ETL to ELT Modernization Program Playbook

A wave-based program for modernizing legacy ETL into cloud-native ELT. It pushes transformation into the warehouse as tested, version-controlled models, validates parity, and decommissions costly ETL tooling.

Difficulty

Advanced

Phases

Total Duration

24 weeks

Roles

Legacy ETL platforms transform data on dedicated servers before loading it into a warehouse, using proprietary GUI tools that are expensive, hard to version, and difficult to test. Modern ELT inverts this: load raw data into a powerful cloud warehouse first, then transform inside it using version-controlled SQL. The result is cheaper compute, transformation logic that lives in Git, and tests that run in CI. This playbook modernizes ETL to ELT as a wave-based program.

The shift is not just technical but operational. Transformation logic that lived in a proprietary tool becomes code that engineers and analysts can read, review, and test like any other software.

Phase-by-Phase

ETL Assessment. Inventory ETL jobs, map their transformation logic (often the hardest part, as it is buried in GUI components), and plan migration waves.

ELT Foundation. Set up modern ingestion to land raw data, establish a transformation framework with medallion layering, and define standards.

Logic Migration. Reimplement transformations as tested, version-controlled models, and validate parity against the legacy ETL output before switching consumers.

Cutover and Decommission. Migrate consumers wave by wave, retire the legacy ETL tool to eliminate license cost, and optimize warehouse compute.

Team and Roles

Data engineers lead assessment and migration. A data architect owns the ELT framework and layering. QA owns parity validation. Product owners sequence waves around consumer priorities.

Risks and Mitigations

Transformation drift is the key risk; validate parity rigorously. License lock-in is what the program removes, so plan decommissioning explicitly. Consumer disruption is mitigated by wave-based cutover with overlap.

Success Criteria

Target verified data parity, dramatically improved pipeline maintainability, license cost savings, and high test coverage on transformations.

Tooling

Use modern ingestion connectors, a transformation framework producing version-controlled SQL models, Terraform for provisioning, and Datadog for observability. CI runs transformation tests.

See a real scan run

A replay of the actual CLI running against our test repositories — live progress, real findings, a genuine DriftScore. Nothing executes in your browser.

Replay

demo@vibgrate — bash

❯ npx @vibgrate/cli scan

╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮

│ Vibgrate Drift Report │

╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

── node-turborepo (node) .

Runtime: >=18.0.0 (6 majors behind)

Frameworks:

Turbo: 1.13.4 → 2.10.12 (1 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Dependencies:

1 current 1 1-behind 3 2+ behind 1 unknown

── @repo/admin (node) apps/admin

Frameworks:

TanStack Query: 5.102.5 → 5.102.5 (current)

React: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

React DOM: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Vite: 5.4.21 → 8.2.2 (3 behind)

Dependencies:

3 current 9 1-behind 3 2+ behind 4 unknown

── @repo/api (node) apps/api

Frameworks:

Express: 4.22.2 → 5.2.1 (1 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Vitest: 1.6.1 → 4.1.11 (3 behind)

Dependencies:

7 current 5 1-behind 3 2+ behind 4 unknown

── @repo/web (node) apps/web

Frameworks:

Next.js: 14.2.35 → 16.3.3 (2 behind)

React: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

React DOM: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Dependencies:

2 current 6 1-behind 3 2+ behind 5 unknown

── @repo/config (node) packages/config

Frameworks:

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Dependencies:

2 current 2 1-behind 5 2+ behind 0 unknown

── @repo/database (node) packages/database

Frameworks:

Prisma: 5.22.0 → 7.10.0 (2 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Dependencies:

1 current 0 1-behind 3 2+ behind 1 unknown

── @repo/types (node) packages/types

Frameworks:

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Dependencies:

0 current 0 1-behind 1 2+ behind 1 unknown

── @repo/ui (node) packages/ui

Frameworks:

React: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

React: 18.3.1 → 19.2.8 (1 behind)

Dependencies:

