em. As we discussed in Chapter 4, remember that conversion can be the riskiest activity involved in delivering an OSS platform. a) It is essential to have the target system's business processes clearly defined and stable before the data conversion planning is complete. Any change to the target system's business process could potentially impact Chapter 7 - Supporting the Life of an OSS Integrated Platform analysis and data mapping, and result in increased time and resource costs. b) A flash cut approach is often the best route. The IIC should employ only a minimal number of iterations, if necessary, SO that conversion can be performed as quickly as possible. If users spend an extended period of time where they must work with both legacy and target systems, it generally causes confusion and reduces user acceptance. This scenario also introduces additional clean-up runs for the conversion process, trying to move new data, added to the old systems during the conversion process, into the new systems. Once again, this added activity increases conversion time and cost. c) Executive level support and commitment is critical. Executives should participate actively in status meetings and involve themselves pro- actively with risk management. d) Commit the right team. A dedicated conversion team, composed of both business and application subject matter experts, is required. e) A stringent change management process for the legacy and new platform systems during the data conversion process is necessary. Changes should be minimal during the conversion period. This requires a strong management team that recognizes the importance of multi-project coordination between legacy and each of the new system and product implementations. f) Do not forget about the parallel efforts involved in end user training and production readiness. Sometimes the focus is on data conversion instead of operational conversion. The data doesn't mean much if people do not understand the new systems or the organization is not ready for them. g) Plan suffici