ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases

Composition of the ASAP Methodology Framework

SAP leverages a core set of methodologies and tools designed to deliver rapid, reliable results, and to help our customers get the most from their solutions. These include the ASAP Methodology framework (content the project team follows to implement SAP software efficiently), and the SAP Solution Manager application management suite. ASAP methodology framework v8 delivers structured methodology content processes, procedures, accelerators, checklists, links to standard SAP documentation, etc. necessary for the implementation of SAP solutions. The ASAP methodology framework v8 builds on solid foundation from ASAP 7 that includes transparency of value realization through consistent business case reflection. Efficient guidance for SOA, BPM and traditional implementation projects through the entire project life-cycle from evaluation through delivery to post project solution management and operations. And it delivers revised content in all the traditional areas needed for efficient project teams project management, solution management, organizational change management, training, blueprinting, configuration, testing, cutover planning and execution, and others. ASAP methodology framework v8 adds prescriptive guidance to the methodology through detailed description of tasks including accountability for their completion. This harmonized structure enables both project leaders and project teams to focus on information that is highly relevant for their role. ASAP methodology framework v8 contains comprehensive description of deliverables and associated tasks, thus connecting the project management view with subject matter expert needs. You can access the ASAP Methodology on the SAP Service Marketplace pages (login required).

Benefits of ASAP 8 Methodology include

Reduced total cost of implementation by embedding the principles of SAP Advanced Delivery Management into a prescriptive, streamlined and modular implementation road map for ASAP Content-rich implementation accelerators, templates, and guides for implementation projects from strategy to operations Transparent value delivery through consistent reflection of the business case Efficient project governance, quality management, and guidance for implementation projects and Business Process Management Approach that combines user centric design, business processes and IT architecture Coverage of the entire project lifecycle from evaluation through delivery to post project solution management and operations

Consistent content from Value Maps, Solutions, configuration to business process monitoring Latest version of Solution Explorer and Solution Configurator to explore SAP solution capabilities, select appropriate solutions and determine best pre-assembled RDS for your project

Proven and scalable implementation methodology guiding your team through the agile implementation project and ensuring seamless setup of solution operations Seamlessly integrated with SAP Solution Manager in both implementation and solution operations Simplify implementation further -- EVERY implementation starts with best practice content based on pre-assembled RDS
ASAP methodology framework is provided to end users in four variants (pre-selections)) to support various deployment strategies for implementation of SAP system. The following ASAP 8 pre-selection variants are available for end-users in SAP Service Marketplace (and also in SAP Solution Manager starting with ST-ICO SP37 content package release level):

Simplified Rapid Deployment Solution Experience / Assemble to Order Project

The success of your SAP solution is to a large degree determined by the speed and the effectiveness of the software implementation to add value to your organization. That is why SAP has introduced the Simplified Rapid-deployment Solution Experience. It combines the ability to explore SAP solution capabilities, select the appropriate pre-assembled RDS as a starting point for your project, and implement the solution in your business with the help of structured implementation approach - ASAP 8 Methodology for Simplified Rapid-deployment Solution and integrated operation supported by SAP Solution Manager. Simplified Rapid Deployment Solution Experience / Assemble-to-Order Project Methodology Phases - The Simplified Rapid Deployment Solution Experience / Assemble-to-Order Project Methodology is structured into the following phases.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

Project preparation - This phase provides initial planning and preparation for the project. Each project has its own unique objectives, scope, and priorities. The deliverables described in this phase assist in completing the initiation and planning steps in an efficient and effective manner like setup of project governance, project plan and project schedule are prepared at this stage. Scope validation - The purpose of this phase is to achieve a common understanding of how the company intends to run SAP to support their business. It focuses on the rapid setup of environment that is available for validation workshop with business users to confirm scope and determine delta requirements that will be realized in the next phase to enhance the baseline provided by preassembled RDS. Realization - The purpose of this phase is to implement all the business process delta requirements defined during the Scope Validation phase. The team configures, develops, tests and documents the solution in series of time-boxed iterations. Before the solution is released to next phase it is fully end-to-end integration tested and accepted by end users. Final preparation - The purpose of this phase is to complete the cutover activities (including technical and load testing, end user training, system management and cutover rehearsal activities) to finalize your readiness to go live. The Final Preparation phase also serves to resolve all remaining critical issues. On successful completion of this phase, you are ready to run your business in your live SAP System. Go-live support - The purpose of this phase is to move from a project-oriented, preproduction environment to live production operation and provide sustained support to business users to aid their transition into the new environment. Operate - The purpose of this phase is to fine-tune the application lifecycle standards, processes and procedures established during the project and align them with operation needs. The central operation platform is SAP Solution Manager, which leverages the documented solution for system operations.

