Data load preparation: object templates, cleansing and a trial load
Key Takeaway
Build one template per object, clean the data, and then populate and review the templates. Before you load all records, load one record and check the results.
Data load preparation is the work you do before you move legacy data into Salesforce, so the load goes in cleanly and you can prove it worked. You plan what to move, prepare the data in templates, test with a single record, and then load and validate everything.
How to prepare data for a load
- Decide what to migrate, because you rarely need the whole data set. For example, you might migrate only the contact information from each account, or only the account information from one division.
- Create one template for each object, such as an Excel worksheet. Each template holds that object's data, so you can map it and review it before anything is loaded.
- List the required fields in each template.
- Identify the ordering dependencies between objects.
- Clean the data before you populate the templates.
- Populate the templates, and then review the data in them.
- Run a trial load before you load all records.