In libraries software systems undergird the majority of our work. However, regardless of how ingrained a system may be in our daily activities, all software solutions are temporary [1]. Within an organization each software system has a life cycle:

(1) selection,

(2) implementation,

(3) use,

(4) dissatisfaction,

(5) migration and decommission (see Figure 1).

There is the phase of the rising system: selection and implementation. Then there is an era of smooth sailing in which we use the system routinely and the system is integral to our work. But soon, the system enters its waning phase, and the looming death of the system haunts us [2]. The waning phase can be precipitated by internal or external forces, such as user and/or developer dissatisfaction with the system or software end-of-life decisions from external bodies. When the external or internal pressure reaches an inflection point, organizations initiate a new software system life cycle. In their recent article, Babcock et al. (2020) offer a good overview of this life cycle relative to their digital collections software system. As one system is waning, another life cycle is usually spawned that leads to the birth of a new system, and part of that process of switching systems is the awkward and onerous task of migration. Migration is the one-time activity in which we port our content from the old system to the new system.