Nonprofit implementation guide
Guide 5: Rehearse migration and test acceptance
Prove record movement and real work before cutover creates an irreversible surprise.
Rehearse the migration
Use a representative, approved dataset to test extraction, mapping, transformation, loading, reconciliation, exceptions, timing, and rollback. Record counts and business validation, not only technical success.
Repeat after material mapping, configuration, volume, or integration changes. Assign each unresolved exception an owner and a cutover disposition.
Test the work people must perform
Write scenarios for daily work, uncommon but important cases, permissions, accessibility, reporting, integrations, failure, recovery, and support. Name the expected result and evidence for each scenario.
Separate defects, design decisions, training needs, data issues, and enhancements so the team applies the right response and does not bury acceptance blockers in a general list.
Use an explicit cutover gate
The gate should show accepted tests, open severity, migration evidence, rollback readiness, staffing, communications, support coverage, and the accountable decision. A deadline alone is not acceptance evidence.
Plan who can pause or reverse cutover and how service continues if the new path is not safe or usable.