
While testing the entire pattern library at once makes you feel like you saved time and effort, dependencies jumble up the code. Testing each pattern independently against the new system allows you to assess their behavior separately.
Any legacy system consists of several discrepancies or “special cases” where you know what the code does, but you do not exactly know the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of the errors. Such cases need to be fixed in the new system through legacy application compatibility testing to prevent any problems later.
You need to first identify these discrepancies and document them. Then you need to test corrective measures for each, without messing any of the patterns. The target system should be such that the same results are obtained, but with a clear, logical pathway for the ‘how’.
The purpose of any legacy system migration is to get better performance than before. Your legacy migration proof of concept should move towards that strategy. Instead of struggling to define clear criteria, be sure of what factors need to improve.
Measure elements like transaction throughput, latency, and resource usage in the target hardware or software. Make sure that the target system exceeds the legacy system performance or at least meets the baseline.
Every system, legacy or modern, interacts with several external interfaces that bring APIs, file transfers, message queues, etc. to complete a unified action. This needs to be redone with the new infrastructure as it was in the outdated system.
Basically, the integrations with the interfaces need to be such that their functionality is identical in the legacy and new environments. In short, the target system needs to rebuild the legacy application compatibility with these third parties.
Since you are migrating to a new system, you will now be able to meet the security policies and access control requirements necessary for your hardware or software. Methods like encryption and authentication should be present in the target system in your legacy migration proof of concept.
It must fight off the cyber threats commonly seen for your business that your legacy system had a hard time with, due to limited compatibility with modern security platforms. Compliance maintenance through processes such as audit logging are necessary too.
The usability and accessibility should be better in the target system compared to the legacy platform; it is the reason why non-technical employees passionately back the legacy migration POC in anticipation of an actual modernization.
The UI elements, navigation, and output formats should improve in the new system compared to the aging one, or at least remain consistent. While the end-user workflows should not change, their internal logic should improve with the same external flow.
Failures can happen at any time. Exceptions and errors can hit your system out of nowhere. Events like power or network outages, massive data corruption, cyberattacks, etc. can affect the system at any time.
The best way to ensure that the new system will work fine in these exceptional situations in your legacy migration proof of concept is to simulate these scenarios and ensure that it handles them better than, or at least as well as, the legacy system.
Did You Know? In the healthcare industry, 27% of US professionals notice errors due to aging technology daily, compared to 30% in the UK and 40% in Ireland, according to The HIPAA Journal (Presidio).
Define rollback triggers and procedures and test them thoroughly to detect their effects on hardware and software. Ensure that you can revert to legacy operations quickly and safely if the target system fails for any reason during the final migration.
The reversion should include a complete return of the legacy system through data restoration and service continuity without data loss. Keep in mind that, beyond the legacy migration proof of concept, a failure simulation must be done post-migration to ensure a successful recovery is possible.
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A legacy migration POC can only succeed if certain rules are followed during the process. They determine how the POC test is performed, so that you get a thorough idea of the deficiencies and mistakes of your current system, and what improvements it needs. Keep the following in mind for a seamless procedure:
Document real outputs generated using real production data to showcase legacy behavior before any change. Enter test cases to judge the expected outcome. Use it to understand which parts require modernization, or if it requires any alteration at all.
Scan every output during the pre-migration testing to understand where faults lie. That way, you can create acceptance criteria that befits your transformation requirements. Ensure that your legacy system POC testing remains in-scope all the time.
To clearly understand how the target system works, execute parallel testing for every section of the legacy migration proof of concept. The legacy and target systems should have the same test executed side-by-side for a direct comparison of outputs, quality, and time.
A lot of system additions and updates are a result of workarounds. This often makes it difficult to figure out the source of system faults and dependencies. Log and categorize these according to the severity of their effect on the legacy system.
Every part of your legacy migration proof of concept should be done with regression testing. This ensures that no change is permanent, and you can alter or go back on it if it does not work, or for comparisons.
The entirety of the legacy system might not have to be transformed. The method of modernization (replatforming, refactoring, etc.) and the legacy application compatibility with other elements also matter. Keep that in mind during the POC.
The amount of time you take for each test and the number and variety of technical specialists you choose depends on the expanse and complexity of your system. However, do not underdo on either; it often leads to modernization problems.
True modernization of outdated systems requires more than just a single, full-scale attempt at transformation; it requires a legacy migration proof of concept. However, many enterprises do not have the leisure to perform it.
They need a lift-and-shift migration of their legacy system that can give them the time to modernize in a proper way, from POC to a full migration. How, you wonder? The answer is simple: Stromasys.
Stromasys uses Charon emulation solutions to move legacy applications from aging hardware to modern x86 servers or even to a cloud environment. We have several examples to prove our point.
Orange Business is one. Its Tungsten Markview Supplier Invoice Management system, which was part of what took care of its ERP operations, grew outdated. An urgent replacement was needed to continue its business.
They finally contacted Stromasys for their Charon-SSP, this time in the cloud. Not only did they get a seamless cloud migration, but the smooth operation of their Tungsten Markview also continued. There was no performance compromise either.
Most importantly, as their CTIO of corporate finance believes, “This will ensure business continuity for at least three years for our legacy ERP system, which is vital for Orange Business.”
It gave them the opportunity to think about modernization calmly while making preparations, like a legacy migration POC.
Want to know more? Read the full story here.
Want to find out how you can handle the difficulties of using legacy hardware?
A legacy migration proof of concept is an essential decision: what step should you take and what not, which performance factor needs more improvement, how the migration should occur, and so on.
It makes technological modernization easier, better, and smarter for every IT expert associated with the hardware and software change. More importantly, it serves the involved business the huge advantage of advanced planning in the whole migration process.
After all, you do not want an unprepared cutover to expose a mistake or the transformation to reveal a problem six months later. The best way for you to prevent such occurrences is through a well-planned legacy migration POC.
Legacy hardware and software had major deficiencies in various areas that often led to discrepancies. From problems in system integration to latency and timing differences, and from data corruption to duplication-related confusions, the causes of discrepancies were many and varied in legacy systems.
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