COMPLETE  IMPLEMENTATION 

          ‘ASAP (ACCELERATED SAP)’ is a methodology used in SAP for faster and cost-effective implementation
of SAP R/3 projects. ASAP helps to (a) reduce the implementation time, (b) achieve quality implementations,
and (c) make effective and efficient use of project resources.

ASAP integrates the following three components:

1.      ASAP Roadmap

2.      Tools (Questionnaires, templates, etc.)

3.      R/3 services and training (Hotline, Early Watch, Remote Upgrade, Archiving, etc.)

ASAP Roadmap is aimed at providing step-by-step direction and guidance throughout the project implementation
by providing a process-oriented, clear and concise project plan. The roadmap meanders through the following
milestones or phases in the project implementation lifecycle:

1.      Project preparation

2.      Business blueprint

3.      Realization

4.      Final preparation

5.      Go-live, support, and continuous improvement

 ‘ASAP ROADMAP’ PHASES. 

Project preparation is the first and initial phase of the ASAP roadmap where you are just starting the project. You
will perform activities such as preparation of the initial scope, high-level timelines and plans, project charters,
identification of project team members, project kick-off, etc.

Figure 11: ASAP Roadmap 

Business blueprint is the second phase in the implementation where you will try, identify, and document business
requirements and goals to prepare the foundation for future stages of the project. Ideally, you will organize ‘business
requirement gathering’ workshops with the various business/functional users of the company, lead them through the
discussion with structured business functionality questionnaires, understand their existing business processes, and
identify and document their requirements in the wake of this new implementation. A ‘sign-off’ at the end of the
phase ensures an agreement to move forward outlining the scope of the project. It is understood that whatever is
explicitly stated in the business blueprint document is the only scope; no implied scope will be considered for
system configuration in the next phase.

Realization is the third phase where the implementing team breaks down the business processes identified in the
second phase and configures the SAP settings. Initially, you will do a Baseline Configuration, test the system
functionality and if necessary make changes to the baseline configuration, and close the phase with Final
Configuration, signalling that all the business processes have been captured and configured in the system.
Final Preparation is the penultimate phase in the project. This phase also serves to resolve all crucial open issues. A
‘go-live check’ is also conducted to analyze whether the system has been properly configured. This phase is marked
by the following activities:

·         End-to-testing of the configured system (User Acceptance Test—UAT)

·         Training of the end users (Usually follows the concept ‘Train-the-Trainer’)

·         System management activities (creation of users, user profiles, allocation of roles to profiles, etc.)

·         Cut-over (data migration activities)

An ‘internal help desk’ should be staffed and supported mainly by employees of the enterprise. Setting up a help
desk involves, among other things, installing office and technical equipment and defining OSS users. Problems that
cannot be solved by this internal help desk are forwarded to SAP via the SAPNet/OSS system.

On successful completion of this phase, you are ready to run your business in your production system.

Go-Live and Support is the final and fifth phase of the project where the configured system is declared ‘live’ for
day-to-day business use. Users make productive (live) business transactions in the system and all the issues cropping
up in the wake of going live are supported and resolved by a support team immediately.

 ‘PROJECT PREPARATION PHASE’ OF ‘ASAP.’ ·         ASAP Roadmap

·         Knowledge Corner

·         ASAP MS-Project Plan

·         C-Maps (Collaborative Business Maps)

·         Quicksizer

·         Pre-Configured Solutions (Connect-and-Go, Smart Implementations, etc.)

·         SAP Service Market Place

TOOLS FOR ‘BUSINESS CASE DEVELOPMENT’ IN ‘ASAP.’ ·         E-Business Case Builder

·         C-Maps

LIST THE TOOLS FOR ‘PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND METHODOLOGY’ IN ‘ASAP.’ ·         Solution
Manager

·         SAP Service Market Place

·         ASAP MS-Project Plan

·         ASAP Roadmap

·         ASAP Question and Answer Database

·         ASAP Business Blueprint

·         ASAP BPP (Business Process and Procedures Document)

·         ASAP BPML (Business Process Master List)

·         ASAP Issue Database

·         ASAP Implementation Assistant/Knowledge Corner

WHEN DO YOU USE THE ‘ASAP BPML’ TOOL? The ASAP ‘Business Process Master List (BPML)’ is used
during the Realization (third phase) of the ASAP Roadmap.

