The playbook
CRM Data Migration: How to Prioritize the Work
Prioritize CRM data migration work by connecting an observed problem with the people or business outcomes it affects. The objective is to move customer records while preserving identity relationships and essential history. Give the team a short ordered queue with a reason for each decision, rather than treating every suggestion as equally urgent.
Put the task in context
Keep the original source identifier during migration so records can be reconciled. Map relationships as well as fields. Test duplicate matching, blank values, stage translation, and dates on a small sample before moving the remaining records.
Build a queue from observed problems
Collect candidate work with source ID, the current condition, and the reason it matters. The first pass should distinguish a confirmed defect from an improvement idea. An item affecting reconciled migrated records directly may deserve a different response from a preference with no observed effect.
Apply a practical decision order
| Order | Decision rule | Topic-specific starting point |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resolve failures that block the intended task | Define matching rules and test a small representative migration |
| 2 | Restore missing information needed for the next decision | Inventory source objects fields and identifiers |
| 3 | Improve the most common supported use case | Clean duplicates and map values before import |
| 4 | Verify the result before extending the change | Reconcile counts relationships and sample histories |
Consider reach effort and confidence together
Estimate how many relevant items share the same problem, the effort needed to fix it, and how confident you are about the cause. Do not hide those judgments inside an unexplained score. A small confirmed repair may be more useful now than a large speculative project, even if the project's eventual upside is greater.
For example, importing duplicate people as separate unrelated contacts is a specific candidate for investigation. Check whether it occurs in one customer or opportunity record or across a repeated process. Where the same cause is confirmed, a shared correction may reduce repeated work. Where causes differ, preserve separate tasks instead of forcing them into one fix.
Write an actionable task
| Task element | Required detail |
|---|---|
| Scope | The relevant source ID and target ID |
| Observed problem | Importing duplicate people as separate unrelated contacts |
| Proposed correction | Define matching rules and test a small representative migration |
| Verification | Reconcile counts relationships and sample histories |
| Owner | record owner |
Limit work in progress
Choose a small set of tasks the responsible owners can finish and verify. Starting every item at once increases the number of unresolved dependencies and makes it difficult to learn from the first changes. Complete the blocked or foundational work before taking on refinements that depend on it.
Revisit the queue when evidence changes
After the first changes, inspect reconciled migrated records and the observed condition that justified the work. Move an item up when evidence shows broader impact, or down when the assumed problem is not present. Keep the reason for reprioritization so the team can explain the decision without repeating the original investigation.
Distinguish a person, an organization, and an opportunity. One contact can participate in several buying decisions, and one company can have several contacts. Keep identifiers and relationships clear when reviewing counts or moving records.
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