What is ASAP Methodology?

ASAP Methodology is often known as “Accelerated SAP” is a standard SAP related Project preparation
and implementation method. This methodology is developed and updated by the consultants who are in
involved in implementing SAP software products. This methodology is also equally useful for the project
managers and other individuals who are into implementing systems which cater towards business
support processes.
The main purpose of ASAP or Accelerated SAP is to help project managers to design SAP implementation
in an effective and efficient manner possible. This way we can assure that the time, quality, people and
other resources are optimally utilized during this process.
Using this process, i.e. ASAP methodology, project management provides a roadmap for effectively
optimizing the implementation of SAP systems in the business processes. The solution that is developed
will guarantee successful project solutions without compromising on the budget and the on-time
delivery.
This framework will provide the different methods, tools, and templates that are originally developed
for SAP projects. So using these within the project management will be definitely helpful.

What is Accelerated SAP Methodology Framework?

The Accelerated SAP Methodology, i.e. ASAP Framework mainly consists of five different phases of
implementation. Each phase of execution focuses on documentation, recommendations, and
implementations of SAP systems. After each and every phase executed successfully quality check is
carried out that will help the monitor to deliverables and also focus on vital factors which are crucial for
success.
Phases of ASAP Methodology:

All the five different phases of ASAP methodology are listed below within detail explanation below:

 Project Preparation
 Business Blueprint
 Realization
 Final Preparation
 Go-live and support

All these phases are explained in detailed:

Project Preparation:
This is more related to gathering information and required resources. This is a very crucial time where
all the necessary components for implementation are gathered together. Some of the vital milestones
that needed to be completed in project preparation phase are:

 Get approval and support from Stakeholder

 Seek Senior level management approval
 Identify and define clear project objectives
 Work on an efficient decision-making process
 Work in an environment which is robust and it is suitable for change and re-engineering
 Last but not the least, work on building a qualified and smart project team.

Business Blueprint:

Within this phase, according to the SAP methodology, all suitable information of the company is
gathered so that based on the necessary information gathered, the implementation process will be
designed. Most of the time, these blueprints are in the form of surveys and questionnaires which will
yield information about how the company does business in general.
In addition to this, they also document this process.
In the Business Blueprint documentation, it outlines the future business processes and the business
requirements. These questions are categorized by only one business function. The following are sample
questions:
What type of information is captured on a purchase order?
What is the specific information that is required to complete the purchase order?

Realization:
This is the third phase in the process.
After successfully completing phase 1 and phase 2, “functional” experts will be available and start
configuring SAP systems.
This phase is broken into two parts:
1. The SAP consulting team will help you to configure baseline system, which is officially called as
Baseline Configuration.
2. As per the standard process, the implementation team will start fine-tuning the existing baseline
configurations and make sure all the business needs and requirements are a part of the fine-tuning
process.
As per the requirement provided in the Business Blueprint phase, baseline configuration is provided as
per the Blueprint document. Further, the remaining 20% approximately is corrected within fine tuning
configuration.
Most of the time Fine tuning cannot be covered with the help of Baseline Configuration. Users have to
make sure all of remaining fine-tuning process.
Configuration Testing:
With the help of experienced SAP consulting team, you can separate the business process into several
cycles of related business flows. In turn, these cycles are referred to as independent units which can be
used to test specific parts of the business process.
In the process, you can also follow the standards mentioned in SAP implementation guide (IMG). This is
a tool that can be used to assist while configuring your SAP system in a step by step manner.

Knowledge Transfer:
Once the configuration phases come to an end, it is vital for the business or the project team to be self-
sufficient in terms of the configuration knowledge of the SAP system.
In order to get proper effective knowledge transfer, configuration team should be tasked with the
system maintenance team ( an i.e. post-production team that is allocated to Go-Live condition) needs to
be completed at this point of time.
In addition, end-user training should also be scheduled so that they will be productive in day-to-day
businesses purposes.

