6 Tips for a Successful Conversion

Congratulations!  You’ve joined eTapestry and you are ready to begin your conversion.

Below is a short list of 6 items to help you navigate thru the conversion, stay on track with testing and go-live in a timely manner.

1.       Training! Training! Training!

Before you begin testing you should have a general working knowledge of eTapestry. I know you’ve heard that a LOT, but it is so true, consider this - If you are already familiar with navigating around eTapestry, then you’ll be able to truly concentrate on your data after you get the login and password.    The easiest way to get this overview is to watch the record training sessions.  I recommend that you begin the following:

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• The Basics.  You’ll need to know how to lookup accounts and where to find gifts, defined fields, contacts, etc.
  
• Queries and Reports.  As part of testing you’ll need to know how to run some of the Standard Reports and possibly create custom queries and reports.
  

 2.       Consider this an opportunity to “clean house”

In the conversion, our number one purpose is to place the data you send us into eTapestry.  As a part of that you can do some general “house cleaning”.  Think of this as if you were moving to a new house.  You wouldn’t want to move unused items to your new home, right?  The same applies to your new eTapestry database. Look it as an opportunity to “de-clutter” with data and consider the following.

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• Only convert fields that are relevant.  If you have fields that you haven’t used for a while and have no relevance to how you do things now, do you really want it in your new database?
  
• Merge values that mean the same thing.  Often, how the data is reported changes with the change of staff. You can use this opportunity to merge those values so your data is aligned with how you will be using eTapestry after the database is live.
  

3.       Set a realistic target dates to keep the conversion moving ahead

In a perfect world, testing should be done in 2-4 weeks, but the testing timeline really depends on you.  When you work with your analyst to set target dates, consider the following

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• The complexity of the data. If the data is simple with only account names and addresses, it will be easier to test than if your data has account names, addresses, gifts, memberships and volunteer data
  
• How many people you have testing.  You may have several people testing different information.  You’ll need to create a login for each person testing.  The easiest was to do this is to “clone” your login.
  
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  • Click Management
    
  • Click My User
    
  • Click Other
    
  • Click Clone this User
    
  
  
  
• How much time can you set aside for testing?  It would be great if you could “pause” your other work while you are testing, but we all know that isn’t likely. J  You should plan to spend some time each day reviewing specific items.  Your testing should move ahead at a steady pace.
  

4.       Develop a specific test plan for testing

After you have the login and password, you can begin testing on your own.  Where do you start?

When testing, you first priority is to be sure the data is converted correctly.

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• Check several accounts page by page - Looking at every record isn’t practical, but you do want to look at enough so that you are confident with the conversion.
  
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  • Run the Top Donor Report.  Compare your top donors in eTapestry to your old system.  Review each page, paying special attention to the Personas (addresses, and phone numbers), Gifts, and Defined Fields.
    
  • Check out at those accounts you are most familiar with.  Look at your account, your director’s account, the accounts of board members, and those constituents that contact regularly.
    
  • Look at any special groups.  This could be your board members, volunteers, special mailing groups, etc.  Again check every page in eTapestry to be sure that you know where each data element is located.
    
  • Are you converting Memberships? Look at a selection of members from each level and be sure you know where each UDF is and what it represents.
    
  • Do you have records of event attendance?  Check out a selection of attendees from several events and again be sure you know where each UDF is what it represents.
    
  • Do your data include volunteer information?  Be sure that you can locate that data on several of your volunteers.
    
  
  
  
• Verify giving history - In addition to verifying gifts for specific accounts like your top donors, you should run some of the Standard eTapestry Reports to be sure the gifts are categorized correctly.
  
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  • Run the Fund Summary, Campaign and Approach report.  Be sure that the totals in eTapestry are correct. If you renamed or combined any values in the conversion, this might take a little more effort to verify, but it will be worth to be sure everything is converted correctly
    
  • Are there Pledges in your data? Run the Pledge Report. Verify that all of your Pledges are listed as well as the Payments applied to the correct pledge.  Note:  In order for pledges/payments to be converted, they must be linked in the data.
    
  • Does your data have Soft Credits or Tributes? Run the Standard Report for each and compare to your old system.
    
  
  
  
• In eTapestry, we don’t store the components of the Name (prefix, first, middle, last and suffix) as separate fields.  Instead we build short, long and envelope salutations.  You can quickly check the salutations by running Name, Address w/Salutations under Basic Reports category.
  

A byproduct of the conversion is that you can practice building queries and report.  Remember these three things about Queries and Reports.

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• Queries are used to select records.
  
• Reports list specific information about those records selected by a Query.
  
• Any Queries and Reports created in the Conversion database should be considered temporary.  If the database is reloaded, they to be recreated.
  

Creating Queries and Reports will not only help you testing, but will help you get familiar with the process which may be a little difficult to wrap your heard around.

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• Do you have accounts that are marked as Do Not Mail, No Mail or Inactive?  Typically this information is the “Mailing Status” UDF.  Create a query to find those records and create a report to list name, address, email and Mailing Status.
  
• Create several Queries based on User Defined Fields,
  
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  • Do you have accounts marked as Business or Individual or Foundations?  Create a query to lists each Account Type.
    
  • Are your Board Members identified in a UDF?  Create a query to find them.
    
  • What about Volunteers? Are they identified in UDF?  Create a query to list them.
    
  • Does your data have Membership information like an Expiration Date or Membership Level?  Create a query to list the memberships that will expire this year. Create query to list a specific Membership Level.
    
  
  
  
• Does your data include gifts?  Create a custom query to list gifts for a specific Date Range.
  

5.       Document any issues or change requests as you are testing.    

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•  First, know that revisions may affect the timeline of your conversion.
  
• Compile a list of any issues or changes and send it your analyst.  So that your analyst can address each item be sure include the following:
  
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  • Account Number and name in eTapestry.  If possible include multiple examples.
    
  • Details on how it currently looks in eTapestry.
    
  • Details on how you want it to look in eTapestry.
    
  • For example:
    
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    • Account 103 – John Smith
      
    • Currently similar values for UDF Attribute should be combined.  Board Member, Board Members, Bored Members
      
    • All values Should be Board Member
      
    
    
    
  
  
  
• After your analyst has the list, he can make adjustments as needed as allowed in your scope of work and refresh the conversion data.
  

6.       The Final Step – Completing the Data Conversion Acceptance Form!

After you’ve reviewed the Final Data you are ready to GO LIVE!!!

But WAIT!! – There is one more decision to make.  On the Data Conversion Acceptance Form, you need to choose to either Replace or Append your database.  So what exactly does that mean?

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• Replace the database – Your Final Database will become your live eTapestry database.  This includes not only the data, but also the logins, queries and reports that you created in your Final Database.  Most conversions will choose replace.
  
• Append the database – If you have set up any DIY forms or entered any data in your Training database, then you might want to choose append.  With this option, only the data from the Final Database will be added to your Training database.  The DIY Forms, queries and reports that you created in the Training database will remain, but any queries and reports that you created in the Conversion database will be lost.
  

If you are not sure which option to choose, you should contact your analyst to help you with that decision.

After we receive the completed Data Conversion Acceptance Form, the go-live request will be processed within two business days!

 

Well that wraps things up! I hope this provides some guidance the conversion.

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY TESTING!