1 current 4 1-behind 1 2+ behind 1 unknown

── @repo/utils (node) packages/utils

Frameworks:

TypeScript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 behind)

Vitest: 1.6.1 → 4.1.11 (3 behind)

Dependencies:

0 current 1 1-behind 2 2+ behind 1 unknown

Tech Stack

Frontend: React, React DOM

Meta-frameworks: Next.js

Bundlers: tsx, Turbo, Vite

CSS / UI: Autoprefixer, PostCSS, Tailwind CSS

Backend: Express

ORM / Database: Prisma, Prisma Client

Testing: Vitest

Lint & Format: ESLint, ESLint Prettier, ESLint React, Prettier, typescript-eslint

Services & Integrations

Auth: JWT 9.0.3

Databases: Prisma 5.22.0

TypeScript

v5.3.3 · strict ✔ · MIXED · target: ES2022

Build & Deploy

Package Managers: pnpm

Monorepo: npm-workspaces, pnpm-workspaces, turbo

Product Purpose Signals

Frameworks: react, nextjs

Evidence: 177

Top Signals:

- [heading] Dashboard (apps/admin/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx)

- [title] Revenue Overview (apps/admin/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx)

- [copy] workspace:* (packages/ui/package.json)

- [copy] ./dist (packages/ui/tsconfig.json)

- [copy] ./src/index.ts (packages/ui/package.json)

- [copy] @repo/config/tsconfig-base.json (packages/ui/tsconfig.json)

- [copy] @repo/ui (packages/ui/package.json)

- [copy] #3b82f6 (apps/admin/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx)

Unknowns:

- No pricing or billing evidence found.

- No integrations/connectors evidence found.

- No route structure evidence found.

Security Posture

Lockfile ✖ · .env ✔ · node_modules ✔

Platform

Native modules: turbo

Code Quality

Files: 36 · Functions: 183 · Avg complexity: 2.62 · Avg length: 21.13 lines

Max nesting: 2 · Circular deps: 0 · Dead code: 0%

God files: apps/admin/src/pages/Products (448 lines)

Database Schema

postgresql · 8 models · 1 enum

Models: Address, CartItem, Category, Order, OrderItem (+3 more)

Findings (16 errors, 11 warnings)

✖ Node.js runtime ">=18.0.0" reached end-of-life on 2025-04-30 (latest: 24.0.0).

vibgrate/runtime-eol in .

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in .

✖ 60% of dependencies are 2+ major versions behind in node-turborepo.

vibgrate/dependency-rot in .

✖ @types/node is 6 major versions behind (spec: ^20.11.0, latest: 26.3.0).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in .

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/admin

✖ Vite is 3 major versions behind (current: 5.4.21, latest: 8.2.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/admin

✖ vite is 3 major versions behind (spec: ^5.0.12, latest: 8.2.2).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in apps/admin

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/api

✖ Vitest is 3 major versions behind (current: 1.6.1, latest: 4.1.11).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/api

✖ @types/node is 6 major versions behind (spec: ^20.11.0, latest: 26.3.0).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in apps/api

✖ vitest is 3 major versions behind (spec: ^1.2.1, latest: 4.1.11).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in apps/api

⚠ Next.js is 2 major versions behind (current: 14.2.35, latest: 16.3.3).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/web

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in apps/web

✖ @types/node is 6 major versions behind (spec: ^20.11.0, latest: 26.3.0).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in apps/web

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/config

✖ 56% of dependencies are 2+ major versions behind in @repo/config.

vibgrate/dependency-rot in packages/config

✖ eslint-plugin-react-hooks is 3 major versions behind (spec: ^4.6.0, latest: 7.1.1).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in packages/config

⚠ Prisma is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.22.0, latest: 7.10.0).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/database

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/database

✖ 75% of dependencies are 2+ major versions behind in @repo/database.

vibgrate/dependency-rot in packages/database

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/types

✖ 100% of dependencies are 2+ major versions behind in @repo/types.

