Execute Migration

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Manage the migration for timeline, customer updates, and any issues that arise.
  
• Handle post-migration support and issues.
  

Executing the Migration

You've done the hard work of preparing the client for the migration. Now it's time to execute it. Here are the key steps in executing a migration including evaluating migration readiness, monitoring migration status, addressing migration issues and conducting a smoke test.

Migration Readiness

After all the premigration activities have been completed and a few days before the migration, conduct a go/no-go meeting with the client to make sure they're ready to proceed with the migration. During this meeting, revisit the Migration Checklist to make sure all the migration prerequisites have been addressed.

Pay special attention to the following checklist items.

• The Grid is fully configured.
  
• SSO is set up on the org.
  
• User emails match SSO.
  
• Duplicates are addressed.
  
• Role conflicts are resolved.
  
• Migration invitation is accepted.
  

Once you have confirmed that all the premigration activities have been completed, the customer is ready to migrate and the migration kicks off at the scheduled time.

Monitor Active Migrations

Clients who are Slack owners or admins have access to a Migration Status page on the organization settings dashboard that tracks their migration.

The migration status page is accessible to clients from the organization settings dashboard. This page doesn't update in real time and only shows progress after the completion of each migration phase.

If you want to track the migration, you need to have one of your client’s Slack owners or admins provide you access to see this page. Otherwise, instruct the client to monitor the progress of the migration through their organization settings dashboard.

If there’s an issue with an active migration, contact the Slack customer success manager (CSM) or the Customer Experience (CE) support team. Alerts range in severity, which affects how long the migration will be stalled for. Any issues are typically resolved by an engineer on call without a significant impact on downtime. For issues that do significantly impact downtime, the CSM will provide updates.

Migration Timeline

After all the activities on the premigration checklist have been completed, the migration automatically starts on the designated date and time that it's scheduled for. Here is the sequence of events before, during and after migration.

1. Warning notification - Five minutes before a scheduled migration, users on the migrating workspace see a warning that their team is joining a grid org and the workspace is unavailable during the migration time.
   

2. Migration begins - Slack automatically starts the migration at the scheduled time at which point the workspace goes down.
   

3. Migration complete - Once the migration is complete, users receive a notification and are prompted to authenticate into Slack via SSO while org owners see the following screen in their Admin Dashboard.
   

4. Smoke test - After the migration has been completed, you can provide an update to your client and confirm that it’s time to conduct a smoke test to check for any issues. Use this list to guide your clients in conducting a smoke test. You can even send this information before migration begins so your client can be prepared. Here are questions to answer post-migration to ensure things are running smoothly.
   
   • Can a user log in and connect to Slack on a desktop computer? Have a user log out and then log back in on a desktop computer.
     
   • Can a user log in and connect to the iOS app?
     
   • Can a user log in and connect to the Android app?
     
   • Can a user direct message (DM) another user inside the org?
     
   • Do emoji reactions work?
     
   • Did custom emoji reactions get migrated?
     
   • Can you send messages to public and private channels?
     
   • Does search work? Can you use search to find messages and files in public channels, private channels, DMs, and group DMs?
     
   • Can you use apps that were installed prior to migration, including slash commands and bots?
     

Post-Migration Troubleshooting

Most post-migration-related issues are usually a result of missteps during the premigration process, your customer misunderstanding certain behaviors of Enterprise Grid, or an Enterprise Grid-related bug that isn’t migration related.

Unless there’s a strong reason to believe that the customer has lost data as a result of the migration, all post-migration troubleshooting should start with the client opening a ticket directly with Customer Experience by emailing feedback@slack.com or by asking for help from their Slack AE or CSM.

Wipe App Cache

If end users have issues with their Slack desktop or mobile app, such as not seeing messages or usernames, ask users to wipe the cache on the particular app where they’re experiencing issues.

Instructions by operating system:

• iOS: Settings | Advanced | Reset Cache
  
• Android: Settings | Apps | Slack | Storage | Clear Cache
  
• Mac and Windows Desktop: Help | Troubleshooting | Clear Cache and Restart
  

Merge Users

If a client has missed a portion of the user cleanup during premigration or their clean up efforts didn't match what their IDP sends Slack, they can run into issues postmigration, where a user can end up with two or more accounts. In this scenario, Slack's Customer Experience team has a User Merge tool that can pull ‌messages from one account into another on Enterprise Grid.

The User Merge tool should only be used as a last resort in case something went wrong with their SSO setup or a very small percentage of users fell through the cracks. This tool should not be positioned in a way for the client to avoid doing any premigration cleanup. This is a laborious process and takes a significant amount of time to correct, so please work with your client to correct it prior to any migration.

Wrap It Up

You've learned how the Slack grid migration process works, focusing on how org settings take precedence, and you know how to define and execute premigration activities like grid setup, SSO configuration, and user cleanup. You can now evaluate migration readiness by reviewing reports and resolving conflicts. You learned how to manage the migration timeline, provide customer updates, address issues, and handle post-migration support, including troubleshooting and guiding users on new features and settings. You're now equipped with the knowledge to guide clients through every step of the process. Great job!

Resources

• Salesforce: Consolidated Grid Migration Checklist