Introduction to SAP Solution Manager

SAP Solution Manager Overview

Accelerated SAP (ASAP) Methodology
SAP Solution Manager as Toolset for Implementation
SAP Solution Manager as Toolset for Operations and Continuous Improvement

Why Solution Manager?

There are several reasons to implement SAP Solution Manager:
SAP Solution Manager enables the customer to have a faster implementation of SAP solutions and helps
optimize operations once implementation is complete.
Implementing SAP Solution Manager gives the customer access to all available implementation and
upgrade content.
Customers have easy access to all support services that are relevant to operations, maintenance, and
improvement activities. This leads to faster issue resolution through close collaboration with Active Global
Support.
Faster implementation and more efficient operation of solutions
All available implementation and upgrade content is included
Optimal access to all support services
Optimal support of all operations, maintenance and improvement activities
Faster issue resolution through collaboration with Active Global Support
SAP Solution Manager supports you through each phase of your project, from planning to
testing and hand-over to operations.

SAP Solution Manager Overview

The SAP Solution Manager is the central application management platform that customers can run in
their solution landscape to help them efficiently implement, operate, monitor, and support their SAP
solutions.
SAP Solution Manager is thus used for both Implementation and Operational Functions.
The SAP Solution Manager provides tools, content, and a gateway to SAP that helps to:
Optimize the management of your SAP solution
Ensure reliability of your SAP solution
Ensure efficient operations
Ease implementation and upgrades
Continuously adapt and improve your solution

Customer's System Landscape

The SAP Solution Manager is a separate, complete Web Application Server installation that is
connected to all systems in your solution landscape. These various systems are called satellite
systems.
SAP Solution Manager acts as the central system of your solution landscape, allowing
business processes to be implemented, tested, and even monitored in an integrated manner, thus
avoiding duplication of effort and information and streamlining your activities.

Solution Manager Usage Scenarios

There are many scenarios in which SAP Solution Manager can be used. Each scenario occurs in one
of the three life cycle phases, implementation, operations, and optimization. This is also
known as the cycle of continuous improvement.
There are six common scenarios for Solution Manager. They are:
Implement SAP Solutions
Monitor SAP Solutions
Manage the Service Desk
Link to SAP Services
Manage Change Requests
Upgrade SAP Solutions

Benefits of SAP Solution Manager: 1

More reliable IT solutions
Minimize risk during implementation
Avoid inconsistencies
Resolve issues quickly resulting in less down time
More efficient implementation and change management projects
Reduced cost of implementation and continuous improvement
Reduce cost of process design technical setup, business setup, support and
operations, testing, and knowledge transfer
Centralized project handling blueprinting, configuration, and testing
Reduces the costs of upgrades or continuous improvement projects.
Benefits of Solution Manager: 2
Faster return on investment (ROI)
Reduced cost of operation
More leverage from IT investments

Accelerated SAP (ASAP) Methodology

This topic provides you with an understanding of SAP's standard implementation methodology.
The Accelerated SAP (ASAP) methodology is a proven, repeatable, and successful approach to
implement SAP solutions across multiple industries and customer environments.
ASAP was first introduced as a PC-based tool set called Value SAP, which eventually
included the Implementation, Global and Upgrade roadmaps.
The ASAP methodology is now fully integrated into SAP Solution Manager and Accelerated
SAP roadmaps provide content, tools, and expertise from thousands of successful implementations.

Project preparation:
This is the initial planning for the customers' SAP project.
The activities include general project management requirements, an issues management plan, an
organizational change management plan and the establishment of other policies and procedures for running the
project.
Business Blueprint:
It comprises activities for aligning the customers business and technical requirements to the SAP standard
software.
Business blueprint in ASAP becomes the plan for the eventual configuration of a customers SAP software
solution.
This phase concludes with the approval of a business blueprint document.
Realization phase:
It comprises the building and testing of the solution as prescribed by the business blueprint document.
Activities in this phase include customizing in the Implementation Guide of the associated development
systems.
The realization phase also includes software enhancements, special programming, building and executing test
plans, and finally, signing-off the configured system.
Final Preparation:
Many crucial tasks such as acceptance testing of the production system hardware, the completion of end-user
training, and plans for transfer to the production system complete here.

Go live and support:

During this phase, items such as service level agreements and help-desk procedures are established and
tested. The conclusion of this phase is the hand-over to the operations and monitoring staff.

Standard ASAP Roadmaps:

ASAP roadmaps outline the activities involved in implementing, upgrading, or enhancing SAP solutions.
Each roadmap has a set of deliverables, accelerators, role descriptions and additional guides.
The five standard roadmaps in ASAP: Implementation Roadmap: provides the methodological framework for the project team to leverage in the
implementation of a SAP solution. It covers the necessary project management, requirements gathering,
design, configuration of business processes, technical implementation, test procedures, training and
organization change management.
Solution Management Roadmap: provides a methodology for the implementation of the technical
infrastructure and its operation. The Solution Management Roadmap complements the Implementation
Roadmap.
Global Template Roadmap: describes how to organize and run a project in which a corporate template is
developed.
The Global Template Roadmap is geared toward more complex implementation projects,
typically involving more than one kind of SAP solution and a variety of sites, possibly in different countries.
The corporate template is rolled out to other sites in a follow-up project.