 ‘HARDWARE’ SIZING FOR A SAP IMPLEMENTATION. ASAP provides a tool called Quicksizer, which is

used to analyze the hardware requirements (of mySAP.com) and to arrive at the hardware sizing for the project
based on your inputs to a list of questions. The tool is Web-based to make mySAP.com faster and easier. The
Quicksizer has been developed by SAP in close cooperation with all platform partners and is free. The Quicksizer
calculates CPU, disk, and memory resources based on throughput numbers and the number of users working with
the different SAP components. The tool gives customers (and prospects) an idea of the system size requirements for
running the proposed workload, and is also useful for initial budget planning. Initially used during the Project
Preparation and Blueprinting Phases, and anytime after these phases when there is a change in system requirements,
the tool helps in arriving at the recommendations for hardware deployment.

 ‘ASAP BPML.’ ‘ASAP BPMLs (Business Process Master Lists)’ are MS-Excel Sheets generated by the ASAP
Q&A Database for facilitating configuration and testing of the system, and development of end-user documentation.
These lists become the central repository from which you build the individual master lists to manage the initial
configuration, final configuration, final end-user integration testing, and any other end-user procedures including the
documentation.

 ‘BPPS’ IN ASAP? ‘ASAP BPP (Business Process and Procedures)’ are templates that typically walk you
through a transaction in SAP and help you document them. The templates are replete with Best Practices or Standard
Procedures for completing a particular transaction, which you can customize for end-user training. You will assign
ASAP BPPS to the ASAP BPML.

 ‘C-MAPS.’ ‘C-Maps’ or C-Business Maps (Collaborative Business Maps) represent a comprehensive portfolio

of industry-specific and cross-industry process blueprints that show you how the mySAP.com e-business platform
can help your business. These maps define the activities, roles, system interfaces, and business documents required
for inter-enterprise collaboration. They also show which SAP Solutions and Services you need to make your
organization a truly collaborative e-business.

C-Business Maps explain what happens when you deploy e-business solutions to integrate existing resources and
transcend the borders of individual enterprises. They give you a complete picture of the benefits and advantages of
collaborative business processes.

ADVANTAGE OF SAP’S ‘SMART IMPLEMENTATIONS’? ‘Smart Implementations’ contain pre-

configuration, documentation, installation, and configuration accelerators for specific mySAP components. Smart
Implementations provide tools to assist with technical infrastructure planning, installation of necessary components,
system configuration and integration into an existing SAP system landscape, and infrastructure management in a
production system.

The Smart Implementation for the mySAP Workplace includes the following installation and configuration features:

·         Easy system infrastructure configuration with the Configuration Assistant 

·         Automatic mySAP Workplace component installation

·         Easy integration of multiple component systems

·         Pre-configuration of all software components, including the Web server and Internet Transaction Server (ITS)
·         Basis customization of the SAP R/3 System (Workplace Server)

·         The System Administration Assistant, an easy-to-use tool providing a comprehensive administration concept
to support the system administrator in important tasks.

 ‘SAP SOLUTION ARCHITECT’? The ‘SAP Solution Architect’ is the portal that integrates all content, tools, and
methodologies necessary for the solution-oriented evaluation, implementation, quick adaptation, and continuous
improvement of the mySAP.com e-Business platform. It is fully integrated into the Customer Engagement Life
Cycle (CEL), open to partner content, and an integral part of the SAP Service Infrastructure.

In one portal, the SAP Solution Architect integrates:

·         Best Practices for mySAP.com to evaluate, implement, and extend e-Business solutions.

·         Tried and tested implementation tools such as the Implementation Guide (IMG) and the Test Workbench.

·         Access to C-Business Maps for in-depth information on collaborative business scenarios.

·         The ASAP method for running mySAP.com projects.

