Conversion Information   

Contains Conversion Program, Empty v4.1 tables, PDF Instructions, and PDF Pre and Post Conversion Procedures

Contains Conversion Program, Empty v4.1 tables, PDF Instructions, and PDF Pre and Post Conversion Procedures

The Pro to ALERE and VisionPoint to ALERE conversion programs represent a considerable development effort. Each program can be run to convert either of the following:

• Static data which consists primarily of master files.

• Dynamic data which is the live data and history files.

At present, the conversion programs are better than 95% accurate. The barrier to achieving those last couple of percents has to do with the nature of the data being converted. It is not consistent or error free. In fact, based on experience with scores of conversions, the integrity of the data being converted remains the number one problem.

Why is data a problem?

There are a number of reasons.

• Hardware and software crashes leave bad data behind that the programs have no way of cleaning up.

• Data that has gone through multiple program upgrades leaves unconverted or poorly interpreted records remaining in the tables.

• Pro and VisionPoint are primarily batch programs which frequently summarize data thus breaking the detail trail to key related information needed by ALERE.

• Third party or custom modifications have been made that affect the data tables.

To a large degree the conversion programs have had logic added to them to address these data problems. However, there is simply no way to handle every situation.

TIW recommends a two-fold approach to resolving these few remaining conversion issues.

Conversion Program Source Code - If the problems are large enough and involve enough data, then tweaking the conversion programs yourself might be warranted. This is usually the case if the customer has had significant modifications made to their software and it is important to try and salvage that data. The source code can be obtained by calling Technical Services at TIW.

Direct Data Manipulation - In most cases, only a handful of records need to be added or modified for the conversion to be complete. If this is the case, then it is recommended that opening the converted data tables and directly making the corrections is the most efficient approach. It is recognized that, to some, this might appear to be a daunting task. Please feel free to request assistance from Technical Services.

Download White Paper on Pre and Post Conversion Procedures