Your First Project¶
A complete first run, deliberately small, taken one stage at a time so you can see what each stage contributes.
Before You Start¶
When creating your first Project, select a simple process containing up to 3 integrations. Many more integrations adds noise to the learning process, but fewer than 3 can restrict your ability to learn about the different behaviors and tracking in SLIM.
NOTE: This first project is primarily for learning, so may not provide an exact blueprint for scoping and processing later Projects and integrations.
Step 1 - Create the Project & Upload the Export¶
In the Project List page, use the New Project pane to start creating a new Project. Specify the basic details and then click Create Project.
Project Name: Descriptive identifier (e.g., “Finance BizTalk Migration”)
Team: Who’s responsible for this migration. This is a required choice from the Teams you belong to, so if the list is empty you need to be added to a Team before you can go further.
Description: What this project includes and why it exists. Optional.
You are now in the Project Home Page and need to define the scope of your Project and how it will run.
Upload Platform Export¶
Use the drag and drop zone to upload your selected Export file, or click the zone to browse for it.
NOTE: the drop zone tells you what it accepts - .zip, .tar.gz, .tgz, .7z and .isx - so if your Export file is in another format, simply zip or compress it and it should become selectable.
Choose Migration Mode¶
The Migration Mode determines whether you want the modernization process to run automatically, or to stop after each Stage. For the first project, running Step-by-Step allows you time to explore the outputs from the early analysis Stages before generating any SnapLogic assets.
Step-by-Step mode ensures a human presence at every Stage, and iterative processing to allow validation for completeness and accuracy before moving forward.
For later projects, once you have an understanding of how SLIM capabilities such as Global or Stage-specific Prompts can help refine and restructure the generated assets, Automatic mode can be a great time saver.
Agent Model Selection & Reasoning Effort¶
SLIM uses AI models to process migrations. You can select the model that balances cost and performance for your needs. For your initial project, the default options should be fine.
Global Prompt¶
The Global Prompt is one way to add extra instructions to the Project. See also Stage-specific Prompt. Unlike the Stage-specific Prompt, the Global Prompt applies to all Stages in the modernization process.
This is helpful if there are any identified constraints that should apply across all Stages of the process.
For the first project, leave the Global Prompt blank until you identify additional instructions that would help refine the output for your circumstances.
Supporting Files¶
Leave the Supporting Files blank for your first project.
As you progress with SLIM, you may find specific documents or design constraints that apply to your circumstances that would help influence the Pipeline Generation activities.
Diagnostic Logging Toggle¶
Enable the Diagnostic Logging for your first project so you can see the types of data produced for tracking progress.
Toggle the Enable Diagnostic Logging switch to on.
Once you have selected the appropriate choices for your Project, click Upload & Start Migration to add your Export file to SLIM.
Step 2 - Extract the Export File¶
In the Project Home Page, you should now see your Export file listed in place of the drag and drop zone at the top of the section on the right side of the page.
If you expand the Project Tree to view the contents of the /export folder, you will see the same Export file represented. This is an immutable copy of the Export file, which will remain an unchanged record of the Export file as of the day it was added to SLIM.
NOTE: If needed at a future date, you can download a copy of the Export file from the Project Tree. Just hover the cursor over the right side of the file name in the Project Tree for the Download icon to appear.
Once you are confident this is the correct Export file, click the button to Extract Assets.
If you need to swap the Export file, click the Replace Export button instead, and select a different Export file in the Replace Export dialog.
SLIM will begin unpacking the Export file into the /extracted folder in the Project Tree. Use the Refresh icon at the top of the Project Tree to reload the tree with the newly extracted assets.
Once the Export file has been extracted, you can expand the /extracted directory to show the complete sub-structure of the contents of the Export file.
The structure will vary depending on the source legacy system.
Step 3 - Analyze the Export¶
Next, click the Export Analysis entry in the Project Sidebar, and review the default settings for that Stage.
The default settings should be appropriate for the first execution of the Export Analysis, unless the Export file is overfilled with irrelevant integrations or other inconsequential components.
Click the Run Export Analyzer button to initiate the Stage processing.
When it has finished, the Job Status Integration List will contain a list of all of the integrations found and documented by the Export Analyzer, and the Export Analysis button will now be clickable, displaying the document in the preview pane on the right side of the screen.
The Export Analysis document is also accessible from the Project Tree in the Project Home Page, below the /extracted folder.
Step 4 - Choose the Integrations to Analyze¶
Click the Integration Analysis entry in the Project Sidebar to open that Stage Page.
Review the Export Analysis document to assess the completeness and accuracy of the analysis. The document will list all integrations in scope, with Complexity levels, Common Components, Source and Target Systems, Recommended Migration Approach, and any remaining questions or missing data identified.
Select the integration to further analyze from the list at the bottom of the right pane. Use the buttons to de-/select integrations in bulk.
Remember to save your selection using the button at the end of the integration list.
Step 5 - Run the Integration Analysis¶
Use the button at the top of the right pane to launch the Integration Analysis for the selected integrations only.
