Since Salesforce’s announcement of the new Lightning Experience, many businesses have been contemplating the prospect of migrating their existing org to the new interface. Beyond the new interface, there’s several new Lightning-only features and some features that are deprecated in the new interface.

Planning a Lightning migration can seem daunting, but with the newest Winter ‘18 release, it is easier than ever to review your org and plan your migration.

Depending on the age and level of customization in your Salesforce org, your migration needs will vary. The best way to know what is required is to leverage experience and Salesforce’s Lightning readiness tools. While assessing your org, it is also a good time to do an overall health check. You’re going to be making changes, why not include some maintenance items as well?

While every migration is unique, there are some best practices in place that make the transition easier. Here are 4 key items that I recommend:

Perform a Risk Assessment – Since there are features and code that may not work in Lightning, you need to perform a complete risk assessment to identify these gaps. Once you have identified the gaps, it is easier to plan and scope the overall work needed.

Identify Power Users – You are going to need to test Lightning functionality, so it is time to build your all-star team. Identify several power users who will be able to test and verify functionality. These users should include people in different job roles and departments to ensure accurate testing.

Another important consideration is that not all users have to be migrated at once. You can choose to migrate teams and departments in phases. This can allow you breathing room to have smaller testing groups and development lifecycles.

Set a Timeline – Don’t let your migration get off track. Set deadlines and milestones for development, testing and deployment. Your risk assessment should provide a good roadmap, so turn those into defined deliverables that can be tracked. The success of your migration depends on planning.

Ensure User Adoption – Factor training and marketing time into your plan. You need to notify users of the upcoming changes, and get them excited about the new features. Explain how Lightning will make their job easier. It is a surefire way to increase adoption!

Before the migration goes live, you need to train your users to make sure they understand how to leverage the software. Without adequate training, your users may not feel empowered.

Following these guidelines can help make your migration successful. If you don’t know where to start, or need guidance on building a migration plan, speak with one of our experts. We’re here to assist and make your migration a success.