You're transitioning to a new data architecture system. How do you mitigate disruptions to daily operations?

If we have running system, we should understand the functions and capabilities of the current data architecture. The new tools and industry standard design patterns may help to design the new system effectively. We should plan thoroughly about our business requirements and focus more on delivery milestones. Planing should consider the following points. 1) Gap between the old and new system. 2) Reusability of existing system(If applicable) and redesign/develop components 3) New tools/industry best practice capabilities and plan the skill acquisition 4) Clear timeline with milestones in Project delivery

Transitioning to a new data architecture system can be challenging, but with the right approach, disruptions to daily operations can be minimized. I'll start with a thorough assessment, set clear goals, create a detailed migration plan, break it into manageable phases, start with non-critical systems. Keep stakeholders informed with regular updates, and provide support to ease the transition. Conduct extensive testing before and after each phase and run the new system in parallel with the old one. Ensure comprehensive data backups and have contingency plans ready. Continuous monitoring and enhanced support post-migration are essential to address any issues quickly. This approach ensures a smooth transition with minimal disruption.

To ensure a smooth transition to a new data architecture, conduct a thorough evaluation of both the current and new systems to identify all dependencies and critical processes. Implementing a phased approach minimizes impact on daily operations, allowing for controlled migration stages and reducing major interruption risks. Include performance, compatibility, and regression testing to ensure critical functionalities operate correctly. Maintain complete and recent backups to enable quick restoration if needed and develop detailed contingency plans for critical failures. Finally, have a dedicated support team available to address immediate issues, ensuring a quick and effective response to minimize any negative impact on operations.

Planejar cuidadosamente, comunicar claramente, testar rigorosamente, migrar gradualmente, monitorar continuamente e adaptar-se com flexibilidade.

Slow, steady, with no single point of failure. Keep your systems hybrid until the full migration to your DC/CSP of choice and for at least a 90 day period as the data center (or your team) has a bucket storage cycle. How long does this Data need to be instantaneously accessed? And then how long would you like to have redundancy and snapshots of this data before being placed in deep storage but access can take up to 12 hrs. In AWS it is simple to modify the data storage access levels but until you are certain that the migration was a success and your legacy system can then finally be retired.

Planning for Communication is key for any transformation or change. We lay the foundations of success through aligning our lexicon, having an accurate inventory and aligned target state, all while ensuring there is clear communication on scope and any changes that occur during the execution. The largest hurdles faced by execution teams are often found to be resolved with better communication and/or due diligence.

Communication should also be planned ahead (as much as possible) and not be "one size fits all". Internal stakeholders will need a different kind of communication than external stakeholders. Also, different stages should be considered for communication (and should ONLY involve relevant stakeholders): - Gathering requirements - Proposing an implementation plan - Warnings of deployment - Status updates of on-going deployments - Update of successful of failed deployments - Updates on possible need to revert deployments - Rise and repeat

Test all you can, but being prepared to revert an architecture change is just as important (if not more important) than doing many tests.

I’m a strong advocate for performance baseline testing, at scale and with concurrent workloads particularly for the most critical and impactful queries, as this ensures optimal system performance and drives strategic business outcomes. I believe in proactively managing system performance through structured daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews, allowing for continuous optimization and long-term effectiveness. Within our team, we focus on collaboration—by identifying power users and critical workloads, we establish a robust communication channel that not only enhances system efficiency but also maximizes user satisfaction through ongoing feedback and proactive improvements.

Backup critical data regularly to ensure access to critical information. Monitor the data integrity throughout the cutover process. Take regular snapshots in case of database or warehouse to ensure business continuity. Run through your BCP measures strictly.

Great answer! That is exactly what I was thinking and wrote (using other words of course). But your Data is ever changing and increasingly being able to be used by visualization tools to adapt, succeed, or fail; it all depends on being correctly managed, migrated, and for cost optimization having a lifecycle in place is extremely beneficial.

Always keep our eye on the expected outcomes and track the progress/changes / benefits along the way. Architecture system changes typically support key initiatives and business changes which are key drivers to the firms long term success and viability. Typing back the work to outcomes, and specifically business results allows the organization to adopt to the changes and appreciate the effort and investment that was made.

Whatever the (positive) outcomes are, make sure to communicate them to upper management. Re-architecture projects are always needed and management should be confident that you know what you are doing and more re-architecture projects should go ahead.