Migrations

Migrations (or an in-place) involves more than just moving data from one location to another. Successful migrations align with multiple Well-Architected pillars to ensure they support efficient development workflows, maintain compliance and security standards, and deliver tangible value throughout your organization.

Why a complete migration plan matters

• Strategic Alignment: Migrations often present an opportunity to reevaluate workflows, branching strategies, and organizational structures. Incorporating GitHub Well-Architected guidance ensures you modernize processes and optimize team collaboration.
• Risk Mitigation: Without a well-designed plan, teams risk data loss, extended downtime, or security gaps. By leveraging recommendations under each Well-Architected pillar and through additional GitHub and Partner resources, you minimize disruptions and enhance your environment’s integrity.
• Long-Term Scalability: A properly executed migration sets the foundation for future growth whether you’re consolidating, switching platforms, or adopting new automation capabilities.

Foundational considerations

• Planning & Discovery: Identify existing workflows and repositories to scope the migration effort, and gather requirements from relevant stakeholdersbefore selecting tools or paths
• Security & Governance: Properly define auditing goals and ensure that access controls, branch protection rules, and compliance checks are set up properly
• Change Management: Provide training and communicate frequently with teams about the timeline, anticipated downtime, and new workflows
• Testing & Validation: Perform dry runs or pilot migrations to validate that code, configuration, and metadata (issues, pull requests, etc.) transfer correctly and document any bugs or edge cases

References & next steps

• Migration Planning Guides
• Sample Scripts & Automation
• Case Studies & Best Practices

By following the guiding principles of GitHub Well-Architected and carefully planning each phase, your organization can migrate with confidence, enhance alignment with best practices, and position itself for ongoing innovation and growth.