# System Migration Plan Template
## Migration Project: [Project Name]
**Prepared By**: [Architect Name]
**Date Created**: [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Last Updated**: [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Version**: [1.0]
---
## 1. Executive Summary
[Provide a brief overview of the migration project, including the rationale, high-level approach, timeline, and expected outcomes.]
**Migration Type**: [e.g., Cloud migration, Database migration, Platform modernization, Monolith to Microservices]
**Key Objectives**:
* [Objective 1]: [e.g., "Improve system performance by 50%"]
* [Objective 2]: [e.g., "Reduce infrastructure costs by 30%"]
* [Objective 3]: [e.g., "Enable continuous deployment"]
**Timeline**: [X months] from [Start Date] to [End Date]
---
## 2. Current State Assessment
### 2.1 Existing System Overview
**Architecture**: [Brief description of current architecture]
**Technology Stack**:
| Component | Technology | Version |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Frontend | [Technology] | [Version] |
| Backend | [Technology] | [Version] |
| Database | [Technology] | [Version] |
| Infrastructure | [On-premise/Cloud] | [Details] |
**System Metrics**:
* **Users**: [Number of active users]
* **Data Volume**: [Total data size]
* **Transaction Volume**: [Requests per day/month]
* **Uptime**: [Current availability percentage]
### 2.2 Pain Points and Limitations
| Issue | Impact | Priority |
| :--- | :--- | :---: |
| [Issue 1] | [Business/technical impact] | High/Med/Low |
| [Issue 2] | [Business/technical impact] | High/Med/Low |
| [Issue 3] | [Business/technical impact] | High/Med/Low |
**Technical Debt**:
* [Technical debt item 1]
* [Technical debt item 2]
**Scalability Constraints**:
* [Constraint 1]
* [Constraint 2]
---
## 3. Target State Architecture
### 3.1 Desired Architecture
**Architecture Pattern**: [e.g., Microservices, Event-driven, Serverless]
**Technology Stack**:
| Component | Technology | Version | Rationale |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Frontend | [Technology] | [Version] | [Why chosen] |
| Backend | [Technology] | [Version] | [Why chosen] |
| Database | [Technology] | [Version] | [Why chosen] |
| Infrastructure | [Cloud/Hybrid] | [Details] | [Why chosen] |
**Architecture Diagram**:
[Include or link to target state architecture diagram]
### 3.2 Expected Benefits
**Quantitative Benefits**:
* **Performance**: [e.g., "50% reduction in API response time"]
* **Cost**: [e.g., "30% reduction in infrastructure costs"]
* **Scalability**: [e.g., "Support 10x current user load"]
* **Availability**: [e.g., "Improve uptime from 99.5% to 99.95%"]
**Qualitative Benefits**:
* [Benefit 1]: [e.g., "Faster feature delivery"]
* [Benefit 2]: [e.g., "Improved developer experience"]
* [Benefit 3]: [e.g., "Better system observability"]
---
## 4. Migration Strategy
### 4.1 Migration Approach
**Selected Strategy**: [Big Bang / Phased / Strangler Pattern / Parallel Run]
**Rationale**: [Explain why this approach was chosen]
### 4.2 Migration Patterns
#### Strangler Pattern (Recommended for Monolith → Microservices)
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Load Balancer / Router │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│ Legacy System │ │ New Services │
│ (Shrinking) │ │ (Growing) │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘
```
**Process**:
1. Route new features to new services
2. Gradually extract existing features
3. Eventually decommission legacy system
---
#### Phased Migration
```
Phase 1: Non-critical services → Cloud
Phase 2: Customer-facing services → Cloud
Phase 3: Core transactional services → Cloud
Phase 4: Decommission legacy infrastructure
```
---
### 4.3 Rollback Strategy
**Rollback Triggers**:
* [Trigger 1]: [e.g., "Error rate exceeds 5%"]
* [Trigger 2]: [e.g., "Performance degradation > 20%"]
* [Trigger 3]: [e.g., "Data integrity issues detected"]
**Rollback Procedure**:
1. [Step 1]: [e.g., "Switch traffic back to legacy system"]
