One of the most challenging parts of building an integration is migrating existing schools. Years of accumulated (and sometimes fragmented) data can make it difficult to ensure that all of the data is migrated correctly. This guide will help you understand the best practices for migrating existing schools to your integration.
Identify a Customer to Migrate
Discuss Changes With the School
Choose a Migration Strategy
Here are a few different strategies you might consider:
- No Migration: If data continuity isn't important (or your product doesn't store much data), then you might just consider starting fresh with the new data. A great time to do this is over winter or summer break when schools are out of session and classes are changing anyway.
- One Time Migration: This strategy involves the creation of a mapping table between your old data and your new data (or just the relevant entity IDs). You'll need to write a script to migrate the data from your old system to Edlink. This is often the simplest strategy, but it can be complex at scale (or if the data is scattered and disorganized). Edlink can often help with this process, providing assistance with the generation fo the mapping table.
- Continuous Migration: This isn't necessarily a migration, per se, but rather a strategy for keeping data in sync between your system and Edlink. This is often the most complex strategy in the long term, but it can be easier in the short term. Basically, you'll need to keep track of which data came from Edlink and which data came from your system. As you sync data from Edlink, you'll have to match it up on the fly with the data in your system.
If you'd like to discuss your specific use case with our engineering team, please get in touch with our support team.