·         An authoring environment with which customers and partners can create their own pre-configured
implementation solutions.

·         Access to evaluation products such as the E-Business Case Builder and the Solution Composer. 

The benefits of using the SAP Solution Architect include:

·         Consistent access to all contents, tools, and methods for evaluating, implementing, adapting, and continuously
improving your mySAP.com e-business solution.

·         Rapid evaluation and implementation with Best Practices for mySAP.com.

·         Tried and tested evaluation and implementation tools that have been enhanced specifically for use
with mySAP.com.

·         Improved project communication and efficiency through a central portal.

·         A consistent and integrated approach that passes the business-oriented project definition from one phase to the
next.

·         Complete alignment with the ASAP Roadmap.

·         Information about updates, training, and changes via the SAP Service Marketplace.

 ‘CONFIGURATION’ IN SAP?

 ‘Configuration’ is the process of maintaining settings (parameters) in the system to support specific/customized
business requirements. Remember SAP is an ‘all-encompassing’ application which needs to be ‘configured’ to meet
your specific requirements.

THE ‘IMG’?

The ‘IMG (Implementation Guide)’ in SAP provides you with the various configuration steps in a tree-like
structure for easy access with the nodes at the bottom representing the configuration objects. This is the central
repository for customizing, providing a step-by-step guide for carrying out various activities. Besides the
steps/activities, the IMG also contains explanations concerning the order in which you need to make the
customizations. When you execute an activity from the IMG, you are indirectly changing the values (parameters) in
the underlying table.
Figure 12: SAP R/3 IMG 

The IMG is structured and arranged into four major logical groups:

1.      General Settings (Country settings, currencies, calendar maintenance, time zones, field display characteristics,
etc.)

2.      Enterprise Structure (Definition, assignment, consistency check, etc.)

3.      Cross-Application Components (ALE, Time sheet, CATT, CAD integration, DM-Document Management,

EDI, Engineering Change Management (ECM), etc.)

4.      Functional Area Settings (FI, CO, Logistics, PP, PM, QM, etc.)

 ‘TYPES’ OF IMGS.

The SAP Reference IMG provides all the customizing steps for all functional areas of SAP. This, as the name
suggests, is the ‘reference IMG’ from which you may create your own IMG to meet the exact requirements of the
(1) enterprise and (2) project.

The Enterprise IMG is usually an exact copy of the ‘SAP Reference IMG,’ but limited to the countries where the
implementation is carried out. From the Enterprise IMG, you may create your Project IMG, which will contain the
application components/business processes required in the current project.

It is also possible to create the Project IMG by directly generating it from the SAP Reference IMG. In this case, the
country selection is done when the Project IMGs are created.

Figure 13: IMG (Reference, Enterprise, and Project) 

CUSTOMIZING’

VARIOUS WAYS OF ‘CUSTOMIZING’? You can customize SAP using:

·         IMG: Just follow the IMG tree, step-by-step. No technical knowledge (about tables, views, etc.) is required.

Example: To configure the ‘Country Code,’ just follow the IMG Menu Path ‘General settings>Set countries>Define
countries.’

·         Tables: You need to know the name and structure of the tables where the parameters are directly entered.
Technical knowledge of customizable objects is required.

Example: To configure the ‘Country Code,’ use transaction code: OY01. Enter the details in Table V_T005.

 ‘IMG’ ROUTE OF CUSTOMIZING EASIER THAN THE ‘TABLES’ ROUTE? ·         IMG is a logical way to
access data from multiple physical tables without knowing from where the data is flowing. This is because there are
many transactions, which affect more than one table.

·         There is no need to know the names of Tables and fields, though it always helps to know about the major
tables.

·         IMG offers a step-by-step way of progressing from one activity to the other. Also, you can classify the
activities into various views such as ‘mandatory/critical/optional,’ ‘Client-dependent/Client-independent,’ etc., so
that you can proceed per your requirements and time.

·         Since IMG provides you with the functional view, it becomes easier to ‘configure’ and test immediately.

WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE ‘GO-LIVE CHECK’? The ‘Go-Live Check’ is done just before you cut over to ‘live’
(production) operation in a project. This is to test whether the system is properly configured to meet the
requirements of the business. The check includes detecting problems in the (a) SAP R/3 Application, (b) Database,
and (c) Operating System.

First, the Go-live Check involves an analysis of the major system components of the R/3 installation with regard to
system consistency and reliability. For this, SAP experts log on to your R/3 system via a remote connection, inspect
the configuration of individual system components, and provide valuable recommendations for system optimization.
By analyzing the individual system components before production start up, SAP can considerably improve the
availability and performance of the customer’s live system. In addition, the technical application analysis provides
information on how to speed up the core processes within R/3.

Secondly, the transactions with high resource consumption are searched for and necessary adjustments are made.

Thirdly, the changes from the two prior sessions are validated. This check is performed in the productive operation
system.

After a system goes live, some fine tuning and eliminating of potential bottlenecks is still necessary. This is carried
out four weeks after ‘going live’ with the R/3 System.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CONDUCT ‘BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING’ (BPR)? Typically ‘Business

Process Re-engineering (BPR)’ needs to be completed well before the SAP implementation starts. This will help to
identify any improvements that can be made prior to implementation and begin the process of change within the
organization. Improvements that will be system-enabled will form part of the implementation and also help the
project team to identify areas of change.

However, it is also possible (but not recommended if there are large areas requiring total process re-engineering) to
do BPR during the business blueprint phase provided the project team works within the boundary of the initial scope
provided.

WHAT ARE ‘USER PARAMETERS’? SAP provides a way of lessening your day-to-day data entry operations by
facilitating default entries for fields, and bringing out the most suitable Display Variant for document display,
document entry, open/line item processing, etc. The user parameters, also known as ‘Editing Options,’ are a boon
as they save time and result in greater accuracy as data entry errors are eliminated with the default values.

You can, among many alternatives, set:

1.      The system to default the ‘exchange rate’ from the first line item.

2.      A preference so that the user does not process any ‘special GL transactions’ or ‘foreign currency transactions.’

3.      That the document needs to be complete before it is ‘parked.’

4.      The system to calculate the tax component on the ‘net’ invoice and not on the ‘gross.’

5.      Your document currency either as the ‘local currency’ or as the one used in the last document.

6.      The system to make a currency conversion if documents are to be fetched from ‘archives.’

7.      Documents to be displayed using a ‘reference number.’

8.      ‘Payment reference’ to be used as a selection item in open item processing.

9.      To activate branch/head office ‘dialogue’ while processing line items.

‘SAP SOLUTION MANAGER:- Providing central access to Tools, Methods, and Pre-Configured Content,
the SAPSolution Manager provides support throughout the life cycle of solutions—from Business Blueprint to
Configuration to Support.

The features include:

·         Implementation/Upgrade of SAP Solutions 

o    Central access to Project Tools (Project Administration, Business Blueprint, Configuration, Test Workbench,
Group Rollout Templates)

o    Central management of Project Information (Roadmap, System Landscape, Documentation, etc.)

o    Enables comparing/synchronizing customizing in several SAP components

·         Solution Monitoring 

o    Central System Administration

o    System Landscape Analysis with System Level Reporting

o    Real-time System Monitoring

o    Business Process Monitoring

·         Services and Support 

o    Access to programs/services for monitoring and optimizing system performance and availability to minimize
risks.

·         Service Desk 

o    Solution Support through Work Flow to create and manage Process/Problem Messages.

·         Change Management 

o    Trace and audit system changes and transports through Change Request Management.

Figure 1: SAP Solution Manager 

           
PROJECT:-According to company’s present business & future requirement, choosing project type.

Project type:- 

Bigbang project 
Phasewise project

Roll-out

Technical Solution:-

Business partner:-

Implementation partner:-

Company Representative:-

ASAP   METHODOLOGY:-

                    Accelerated SAP [ASAP] is SAP’s standard implementation methodology.  It contains the roadmap, a
step -by-step guide  that  incorporates  experience  from  many  years  of  implementing  R/3.The  road  map 
defines  control points/milestones and also specifies the major deliverable s within each milestone.   In road map we
follow the identities the activities within each phase and assign dates to these milestones.  At the end of the each
phase we come up with deliverable s/work packages. At the end of the each phase we perform quality check.

