A local council is implementing a new online system for residents to report problems such as potholes and broken street lights. (a) Describe two types of da...

(a) Two types of data that would need to be migrated:

1. Records of previously reported problems, including their current status and resolution details, so that outstanding issues are not lost and residents can still track progress on existing reports. [1]
2. Resident contact information and account details, so that users can log in to the new system without re-registering and the council can continue communicating with them. [1]

(b) Data validation should be carried out on the migrated data because:

• Data may have been stored in different formats in the old system (for example, dates or postcodes in varying formats) and needs to be checked to ensure it meets the requirements and field structures of the new system. [1]
• Errors or inconsistencies in the old data (such as missing fields, duplicate entries or outdated information) need to be identified and corrected before transfer to prevent them from causing problems in the new system. [1]

(c)

• Advantage: the changeover is quick and the cost is low, as only one system needs to be maintained from the switch date, with no duplication of effort or resources. [1]
• Disadvantage: if the new system has problems, residents will be unable to report issues until the problems are fixed, and there is no old system to fall back on, potentially leaving urgent reports (such as dangerous potholes) unrecorded. [1]