Which sequence represents the recommended data migration plan for moving from a legacy system to Salesforce?

• A. Prepare, Plan, Validate, Execute, Test
• B. Plan, Prepare, Validate, Execute, Test
• C. Prepare, Plan, Test, Execute, Validate
• D. Plan, Prepare, Test, Execute, Validate

Answer: (D)

A proper data migration follows a logical sequence: plan, prepare, test, execute, validate. Starting with planning sets the scope, objectives, data to move, timelines, and stakeholders, so everyone agrees on what success looks like and what risks exist. Once this foundation is clear, preparation follows: you clean and standardize the legacy data, map each field to Salesforce, define transformation rules, and set up the target environment. This prepares the data and the system so the migration can run smoothly.

Testing comes next to verify the end-to-end process in a safe, non-production setting. You confirm that mappings, transformations, and loading steps work as intended and that any issues are identified and fixed before touching live data. Only after confident testing do you proceed to the actual migration in production, minimizing the chance of surprises.

Finally, validation checks confirm data integrity, completeness, and accessibility after the migration, ensuring the target system accurately reflects the source data and meets acceptance criteria.

If you try to start with preparation or jump straight to execution or validation without the prior steps, you risk missing requirements, carrying forward unresolved data quality issues, or migrating flawed data, which can cause downstream problems in Salesforce.