5 PHASES IN ASAP ROAD MAP:-

Project preparation

Blue print

Realization

Final preparation

Go live and support

Phase 1: Project preparation: In this phase of the ASAP road map, decision makers define clear project objectives
and an efficient decision making process. We define our project goals and identify scope of project

Scope of the project: Identifying the business process that we want to map into SAP, which modules we are going to
use and what functionality we are going to use for each modules. Then we decide whether we are going to go live by
big bang implementation or phased implementation, which can be described in EASD [Enterprise Area Scope
Development].

We develop the structure of the project organization and identify the members to be      included in the steering
committee for the project.

Assigning the resources to work on the project.

Identify the proper hardware to be able to support development work on SAP R/3.

Preparing the development server.

Planni9ng for giving training for project people.

Identifying the business and project measurements.

Establishing standards [For proper documentation, reporting  frequency and hierarchy, communication between
team members].

Identifying the persons to give authorization to access OSS note, early watch and going live check.

Having a assistance from independent party to conduct Audit/Quality checks.

Developing landscape, that is defining client instance strategy.

Defining our system upgrade strategy.

Defining procedures to manage transport requests.

Organizing kick off meetings in which we declare the structure, roles and responsibilities.

Perform quality checks and sign off.

Concept check tool can be used in theses project.

Identification of team members

Developing a high level plan

Estimation of cost of the project

Duration of the project

Phase 2: Blue print: It’s a document that specifies all requirements of our company within identified scope of the

ASAP project.

Conceptual design phase of the project in which project team defines current business process or the AS – IS process
first.

Based on this AS – IS business processes, project team develops SHOULD – BE processes by using business re –
engineering techniques.

Mainly in this phase where we identify the requirements, perform re – engineering and record what our SAP system
to deliver.

In this phase we identify the BASELINE scope.

In order to determine business requirements we integrate with end users.  We use SAP tool that is Q & A database
that is generated from the EASD.  Q & A database includes issue database where issues relating project can be
logged and get the resolutions from project management. By Q & A database we can generate reports.

When answering the Q & A database we also identify the base line scope [80% of requirements].

Based on the transactions that we identify in scope, we can specify which transactions are applicable to which cycle.
This input is trigger point for generation of the business process master list [MS Excel file].

Based on the questions that we entered, team SAP members enter answers in the form of analysis of requirements,
and then we can generate business blue print itself.

Implementing the initial stages of the system landscape and development environment.
System administration work starts here. So that development environment is ready with necessary log-ins.

Finalize the technical design of hardware archi8techture.

Establishing transport request management and release strategy.

Remote connection to SAP, installing SAP GUI’s.

Deciding the two/three tire architecture and setting up database and application layers accordingly.

Establishing SAP clients and their purposes.

Develop and finalize the training strategy.

To understand the business goals of the company.

To determine the business requirements needed to support the business goals.

Formulating the TO BE processes after through review of questionnaires sent to the key users/core users.

The entire realization phase can be divided baseline scope period, one to four unit test cycles and two integration test
cycles. We could use two of the four unit test cycles to complete our 20% configurations.

Phase 3: Realization: Purpose of this phase is to implement all documented requirements in the business blue print.

Performing integration testing.

Getting ready of SAP system to productive operation.

This phase is subdivided into:

(A) Base line phase [Configuration]

(B) Final configuration and

(C) Integration test

Base line phase [Configuration]: By considering business process transactions identified in the business process 
master  prints,  team  SAP  members  perform  configuration. While  they  doing  the  system configuration,
developing necessary programs and interfaces, we can send project members to get the training.   In this
configuration mi nor critical processes are implemented in R/3.   They demonstrate the functionality of system to
team.

Final configuration: In this step team SAP will go back a little bit and allow the project team to complete 20%
project.

The work that is done at base line configuration can be refined in this phase.

