WHAT DOES A DATA MIGRATION SPECIALIST DO?
Published: October 3, 2024 - The Data Migration Specialist is tasked with collecting and analyzing system requirements, preparing comprehensive mappings, identifying data discrepancies between source and target systems, and defining automated test strategies to ensure migration accuracy. This role involves designing migration patterns and workflows, actively engaging with both customer and internal IT teams, and collaborating on tasks like writing ETL scripts to facilitate data transitions. Additionally, the specialist executes migration processes, manages data reconciliation, communicates issues to business stakeholders, and analyzes customer segmentation and transaction metrics to support strategic decision-making.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Data Migration Specialist
1. Data Migration Specialist Duties
- Data Migration Development: Develop data migration scripts, and standardize and unit-test scripts for data migration based on an existing framework.
- Project Planning: Strategize and plan an entire data migration project, including moving the data and converting content as necessary, while considering risks and potential impacts. Work with the Project Manager to align the plan with the roll-out plan.
- Stakeholder Facilitation: Facilitate data cleanup/data migration requirements meetings, and meet with the business to guide and prioritize data cleanup activities.
- Data Reporting: Develop data cleanup reports, and standardize a set of data cleanup reports to help identify data inconsistencies prior to data migration.
- Training Support: Develop data population scripts for Training and UAT, and create sample data sets to support training and UAT.
- Process Governance: Ensure appropriate development quality processes and procedures are in place for the work being undertaken, adhering to best practices and governance.
- Technical Knowledge: Maintain current technical knowledge to support rapidly changing technology, always seeking new technologies and working with the business to implement them.
- Knowledge Sharing: Deliver Brown Bag sessions and informal ad-hoc sessions to staff on data migration and other data areas for overall awareness.
- Product Optimization: Work closely with the Product team to determine the optimum feature sets for products.
- Pre-sales Support: Assist with pre-sales activities relating to software development for new customers, including tender response preparation, customer presentations, and providing development estimates.
2. Data Migration Specialist Details
- ETL Execution: Responsible for executing the ETL process per the below diagram for one or more entities, or part thereof (depending on entity size, complexity and in-house extraction capabilities).
- Mapping and Migration Support: Support sessions with business & applicable WSL for mapping rules & migration set definitions.
- Migration Set Validation: Validates properly recorded and signed off the definition of the migration set.
- Mapping Rules Validation: Validates properly recorded and signed off mapping rules.
- Data Analysis: Performs various data analyses (inconsistencies, overlaps, semantics, etc.).
- Data Staging Setup: Sets up various staging files (typically Excel manipulations).
- Mock Testing and Reporting: Perform mocks and reports on progress, identifies and reports on gaps and delays, risks.
- Error Reporting: Reports transformation & loading errors.
- Incident Resolution: Resolving incidents in production client where mass data manipulation/updates, and functionally mass data changes need prior approval from the applicable WSL.
- Mass Data Upload Support: Support Mass data upload tool, including script development & user support (Winshuttle).
3. Data Migration Specialist Responsibilities
- Requirements Analysis: Collection and analysis of requirements on target systems
- Data Mapping: Preparing end-to-end mappings, identification of data gaps on source and target side
- Automated Testing: Defining and, if possible, also implementing automated test cases to verify migration correctness
- Data Migration Design: Designing data migration patterns and flows, keeping track of internal data dependencies
- Collaboration: Cooperation with customer’s business and IT teams
- Development Cooperation: Cooperation with internal development teams and, if possible, also implementing tasks such as writing ETL scripts
- Migration Execution: Executing migration runs, tracking progress, identifying, and reporting data issues
- Data Reconciliation: Reconciling data, actively communicating with business owners about reconciliation issues and proposing solutions
- Product Knowledge: Orientation in fixed and mobile portfolio, including internet and data products, TV, fixed voice, prepaid and postpaid products, value-added services, etc.
- Customer Segmentation: Customer segmentation for mass and corporate clients, analyzing transactions including gross adds, churn, migrations between products, and retention
- Service Processes: Managing processes such as service provisioning, order management, product modifications, and complaints
4. Data Migration Specialist Job Summary
- Product Mastery: Gain mastery of products and the latest cutting-edge technologies from Salesforce.
- Data Analysis: Gather, analyze, and process client data during data migrations.
- Task Organization: Complete assigned tasks in an organized manner to ensure project deadlines are met.
- Client Check-ins: Proactively check in with clients to ensure customer success during the first months post-live.
- Team Collaboration: Work in a team environment as part of the Onboarding Team.
- Customer Response: Provide timely responses to customer inquiries via phone and email.
- Customer Satisfaction: Enhance customer satisfaction by providing distinctive service in all interactions.
- Trusted Advisor: Establish a trusted advisor relationship to ensure customer satisfaction.
- Video Conferencing: Utilize video teleconferences to provide efficient face-to-face customer service.
- CRM Management: Utilize Salesforce to manage customer interactions and inquiries.
- Best Practices Partnership: Partner with Sales and Services teams to define ongoing best practices for onboarding tasks.
- Direction Following: Receive direction from the Technical Director and Onboarding Managers.
5. Data Migration Specialist Accountabilities
- Process Re-engineering: Re-engineer inefficient processes to improve system automation, speed, accuracy, and operational workflow.
- Data Analysis: Leverage SQL and VBA to gather and analyze data to resolve problems and inconsistencies.
- Analytical Problem Solving: Work on a dynamic and fast-paced team, applying analytical and problem-solving skills for maximum impact across the organization and industry.
- Client Onboarding Strategy: Strategize with development teams to improve the client onboarding experience, shorten delivery time frames, and develop repeatable, scalable processes.
- Global Collaboration: Effectively communicate and collaborate with a global team to accurately and efficiently resolve problems and client inquiries.
- Data Management: Import, normalize, enrich, load, and validate investment holdings and transactions data using state-of-the-art software tools and systems.
- Financial Data Consistency: Collaborate with multiple teams and departments to ensure the accuracy and consistency of financial records and data.
- Financial Knowledge: Develop and apply domain knowledge regarding complex financial instruments and accounting principles.
- IT Liaison: Liaise with the IT and technical teams.
- HR Data Transformation: Extract and transform circa 650 employees and associated HR and payroll data.
- Data Migration Planning: Attend a series of as-is/to-be workshops to define and implement a robust data migration plan.