Data conversion complete

I finished importing all of my previous roller entries into the drupal system. I ended up doing it manually.. I know, I know.. "aren't you some kind of programmer?" But by the time I created a proggie to extract and load the data for a one-time data transfer, I could have manually entered the data about ten times; it just didn't seem worth it. As Dennis Miller would say "I don't want to go off on a rant here but.."

Actually, I think a lot of business make some serious mistakes with regard to data conversion when switching to new systems. For some reason, the thought of hiring a bunch of temps to type in data is abhorrent to most decision makers. Usually, the reasons given are something like:

1. Data entry is tedious and prone to error.
2. Our data is special.. it requires some special knowledge that a hired gun just wouldn't have.
3. What if we need to do it again? Will we have to pay double? Wouldn't a program let us run the conversion over and over?

The answers to those questions are:

1. Programming a data conversion is tedious and prone to error. Not only do you have to be familiar with your legacy data and its intricacies, but you have to be intimately familiar with the destination formats and data structures. User interfaces (where the temps would be entering data) are designed with precisely this lack of knowledge in mind (hopefully).
2. The data probably isn't special.. If it is so different from the new package/software's data, then you probably chose the wrong package.
3. I have found that manual entry (and lack thereof) changes the way managers think about the project. If there is a possibility to re-run things over and over without real cost (dollars), the project plan will be designed so that things need to be run over and over. This thinking often happens when a "program" is created to handle the mundane tasks. I would rather spend the time training the staff on how to use the new UI (by making them enter legacy data), rather than spend the time perfecting a conversion program. In short, if it costs a lot to "convert" twice, the conversion will magically only happen once.