Juthely Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Morning all! As you can see, I'm new to the forums, so go easy on me Just wondering if you guys knew a trick or two that could help me out. We've recently had Link2ICT migrate us from Facility to SIMS.NET under headteacher's orders. However, lots of information hasn't come across. None of the pupils medical, doctor or meal information is present in SIMS, and we're told by L2ICT the only way to migrate it is by hand! Is anyone aware of any methods we could use to speed this up?? Many thanks in advance!
GREED Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Morning all! As you can see, I'm new to the forums, so go easy on me Just wondering if you guys knew a trick or two that could help me out. We've recently had Link2ICT migrate us from Facility to SIMS.NET under headteacher's orders. However, lots of information hasn't come across. None of the pupils medical, doctor or meal information is present in SIMS, and we're told by L2ICT the only way to migrate it is by hand! Is anyone aware of any methods we could use to speed this up?? Many thanks in advance! Type quickly? Sorry that was mean! All I'll say is it is not the first time I have heard this...
ChrisJ Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 It's a bit of a pain due to the way Facility holds the information. It's possible to get the information out of Facility through a good chunk of SQL work. But you're then not able to insert it into your SIMS database as you're not allowed to do direct work on it. Plus Facility holds Doctor names against each childs record, whereas SIMS holds a surgery name against each child. Doctors are then linked to the surgery. It would probably be cheaper to hire a temp to do manual entry than it would be to get a SQL bod to automate the process. 1
matt40k Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Would have expected they would have done it for you as part of the migration project, even if it is they hire a load of temps to type it in!
Juthely Posted June 21, 2012 Author Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks for you response guys, but yeah, seeing as this wasn't mentioned I'd have thought Link2ICT would be doing this!
matt40k Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 I would check the statement of works and see what is covered and what isn't.
PhilNeal Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 A lot of SIMS is validated input - so there are tables for medial, doctors etc not free text which is the case with a lot of Facility. We produce guidance notes on what will and won't be taken across. 1
matt40k Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Ooo... that sounds like a challenge to me, shame we have no Facility schools. Maybe I should have gone over the board when you did the Norfolk migration.
ChrisJ Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Ooo... that sounds like a challenge to me The Facility database will make you cry. Do not blame them for starting fresh with Progresso.
matt40k Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Haha, would only touch it if they could give me flat files (ie csv \ xml \ txt)
michael2k6 Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 There's nothing stopping you taking CSV from reports containing all of that information from Facility, then validating it in something like Excel to make it match the fields required by SIMS, then doing an import (assuming there's an import routing in SIMS for that, which I wouldn't know about). It may be quicker to type it as has been said. Mic My posts are my own and not the opinions of my employer or their associates.
john Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 The Facility database will make you cry. Do not blame them for starting fresh with Progresso. I don't cry I know it off by heart now and migrating to Progresso I spend more time in SQL than I did just using Facility finding data and tweaking it as Progresso loves validation to the n'th degree
GREED Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 There's nothing stopping you taking CSV from reports containing all of that information from Facility, then validating it in something like Excel to make it match the fields required by SIMS, then doing an import (assuming there's an import routing in SIMS for that, which I wouldn't know about). It may be quicker to type it as has been said. Mic My posts are my own and not the opinions of my employer or their associates. Unless is has changed vastly in the last few years, it doesn't have custom import routines 1
michael2k6 Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Fair enough, I have absolutely no experience of SIMS, just Facility. Have we got Graham from Aspen, Phil from Capita and Mic from Serco all contributing positively in the same thread here? *is just saying - thumbs up*
GREED Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Absolutely, and something we should all see more of 1
vikpaw Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 There's nothing stopping you taking CSV from reports containing all of that information from Facility, then validating it in something like Excel to make it match the fields required by SIMS, then doing an import (assuming there's an import routing in SIMS for that, which I wouldn't know about). It may be quicker to type it as has been said. Mic My posts are my own and not the opinions of my employer or their associates. Import to SIMS? Fair enough, I have absolutely no experience of SIMS, just Facility. Have we got Graham from Aspen, Phil from Capita and Mic from Serco all contributing positively in the same thread here? *is just saying - thumbs up* I blame the IMLS framework, you've all got the same hymn sheet now!
Steven_Cleaver Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 Probably me being dumb but would of thought it would be a good business idea as a lot of schools are going to be moving from CMIS to either Progresso (replacement for CMIS), SIM’s, or Aspen or alternative MIS that other companies would make the transfer of data from CMIS to alternative systems possible and as painless as possible even if it is as Michael26k has mentioned exporting data from CMIS and importing it into the new system matching data where possible or tweaking it slightly field names etc, but not expect schools to re-input data. If some company has taken the responsibility of doing this process surely they are responsible for making sure all the data is transferred accurately.
vikpaw Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Probably me being dumb but would of thought it would be a good business idea as a lot of schools are going to be moving from CMIS to either Progresso (replacement for CMIS), SIM’s, or Aspen or alternative MIS that other companies would make the transfer of data from CMIS to alternative systems possible and as painless as possible even if it is as Michael26k has mentioned exporting data from CMIS and importing it into the new system matching data where possible or tweaking it slightly field names etc, but not expect schools to re-input data. If some company has taken the responsibility of doing this process surely they are responsible for making sure all the data is transferred accurately. You're right, but if the receiving company didn't offer it, then it's up to the school / institution to request it. It should be part of any migration plan, regardless of the mechanism, and usually it's the receiving company that takes the onus. I'm not sure what the setup is here with link2ict.
GREED Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 It's funny, we have a big insight into this from the US market where changing MIS is as common as changing car insurance (without the annoying ads), and so we have developed robust techniques to migrate data from competitors to Aspen (and I they have done the same between them). That is working with the outgoing competitor to ensure the customer has as smoother transition as possible, and the best experience (from both) as possible. It would be great to get the same spirit here in the UK soon too 1
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