During amajor system upgrade, it is critical to verify thatarchived data remain accessible, readable, and intactfollowing the implementation.
According to theGCDMP (Chapter: Database Lock and Archiving), regulatory requirements such as21 CFR Part 11andICH E6(R2)mandate that archived data must remain retrievable in ahuman-readable formatfor the duration of retention (often years after study completion).
Therefore, as part ofvalidation and verification testing, organizations must confirm that existing archives can still be accessed using the upgraded system or compatible tools.
Option A:Updating archive formats could alter original data integrity (noncompliant).
Option C:Migration offsite is an IT infrastructure task, not directly tied to the upgrade process.
Option D:Comparing CRFs to archives is unnecessary unless data corruption is suspected.
Hence,option B (testing archive accessibility)is the correct and compliant approach.
Reference (CCDM-Verified Sources):
SCDM GCDMP, Chapter: Database Lock and Archiving, Section 5.4 – System Upgrades and Archive Validation
ICH E6(R2) GCP, Section 5.5.3 – System Validation and Data Retention
FDA 21 CFR Part 11 – Data Archiving, Retention, and Retrieval Requirements