What is the SAP Activate Methodology?

The SAP Activate Mthodology is the next generation agile approach that delivers ready-to-run
business processes optimized for S/4HANA software implementations with a reference solution
designed for continuous innovation. It offers an iterative implementation with frequent
validations. It also provides best practices for migration, integration, and configuration for
S4HANA. It supports different types of deployments, such as new implementation, system
conversion, and landscape transformation. Activate includes six distinct phases in its
implementation methodology.

Different phases
The Activate implementation methodology consists of the following phases:

 Discover phase
 Prepare phase
 Explore phase
 Realize phase
 Deploy phase
 Run phase

Discover phase
The first phase of the Activate methodology helps you to develop a roadmap and the
strategies for the implementation. SAP offers a free trial for both cloud and on-premise
deployments with preconfigured best practices scenarios. In this phase, business users
explore S/4HANA on-premise (30 days trial) and cloud (14 days trial) options to
evaluate various business processes across the enterprise functions. It also enables the
users to prepare a business case for the S/4 HANA adoption. To learn more about this
phase, check our SAP Activate - Discover Phase Overview course.

Prepare phase
In the Prepare phase, the project team conducts the initial planning and preparation
activities to get the project started. In this phase, the team defines project goals, scope,
and a project plan. Also, the roles and responsibilities of the project team are defined.
Besides these, there are many activities such as establish project standards,
organization, and governance, customer team assessment, establish project
management, tracking and reporting mechanisms for the delivery, team orientation, and
access to the system are executed in this phase. Are you looking for more information
about prepare phase? Check out our SAP Activate - Prepare Phase Overview course to
learn about this phase in detail.
Explore phase

In the Explore phase, the project team verifies that business requirements can be met
within the boundaries of the solution and project scope. A preconfigured solution from
SAP best practice with customer solution scope is used to facilitate this phase, and
solution validation workshops are conducted. Integration with legacy systems is started,
and activities such as data requirements review, data cleansing, defining configuration
values and identifying master data and organizational setup requirements. Interested in
learning more about the Explore phase, check out the SAP Activate - Explore Phase
Overview course.

Realize phase
In the Realize phase, the project team uses a series of iteration to build and test a
complete business and system environment based on the inputs from the previous
steps. The business user conducts overall end-to-end testing of the solution and creates
a cutover plan. They also walk through solution processes with the stakeholders. Other
activities, such as solution configuration, preparing change management, and end-user
training is also carried out in this phase. Additionally, the project team completed
activities such as Data Volume Management (DVM), data migration & verification,
security implementation, IT infrastructure setup, sizing & scalability verification in this
phase.

Deploy phase
The Deploy phase is the essential phase in the Activate methodology. In this phase, the
project team prepares and executes the system for production release (Go-Live). The
group runs the cutover plan, transitions business operations to the new system, and
moves from implementation support to production support. The final dress rehearsal
and production cutover planned in the earlier phase is carried out by the team to ensure
a smooth transition. This phase ends with hyper-care activity post the system release.

Run phase
The Run phase is the final phase in the Activate methodology. In this phase, the project
team winds up all activities and handover all details to the support team. The team also
involved in last minutes bug or error fixes in the system. Integration with the SAP
Solution Manager for operations, monitoring, and support are completed in this phase.
The project team closes the project and handovers all relevant documents to the
business owners. 

Activate – The Future

The Activate methodology is an iterative approach with incremental and frequent
validation. This next-generation agile methodology eases the challenges customers
face while implementing S/4HANA in their organization. With the leverage of
preconfigured business solutions with SAP best practices, it makes SAP innovations
fast, flexible and straightforward. Also, faster deployments, cost-to-effort ratio, reduced
risk by providing re-use, pre-built, tested solutions, and choice of deployments provide
organization to go for Activate as their implementation approach for the S/4HANA
adoption. Activate is the best implementation method for companies who choose to stay
ahead in technology by simplifying their business processes. With rapid innovation , this
methodology is here to stay for the coming years.

What Is the Discovery Phase?

The project discovery phase (or stage) is when you analyze the target market,
define your product-market fit (need for a product on the market), and gather all
the project requirements and goals.

Some people skip the discovery stage, mistakenly considering it to be a waste of

time and money. However, this stage helps companies understand their
customers better and roll out products that will actually solve their customers’
problems.

As a result, the discovery phase helps organize the development process better
and connect clients’ business goals with their users’ needs .

The Purpose of the Discovery Phase

First and foremost, the discovery phase in software development is meant to foresee
and eliminate risks such as a lack of market demand, unexpected expenses, and the
possibility of not being able to pay for them.
Mistakes made during the planning stage are the most expensive to fix later. That’s
why the main goals of the discovery stage are to test your ideas and implementation
strategies, and optimize development costs and the speed of the product launch.
With its crucial role in project management, the discovery phase is suitable for
products in any industry and of any complexity. But we’ll explain the process based
on our experience in developing a fintech product – an online mortgage platform.
So, again, the discovery stage helps you.
Establish business goals
The discovery phase activities include the creation of a product scope, the product’s
requirements, and business goals. It’s important to stick to these goals throughout
the development process and keep them in mind when making any changes to the
product.

Understand what a successful outcome looks like

It’s essential not only to outline the goals of the product, but also to define how many
of them will be enough to achieve a successful result. As a business owner, you have
to understand what you want to achieve with your product. For example, you can
strive to reach 100% of your goals, but even 70% of them might be enough to satisfy
your initial requirements.

Reasons for the Discovery Phase, and Its Benefits

If you still doubt the importance of the discovery phase, here is a brief summary of
what you get after it:

 Fewer expenses and a properly planned budget

 A better understanding of the scope and goals of your product

 Knowledge of the pain points and needs of your customers

 A Unique Value Proposition and defined market positioning

 The ability to outperform your competitors by learning their weaknesses and

making your product better

If you ignore the discovery phase and start development right away, you risk
creating a product without a market demand and increase the chances of a product
pivot.
Discovery Phase Team: Its Roles and Responsibilitie..