Assessment activities will vary depending on the needs of each project. Broadly, assessment involves:

• file format analysis and identification
• determination of preservation actions
• metadata analysis
• metadata mapping
• assessment of complex objects/systems such as databases
• identification of requirements for ongoing access and use of information
• description of the records being migrated
• registration of information in State Records NSW control system required for ongoing management of and access to migrated digital State archives
• identify options for action on source records

Successful assessment will normally require a high level of stakeholder engagement and collaboration. If any additional costs or risks to the overall project are identified during this process, these should be incorporated back into the project plan.

The outputs from migration assessment activities are used to determine how the digital records will be migrated to the Digital Archives. This is outlined in the migration plan.

• Agencies are responsible for providing information, resources, access to digital records/systems and technical support to undertake assessment
• State Records is responsible for undertaking assessment to determine migration project requirements to be captured in the migration plan
• Agencies and State Records provide resources to support assessment activities
• Stakeholders required to be involved in assessment are identified in the approved project plan

The migration plan details how the migration will be undertaken. It defines:

• required actions including format transformations, source to target mapping and metadata mapping
• access requirements (agency and public access)
• how the migration will be tested and validated (pre and post migration)
• actions on source records and decommissioning planning

The migration plan is one of the key project documents along with the project plan. Decision making on any adjustments to the migration project should be reflected in all both of these key pieces of project documentation.

As with project plans, in order for migration projects to move to the next phase, the migration plan must be approved by State Records NSW and agencies.

• Agencies and State Records collaborate on developing a migration plan
• State Records is responsible for identifying migration requirements
• Agencies and State Records are responsible for providing adequate resources for the migration project – these resources will include stakeholders identified in the project plan
• Additional costs and responsibilities for costs for the migration are added to the project plan
• Agencies and State Records are responsible for approving the migration plan