How Modernization Works¶

Modernization moves from left to right through a fixed set of stages. Each stage produces something you can read and check before the next stage uses it.

The stages at a glance¶

Stage	What happens	What you get	Who does it
Upload and extract	The export is opened up into its component parts.	The parts of your export, ready to analyze. Your original file is kept.	SLIM
Export Analysis	One pass over the whole export, answering: what is in here?	An inventory of the export, and the point at which you decide scope.	SLIM
Integration Analysis	A deep dive into each integration, run in parallel.	An analysis document per integration, describing what it does today.	SLIM
Pipeline Generation	A functional representation is produced first, then the SnapLogic pipelines and expression libraries.	SnapLogic pipelines, expression libraries, and the accompanying documents.	SLIM
Testing and validation	Verification tests of the generated logic. Happens inside stage 3, not after it.	Test results for what was generated (both in the functional representation & in SnapLogic).	SLIM
Platform Deploy	Deployment into a sandbox environment you choose.	Pipelines running in your environment.	You

Why stage 4 is not a separate step¶

The testing and validation noted as Stage 4 actually occurs during the Stage 3 generation activities. This allows an in-process fact check to ensure the logic being created matches the logic to be replaced (or the Design Documents provided, in the case of the SnapLogic generation activity).

This embedding of the validation reduces the risk of incorrect processing as soon as possible in the process, so as to present as accurate a pipeline as possible to the user for review.

What happens automatically and what does not¶

As noted in the table above, much of the modernization process can be triggered automatically, however all of the steps in the modernization process can also be initiated manually, and influenced by the user.

After each step from the Export Analysis onward, the user can choose to modify any of the analysis documents to better represent the integrations being modernized or refine the descriptions and details of the integrations with data not provided in the source export file.

This refinement will then influence the following steps and the assets generated throughout the remainder of the process.

The user can also select which of the integrations included in the export file will be modernized: there may be a case for not bringing all integrations into the new SnapLogic environment. For example, if components in the current technology stack are being retired or business processes being revamped, the associated integrations may be judged obsolete and not brought forward.

Finally, the choice to deploy any of the generated assets into a SnapLogic organization remains a manual decision by design. The generated assets remain isolated and disconnected from all SnapLogic environments until a user determines they should be deployed. The choice of deployment target remains with the user, though this should always be a non-production environment and align with any existing CI/CD or code management processes already in place.

Note: once deployed into a Sandbox environment, the generated pipelines and expression libraries can continue to be refined by the user to ensure complete alignment with the business process needs and technology stack.

How long it takes¶

Given the inherent complexity of the modernization process, the steps performed with SLIM are not typically instantaneous in returning a result.

Depending on the nature of the integration being processed, the initial analysis steps may take upward of an hour. When contrasted with a manual approach to analysis and discovery, this can be comparatively rapid.

However the manual verification steps in the process - when users review the artifacts produced by SLIM, resolve any ambiguities and missing data elements - usually require more time and effort than the automated steps.