Agile ASAP 8 Methodology

The success of your SAP solution is to a large degree determined by the speed and the effectiveness of the software to add value to your organization. That is why SAP has introduced Agile ASAP; a new, practical implementation methodology that allows you to implement operating functionality in short iterative cycles. In each cycle the team implements the most valuable and important functionality first. This enables you to generate results faster, gain immediate insight into the value, increase the flexibility of the implementation and improve progress monitoring Agile ASAP 8 Methodology Phases - The Standard ASAP 8 Methodology is structured into the following phases.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

Project preparation - This phase provides initial planning and preparation for the project. Each project has its own unique objectives, scope, and priorities. The deliverables described in this phase assist in completing the initiation and planning steps in an efficient and effective manner like setup of agile project governance, project plan and project schedule are prepared at this stage. Lean blueprint - The purpose of this phase is to achieve a common understanding of how the company intends to run SAP to support their business. It focuses on the rapid setup of solution validation environment for validation workshops with business users to confirm scope and determine delta requirements that will be realized in the next phase to enhance the baseline build of the system. Realization - The purpose of this phase is to implement all the business process delta requirements defined during the Lean blueprint phase. The team configures, develops, tests and documents the solution in series of time-boxed iterations the most valuable functionality first. Before the solution is released to next phase it is fully end-to-end integration tested and accepted by end users. Final preparation - The purpose of this phase is to complete the cutover activities (including technical and load testing, end user training, system management and cutover rehearsal activities) to finalize your readiness to go live. The Final Preparation phase also serves to resolve all remaining critical issues. On successful completion of this phase, you are ready to run your business in your live SAP System. Go-live support - The purpose of this phase is to move from a project-oriented, preproduction environment to live production operation and provide sustained support to business users to aid their transition into the new environment. Operate - The purpose of this phase is to fine-tune the application lifecycle standards, processes and procedures established during the project and align them with operation needs. The central operation platform is SAP Solution Manager, which leverages the documented solution for system operations.

Standard ASAP 8 Methodology

Standard ASAP 8 Methodology takes a disciplined approach to project management, organizational change management, solution management, application life-cycle management and other disciplines applied in the implementation of SAP solutions. The Standard ASAP 8 Methodology is built around the SAP Advanced Delivery Management model and supports project teams with templates, tools, questionnaires, and checklists, including guidebooks and accelerators. Standard ASAP 8 Methodology empowers companies to exploit the power of the accelerated features and tools already built into SAP solutions.

Standard ASAP 8 Methodology Phases -- The Standard ASAP 8 Methodology is structured into
the following phases.

1. 2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

Project preparation - During this phase the team goes through initial planning and preparation for SAP project. Business blueprint - The purpose of this phase is to achieve a common understanding of how the company intends to run SAP to support their business. In Standard ASAP 8 Methodology the result is the Business Blueprint, a detailed documentation of the results gathered during requirements workshops Realization - The purpose of this phase is to implement all the business process requirements based on the Business Blueprint. The system configuration in Standard ASAP 8 Methodology is done in two work packages: Baseline configuration (major scope); and Final configuration (remaining scope). During this phase the solution is also tested. Final preparation - The purpose of this phase is to complete the final preparation (including technical testing, end user training, system management and cutover activities) to finalize your readiness to go live. The Final Preparation phase also serves to resolve all critical open issues. On successful completion of this phase, you are ready to run your business in your live SAP System. Go-live support - The purpose of this phase is to move from a project-oriented, preproduction environment to live production operation. Operate - During this phase the system is operated with the help of the central operation platform, SAP Solution Manager, with the documented solution based on the transferred project documentation. Each phase has a set of deliverables that are produced during the duration of the phase and serve as the input to follow-up phases. Each deliverable provides list of outputs it consist of and methods that are used to produce the deliverable.

Work Streams
The ASAP 8 Methodology is structured around the key project work streams that are outlined in the picture below. For each work stream, the methodology provides the number of deliverables that are to be produced in each phase of the project.

ASAP Methodology
Before embarking into implementing SAP or any industry specific technology, we need to have a well planned approach and a project specific methodology to guide us on every stage of the process. There are several project methodologies available to carry out the implementation of an SAP CRM Project. We are going to take a look at SAPs own most commonly used methodology ASAP (Accelerated SAP). This methodology is a proven and reliable approach to implement SAP Business Solutions across industry and business environments. Let us take a look at the 5 phases involved in the ASAP Methodology and the tasks associated with each phase: 1) Project Preparation: The main purpose of Project Preparation phase is to help carry out the initial planning and preparation for the SAP CRM project. The strategy that will be followed for the implementation, such as the resources that will be involved, the landscape strategy, the sequence of implementation and finally getting all the above mentioned approved and signed off by the client. 2) Business Blueprint: The purpose of this phase is to understand the requirements of the client through requirements gathering. The resulting document is called the Business Blueprint. This also helps to achieve a common understanding of how the company intends to run its business within the SAP CRM system. The following would form a part of the Business Blueprint: AS IS Helps understand the existing business process. TO BE Based on AS IS, we look at how the business process can be mapped in SAP and if any changes have to be carried out to the existing business process if required. Gap Analysis This analysis is carried out to identify the inputs or business processes that cannot be mapped in SAP. Gap document is created to be analyzed further to identify a solution to bridge the gap. 3) Realization: Prototyping solutions and testing is done during the realization phase. In this phase we implement all the business process requirements based on the business blueprint. We define the test plans for system tests, data tests, data access tests and authorizations tests. We also establish the SAP CRM administration procedures. 4) Final Preparation: In this phase, we finalize the activities to roll out the SAP CRM system to the end-user community. The end-user training, final tuning and approval for going live is obtained. Before the Go-live phase a Cutover strategy is carried out which involves the migration of the Master Data and the Transaction Data from Legacy system to SAP system. 5) Go Live and Support: The purpose of the Go-live phase is to roll out the SAP CRM system to the end users in a live business environment. All the transactions, data and the system is monitored in the live environment. This phase also provides up to 2 weeks of post Go-live support, which is dependent on the agreement with the client. Any optimization that is required, is taken care of during this support phase. Normally, large companies have maintenance support contracts with SAP and get support on a global scale, up to 24/7 based on the Service Level Agreement (SLA).