diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/MigrationPlan.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/MigrationPlan.cs
index 68402de85f..49edf6cc05 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/MigrationPlan.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/MigrationPlan.cs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ using System.Linq;
 using Umbraco.Core.Exceptions;
 using Umbraco.Core.Logging;
 using Umbraco.Core.Scoping;
+using Type = System.Type;
 
 namespace Umbraco.Core.Migrations
 {
@@ -31,6 +32,11 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Migrations
             DefinePlan();
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the transitions.
+        /// </summary>
+        public IReadOnlyDictionary<string, Transition> Transitions => _transitions;
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Defines the plan.
         /// </summary>
@@ -238,8 +244,8 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Migrations
         {
             Validate();
 
-            if (migrationBuilder == null || logger == null)
-                throw new InvalidOperationException("Cannot execute a non-executable plan.");
+            if (migrationBuilder == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(migrationBuilder));
+            if (logger == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(logger));
 
             logger.Info<MigrationPlan>("Starting '{MigrationName}'...", Name);
 
@@ -275,10 +281,47 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Migrations
             return origState;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Follows a path (for tests and debugging).
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>Does the same thing Execute does, but does not actually execute migrations.</remarks>
+        internal string FollowPath(string fromState, string toState = null)
+        {
+            toState = toState.NullOrWhiteSpaceAsNull();
+
+            Validate();
+
+            var origState = fromState ?? string.Empty;
+
+            if (!_transitions.TryGetValue(origState, out var transition))
+                throw new Exception($"Unknown state \"{origState}\".");
+
+            while (transition != null)
+            {
+                var nextState = transition.TargetState;
+                origState = nextState;
+
+                if (nextState == toState)
+                {
+                    transition = null;
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                if (!_transitions.TryGetValue(origState, out transition))
+                    throw new Exception($"Unknown state \"{origState}\".");
+            }
+
+            // safety check
+            if (origState != (toState ?? _finalState))
+                throw new Exception($"Internal error, reached state {origState} which is not state {toState ?? _finalState}");
+
+            return origState;
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Represents a plan transition.
         /// </summary>
-        private class Transition
+        public class Transition
         {
             /// <summary>
             /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="Transition"/> class.
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/Upgrade/Upgrader.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/Upgrade/Upgrader.cs
index 4b966a5d80..3795ed79af 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/Upgrade/Upgrader.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Migrations/Upgrade/Upgrader.cs
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Migrations.Upgrade
         /// <param name="logger">A logger.</param>
         public void Execute(IScopeProvider scopeProvider, IMigrationBuilder migrationBuilder, IKeyValueService keyValueService, ILogger logger)
         {
+            if (scopeProvider == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(scopeProvider));
+            if (migrationBuilder == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(migrationBuilder));
+            if (keyValueService == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(keyValueService));
+            if (logger == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(logger));
+
             var plan = Plan;
 
             using (var scope = scopeProvider.CreateScope())
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Tests/Migrations/MigrationPlanTests.cs b/src/Umbraco.Tests/Migrations/MigrationPlanTests.cs
index d6ac7abff4..9aec42c252 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Tests/Migrations/MigrationPlanTests.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Tests/Migrations/MigrationPlanTests.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 using System;
+using System.Linq;
 using Moq;
 using NPoco;
 using NUnit.Framework;
+using Umbraco.Core;
 using Umbraco.Core.Logging;
 using Umbraco.Core.Migrations;
 using Umbraco.Core.Migrations.Upgrade;
@@ -141,6 +143,40 @@ namespace Umbraco.Tests.Migrations
             Assert.IsFalse(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plan.FinalState));
         }
 
+        [Test]
+        public void CanCopyChain()
+        {
+            var plan = new MigrationPlan("default");
+            plan
+                .From(string.Empty)
+                .To("aaa")
+                .To("bbb")
+                .To("ccc")
+                .To("ddd")
+                .To("eee");
+
+            plan
+                .From("xxx")
+                .To("yyy", "bbb", "ddd")
+                .To("eee");
+
+            WritePlanToConsole(plan);
+
+            plan.Validate();
+            Assert.AreEqual("eee", plan.FollowPath("xxx"));
+            Assert.AreEqual("yyy", plan.FollowPath("xxx", "yyy"));
+        }
+
+        private void WritePlanToConsole(MigrationPlan plan)
+        {
+            var final = plan.Transitions.First(x => x.Value == null).Key;
+
+            Console.WriteLine("plan \"{0}\" to final state \"{1}\":", plan.Name, final);
+            foreach (var (_, transition) in plan.Transitions)
+                if (transition != null)
+                    Console.WriteLine(transition);
+        }
+
         public class DeleteRedirectUrlTable : MigrationBase
         {
             public DeleteRedirectUrlTable(IMigrationContext context)