Unit/Cycle tests are developed processes.

Problems are fixed if they found any errors, before moving to realization phase.

The business master list contains the lists of transactions that need to be tested and that serve as a guideline for unit
tests.

These two phases can be used to develop customer-designed reports and transactions, test interfaces, test and
develop all forms and data conversion programs.

Developing quality assurance system where all integration tests would be performed.

Integration test: Performing tests on cross module processes or phase processes that involve more than one module
of SAP to complete.

Integration test phase 1 constraints on transactions, which involve a data flow from one m odule to another module.

Integration test phase 2 is to execute back -to-back processes as if the entire process was entirely within one module.

If any error finds that should be fixed and documented.

Technical team defines authorizations for end users.

Functional team creates user specific menus

Technical team procure/plan for productive environment and archiving strategy also should be defined.

Identifying the end users and impart training.

Mainly to implement all the business and process requirements based on the business blue print.

The system is customized step by step in two work packages: Baseline and Final configuration.

The mapping done on how the system should get configured and tested.

Phase 4: Final preparation: This phase is to finalize our entire system configuration and environment, including
tests, user training, productive system setup.

Developing a cut over plan.

Scheduling the going live check.  It is a service provided by SAP in which SAP employed experts logon into SAP
and check for factors that could affect system performance by doing test on the scope of the project, and they give
advices in a report to improve fine tune system configuration.

Setting up the helpdesk facility [Single level/Two level].

Finally  start  the  conversion  of  data  from  legacy  system  to  R/3  productive  system.This  requires downloading
the data from legacy to proper format and then uploading the data into R/3.  Data can be uploaded by manually or
data conversion programmes.

Main purpose is to complete testing, end user training, system management and cut over activities.

Critical open issues should be resolved here.

Upon successful completion of this phase the business transactions are ready to run in the SAP system.

Phase 5: Go live and support: The purpose of this phase is to go productive with production system, dismantle
existing system.

End user starts their transactions in R/3.

Transition from a project oriented, pre – productive environment to a successful and live productive operation.

Post implementation support.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES:-

PROJECT PREPARATION:-
The project preparation phase, depicted below, focuses at two main activities, i.e. to make a setup for the TSO and to
define a solution vision. These activities allow an organization to put in on the right track towards implementation.

Design and initially staff the SAP TSO

The first major step of the project preparation phase is to design and initially staff an SAP technical support
organization (TSO), which is the organization that is charged with addressing, designing, implementing and
supporting the SAP solution. This can be programmers, project management, database administrators, test teams,
etc. At this point, the focus should be at staffing the key positions of the TSO, e.g. the high-level project team and
SAP professionals like the senior database administrator and the solution architect. Next to that, this is the time to
make decisions about choosing for internal staff members or external consultants.

Craft solution vision

The second project preparation job is to define a so-called solution vision, i.e. a vision of the future-state of the SAP
solution, where it is important to address both business and financial requirements (budgets). The main focus within
the vision should be on the company’s core business and how the SAP solution will better enable that core business
to be successful. Next to that, the shortcomings of the current systems should be described and short but clear
requirements should be provided regarding availability (uptime), security, manageability and scalability of the SAP
system.

Sizing and blueprinting:-

The next phase is often referred to as the sizing and blueprinting phase and forms the main chunk of the
implementation process. The phase is illustrated below.

Perform cost of ownership analysis

This phase starts with performing a total cost of ownership analysis (TCO analysis) to determine how to get the best
business solution at the lowest costs. This means to compare SAP solution stack options and alternatives and then
determine what costs each part of the stack will bring and when these costs will be incurred. Parts of the stack are
for example the hardware, operating system and database, which form the acquisition costs. Next to that, there
should be taken a look at recurring costs like maintenance costs and downtime costs. Instead of performing a
complete TCO analysis for various solution stack alternatives that would like to compare, it can be wise just to do a
so-called delta analysis, where only the differences between solutions (stacks) are identified and analyzed.

