Migration Assessment and Planning
Domain scope
This domain examines discovery, dependency analysis, readiness, total cost of ownership, risk, and wave planning. The exam expects evidence-based decisions: an application is not ready because a sponsor says so, but because dependencies, skills, data, and operating model are understood.
Core rules
- Build an inventory from CMDB, network flow, agent discovery, and owner interviews. Reconcile conflicts; stale CMDB data is common.
- Map dependencies in layers: application calls, shared databases, DNS, authentication, file shares, batch jobs, and latency-sensitive flows. Direction and protocol matter.
- Score readiness across technical, operational, security, compliance, and skills dimensions. A low score is a planning input, not an automatic no.
- Build TCO with one-time migration cost, target run-rate, licensing, egress, support, training, and decommissioning. Compare like-for-like service levels.
- Maintain a risk register with probability, impact, owner, mitigation, and trigger. Include data loss, extended downtime, and license non-compliance.
- Plan waves by dependency cluster and business calendar; define entry and exit criteria, rollback points, and factory capacity.
Worked example
Three order applications share one Oracle database, and the CRM calls the order API synchronously during checkout. Discovery also finds a nightly file transfer to finance. The planner does not migrate only the order API. The database and the three applications form a dependency cluster; the CRM integration needs latency testing; the finance file transfer needs a scheduled cutover or dual delivery. The wave is sequenced as database pilot, order applications together, then CRM after latency validation, with finance aligned to month-end freeze. TCO includes dual-running for two billing cycles.
Traps
Mapping only application-to-application calls and missing shared databases or DNS; assuming cloud latency matches LAN latency; using list price without support or egress; planning waves by org chart; and treating a readiness score as a binary approval.