Mastering Core System Conversions: Best Practices for Success

2. Ensure Adequate Testing

Effective testing requires months of coordinated effort throughout implementation including data mapping, integration testing, contingency planning, and training. Execution of processing steps in a test scenario ensures the system will meet business needs. Testing should include any new processes and identify new procedures. This allows for full adoption of new methods and better utilization of the platform following conversion.

Key components of testing include data migration validation, end-user testing, and system integration testing with vendors. This comprehensive approach requires months of coordinated effort throughout the implementation to ensure all aspects function properly.

Best Practice: Treat testing as a dedicated work requirements for team members and manage distribution of their regular duties to provide capacity for the project. Defined milestones and committed resources are key. Also recognize that effective testing goes beyond technical validation—it’s about managing the human side of change. Staff must transition through the “Change Curve” as they move from familiar current processes to new procedures. This requires understanding that people naturally experience stages of resistance, exploration, and eventual acceptance when adopting new systems.

Design your testing phases to support this psychological transition. Allow adequate time for users to process new workflows, practice unfamiliar procedures, and build confidence with the new system. Rushing testing timelines often leads to poor user adoption and post-conversion struggles because staff haven’t had sufficient opportunity to internalize new processes.

Invest in pre-migration testing, data validation, and post-go-live monitoring will ensure that each testing phase helps moves users closer to full adoption and optimal utilization of the new platform’s capabilities.

3. Train and Empower Employees

Employees are the frontline during a conversion – and often the first to deal with glitches or broken workflows. Providing comprehensive, role-specific training can reduce errors and improve morale.

Best Practice: Build a training plan that includes sandbox environments, job aids, and Q&A forums. Designate internal “conversion champions” in each department.

4. Don’t Rush Post-Go-Live Optimization

The conversion doesn’t end at “Go-Live.” Continuous support, bug fixes, and feature enhancements are crucial to realizing the full value of the new core system.

Post-conversion success requires managing multiple moving timelines: your bank’s internal schedule, the de-converting core provider’s wind-down timeline, and the new core provider’s implementation expectations. Add third-party vendor connections to this mix, and the complexity becomes clear. This is why realistic expectation setting and cross-functional team collaboration are essential from day one.

Core conversions often feel like a failed project not because of software limitations, but because of flawed planning and rushed timelines that don’t account for these interdependencies. Success requires managing cross-functional teams and vendor deliverables while identifying risks and resource constraints early in the process.

Best Practice: Keep your implementation team engaged for at least 90 days post-launch to track metrics, capture user feedback, and plan for system tuning. Develop a comprehensive communication plan that sets realistic expectations across all stakeholders. Continue internal project team meetings and vendor coordination protocols to address unexpected breaks in data delivery for increased success. Remember that optimization is an ongoing process, not a post-launch afterthought.