Execute complex platform migrations with confidence through systematic planning and risk management

Most replatforming failures stem from underestimating complexity. Teams assume content migration is straightforward, until they discover custom templates, embedded integrations, and years of accumulated edge cases. They plan for technical migration but forget organizational change management. They focus on launch day but neglect post-migration optimization. The playbook addresses these failure modes through comprehensive planning, phased execution, and continuous validation.

At Tableau, replatforming regional websites required migrating multilingual content, preserving custom analytics implementations, and coordinating with global marketing teams across time zones. At Salesforce, consolidating multiple documentation platforms meant reconciling conflicting taxonomies, preserving deep link structures, and retraining distributed content teams. These weren't just technical projects, they were organizational transformations requiring systematic change management.

The playbook begins with comprehensive discovery: complete content inventory, technical dependency mapping, integration cataloging, and stakeholder requirement gathering. This surfaces hidden complexity early. Discovery outputs inform platform selection, timeline estimates, and resource planning. Content analysis identifies what to migrate, what to archive, and what to consolidate or rewrite.

Implementation follows a phased approach: build core platform infrastructure first, then migrate content in logical batches, high-value pages first, niche content later. Each phase includes parallel running periods where old and new platforms operate simultaneously, allowing traffic shifting in controlled increments. Comprehensive URL mapping and redirect implementation preserve SEO equity. Automated testing validates content integrity, no broken links, missing images, or formatting degradation. Teams receive hands-on training before their content migrates, ensuring adoption readiness.

Migration completion isn't the end, it's the beginning of optimization. Post-launch monitoring tracks performance metrics, search rankings, user behavior, and team productivity to identify issues requiring attention. Analytics comparison validates that user engagement matches or exceeds legacy baselines. Search console monitoring catches indexing issues or broken redirects. Team feedback sessions surface workflow friction in new platforms.

The playbook includes a 90-day stabilization period with dedicated support for teams learning new systems. During this window, optimization sprints address performance issues, workflow improvements, and content cleanup. Success criteria, defined during discovery, determine when migration is truly complete: traffic stability, team proficiency, performance targets met, and legacy system decommissioned. Only then has replatforming delivered its promise: a modern platform enabling faster publishing, better user experiences, and sustainable long-term operations.