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If you want to learn more about ASAP 8 we recommend you to review the ADM deep dive session to Standard ASAP and Agile ASAP that are available on SCN.
This document will be regularly updated with answers about ASAP 8 Implementation Methodology. Please send us your questions or post them in the comments.
ASAP 8 builds on the foundation of ASAP 7 and extends the focus on the four lifecycles (Business Processs Management, Value Management, Project Management and Application Lifecycle Management) with prescriptive delivery approach based on the SAP Advanced Delivery Management approach.
With ASAP 8 release the methodology bacame a framework for delivery of SAP projects and services. It has been used for definition of Service Delivery WBS for over 200 services in SAP Services Portfolio. ASAP 8 continues to bring innovation into the delivery projects with the new content for Application Visualization with iRise, Design Thinking Guides, Agile Implementation approach, Lean Blueprinting, etc.
There are changes in ASAP taxonomy including addition of Delivery Mode, Deployment Mode, clear assignment of accountability that enable the prescriptive delivery defined in SAP Advaced Delivery Management approach.
Customers and partners can access ASAP 8 methodology in SAP Service Marketplace http://service.sap.com/asap -> ASAP Implementation. Also check the webinars listed at the top of this post as they provide overview and show details about navigation in the ASAP environment.
You can download up to date ASAP 8 overview presentation from ADM webinars for ASAP 8 methodology - Standard ASAP presentation and Agile ASAP presentation.
SAP is working on preparing ASAP 8 content in the SAP Solution Manager as a roadmap. We are targeting shipment of ASAP 8 contnet in Solution Manager content package ST-ICO SP37.
ASAP 8 is delivered through on-line platform (SAP Service Marketplace) and SAP Solution Manager (in near future). Currently there is no local version for PC or Mac.
SAP Education is already offering ASA380 course updated to ASAP 8 level. Classroom training is offered in SAP Training Centers.
Yes. The updated version of the certification C_PM_71 will be available shortly in SAP Training Center and PearsonVue testing centers.
The ASAP 8 WBS Dictionary accelerator is stored on the node 1.5 Scope Statement as the 'ASAP 8 WBS Dictionary Template'.
Q: I've heard that ASAP now contains specific Design Thinking use cases as guides. Where can I find them in the methodology?
Refer to the picture below for more details about the locations and use cases for Design Thinking wokshops in the context of Standard and Agile ASAP projects.
In general the sprints are between 2 and 4 weeks of duration. Consistently through out the project - once the team picks duration for their sprints they stick with it. In organizations that already have regular cadence (takt) it is recommended that the project is synchronized with the overall takt. In organizations that do not have established takt the project team sets the sprint duration and uses it consistently from sprint to sprint.
Q: Agile ASAP - how do I deal with deliverables that are longer that the sprint duration?
The team needs to split the larger requirements into smaller user stories that can be delivered within a sprint. General rule of thumb in Agile projects is that the requirement should not be bigger than 50% of the duration of the sprint. This way team has ability to show progress during the sprint and ensure that the requiremnt is getting realized.
Q: Agile ASAP - I understand that the sprints are implementing bite-size requirements, does the blueprinting need to be comprehensive and include full design work?
No. The blueprinting needs to collect the requirments on the level that is sufficient for the project team to understand the requirement, estimate it and implement it in the sprint. It is not the objective of the lean blueprint to detail the technical and functional implementation. This is one reason why the Blueprint phase in Agile implementation is referred to as a Lean Blueprint (in A2O projects as Delta Scoping)
Q: Agile ASAP - What are the key criteria to determine whether to use Traditional or Agile approach?
In general both approaches are suitable to implementation of SAP solutions. The preferred approach is determined by assessing the organizational fit, project team fit, project manager fit, solution fit and stakeholder expectations fit. Following picture shows conditions that challenge agile and overview of benefits of Agile. Note that conditions that challenge agile adoption are not necessarily show stopper; agile teams need to adjust the approach to work around the issue/limitation - for example in regulated environments the team needs to include the documentation requirements as part of the definition of Done.