vibgrate/dependency-rot in packages/types

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/ui

⚠ TypeScript is 2 major versions behind (current: 5.9.3, latest: 7.0.2).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/utils

✖ Vitest is 3 major versions behind (current: 1.6.1, latest: 4.1.11).

vibgrate/framework-major-lag in packages/utils

✖ 67% of dependencies are 2+ major versions behind in @repo/utils.

vibgrate/dependency-rot in packages/utils

✖ vitest is 3 major versions behind (spec: ^1.2.1, latest: 4.1.11).

vibgrate/dependency-major-lag in packages/utils

╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮

│ Top Priority Actions │

╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

1. Upgrade EOL runtime in node-turborepo

End-of-life runtimes no longer receive security patches and block ecosystem upgrades.

./.

>=18.0.0 → 24.0.0 (6 majors behind)

Impact: −10 drift points (runtime & EOL)

2. Fix security posture: no lockfile found

Without a lockfile, installs are non-deterministic. Run the install command to generate one and commit it.

Missing: package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, or yarn.lock

3. Upgrade Vite 5.4.21 → 8.2.2 in @repo/admin (+2 more)

3 major versions behind. Major framework drift increases breaking change risk and blocks access to security fixes and performance improvements.

./apps/admin

Vite: 5.4.21 → 8.2.2 (3 majors behind)

./apps/api

Vitest: 1.6.1 → 4.1.11 (3 majors behind)

./packages/utils

Vitest: 1.6.1 → 4.1.11 (3 majors behind)

Impact: −5–15 drift points

4. Reduce dependency rot in @repo/types (100% severely outdated)

1 of 1 dependencies are 2+ majors behind. Run `npm outdated` and prioritise packages with known CVEs or breaking API changes.

./packages/types

typescript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 majors behind)

Impact: −5–10 drift points

5. Reduce dependency rot in @repo/database (75% severely outdated)

3 of 4 dependencies are 2+ majors behind. Run `npm outdated` and prioritise packages with known CVEs or breaking API changes.

./packages/database

@prisma/client: 5.22.0 → 7.10.0 (2 majors behind)

prisma: 5.22.0 → 7.10.0 (2 majors behind)

typescript: 5.9.3 → 7.0.2 (2 majors behind)

Impact: −5–10 drift points

╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮

│ Architecture Layers │

╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

Archetype: nextjs (80% confidence)

Files classified: 24 (11 unclassified)

Folders classified: 8

apps/admin/src presentation 100% 4 files

apps/admin/src/pages presentation 100% 2 files

apps/api/src/middleware middleware 100% 2 files

apps/api/src/routes routing 100% 2 files

apps/web/src/app presentation 100% 4 files

apps/web/src/app/products presentation 100% 2 files

apps/web/src/app/products/[id] presentation 100% 1 file

packages/ui/src presentation 100% 6 files

Unclassified source (sample): 11

presentation 15 files drift ████████████████████ 100 risk high

routing 4 files drift ████████████████████ 100 risk high

middleware 2 files drift ███████▍░░░░░░░░░░░░ 37 risk moderate

config 2 files drift ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0 risk none

shared 1 file drift ████████████████████ 100 risk high

╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮

│ DriftScore Summary │

╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

DriftScore: 66/100

Risk Level: HIGH

Projects: 9

Classified: 8 nano · 1 micro · 0 small · 0 standard

Billable: 0.42 · 9 detected → 0.42 billable projects (micro-project pricing)

0.1 micro · 0.32 nano

These fractions add up across repositories, then round down to whole billable projects.

Score Breakdown

Runtime: ████████████████████ 100

Frameworks: █████████▏░░░░░░░░░░ 46

Dependencies: ██████▏░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 31

EOL Risk: ████████████████████ 100

Scanned at 2026-08-26T09:08:28.481Z · 7.1s · 286 files scanned · 56 workspace files · 27 dirs

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ETL to ELT Modernization Program Playbook

Phase-by-Phase

Team and Roles

Risks and Mitigations

Success Criteria

Tooling

Category

Tags

See a real scan run