Forums for the Business Analyst

 
  Modern Analyst Forums  Business and Sy...  Requirements  Automate Data Migration
Previous Previous
 
Next Next
New Post 9/2/2014 12:36 PM
Unresolved
User is offline Karma
6 posts
10th Level Poster


Automate Data Migration 

I have been working on a project for automating manual upload of spreadsheets in to General Ledger system. I am struggling on how to approach on my Functional requirement document. What are the things I should include in this document. I feel like my BRD was almost like FRD.The planing ( design prospective) so far is creating staging table and then formatting as required by business from that point and uploading. 

 From BA point of view how should I approach and what should be included in my FRD. Any help and suggestion will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks so much 

karma. 

 

 

 
New Post 9/7/2014 11:24 PM
User is offline Adrian M.
765 posts
3rd Level Poster




Re: Automate Data Migration 

Hi Karma,

In terms of identifying requirements and solution, a data migration project is not any different than any other project a Business Analyst would work on.

I would begin by asking some of the basic questions (and documenting the answers in the FRD 'system shall' statements, diagrams, tables, etc.):

  • Why - Why is this project important?  What is the rationale behind this project?   What benefits are going to be realized by this project?
  • Who - Who will be benefiting from this activity?  Who are the key actors (direct or indirect)?  Who will be generating the spreadsheets to be uploaded?
  • When - How often do these spreadsheets need to be uploaded?  Is the uploaded triggered by a system event, timer, user, business event?
  • How - Are there any business or user requirements which place constraints on how the solution should be crafted?
  • What - What type of information is contained in the spreadsheets?  Are there more than one type of data to be uploaded (ex: credit card debit transactions, invoices, journal entries, wire transfer transactions, etc.)

Specific to your situation, here are some things you'll need to consider in your requirements and/or solution:

  • Are there going to be one type of spreadsheet ore more than one?
  • How will the import process know what data is what? Ex: will columns have labels, will first column always contain transaction ID...
  • Are there any assumptions as to the quality of the data? Ex: are all fields required, does the system assume that column x contains dates formatted as mmddyyy? etc.

In terms of the format of information in the FRD, it depends on what you want to show:

  • For assumptions, a table listing the assumption and if it was confirmed by whom.
  • For types of upload records/data, a class diagram (business object model) would be great.
  • For actors and what they want to accomplish, maybe a use case diagram with use cases such as: Upload Off-line Invoices, Upload Adjustments, etc.
  • For non-functional requirements, you could use 'system shall' statements such as: "The system shall support up to 20 spreadsheet uploads per day."  "The system shall support spreadsheets of up to 10,000 records." etc.

Hope this helps!

Adrian


Adrian Marchis
Business Analyst Community Blog - Post your thoughts!
 
Previous Previous
 
Next Next
  Modern Analyst Forums  Business and Sy...  Requirements  Automate Data Migration

Community Blog - Latest Posts

The CEO/CIO's Guide to Architecting AI: Vision to Value in Minutes Introduction to Architected AI Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of our life at an unprecedented pace. As CEOs and CIOs grapple with how to leverage this powerful technology to drive strategy and enhance operations, the concept of Architected AI becomes importa...
In today's dynamic business environment, mastering effective business analysis techniques is crucial for organizations aiming to achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage. Business analysis involves the systematic evaluation of business processes, requirements, and strategies to uncover insights that drive informed decision-making. T...
For many years now, a lot of people have found it difficult to identify the difference between Sankey diagrams and parallel sets. The two have made headlines, given that most people find it challenging to note what makes them different from each other. What remains to be undeniable is the fact that the Sankey diagram is among the top data visualiza...

 






 

Copyright 2006-2024 by Modern Analyst Media LLC