Auditing packages before a migration

Four questions per package

Before migration, the most important work is organisational, not technical:

1. Is it still needed? 2. Does the source still exist? 3. Does anyone know the logic? 4. Does uninstall work?

A package with three “no” answers should be retired, not migrated.

Finding missing sources

The most common finding: the package runs, but the installer is gone. Then there are two routes — obtain the source or mark the package as “not migratable”. Migrating without a source means preserving a black box.

Duplicates and variants

Many environments carry the same product in three variants: 32-bit, 64-bit, old version. Migration is the moment to reduce that to one. Take all three and you migrate work nobody needs.

What to leave behind

Not everything comes along: test software, one-off installs, packages for retired devices. Document the decision with a reason, not just a tick.

Document the result

The output is a list: migrate, rebuild, retire, unclear. That list is the plan. Without it, migration starts with whatever someone needs today and ends as a patchwork.

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