Identify high availability and disaster recovery requirements

The next step is identifying the high availability requirements and the more serious disaster recovery requirements.
This is to plan what to do with later downtime of the SAP system, caused by e.g. hardware failures, application
failures or power outages. It should be noted that it is very important to calculate the cost of downtime, so that an
organization has a good idea of its actual availability requirements.

Engage SAP solution stack vendors

A true sizing process is to engage the SAP solution stack vendors, which is the next step. This means selecting the
best SAP hardware and software technology partners for all layers and components of the solution stack, based on a
side-by-side sizing comparison. The most important factors that are of influence here are the estimated numbers of
(concurrent) users and batch sizes. A wise thing to do is to involve SAP AG itself to let them create a sizing
proposal stating the advised solution stack, before moving to SAP’s technology partners/SAP vendors, like
Accenture, HP and IBM. A simplified solution stack is depicted at the right, showing the many layers for which
software and hardware has to be acquired. Note the overlap with the OSI model.
Staff TSO
The TSO (Technical Support Organization) is the most important resource for an organization that is implementing
SAP, so staffing the TSO is a vital job which can consume a lot of time. In a previous phase, the organization should
already have staffed the most vital positions. At this point the organization should staff the bulk of the TSO, i.e. fill
the positions that directly support the near-term objectives of the implementation, which are to develop and begin
the installation/implementation of the SAP data center. Examples are: data center experts, network infrastructure
experts, security specialists and database administration experts.

There are many ways to find the right people within or outside the organization for all of the TSO positions and it
depends on the organization how much time it wants to spend on staffing.

Training:-
One of the most vital stages of the implementation process is training. Very few people within an organization are
SAP experts or even have worked with SAP software. It is therefore very important to train the end users but
especially the SAP TSO: the people who design and implement the solution. Many people within the TSO need all
kinds of training. Some examples of these positions:
SAP Network Specialists
SAP Database Administrators
SAP Security specialists
Documentation specialists, Etcetera
 
All of these people need to acquire the required SAP knowledge and skills or even SAP certifications through
training. Moreover, people need to learn to do business in a totally new way. To define how much SAP training
every person needs, a company can make use of a skillset matrix. With this matrix, a manager can identify who
possesses what knowledge, to manage and plan training, by defining the height of expertise with a number between
e.g. 1 and 4 for each skill for each employee.

Setup SAP data center

The next step is to set up the SAP data center. This means either building a new data center facility or transforming
the current data center into a foundation capable of supporting the SAP solution stack, i.e. all of the technology
layers and components (SAP software products) in a productive SAP installation. The most important factor when
designing the data center is availability. The high availability and disaster recovery requirements which should have
been defined earlier, give a good idea of the required data center requirements to host the SAP software. Data center
requirements can be a:
Physical requirement like power requirements
Rack requirement
Network infrastructure requirement or
Requirement to the network server.

Perform installations
The following step is to install the required SAP software parts which are called components and technological
foundations like a web application server or enterprise portals, to a state ready for business process configuration.
The most vital sub steps are to prepare your OS, prepare the database server and then start installing SAP software.
Here it is very important to use installation guides, which are published for each SAP component or technology
solution by SAP AG. Examples of SAP components are:
R/3 Enterprise — Transaction Processing
mySAP BI — Business Information Warehouse
mySAP CRM — Customer Relationship Management
mySAP KW — Knowledge Warehouse
mySAP PLM — Product Lifecycle Management
mySAP SCM — Supply Chain Management
mySAP SEM — Strategic Enterprise Management
mySAP SRM — Supplier Relationship Management
mySAP HCM — Human Capital Management
Round out support for SAP
Before moving into the functional development phase, the organization should identify and staff the remaining TSO
roles, e.g. roles that relate to helpdesk work and other such support providing work.

Functional development
The next phase is the functional development phase, where it is all about change management and testing. This
phase is depicted below.

Address change management

The next challenge for an organization is all about change management / change control, which means to develop a
planned approach to the changes the organization faces. The objective here is to maximize the collective efforts of
all people involved in the change and to minimize the risk of failure of implementing the changes related to the SAP
implementation.