2. [Step 2]: [e.g., "Restore database from backup"]
3. [Step 3]: [e.g., "Notify stakeholders"]
4. [Step 4]: [e.g., "Conduct root cause analysis"]
**Rollback Window**: [Time period during which rollback is possible]
---
## 5. Migration Phases
### Phase 1: Preparation and Planning (Weeks 1-4)
**Objectives**:
* Finalize migration plan
* Set up target infrastructure
* Establish monitoring and observability
* Prepare team and stakeholders
**Activities**:
| Activity | Owner | Duration | Status |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Detailed architecture design | [Name] | 1 week | Not Started |
| Infrastructure provisioning | [Name] | 2 weeks | Not Started |
| Set up CI/CD pipeline | [Name] | 1 week | Not Started |
| Team training | [Name] | 2 weeks | Not Started |
| Communication plan execution | [Name] | Ongoing | Not Started |
**Success Criteria**:
* ☐ Target infrastructure provisioned and tested
* ☐ CI/CD pipeline operational
* ☐ Team trained on new technologies
* ☐ Stakeholders briefed on migration plan
---
### Phase 2: Data Migration (Weeks 5-8)
**Objectives**:
* Migrate data to target system
* Validate data integrity
* Establish data synchronization
**Data Migration Approach**:
1. **Schema Mapping**: Map source schema to target schema
2. **ETL Pipeline**: Extract, Transform, Load data
3. **Validation**: Compare checksums, row counts, sample data
4. **Sync Strategy**: [Real-time replication / Batch sync / Dual-write]
**Data Categories**:
| Category | Volume | Strategy | Owner | Duration |
| :--- | ---: | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| User Data | [X GB] | [One-time load] | [Name] | [X days] |
| Transactional Data | [X GB] | [Real-time sync] | [Name] | [X days] |
| Archival Data | [X TB] | [Batch migration] | [Name] | [X weeks] |
**Data Validation Checklist**:
* ☐ Row counts match source and target
* ☐ Data types converted correctly
* ☐ Foreign key relationships preserved
* ☐ Sample data spot-checked
* ☐ Performance benchmarks met
---
### Phase 3: Application Migration (Weeks 9-16)
**Objectives**:
* Migrate application services
* Conduct thorough testing
* Optimize performance
**Migration Sequence**:
| Order | Service/Component | Dependencies | Duration | Risk |
| :---: | :--- | :--- | :--- | :---: |
| 1 | [Service 1] | [Dependencies] | [X weeks] | Low |
| 2 | [Service 2] | [Service 1] | [X weeks] | Med |
| 3 | [Service 3] | [Service 1, 2] | [X weeks] | High |
**Testing Strategy**:
* **Unit Testing**: [Coverage target: 80%]
* **Integration Testing**: [Test critical workflows]
* **Performance Testing**: [Load test at 2x expected traffic]
* **Security Testing**: [Vulnerability scan, penetration testing]
* **User Acceptance Testing**: [UAT with key users]
---
### Phase 4: Cutover and Go-Live (Weeks 17-18)
**Objectives**:
* Execute final cutover
* Monitor system health
* Provide hypercare support
**Cutover Plan**:
**Pre-Cutover (1 week before)**:
* ☐ Final data sync
* ☐ Smoke testing in production environment
* ☐ Communication to users about maintenance window
* ☐ Prepare rollback scripts and procedures
**Cutover Day**:
| Time | Activity | Owner | Duration |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 00:00 | Freeze source system | [Name] | 5 min |
| 00:05 | Final data migration | [Name] | 2 hrs |
| 02:05 | Data validation | [Name] | 30 min |
| 02:35 | Switch DNS/traffic | [Name] | 15 min |
| 02:50 | Smoke testing | [Name] | 30 min |
| 03:20 | Monitor metrics | [Name] | 1 hr |
| 04:20 | Go/No-Go decision | [Name] | 10 min |
| 04:30 | Open system to users | [Name] | - |
**Post-Cutover**:
* ☐ Continuous monitoring for 24 hours
* ☐ Hypercare support team available
* ☐ Daily status updates for first week
* ☐ Gradual increase in traffic if using canary deployment
---
### Phase 5: Post-Migration Optimization (Weeks 19-20)
**Objectives**:
* Optimize performance
* Resolve issues
* Decommission legacy system
**Activities**:
* Performance tuning based on production data
