Data Integrity Validation in ERP and Middleware Modernization Programs

Abstract

ERP and middleware modernization programs expose data integrity risks that conventional post-migration validation approaches are structurally unable to detect before production impact. These programs transform data schemas, middleware integration contracts, and business-process logic across interdependent system layers simultaneously, generating validation requirements that point-in-time audit methodologies cannot address at the required coverage depth. The TRACE-DI framework is proposed as a lifecycle-distributed validation protocol comprising five operational phases, Trace, Reconcile, Assert, Control, and Evidence, applied across six mandatory checkpoints from schema mapping completion through cutover readiness certification. Evaluation in enterprise ERP and middleware modernization contexts demonstrates improvements in data integrity accuracy across migration boundaries, reductions in reconciliation cycle time, and advances in audit evidence completeness. The framework provides modernization programmes with a structured, evidence-grounded validation approach compatible with phased migration strategies and parallel-run deployment models.