 Upgrade Roadmap: The Upgrade Roadmap is designed to help you carry out the
customizing activities required for an upgrade.
Other Roadmaps: The Enterprise Portal and Exchange Infrastructure roadmaps are simply
variations of the Implementation Roadmap.

Five Phases of the Implementation Roadmap:

SAP Solution Manager as Toolset for Implementation

Each phase of the roadmap provides a list of general project management activities, such as
project team status, scope management, training plan management, and so on.
The ASAP Implementation Roadmap provides a work breakdown structure that can be used
to plan and track the underlying activities and tasks of the implementation;
The main elements of the Implementation Roadmap are:
Roadmap structure : gives the project team a list of what to do and when to do it. This
appears on the left-side of the screen displayed. The roadmap structure can be filtered by roles
so that each team member can focus only on those items requiring their attention.
Viewing/text area: on the upper right-side of the screen, displays procedural guides,
prerequisite information, and deliverables of the highlighted structure items on the left-side of
the screen.
Attachments area: on the lower right-side of the screen displays various items such as
accelerators, issues, and supplemental documentation. In this area you can also carry-out
various tasks, such as assigning project team members, status etc.

The main elements of the Implementation Roadmap are:

Features of the Business Blueprint

There are several features of a Business Blueprint transaction. We will focus on the following
features:
Blueprint structure
Business scenarios
Business process groups
Associated items
Blueprint document

Components of the Configuration Transaction:

The purpose of the Configuration transaction is to use the Business Blueprint structure to configure
IMG objects in your development system. Here is a list of the most commonly used components
available in the Configuration transaction:
Project documentation
Transaction assignments
Configuration of IMG objects
Development items
Test cases
Graphics
Training materials

Configuration Testing Features: 1

Testing is one of most important components of Configuration. A crucial part of the Realization
phase is the ability to test the functionality of the solution as you build it.
Integrated into Solution Manager is the Test Workbench, which includes the test organizer,
automated testing tools, and interfaces to third-party testing tools.
The figure depicts the integration of the testing tools provided by the SAP Solution Manager.
Configuration Testing Features: 2:
This figure shows the components of the testing workflow, from the building of test plan to the
execution of the test cases within the plan to the analysis of results.
The benefits of the testing features include:
Reduced time for test preparation and execution
Single point of access to complete system landscape
Central storage of testing material and test results
Re-use of existing testing material

SAP Solution Manager as a Toolset for Operations and

Continuose Improvements

This topic will introduce you to the functions available through Solution Manager that can help
manage, support, and optimize the productive environment.
Features such as solution monitoring, Service Desk, and Change Request
Management are defined.
SAP Solution Manager During Productive Operations
Once we have a live production system, Solution Manager takes on the role of a central system
that integrates tools such as system monitoring, business process monitoring and the help desk.
Solution Manager is a powerful tool because it is your gateway to SAP Support. Based on your
solution configuration, Solution Manager automatically triggers recommendations for services such
as remote consulting, self-services, and best practice documents.

Solution Monitoring:
Through solution monitoring,entire business process can be monitored as a whole across multiple
component.
This concept is realized through the following three monitoring sections within the SAP Solution
Manager:
Business Process Monitoring: Real-time monitoring with a focus on the graphical display of
business processes based on
the Computing Center Management System (CCMS).
System Monitoring: Central System: Administration and real-time monitoring based on the
Computing Center Management System (CCMS)
Service Level Management: Continuous monitoring based on SAP EarlyWatch Alert

 This topic will introduce you to the functions available through Solution Manager that can help
manage, support, and optimize the productive environment.
Features such as solution monitoring, Service Desk, and Change Request Management.

Service Desk Features:

The service desk offers a complete infrastructure for organizing and operating a solution-wide
support organization at your site.
Features include:
1.Message handling process
2.Customer solution database
3.Managing SAP Notes
4.Solution Manager diagnostics

Change Request Management:

Two commonly used advanced features are Change Request Management and Solution Manager
Diagnostics
Change Request Management (as part of the SAP Solution Manager), integrates service desk
functionality for managing change requests.
The processes supported by Change Request Management include urgent corrections for
implementing fast and direct changes in the productive environment, and maintenance cycle
activities such as regular releases and implementation, upgrade, or template projects.
Solution Manager Diagnostics
Solution Manager diagnostics provides all functionality to centrally analyze and monitor a
complete SAP solution.
It also reduces the time needed to train a support consultant in root cause analysis.

Thanks