How to migrate from OpenText ALM to ALM Octane step by step

A practical guide to preserving traceability, history, and continuity during ALM migration

For most QA and engineering teams, migrating from OpenText ALM to OpenText ALM Octane sounds straightforward on paper. Move your data. Switch systems. Move o

Break one link, and the problem is not technical. It is operational.

• A defect exists, but no one knows which requirement it belongs to
• A test passes, but its original context is missing
• A report shows coverage, but it cannot be verified

Now imagine this during a release review or an audit.

The system has data.
But it cannot answer questions.
That is when teams stop trusting it.

This is why traceability across requirements, defects, tests, and test runs is not just important. It is what makes the system usable in the first place.

And this is where most migrations fall short.

Not because records are missing.
But because the story connecting them is gone.

What you must preserve during an ALM to Octane migration

A successful migration is not about moving records. It is about preserving context.

Here is what that includes:

• Complete history: Every change, update, and activity log must move with the entity.
• Attachments and documents: Test evidence, logs, and supporting files are often critical for audits.
• Comments and discussions: These capture decisions, clarifications, and debugging insights.
• Link hierarchy: Relationships between requirements, tests, and defects must remain intact.
• Formatted content: Descriptions, steps, and structured data should not lose formatting.

Without these, teams are forced to reconstruct knowledge manually.

Understanding entity transformation between ALM and Octane

One important thing to understand is that ALM and Octane do not follow identical structures. This means migration is not just copying data. It involves transformation.

For example:

Where a structured migration approach makes the difference

At this point, the challenge is not understanding what needs to be preserved.
It is figuring out how to do it without slowing teams down or introducing risk.
This is where a migration tool like OpsHub Migration Manager (OMM) typically fits in. What makes OMM different is its ability to enable zero-downtime migration, enabling teams to work in both systems simultaneously while ensuring the final state remains fully consistent.

Not as a replacement for your systems, but as a controlled way to move data between them while preserving relationships, history, and structure.

Instead of treating migration as a one-time transfer, it enables teams to:

• Move with zero downtime and no disruption
• Move all critical data including attachments, comments and links, etc
• Move data incrementally instead of all at once
• Maintain connections between requirements, tests, and defects
• Access to source system with cold downtime
• Continue working in parallel systems without interruption, eliminating release delays and reducing business risk
• Validate data during the transition, ensuring the final migrated system is complete, accurate, and consistent

The focus shifts from “moving data quickly” to “moving data safely, with context intact.”

How to migrate from OpenText ALM to ALM Octane step by step

Let’s see how OpsHub Migration Manager migrates OpenText ALM to ALM Octane:

Step 1: Configure OpenText ALM and OpenText ALM Octane connections

Set up connections to both source and target systems by providing:

• Server URLs for OpenText ALM and OpenText ALM Octane
• Authentication details (username/password, API token, or SSO as applicable)
• Domain and project details in OpenText ALM
• Workspace and shared space details in OpenText ALM Octane

Validate the connections to ensure OMM can:

• Access projects
• Read entities such as requirements, defects, and tests
• Create and update records in the target system

Step 2: Identify the projects to migrate from OpenText ALM to OpenText ALM Octane

Select the specific domain and project in OpenText ALM and the corresponding workspace/project in OpenText ALM Octane.

Define the migration scope by specifying:

• Entities to migrate (requirements, test cases, test runs, defects, etc.)
• Filters (date range, status, specific modules, or folders)
• Project structure mapping between ALM and Octane

This step ensures that only the required data is migrated and mapped to the correct location in the target system.

Step 3: Map fields to be migrated

This is one of the most important steps because it determines how data will appear in the new system. OMM enables customized mapping between differently named or structured fields across systems, ensuring semantic consistency even when schemas do not match.

Step 4: Activate the migration process.

Step 5: Cut off OpenText ALM project once the migration is complete

Why zero downtime migration is critical

One of the biggest risks in migration is disruption.

Stopping work for migration is rarely acceptable in modern teams.

“OpsHub Migration Manager is designed to support this by enabling:

• Parallel usage of both systems
• Continuous work during migration
• Gradual transition instead of abrupt cutover

The datasheet highlights the importance of enabling teams to continue using both systems during the transition and avoid downtime.

This approach reduces risk and gives teams confidence and turns migration from a risky one-time event into a controlled, transparent process.

Common mistakes to avoid

Even well-planned migrations can fail due to common pitfalls:

• Ignoring relationships: Moving data without preserving links breaks traceability.
• Underestimating data complexity: Legacy systems often contain deep nested structures.
• Relying on manual migration: Manual processes lead to errors and inconsistencies.
• Skipping validation: Without proper validation, issues surface later in production.
• Treating migration as a one-time event: Migration should be iterative and controlled, not rushed.

OpenText ALM to OpenText ALM Octane migration done right

When done right, your new system should feel complete from day one.

Teams should be able to:

• Access full history of requirements and defects
• Trace every test back to its origin
• Continue workflows without disruption
• Trust the data without second guessing

In short, nothing important should be felt missing.

Request a free demo if see how OMM facilitates a zero downtime Micro Focus ALM to ALM Octane migration

Final take

Migrating from OpenText ALM to OpenText ALM Octane is not just a technical transition.

It is a shift in how teams manage quality, collaboration, and delivery. But the real value lies in preserving what you have already built. Data alone is not enough. Context is what makes it useful. If you can move both together, your migration does not just succeed. It sets you up for better, faster, and more confident delivery going forward.

What you can do next

If you are planning an OpenText ALM to ALM Octane migration, it helps to get clarity early before things get complex.

• Map out which relationships actually matter for your teams
• Identify what cannot afford to break during migration
• Decide whether your approach supports parallel usage or requires downtime

If you are still evaluating your migration approach, it is worth talking to our migration engineers to understand how zero-downtime, parallel migration can work in your environment and to learn how OMM fits in your migration journey.

Or, if you prefer to start with your own setup:

• Review a sample project and trace its full lifecycle
• Check how deeply entities are interconnected
• Use that as a baseline for planning your migration

Because the success of migration is rarely decided during execution. It is decided in how well you prepare for what cannot break.