The implementation of SAP software will most surely come with many changes and an organization can expect
many natural reactions, i.e. denial, to these changes. To fight this, it is most important to create a solid project team
dedicated to change management and to communicate the solution vision and goals of this team. This team should
be prepared to handle the many change issues that come from various sources like:
End-user requests
Operations
Data center team
DBA group
Systems management

SAP systems and operations management

Next thing is to create a foundation for the SAP systems management and SAP computer operations, by creating a
SAP operations manual and by evaluating SAP management applications. The manual is a collection of current state
system documentation, day-to-day and other regularly scheduled operations tasks, various installation and
operations checklists and how-to process documents.

Functional, integration and regression testing

Testing is very important before going live with any system. Before going live with a SAP system, it is vital to do
many different kinds of testing, since there is often a large, complex infrastructure of hardware and software
involved. Both requirements as well as quality parameters are to be tested. Important types of testing are:
Functional testing: to test using functional use cases, i.e. a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will
determine if a certain business process works
Integration testing
Regression testing
All tests should be preceded by creating solid test plans.

FINAL PREPARATION:-
Agreements, will be met. This can be done with SAP’s standard application benchmarks, to benchmark the
organization’s configurations against configurations that have been tested by SAP’s hardware technology partners.
Again, a test plan should be created at first.

Prepare for cutover

The final phase before going live with SAP is often referred to as the cutover phase, which is the process of
transitioning from one system to a new one. The organization needs to plan, prepare and execute the cutover, by
creating a cutover plan that describes all cutover tasks that have to be performed before the actual go-live. Examples
of cutover tasks are:
Review and update all systems-related operations procedures like backup policies and system monitoring
Assign ownership of SAP’s functional processes to individuals
Let SAP AG do a Going Live check, to get their blessing to go live with the system
Lock down the system, i.e. do not make any more changes to the SAP system
GO LIVE:-
All of the previously described phases all lead towards this final moment: the go-live. Go-live means to turn on the
SAP system for the end-users and to obtain feedback on the solution and to monitor the solution. It is also the
moment where product software adoption comes into play. More information on this topic:
Product Software Adoption: Big Bang Adoption
Product Software Adoption: Parallel Adoption
Product Software Adoption: Phased Adoption

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS:-

In order to successfully implement SAP in an organization, there are several things that are of great importance:
1) Choose the correct SAP Consultants to have the correct blueprint. An SAP Consultant is a professional who has
the skills to speak to the managers of a company and help them creating the blueprint. For this the SAP Consultant
has the business skills of the business area he/she is working with, and also masters this area on SAP. For example,
if this is SAP FI (accountancy) Consultant, this person is an expert on accountancy and payments, gained through
experience or by the corresponding studies at the University. Also this person knows SAP FI because has gained by
the corresponding training, or the course on the SAP Partner Academy or similar. Benefits: As this person knows
about Accountancy he or she will understand the needs of the business and will bring it into reality.
2) SAP R/3 implementation is not an IT project, in fact is an Organization Project impacting all levels of a company.
So it is very important to get the support from all the people that are involved in implementing SAP, but more
important the participation and commitment of all levels, specially managers, of the company.
3) The Blueprint is the keystone used as the lighthouse who must guide the whole project. A blueprint should never
be a merely mapping of IT systems. In fact a blueprint is bringing the strategy of a company into execution through
defining its processes across all business areas. Many projects have failed because the focus was on having people
with SAP knowledge, but with no business skills and so defining something that works...wrongly. Just remember,
processes must change across time, and a manual error automated could be repeated infinitely.
4) Always consider changing the way things have been done before implementing SAP. "This has always been done
like this and the Consultant should replicate it on SAP" is the start of a big problem. SAP many times could save
you time and money as it allows your organization to automate many processes.
5) Test the SAP hardware and software rigorously by testing your business processes, and to ensure that the end-
users are ready to use SAP before going live, because there are many known projects that failed because of a lack of
support and SAP knowledge.
6) Design and execute a Change Management Program by communicating as early as needed all the information that
end users should have to accept the new technology and designing and executing a training plan in order to reassure
a knowledge base within the organizations.