* Cost optimization
* Documentation updates
* Knowledge transfer
* Legacy system decommissioning
---
## 6. Risk Management
### 6.1 Risk Register
| Risk ID | Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation | Owner |
| :--- | :--- | :---: | :---: | :--- | :--- |
| R-001 | Data loss during migration | Low | High | [Mitigation strategy] | [Name] |
| R-002 | Extended downtime | Med | High | [Mitigation strategy] | [Name] |
| R-003 | Performance degradation | Med | Med | [Mitigation strategy] | [Name] |
| R-004 | Integration failures | Med | High | [Mitigation strategy] | [Name] |
| R-005 | User adoption issues | Low | Med | [Mitigation strategy] | [Name] |
### 6.2 Contingency Plans
**If data migration fails**:
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
**If performance issues arise**:
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
**If integration breaks**:
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
---
## 7. Testing Strategy
### 7.1 Test Environments
| Environment | Purpose | Access |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Development | Development and unit testing | [Dev team] |
| QA | Integration and system testing | [QA team] |
| Staging | Production-like testing | [All teams] |
| Production | Live system | [Ops team] |
### 7.2 Test Types
**Functional Testing**:
* Verify all features work as expected
* Test edge cases and error handling
**Performance Testing**:
* Load testing: [Target load]
* Stress testing: [150% of target load]
* Soak testing: [24-hour sustained load]
**Security Testing**:
* Vulnerability scanning
* Penetration testing
* Compliance verification
**User Acceptance Testing**:
* [X] business users
* [Y] test scenarios
* [Z] days duration
### 7.3 Test Success Criteria
* ☐ All critical and high-priority test cases pass
* ☐ Performance meets or exceeds current system
* ☐ No critical or high-severity defects
* ☐ UAT sign-off received
* ☐ Security scan passes with no high-risk vulnerabilities
---
## 8. Data Migration Details
### 8.1 Data Inventory
| Data Category | Source | Target | Volume | Strategy |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | ---: | :--- |
| [Category 1] | [Source DB] | [Target DB] | [X GB] | [Strategy] |
| [Category 2] | [Source DB] | [Target DB] | [X GB] | [Strategy] |
### 8.2 Data Transformation Rules
| Field | Source Format | Target Format | Transformation Logic |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [Field 1] | [Format] | [Format] | [Logic] |
| [Field 2] | [Format] | [Format] | [Logic] |
### 8.3 Data Validation
**Validation Methods**:
* **Row Count**: Compare source and target table row counts
* **Checksum**: Calculate and compare checksums for data integrity
* **Sample Verification**: Manual review of sample records
* **Referential Integrity**: Verify foreign key relationships
**Validation Queries**:
```sql
-- Example: Compare row counts
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM source.users;
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM target.users;
-- Example: Checksum validation
SELECT CHECKSUM_AGG(CHECKSUM(*)) FROM source.users;
SELECT CHECKSUM_AGG(CHECKSUM(*)) FROM target.users;
```
---
## 9. Communication Plan
### 9.1 Stakeholder Communication
| Stakeholder Group | Communication Type | Frequency | Owner |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Executive Leadership | Status report | Weekly | [PM] |
| End Users | Email updates | Bi-weekly | [PM] |
| Technical Teams | Standup | Daily | [Tech Lead] |
| Support Team | Training session | One-time | [BA] |
### 9.2 Communication Templates
**Status Update Email**:
```
Subject: [Project Name] Migration - Week [X] Update
Current Phase: [Phase name]
Progress: [X]% complete
Upcoming Milestones: [List]
Risks/Issues: [Summary]
Next Steps: [Actions]
```
**Go-Live Announcement**:
```
Subject: [System Name] Migration Complete
We are pleased to announce that the migration to [new system] is complete.
