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The Sign-Off Table
The RISE Testing Playbook

Week 9 of 12

Data migration and mock cutovers

On an S/4HANA move, the migrated data is itself a test object. Every mock load needs reconciliation: balances by company code, open items, stock quantities and values, master data counts. You will run these checks for every mock, the dress rehearsal and the real cutover, at 3 a.m., under pressure.

Data migration was named alongside testing as an underestimated phase in the Horváth study.

This week: agree tolerances and script the reconciliation

  1. Agree reconciliation tolerances with finance before Mock 1, per check: absolute and percentage.
  2. Script every check you can: GL balances, AR and AP open items, stock quantity and value, assets, Business Partner counts and links.
  3. Give each mock one goal: prove it runs, prove it reconciles, prove it fits the window, prove it on production-sized hardware.
  4. Record step timings in every mock. Anything over 20% of plan on the critical path gets an action before the next rehearsal.

Number of the week

30%

average schedule overrun on S/4HANA projects; underestimated testing and data migration were among the causes.

Source: Horváth study, via CIO.com (2025)

Use this week

Next week: the cutover weekend and the go/no-go call. What evidence the room needs before anyone signs.

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