In general the sprints are between 2 and 4 weeks of duration. Consistently through out the project - once the team picks duration for their sprints they stick with it. In organizations that already have regular cadence (takt) it is recommended that the project is synchronized with the overall takt. In organizations that do not have established takt the project team sets the sprint duration and uses it consistently from sprint to sprint.
Q: Agile ASAP - how do I deal with deliverables that are longer that the sprint duration?
The team needs to split the larger requirements into smaller user stories that can be delivered within a sprint. General rule of thumb in Agile projects is that the requirement should not be bigger than 50% of the duration of the sprint. This way team has ability to show progress during the sprint and ensure that the requiremnt is getting realized.
Q: Agile ASAP - I understand that the sprints are implementing bite-size requirements, does the blueprinting need to be comprehensive and include full design work?
No. The blueprinting needs to collect the requirments on the level that is sufficient for the project team to understand the requirement, estimate it and implement it in the sprint. It is not the objective of the lean blueprint to detail the technical and functional implementation. This is one reason why the Blueprint phase in Agile implementation is referred to as a Lean Blueprint (in A2O projects as Delta Scoping)
As noted above the ASAP evolved from single methodology into a framework allowing SAP to design customized methodology roadmaps for different deployment strategies (Standard, Agile, Assemble-to-Order, etc.) and also to support delivery of services (RDS, engineered services, high-value services). These different views of ASAP 8 are called pre-selections. Some pre-selections have significantly lower number of deliverables - for example Rapid Deployment Solution deployment template. Other pre-selections have comparable list and number of deliverables to ASAP 7. All the ASAP 8 content has been updated to correctly reflect the associated tasks that are supporting completion of the deliverable.
Yes. The Agile ASAP methodology contains specific accelerators. For example list of Agile project roles in project governance section, Agile product backlog template, guides for execution of Agile sprints, etc.
Q: Since Agile methodology requires continuous engagement of business, functional consultants and development team to complete the sprints, will the total manpower in the project increase compared to water fall methodology?
Note that the engagement of the business users during Agile project is clearly outlined and mainly involves them in clear definition of requirements, availability to answer questions during the iteration and availability during the sprint review cycle. This does not necessarily result in significant increase of the effort business users spend with the project, but it is generally more than business involvement in traditional project. The main difference here is that business users get involved more frequently and thus can influence the direction of the solution much better than if they only get involved in integration / user acceptance testing.
Q: Is the objective of Agile ASAP to improve the time to value or reduction of implementation cost to customer?
It is both. Agile approach allows teams to focus on realization of requirements by business value (set focus on high value requirements) and ability to deliver solution in incremental approach thus improving time to value. Combination of these approaches also increases end-user satisfaction as they are involved in the project more closely than in traditional approach.
While iRise product can be used in multiple contexts in the context of SAP implementation we recommend to use it as the application visualization environment to clarify the business requirements and design early in the project. It is also used during the Blueprint/Lean Blueprint or Scope Validation phase to confirm the solution design for functionality that is not pre-built in RDS or Best Practices or takes too much effort to configure completely in the system. The use of these tools is typically done during the Solution Demo approach and also during the design activities in Realization.
The best way to create the Project Schedule is to use the ASAP 8 WBS template accelerator that is available on the deliverable Scope Statement and import it to your project scheduling tool of choice. The accelerator outlines the phases, deliverables, tasks and accountability for completion of these tasks in one comprehensive view. This information can be used by scheduling tools like MS Project and others.
Q: Do you have plans to show the task level instructions in the ASAP 8 in Service Marketplace?
Yes. We are currently working on the enhancements to the HTML version in Service Marketplace to provide more details in the interface. We are aiming for delivery around SAPPHIRE timeframe. Also in SAP Solution Manager the hierarchy will include task level detail.