Peter and the Magical Symbol

The story I’m about to share happened on a cold, frosty Christmas Eve in 2016, when twinkling lights adorned trees, and the scent of cinnamon and pine filled the air. At the time, I was immersed in a monumental project, implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for a large pharmaceutical company. While the world outside was bustling with holiday cheer, our project team was buried under tight deadlines.

By then, the project had been ongoing for over a year. The scope was immense, encompassing numerous business processes across the company. To make matters even more daunting, the decision was made to launch the system using the big bang approach—an all-at-once deployment of every functional block. With over 1,000 users relying on us, pulling this off already seemed like a Christmas miracle —but that’s not the miracle I’m here to share.

Because of the huge number of functional areas, we needed a series of regression tests, known as DryRuns, to ensure everything would work seamlessly together. Starting in September, we conducted test after test, pouring our energy into debugging processes and improving workflows. By mid-December, on the seventh and final DryRun, we finally declared victory. Some would call it luck, others would say the number seven had something magical about it, but to us, it was the fruit of countless late nights and unrelenting teamwork. To this day, I still have the roadmap and signed protocol saved on my computer, reminding me of what we achieved together.

But there was no time to rest. After the critical functionality was approved, we dove into the data migration phase, a crucial step before the big launch. Although we had run test migrations earlier, we hadn’t yet worked with the full data set. The company had been using a custom-built supply chain automation solution for the past 10 years, and the data it exported was immense: thousands of counterparties, tens of thousands of products, and hundreds of thousands of contracts.

For this, we used the Data Migration Framework (DMF) module in Dynamics AX 2012 (a name some of you may still remember). It was the predecessor of today’s Data Management feature. Things seemed to go smoothly until we reached the product data upload. Suddenly, the process failed. The error message itself was cryptic and gave no clue as to its cause.

We tried everything. Breaking the file into smaller pieces, removing fields, reformatting it, recreating mappings—but nothing worked. Days ticked by, and the festive season around us began to feel distant. While others were decorating trees and sipping hot cocoa, we were stuck in a loop of trial and error, trying to crack the mystery. When all our ideas ran dry, we called in our senior developer, Andrew Zhuchkov (you can find him on LinkedIn!). Together, we began pair-debugging—a painstaking process of combing through every line of code, following one breadcrumb to the next.

The clock ticked closer to December 24th, and our Christmas spirit was nowhere to be found. While the world outside glittered with holiday lights and carols filled the air, we were staring at lines of data and code, searching for answers. Exhausted and out of ideas, we decided to turn our attention to the data itself, examining the Excel files the client had provided.

And then, as if by Christmas magic, it happened. Andrew’s mouse hovered over the name of one product in the dataset—just one among thousands—and he accidentally highlighted it. That’s when we saw it: a tiny, hidden symbol, “Mars” ♂, printed in white font, invisible unless selected.

Could this be it? We decided to test that single line. As expected, it failed. But when we removed the symbol and tried again, the upload worked perfectly. With renewed hope, we searched the entire dataset, uncovering more than 20 lines with the same issue. We cleaned the data, reloaded it, and held our breath as we initiated the full upload. It was already 8pm on Christmas Eve, and the streets outside were quiet, save for the occasional jingling of bells and laughter of families heading home to celebrate. The data load would take hours, and we decided to join our loved ones.

The next morning, on Christmas Day, while others were unwrapping gifts under the tree, I logged into the client server via RDP, my heart pounding with anticipation. As the screen loaded, I saw the message we had all been waiting for: the product data had been successfully uploaded. That Christmas morning, the glow of my computer screen felt as magical as the twinkling lights on a Christmas tree. The message of success was the best gift I could have asked for—a true Christmas miracle, born of perseverance, teamwork, and maybe just a touch of holiday magic.

The project went live successfully in the following days, and though it was far from an easy journey. The client continued using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for years until they eventually migrated to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations—but that’s a story for another time.

As I reflect on that holiday season, I’m reminded that even in the toughest of times, miracles can happen. All it takes is hard work, a little luck, and maybe—just maybe—the magic of Christmas.