Before performing a data migration into Salesforce from a legacy system, which two steps should be taken?

Performing data cleansing is an essential step before migrating data into Salesforce from a legacy system. Data cleansing involves identifying and correcting inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and incomplete data within the existing database. This process ensures that the data being transferred is accurate, up-to-date, and formatted correctly, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the new system. Clean data reduces the likelihood of problems post-migration, such as duplicate records or data that does not comply with business rules and practices set in Salesforce.

While data validation rules help enforce data integrity within Salesforce, enabling them before migration can potentially lead to errors if invalid data is transferred. Developing a data map is also important as it helps to understand how fields and data types from the legacy system correspond to those in Salesforce; however, it does not directly involve preparing the data itself. Normalizing the database can improve data structure but may not always be necessary depending on the situation and is not the primary focus before migration.