Overview

Experience

Free Extraction Consultancy

 

 

 

Overview
Why is getting data extracted so often a problem? The simple solution should be to ask the legacy supplier to provide the extract, but more often than not they will charge a premium for this service and may not be able to work to, or more importantly commit to, the project timescales. Also the delivered files may not be what you expect; they may require extensive rework to understand the contents and get them into a useable format. If the supplier option is not viable then asking an in-house resource to prepare the extract can be a difficult decision, because the only qualified people are often in short supply and not able to devote the time required.

There is however another option to get the data required. We have never come across a project where we have not been able to successfully create an extract. We will use our knowledge of legacy systems to either identify existing sources of data, such as data warehouse feeds, legacy reports and other interfaces, or write adaptors using tools such as KB-SQL. Whatever the solution we provide a deliverable that will allow the project team to run extracts that meet the following objectives:

 

Extract Objectives
Repeatable	A process which your project team can have control over and execute as and when a data extract or refresh is needed. Not a process which requires you to pay the supplier per execution.
Focussed	The scope of data to be extracted needs consideration. It’s easy to say you want everything extracted, but for some systems this can include redundant or archived data. This leads to extensive run times and storage space requirements, therefore increasing project cost.
Flexible	Fully documented and audited extraction process that allows changes to the legacy system to be dealt with effectively.
Predictable	Provide metrics to show the depth and breadth of the extracted data which can be used for project scoping and PID (Project Initiation Documentation).
Tailored	The extract file will need to be in the most suitable format available according to the project requirements. Projects which will load the extract files into an interim storage area (i.e for cleaning) or into a new system will need to have some grouping to them.

 

How Long Should be Allowed?
When planning for the elapsed time to prepare the extraction we would suggest that 6 weeks is allowed from the start of the engagement to the point of delivering the first extract. This is not necessarily worked time, as a lot of time is taken up with hand offs to the various parties (IT infrastructure, legacy supplier, informatics team). This is obviously a very broad estimate; a more accurate estimate would depend on the situation and parties involved.

 

To enable time and quality to be controlled during this period we would recommend splitting the project into the following four stages:

 

Extract Stage
Extraction Strategy	Detailing technical requirements, software specifications, memory estimates, interim storage options, risks and mitigations.
Extraction of data	Getting the data out of the current system and into a new agreed format, stored in a separate area to the old system.
Splitting of extract	Splitting the extracted data into a relational database model.
Describing the data	Adding information to the data such as: column titles, table titles, primary keys, foreign keys, table relationships, column formats.

 

Our Experience

Our experience in this area is gained from our extensive track record in Healthcare. The table below shows the most recent projects where we have worked with data extracts. The majority of these projects were large scale data migrations but we have also extracted data for warehouse population, quality of outcomes reporting, performance reporting and dashboards.

 

PAS	Project(s)
McKesson TotalCare	Medway NHS Trust Chase Farm NHS Trust Newcastle Foundation Trust Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
McKesson STAR	Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
EDS Swift	Weston General Hospital North Bristol NHS Trust Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Eclipsys	Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust
i-SOFT CLINiCOM	NPfiT – Fujitsu – Southern Cluster St.George’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
OxPAS	Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
IRC	Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust Barnet NHS Trust
Unicare	Southampton
i-SOFT iPM	Birmingham Women's
	Bury Primary Care Trust
	Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
	University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust
	Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Foundation Trust
	Blackburn with Darwen PCT
	Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
	Ashton, Wigan & Leigh PCT
	Bolton PCT
	Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust
	East Lancashire Teaching PCT
RiO	Oldham PCT
	Lambeth PCT
	Lewisham  PCT
	Barnet PCT
	Barking and Dagenham PCT
	Enfield PCT
	Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust
	West London Mental Health Trust
	Hammersmith and Fulham PCT
	Brent Teaching PCT
	Harrow PCT
	Newham PCT

 

Free Extraction Consultancy
We are so confident of our ability to help your project, we will provide two days free consultancy on site, at the end of which we will provide a data extraction strategy and a no obligation fixed price to create and carry out the extract. To book an appointment; e-mail enquiries@avoca.co.uk or call 01246 45 3737.

 

Overview

Experience

Free Extraction Consultancy