History-preserving, zero disruption migration from IBM RTC to PTC Codebeamer

3. Full audit trail and transaction history Every field revision, original transaction username, and timestamp needed to survive the migration, not just current state. Lynx required this to maintain traceability for regulatory audits and certification reviews.

4. Hotlinks and cross entity references Discussion hotlinks from RTC needed to remain functional in Codebeamer. Broken links in a safety-critical ALM environment can disrupt verification chains and invalidate certification artifacts.

5. Four parallel projects, one coherent migration Each project required a 1:1 project migration with independent configurations and field mappings, while maintaining consistent governance across all four streams.

6. Remote ID linking and soft delete handling Work items required remote ID and link references between source and target. Additionally, handling of source item deletions in a compliant, non-destructive manner was essential to preserve data integrity.

02 The OMM solution

Full history migration 

OMM captured every historical revision from RTC, preserving original transaction usernames and timestamps, and replayed them faithfully in Codebeamer, maintaining a complete audit trail. 

Hotlink continuity 

Discussion hotlinks existing in RTC were translated into valid, functional Codebeamer links, ensuring no certification reference or discussion thread was silently broken during the migration. 

Precision entity mapping 

A detailed configuration spreadsheet governed exact entity type translations, from change requests to PSAC checklists, with field-level rules for every entity across all four projects. 

1:1 project migration 

Each of the four Lynx projects was migrated to a corresponding Codebeamer project, preserving project boundaries and internal hierarchy. 

Criteria based filtering 

Configurable filters ensured only the right work items were migrated in each pass, enabling phased and selective data transfer aligned with Lynx s delivery model. 

Remote ID and link governance 

OMM maintained remote ID references between RTC and Codebeamer entities, ensuring traceability links were preserved and source deletions were handled via soft delete without data loss.

03 Migration architecture

04 Migration execution

Migration Delivery Phase

Discovery – Ecosystem audit

• Full infrastructure audit 
• CB instance assessment 
• Entity hierarchy and field mapping documented 
• Migration start date and filter criteria defined

Implementation – OMM deployment

• OMM installation complete 
• History-based migration executed per entity type 
• Hotlinks and cross-entity references verified end-to-end

Validation – Optimization and sign-off

• History preservation and username attribution confirmed 
• Remote ID and link propagation confirmed 
• Stakeholder sign-off and post-migration support

05 Migration scope

IBM RTC to CodeBeamer

06 Engagement outcomes

• 4 projects migrated to codebeamer 

• 40+ entity types migrated
• 100% audit history and usernames preserved
• 0 disruption to business continuity

Before migration

• Critical engineering data siloed in legacy IBM RTC
• Risk of broken traceability during platform transition
• No structured approach to preserve entity history
• RTC discussion hotlinks potentially broken on cutover

After migration

• All four projects live in Codebeamer with full history intact 
• Original usernames, timestamps, and revisions preserved 
• End-to-end traceability maintained for certification audits 
• Teams operating on modern ALM platform without disruption

07 OMM capabilities leveraged

08 Engagement benefits

Engineering team efficiency gain 

Across approximately 20 engineering team members, driven by the elimination of legacy system inefficiencies and manual workarounds. 

Daily metrics reporting improvement 

Gained from streamlined daily metrics reporting workflows, reducing time spent on routine reporting and freeing capacity for engineering work. 

Power user productivity boost 

Achieved by two power users who previously bore the brunt of legacy system inefficiencies, now operating at significantly higher output on Codebeamer. 

Reduction of maintenance overheads

Decommissioning of legacy DOORS and RTC servers. Significant reduction in server maintenance and licensing fees. Engineering and IT staff freed from manual system workarounds. 

Faster time to value

The business case showed savings of approximately 4x the initial Codebeamer investment. The decision to migrate was clear and financially validated. 

Trusted data for stakeholders

Original usernames, timestamps, and field values were migrated as-is. Each team member and decision maker had visibility to make informed decisions. 

09 Migration roadmap

Phase 1:

Foundation Full RTC infrastructure audit (v5.0.2, on-premise). Entity hierarchy and field mapping documented. OMM deployment plan finalized on Lynx Windows server.

Phase 2: 

Migration OMM installed on Lynx-hosted Windows infrastructure. History-based migration executed per entity type. Hotlinks and cross-entity references verified end-to-end.

Phase 3: 

Optimization Entity migration verified across all 4 projects. History preservation and username attribution confirmed Stakeholder sign-off and post-migration support.