Follow the progress of the operation via the Activity Log on the Integration Analysis Stage Page. As each analysis activity (one for each selected integration) proceeds, a new folder named for each integration will be created in the /migrations folder in the Project Tree on the Project Home Page.
NOTE: This Stage may take some time, depending on the complexity of the integration(s) and the source legacy system.
When complete, each integration folder in the Project Tree will contain an in-depth Integration Analysis document, named for the integration.
Review each document to verify the accuracy and completeness of the analysis.
Step 6 - Generate Pipelines¶
Open the Pipeline Generation Stage Page from the Project Sidebar.
Use the Integration Analysis drop down to select the document(s) to review. Use the resizable, editable view to proof and correct any missing or mistaken data in the document. Remember to save your changes.
When you are confident the Integration Analysis document(s) is/are accurate, select the related integrations from the list available at the bottom of the Stage Page.
Remember to save your selection before clicking the Generate Pipelines button at the top right of the pane.
NOTE: This step is usually the longest to execute as SLIM is creating both a Functional Representation of the integration logic in Python and from that the equivalent behavior in SnapLogic constructs. Both versions are tested for logic alignment to the Integration Analysis document and any Design Documents that were uploaded.
This Stage has been known to execute for multiple hours for complex scenarios as the generation activities must run sequentially within each integration.
Step 7 - Review the Generated Assets¶
On the Pipeline Generation Stage Page, review the Activity Log to determine the Final Result of the operation was successful.
Switch to the Project Home Page and open the Project Tree’s /migrations folder to the integrations for which you generated the pipelines. Open the /python and /snaplogic folders below one of them and check the following generated assets.
Asset Name |
Overview |
|---|---|
/python/MIGRATION_PLAN.md |
A summary of the conversion from the source legacy system format to Python constructs, including testing logic, folder structure, and testing strategy. |
/python/MIGRATION_COMPLETE.md |
A final comparison of what was built in Python vs. what was planned, and the outcome report from the testing per the MIGRATION_PLAN.md document. Also lists any retired behavior (as Not Ported) and any Outstanding Issues. |
/python/MIGRATION_COMPARISON.md |
An audit trail identifying the equivalents between the original legacy system entities and the functional representations in Python. |
/python/src/ |
The complete source code for the python implementation of the integration logic. |
/python/tests/ |
The complete testing routines in python scripts for running unit and integration tests of the python implementation. |
/snaplogic/MIGRATION_PLAN.md |
A summary of the conversion from the Python functional representation to SnapLogic constructs, including testing logic, pipeline architecture, snap inventory, and testing strategy. Specific challenges are also called out with their resolutions. |
/snaplogic/MIGRATION_COMPLETE.md |
A final comparison of what was built in SnapLogic vs. what was planned, and the outcome report from the testing per the MIGRATION_PLAN.md document. Identifies any issues that were discovered during the testing and the fixes that were backported to the SnapLogic assets. |
/snaplogic/MIGRATION_COMPARISON.md |
An audit trail identifying the equivalents between the functional representations in Python and the SnapLogic implementation in pipelines and expression libraries, a comparison between the data flows, and any additional behavioral notes. |
Step 8 - Deploy to a Sandbox SnapLogic Environment¶
Open the Platform Deploy Stage Page in the Project Sidebar.
Click the Edit button to enter the credentials for logging into your SnapLogic Sandbox environment. Save the settings and use Test Connection to verify access.
Select the assets to deploy in the Pipeline Inventory pane: the button at the top of the pane can help with multiple de-/selection. Choose the Production Only assets, and click the Deploy Selected button.
The Activity Log will refresh to show deployment progress. Once complete, a green pill with the message Deploy Complete appears at the top right of the Platform Deploy Stage Page with a count of successfully deployed assets.
Log into the Project Manager tool in your SnapLogic Sandbox environment, and navigate to the Project Space and folder to view the imported assets. Click one of the deployed pipelines to open it in SnapLogic Designer to review and refine the pipeline configuration as needed.
What to do differently next time¶
Once you have completed working with your first Project, regroup with your cohort or coworkers and review your learnings. You may have identified areas that could be improved upon or where a change in behavior might make things easier for colleagues. Some areas to consider might be:
Naming Conventions
You may want to decide on a Naming Convention: this helps team members unfamiliar with every Project a means of searching, sorting, and navigating through the Projects you have created.
Use clear, descriptive project names:
✅ Good: “BizTalk Finance Integrations Q2 2026”
✅ Good: “SAP to Salesforce - Production”
❌ Poor: “Project 1”
❌ Poor: “Test”
Labels
Adding labels to Projects permits filtering of the Project List page, reducing the visual noise on-screen, and easing navigation. Labels are private to you - your colleagues do not see the ones you apply - so choose them to suit how you work rather than as a shared taxonomy. Following a convention still pays off: it keeps your own filters predictable as the Project List grows.
Regular Review
Your team may decide to periodically review your projects to prevent unnecessary sprawl. Some options for general maintenance include:
Archiving completed projects
Updating status on active projects
Removing abandoned or obsolete projects
Refine SLIM Prompt Instructions
As you review the assets generated by SLIM, you may develop specific additional instructions to better tailor the generated assets to your environment, circumstances, and imposed constraints.