Implementation Stage

This is an interesting time.... the implementation stage has been reached. The system has been developed and tested. It is working correctly and doing everything that was agreed during the design stage. The business is waiting in eager anticipation for the new system to be handed over to them.

The key events in this stage are:

DATA CONVERSION

Data stored in files on the old system are now converted into the correct format for the new system.

SYSTEM CHANGE-OVER

Now it is time to switch off the old system and turn on the new.

It sounds simple, but most of the time it isn't!

What are the alternatives?

1) Switch off the old system and switch on the new.

Of course, this is the simplest scenario! All the workers are waiting for the fabulous new system to come 'on -line' but as the minutes tick by, a new customer has just ordered a holiday / medical operation / flight / mortgage.

How do you deal with these last-minute (but vital) clients?

Answer: You must deal with last minute changes and accept that there may be some upheaval and mistakes made in the short term.

2) You run the old and new system in parallel for a time.

A popular method compared to the switch off / switch on approach. After all, the customer does not care what your IT system is made up of - they are only (rightly) concerned with their holiday / medical operation / mortgage etc being booked correctly.

And so, a popular method is to allow the old system to run alongside the new one. Then in the quiet period (say overnight)