Stefan Herzog
Freelancer IT-Projectmanager and Consultant

Transformation projects SAP IS-U to SAP S/4HANA Utilities

Support for SAP R/3 and SAP ECC is guaranteed by SAP until the end of 2027. Extended maintenance is possible until the end of 2030 for an additional charge. This initial situation must now be examined strategically from a business perspective and an upcoming transformation project prepared, implemented and used operationally with the resulting system and software solution. The path to this can be divided into several phases. Based on the decision to remain with SAP, SAP has created a process model for the transition or transformation. The so-called ACTIVATE method or SAP Activate Methodology for Transition to SAP S/4HANA.

The DISCOVER and PREPARE phases can be seen as a preliminary project in which the basic guidelines and framework conditions are defined. Subsequently, the EXPLORE and REALIZE phases are run through several times in the main project and conclude with the DEPLOY phase.

Are you still looking for support with your transformation project? Please contact me for further details.


The phases of the preliminary project

DISCOVER phase - duration 3-6 months
The purpose of this first phase is to understand the functionality of S/4HANA Utilities and how the solution can benefit the organization. Another important milestone in this phase is to internalize the cloud mindset, define the implementation scope and strategy with an appropriate business case and select the qualified partner.

Strategic decisions and framework guidelines for the project can already be decided by the company management in this phase or can be passed on to the project and the next phase as a test order. These include

  • System architectures and cloud strategy
  • Restandardization and dealing with in-house development
  • Further use of peripheral systems
  • FIORI strategy
  • Transformation approach and data slicingSystemarchitekturen und Cloud-Strategie

Milestones of the phase:

  • Strategic and commercial decisions for the continuation have been made
  • Implementation scope and strategy are defined
  • Open topics/specifics are known
  • Project team for PREPARE phase has been appointed
  • External service providers are involved and commissioned
     

PREPARE phase - duration 6-9 months
The purpose of the second phase is to carry out initial planning and preparation for the project. In this phase, the project is launched, the plans are finalized, the project and change management teams are deployed and work begins on the individual sub-projects in order to get the project off to the best possible start.

Milestones of the phase:

  • Project organization and structure have been set up and an understanding of this has been established
  • People have been appointed to the roles of steering committee, project management, sub-project management and project staff and the roles have been understood by those involved
  • An initial project plan has been drawn up and a project kick-off has taken place
  • The process model for implementation has been selected (agile, waterfall or something in between)
  • Work packages within the sub-projects are known
  • Fit-to-standard workshops are structured and planned
  • Target architecture is specified and necessary project systems (source and target systems) are known and their provision is planned
  • System service providers for the peripheral systems are involved and commissioned for subsequent phases
  • List of peripheral systems has been created and completed with decisions on the retention or replacement of peripheral systems
  • Licenses have been ordered for the project and operation
  • Framework conditions for the operating model (in particular cloud components) have been defined
  • Migration strategy, transformation approach and data cut have been defined
  • Basic training for project participants in the phase has been carried out
  • Project marketing measures are planned
  • Involvement of auditors, data protection and works council is planned and may already have taken place

 

The phases of the main project

The EXPLORE and REALIZE phases are repeated several times, depending on the implementation procedure, until the decision to go live is made at the end of the final test phase. This can take the form of sprints and waves, for example. Planning purely according to test phases is also conceivable.


EXPLORE phase - Duration depending on the chosen implementation procedure together with the REALIZE phase 9-15 months
The purpose of the EXPLORE phase is to perform a fit-to-standard analysis to validate the solution functionality included in the project scope and confirm that the business requirements can be met. Configuration details and delta requirements are added to the backlog for use in the next phase.

Milstones of the phase:

  • Auditors, data protection and works council have been involved
  • Deviations from the standard have been identified and specified
  • Professional and technical requirements for process characteristics in the target system are described
  • Migration concept has been created, migration phases have been planned and the phase objectives are known
  • Test concept has been created, test phases have been planned and phase objectives are known
  • Procedure and tool for test execution and documentation are defined
  • Training needs analysis has been carried out, training concept has been created and training courses are planned
  • Project marketing for the project team and overall organization has been established

REALIZE phase - Duration depending on the chosen implementation procedure together with the REALIZE phase 9-15 months
The purpose of the REALIZE phase is to execute all the plans created and signed off in the EXPLORE phase. The solution is configured according to the previously collected and approved backlog. The users are prepared for the changeover, the end user training is prepared and carried out. The production environment is prepared for the changeover. A dress rehearsal of the go-live was carried out.

Milstones of the phase:

  • Overall solution is configured, implemented and integrated
  • Acceptance of the solution and approval for going live has been granted by the individual sub-project managers
  • Test phases and dress rehearsal have been completed
  • Third-party service providers have been informed about the go-live and availability has been coordinated
  • Production migration is prepared
  • Acceptance tests for go-live have been defined
  • Cutover plan has been completed and finalized for go-live
  • Training has been carried out and training documents and product documentation have been created
  • Project marketing for the project team and overall organization has taken place regularly
  • Project team and overall organization are informed about the go-live

DEPLOY phase - The duration extends over several days
The purpose of the DEPLOY phase is to switch to the production system. Once organizational readiness has been confirmed, the business and operations are converted to the new system. The activities are carried out according to the cutover plan.

Milestones of the phase:

  • Acceptance tests have been completed and approval has been granted from a TP perspective
  • Production migration has been completed and migration results and statistics have been collected
  • Release from the perspective of the migration sub-project has been granted
  • Acceptance test has been completed and approval has been granted from the sub-project perspective
  • Results documentation of the cutover process has been created
  • Project team and overall organization are informed about the result of the go-live

Are you still looking for support with your transformation project? Please contact me for further details.