Migrating HFM Metadata to DRM

In Classic mode HFM really doesn't care what is used to manage the metadata; Notepad works fine, for example. But DRM - Oracle Data Relationship Manager - is a great choice that many companies have or are moving to. There's a workflow process for requests, audit trails, formulas (i.e., if account starts with a 1 then tag it as an asset), etc.

People ask: when setting up DRM to create the HFM metadata load file, what's the best way to check if it's right. If the HFM version is 11.1.2.3 or higher, HFM can easily provide that info. Here's what to do.

1) Set up a new HFM app and load the current metadata. The app does not need rules, data, lists, etc. but it will need security classes.

1a) As this will be a reiterative process, plan on reloading the real metadata before each DRM load to re-establish the baseline for comparisons.

2) Load the DRM file into the HFM app as a replace.

3) First, if the syntax is bad, it won't go in - use the log to find out the problem(s)

4) Once the file loads, check and see what changed. Ideally, nothing changes. To check, go to Task Audit and click on the link for the metadata difference file. If something changed, it should show up here.

5) Make DRM changes and repeat the steps starting with 1a) until there is a clean load with no changes.

Moving to DRM is a really good thing to do. And it not only works with HFM but Planning, FDMEE (great tool for managing mappings), ERPs, data warehouses, etc.