Factory model and partner setup
Selects the right migration partner factory model and defines delivery roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths. See Partner Factory Model.
Migration Factory Setup
Migration Factory Setup turns approved designs into an executable delivery factory by aligning partner model, tooling stack, interfaces, runbooks, and governance for wave operations.
What This Module Delivers
Section titled “What This Module Delivers”Migration Factory Setup prepares the actual migration delivery engine. While Design defines what each application should become and how it should move, this module defines how delivery teams run at scale with consistent quality, cadence, and control.
Toolchain from migration demand
Builds the migration tool stack from Design outputs, including discovery exports, migration run tools, validation, and reporting utilities. See Tooling and Automation Stack.
Operational handover readiness
Finalizes runbooks, acceptance criteria, and interface contracts so waves can run without procedural ambiguity. See Runbook Readiness and Handover.
Delivery governance baseline
Aligns scope, timeline, release cadence, and communication routines for customer-facing migration run operations. See Collaboration and Interfaces and Scope, Timeline, and Customer Communications.
Why This Module Is Separate from Design
Section titled “Why This Module Is Separate from Design”Some frameworks combine design and factory preparation. In this framework they are intentionally separated to avoid role overlap and hidden delivery risk.
- Design focus: Application-level target state, migration strategy, and technical runbook intent.
- Factory Setup focus: Cross-application operating model, partner operating mechanics, tooling integration, and wave-ready governance.
- Runbook ownership: Design creates the strategy-specific runbook drafts; Factory Setup validates, operationally hardens, and standardizes them for wave-scale runs.
- Risk control benefit: Separation makes delivery assumptions explicit and testable before high-volume waves start.
Core Setup Domains
Section titled “Core Setup Domains”Partner factory selection and governance
Match migration demand to the right partner factory profile (capacity, specialization, compliance, geography, language, and operating hours), then establish governance and SLAs.
Interface and collaboration model
Define working interfaces across customer teams, migration partner squads, platform operations, security, and release governance with clear RACI and decision gates.
Migration tooling and automation
Assemble and validate the toolchain for migration waves: planning intake, runbook run support, test evidence capture, and cutover orchestration.
Runbook finalization and quality gates
Convert design runbook drafts into factory-executable versions with entry/exit criteria, rollback conditions, and operational sign-off checkpoints.
How to Build the Factory-Ready Setup
Section titled “How to Build the Factory-Ready Setup”- Confirm migration demand baseline from Design and Migration Plan (application volume, complexity mix, dependencies, and target wave throughput).
- Select the migration partner factory model and define delivery governance: ownership, KPIs, escalation, and quality thresholds.
- Establish collaboration interfaces and communication rhythm across all involved teams, including customer stakeholders and release decision forums.
- Build the migration tool stack from required migration patterns (for example image transfer, data move, test automation, and cutover orchestration).
- Finalize and normalize runbooks for factory run, including mandatory evidence checkpoints, rollback triggers, and handover criteria.
- Align timeline and scope boundaries by wave, including freeze windows, dependency windows, and change approval rules.
- Define customer communication and cutover/hibernate operating procedures, including decision points, outage communications, and business restart criteria.
- Run a pilot wave or controlled rehearsal and update the setup before scaling to full migration cadence.
Required Artifacts Before Wave Runs
Section titled “Required Artifacts Before Wave Runs”Before production wave runs start, ensure the following artifacts are complete:
- Partner operating agreement: Delivery model, team interfaces, SLAs, and escalation matrix.
- Factory toolchain blueprint: Selected tools, automation boundaries, integration points, and evidence flow.
- Final runbook package: Approved runbooks with run order, rollback model, and validation gates.
- Scope and timeline baseline: Wave scope boundaries, throughput assumptions, dependency windows, and milestone calendar.
- Customer communication playbook: Communication templates, stakeholder channels, cutover briefings, and hibernate/reactivation procedures.
Common Failure Modes to Avoid
Section titled “Common Failure Modes to Avoid”- Tool-first setup without demand-fit: Tooling selected before migration patterns are clearly sized and prioritized.
- Unclear delivery interfaces: Missing ownership between partner factory, platform team, and customer operations.
- Runbook variance across squads: Inconsistent runbook quality that causes wave instability.
- Unaligned cutover governance: Technical cutover readiness not aligned with business blackout and communication windows.
How This Module Enables Migration Plan and Run
Section titled “How This Module Enables Migration Plan and Run”Migration Factory Setup transforms strategy into scalable run capability. If this setup is weak, the Migration Plan remains theoretical and the Run phase experiences avoidable volatility. Strong setup creates predictable wave throughput, cleaner handovers, and lower cutover risk.