Series migrations

Major series may change APIs, schema, dependencies, and accounting semantics. Always migrate from a verifiable backup.

Learning objectives

• Inventory modules and customizations. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.
• Read release notes for every intermediate series. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.
• Upgrade code and tests first. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.
• Run migrations against a production copy. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.
• Reconcile counts, balances, and critical documents. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.
• Prepare rollback before touching production. When finished, verify the result with a test record and document ownership.

Concepts to master

• Inventory modules and customizations.
• Read release notes for every intermediate series.
• Upgrade code and tests first.
• Run migrations against a production copy.
• Reconcile counts, balances, and critical documents.
• Prepare rollback before touching production.

Guided practice

1. Activity 1. Inventory modules and customizations. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

2. Activity 2. Read release notes for every intermediate series. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

3. Activity 3. Upgrade code and tests first. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

4. Activity 4. Run migrations against a production copy. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

5. Activity 5. Reconcile counts, balances, and critical documents. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

6. Activity 6. Prepare rollback before touching production. Perform it in staging first, record preconditions, and compare expected and actual results.

How to verify the result

• Company, user, language, time zone, and date match the scenario.
• Permissions allow only operations assigned to the responsibility.
• Changes are traceable and related documents remain consistent.
• The procedure is repeatable and has a documented correction path.
• A restored backup can reproduce the process without relying on production.

Common mistakes

• Confusing save with confirm, post, pay, or close.
• Testing only as administrator and assuming access rights work.
• Changing states or totals with SQL to bypass validation.
• Upgrading without inventory, restorable backup, and post-upgrade reconciliation.
• Documenting only the happy path while omitting cancellation, correction, and exceptions.

Developer perspective

Identify the models, fields, buttons, domains, and access rules involved. Before extending the process, locate the module that owns the rule, review its tests, and preserve invariants through super(). A correct customization must work across companies, languages, permissions, and states.

Production checklist

• Company, user, language, time zone, and date match the scenario.
• Permissions allow only operations assigned to the responsibility.
• Changes are traceable and related documents remain consistent.
• The procedure is repeatable and has a documented correction path.
• A restored backup can reproduce the process without relying on production.