What to expect: [Changes]
Support: [Contact info]
Feedback: [Survey link]
```
---
## 10. Training and Documentation
### 10.1 Training Plan
| Audience | Training Topic | Format | Duration | Date |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [Group 1] | [Topic] | [Workshop/Video] | [X hours] | [Date] |
| [Group 2] | [Topic] | [Workshop/Video] | [X hours] | [Date] |
### 10.2 Documentation Deliverables
* ☐ Technical architecture documentation
* ☐ API documentation
* ☐ User guides
* ☐ Administrator guides
* ☐ Runbooks for operations
* ☐ Troubleshooting guides
* ☐ FAQ document
---
## 11. Success Metrics
### 11.1 Key Performance Indicators
| Metric | Baseline | Target | Measurement Method |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Migration Completion | 0% | 100% | [Milestones complete] |
| System Uptime | [X]% | [Y]% | [Monitoring tool] |
| API Response Time | [X]ms | [Y]ms | [APM tool] |
| User Satisfaction | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [Survey] |
| Cost Reduction | $0 | $[X] | [Financial report] |
### 11.2 Go-Live Success Criteria
* ☐ All planned features migrated
* ☐ Performance meets or exceeds targets
* ☐ No critical defects
* ☐ User acceptance obtained
* ☐ Documentation complete
* ☐ Support team trained
---
## 12. Budget and Resources
### 12.1 Budget Summary
| Category | Estimated Cost | Actual Cost | Variance |
| :--- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Infrastructure | $[Amount] | $[Amount] | $[Amount] |
| Software Licenses | $[Amount] | $[Amount] | $[Amount] |
| Professional Services | $[Amount] | $[Amount] | $[Amount] |
| Training | $[Amount] | $[Amount] | $[Amount] |
| Contingency (15%) | $[Amount] | $[Amount] | $[Amount] |
| **Total** | **$[Total]** | **$[Total]** | **$[Total]** |
### 12.2 Resource Allocation
| Role | Name | Allocation (%) | Duration |
| :--- | :--- | :---: | :--- |
| Project Manager | [Name] | 100% | [X months] |
| Solution Architect | [Name] | 50% | [X months] |
| Developers | [Names] | 100% | [X months] |
| QA Engineers | [Names] | 100% | [X months] |
| DevOps Engineer | [Name] | 75% | [X months] |
---
## 13. Post-Migration Review
### 13.1 Lessons Learned
[To be completed after migration]
**What Went Well**:
* [Item 1]
* [Item 2]
**What Could Be Improved**:
* [Item 1]
* [Item 2]
**Recommendations for Future Migrations**:
* [Recommendation 1]
* [Recommendation 2]
### 13.2 Final Metrics
[To be completed after migration stabilization period]
---
## 14. Appendices
### Appendix A: Detailed Technical Specifications
[Link to architecture diagrams, API specs, etc.]
### Appendix B: Data Mapping Documents
[Link to detailed data mapping spreadsheets]
### Appendix C: Test Plans and Test Cases
[Link to comprehensive test documentation]
### Appendix D: Runbooks
[Link to operational runbooks]
---
## 15. Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1.0 | YYYY-MM-DD | [Name] | Initial migration plan |
| 1.1 | YYYY-MM-DD | [Name] | [Changes made] |