Data conversion in SAP project – continuation

Data conversion in SAP project – continuation

Introduction :

I have recently written a blog about data conversion process, in which I’ve specified the major basics steps of this important process (Data conversion in SAP project).

It’s advisable to start reading that blog before this one. As my PM project advances successfully forward, I have discovered new very important step in this critical process. I wish to share this step: Data cleansing.

Data cleansing step:

After you have fulfilled Analyzing errors in EXCEL file, you will discover that there are some conversion failures due to “garbage” data in customers legacy system.

It’s important to outline that during this step, probably, the legacy system is still active (users are still using it).

As I’ve explained in previous blog – Excel file stores the output result from Process runner next to each record that was upload to SAP. Meaning, you can see next to each record the reason for failure.

Step 1: Out line and filter all records which consist “garbage”data reasons.

Example from my project : I tried to upload 2000 records of customers machines and tools which are PM equipments. two major reasons for failures were: 1.material X  doesn’t exist in SAP (material number was a field data in entire legacy equipment record and it has to be correct in SAP).

2. Short text description is too long (I have mapped in my program that equipment short text will be transferred into SAP equipment short text, problem is, SAP equipment short text is limited to 40 chars only).

Step 2:  Send your customer those EXCEL records which were filtered in previous step, so they could understand why those records wouldn’t be transferred to SAP in future.

Remark: This conversion process including cleansing step begins in SAP Dev environment. Afterwards moves to other SAP environments: Trn , Qa , Pre prod and Prod. each time this process begins from beginning through the end – in cycle. the data that is extracted from legacy system, extracted from production environments only, each and every time.

Step 3: Your customer should decide what to do with those records. They might direct you to erase those records from the EXCEL file , they might decide to cleanse the relevant data in legacy system. the customer only is responsible for cleansing the data in legacy system – You can’t do it for him.

Step 4: After they decide what to do with those records, you should repeat steps 6, 4 , 5 , steps mentioned in previous blog : Delete and archive all data that was uploaded in this cycle (in order to “make room” for same but “cleaner data” to be uploaded), activate extraction program again to extract “cleaner” data from legacy system, upload cleaner data to SAP, analyze new failures and vice versa.

You should execute cleansing step along with steps 4 – 6 two or three times in average until the data is uploaded to SAP without failures.