PCA - Modern HNQIS Migration from 1.X
Modern HNQIS (which now covers both HNQIS2 and, as of PCA v3.0.0, HNQIS3) is built differently than HNQIS 1.X. This raises the core migration question: how do you move an existing H1 Program, and its historical data, onto the Modern HNQIS structure without starting from scratch?
PCA answers this with two features, Metadata Conversion and Data Transfer, originally released in PCA v1.6.0 and since extended to support HNQIS3 as a conversion target:
Metadata Conversion creates a new Modern HNQIS Program by re-using as much of the original H1 Program's configuration as possible: Data Elements for Questions and Scores, the Assessment structure, Organisation Units, and Sharing Settings.
Data Transfer copies the Assessment data captured in the original H1 Program and links it to the newly converted Program, so historical data remains available for reporting.
New in PCA v3.0.0:
Metadata Conversion now supports converting an H1 Program directly to either HNQIS2 or HNQIS3. The target version is chosen from a dropdown at the top of the Metadata Conversion window, before reviewing the settings and preview described below.
What the Metadata Conversion window shows
Opening Metadata Conversion for an H1 Program now displays:
The name of the Program being converted and the HNQIS Version selector.
A collapsible Modern HNQIS Settings panel: Organisation Unit root, Analytics/Visualization Organisation Unit levels, a Competency Classes toggle, the Program Indicator aggregation type, and the Health Area. The panel header turns red and displays "Errors Found" whenever a required setting is missing or invalid, catching configuration issues before conversion instead of failing on the server.
An Assessment Preview listing every converted Section together with its Questions and Labels, plus a separate Scores section, so the resulting Modern HNQIS structure can be reviewed before the conversion is committed.
Once the settings are valid, clicking Convert to HNQIS2 (or Convert to HNQIS3) opens a confirmation dialog, followed by a Conversion Status window that reports progress and, if the process fails, the specific validation errors returned by the server.
Data Transfer updates
Data Transfer remains a resumable, per-Assessment copy process that can be safely stopped and restarted without duplicating already-transferred data. It now also checks that the Organisation Unit of each Assessment being transferred exists in the destination Program: any Assessments tied to an Organisation Unit that hasn't been assigned to the new Program are skipped automatically and reported in a warning, instead of blocking the entire transfer.
Requirements to ensure a successful conversion
The HNQIS Framework Metadata Package is required to enable the Metadata Conversion and Data Transfer features, the same package check applies whether you convert to HNQIS2 or to HNQIS3.
It is recommended to do the conversion process in a test server with a recent copy of production, to ensure everything works as expected.
The user doing the conversion needs the roles included in the PCA metadata package (PCA – Administrator, PCA – User Sharing Management and _App – Program Configuration App).
Having Microsoft Office Excel is highly recommended to easily fix any errors that appear during the validation step.
Please Note:
Data Transfer won't be enabled if the original H1 Program hasn't been converted to a Modern HNQIS version first. The Metadata Conversion process is required to transfer data.
Considerations when upgrading from H1 to Modern HNQIS:
The H1 version of the Program is kept and will still be functional after the Metadata Conversion, however, it is recommended to remove any Sharing Settings from the original Program to block access.
The Assessment Data captured in the H1 version of the Program is also kept after the Data Transfer, this is to ensure that no historical data is lost.
At any point after the Metadata Conversion is completed, the Assessment Stage of the newly created Program should be checked using the Validate function and then the Program Rules should be built by using the Set Up Program button. This step is required for new data entry.
You can check a detailed explanation on the process by using the following links:
Legacy Documentation (PCA v1.6.0)
The content below is the original version of this page, preserved for reference.
H2 is an improved version of H1, but it works in a completely different way. This brings up a new issue: How to upgrade all the content previously created in H1 to H2?
Metadata Conversion and Data Transfer were released as part of PCA v1.6.0.
Metadata Conversion generates a new Program converting the original H1 settings into an H2 configuration, while Data Transfer copies all the original Assessment data stored in H1 and links that data to the new H2 version of a Program.
Requirements to ensure a successful conversion:
The HNQIS2 Metadata Package is required to enable the Metadata Conversion and Data Transfer features.
It is recommended to do the conversion process in a test server with a recent copy of production. To ensure everything works as expected.
The user doing the conversion needs the roles included in the PCA metadata package (PCA – Administrator, PCA – User Sharing Management and _App – Program Configuration App).
Having Microsoft Office Excel is highly recommended to easily fix any errors that appear during the validation step.
Please Note:
Data Transfer won't be enabled if the original H1 Program hasn't been converted to H2. The Metadata Conversion process is required to transfer data.
Considerations when upgrading from H1 to H2:
The H1 version of the Program is kept and will still be functional after the Metadata Conversion, however, it is recommended to remove any Sharing Settings from the original Program to block the access.
The Assessment Data captured in the H1 version of the Program is also kept after the Data Transfer, this is to ensure that no historical data is lost.
At any point after the Metadata Conversion is completed, the Assessment Stage of the newly created H2 Program should be checked using the Validate function and then the Program Rules should be built by using the Set Up Program button. This step is required for new data entry.
You can check a detailed explanation on the process by using the following links: