Transferring data from the old system to the new one causes one of the biggest headaches. The transfer requires database format changes, which are executed by data-conversion programs. Some are straight forward algorithms that programmers can buy over the counter. Others must be specially written by university programmers or outside consultants. Not knowing what can be purchased and what must be written can cost time and money.
Data transfer is more difficult when different departments have been using separate databases.
In the meantime, another department may not have caught up with changes of address by either. Occasionally, the system assumes that individuals in one category will never show up in another. At Frederick Community College, for instance, the PeopleSoft system would have issued two separate paychecks to staff members who doubled as tutors, one for the salaried and another for the hourly position. Financial aid issues pose a unique challenge to the implementation as well. Because the Department of Education delivers the regulations in the late fall, shortly before schools need them to begin assessing early-admission applications in late winter, PeopleSoft has to rewrite and test its financial aid module quickly.