Checking and verifying your data when changing school management software
Getting your school data in the cleanest state before implementing a new school management software solution.
When changing your core student management system in your school you are undertaking a major change that is effecting all elements of the school that rely on that data to be correct and as clean as possible.
It is imperative for all parties involved with your data are aware of the needs to make it as clean as possible before migration to the new system this can be done by setting up a working party to discuss how currently the data is being used who is responsible for the data inside the current system and who would be responsible for data want it to be migrated across too the new solution.
Checking and verifying your data when changing school management software
Your current software providers can provide assistance in the migration of data as well as the cleansing process this could involve the current supplier making the data available in a readable form whether that’s a CSV file or dump the tables from the database. Your new solution software solution provider may be able to provide a full conversion service for you in consultation. If allowing your new school management provides to carry out the conversion process, close two-way dialogue between the school and the provider will ensure data is converted and cleansed into a single repository of information for the new school solution to have the best start moving forward.
It’s recommended to take your new school software solutions providers advice on the best practices for conversion and migration. They will be most knowledgeable on there on their products where the date will reside moving forward. Also, they will most likely be able to offer advice on which areas on your current school management systems needs attention before conversion or at least be aware of any intricacies that can be fixed during the school data conversion process.
An example you might have some school data in your current student management system some sitting within Excel spreadsheets and some sitting in other systems altogether when moving forward to a new solution is a good time to review all those different data silos and consolidate them into one place.
Data consistency is another consideration thinking about family names family structures contact details telephone numbers telephone number fields dialling codes, Staff and families. If your student management system provider offers a data conversion process, allowing a verification of the data before going live by running a report from your old and new system can significantly cut down on any errors.
Having your data correct will allow you to meet all of your school data management and record collection requirements once live.
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