Final Preparation:
This is a crucial part of the overall implementation.
As the project team has gone through configuration steps and also the knowledge transfers phases, it is
vital for the team to concentrate on the SAP training and should be involved in rigorous functional and
stress testing. It should include both positive and negative process flow testing. This will help them to go
through the entire functional flow of the product and at the same time they will be building up
confidence over the tool.
As the team is involved in testing, it will be a stage where a lot of last minutes fine-tuning will be
designated and the configuration will be changed according to the needs. All this will happen before Go-
live and more importantly, the data migration is also another important task that one has to give
importance. Data migration from the old system to the SAP should be done effectively without any
latency.
Once the data is loaded it is vital for the team to conduct stress testing with actual valid data. Testing
with peak volume data, daily load, and other forms of stress testing is very important and it is
recommended. The integration and stress testing are important because it will validate the stability of
the new system and also make sure that the data flow is also accurate.
After all the data migrations and last minute fine tunings, it is time for preventive maintenance checks
this will help the team to make sure that SAP system is configured for optimum performance. After this
activity, it is all about documenting the Go-Live strategy. At this point, it is more about the preparing
yourself to answer most of the questions from end users who are actively using the SAP system.
Go-Live and Support:
Go-Live activity will be smooth and breeze if all the previous phases have been executed under strict
monitoring process. If all the previous phases are not dealt with the way they were supposed to be then
it is altogether a different ball game.
Introducing a new system or tool or a service to entire different individuals, in this case, preparation is
the key. Within this preparation, one has to make sure that they have answered all the What If scenarios
within the business processes and how is the tool or system is capable of answering or supporting in
those situations.
Further, processing maintenance contracts and documenting the overall Go-live process is vital in this
phase.

What is SAP Landscape?

Landscape is like a server system or like a layout of the servers or some may even call it the architecture
of the servers viz. SAP is divided into three different landscape DEV, QAS and PRD.
– DEV would have multiple clients for ex: 190- Sandbox, 100- Golden, 180 – Unit Test.
– QAS may again have multiple clients for ex: 300- Integration Test, 700 to 710 Training.
– PRD may have something like a 200 Production.
These names and numbers are the implementer’s discreet on how they want it or they have been using
in their previous implementations or how is the client’s business scenario.
Now whatever you do in the Sandbox doesn’t affect the other servers or clients. Whenever you think you
are satisfied with your configuration and you think you can use it moving forward, you RE-DO it in the
golden client (remember, this is a very neat and clean client and you cannot use it for rough usage). As
you re-do everything that you had thought was important and usable, you get a transport request pop
up upon saving every time. You save it under a transport request and give your description to it. Thus
the configuration is transported to the Unit Test client (180 in this example).
You don’t run any transaction or even use the SAP Easy Access screen on the 100 (golden) client. This is
a configuration only client. Now upon a successful transport by the Basis guy, you have all the
configuration in the Testing client, just as it is in the Golden client. The configuration remains in sync
between these two clients.
But in the Testing client you cannot even access SPRO (Display IMG) screen. It’s a transaction only client
where you perform the unit test. Upon a satisfactory unit test, you move the good configuration to the
next SERVER (DEV). The incorrect or unsatisfactory configuration is corrected in Golden (may again as
well be practised in the sandbox prior to Golden) and accordingly transported back to 180 (Unit Test)
until the unit test affected by that particular config is satisfactory.
The Golden client remains the ‘database’ (if you wanna call it that) or you may rather call it the ‘ultimate’
reference client for all the good, complete and final configuration that is being used in the
implementation.
In summary:
Landscape : is the arrangement for the servers
IDES : is purely for education purpose and is NOT INCLUDED in the landscape.
DEVELOPMENT —> QUALITY —-> PRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT : is where the the consultants do the customization as per the company’s
requirement.
QUALITY : is where the core team members and other members test the customization.
PRODUCTION : is where the live data of the company is recorded.

A request will flow from Dev -> Qual -> Prod and not backwards.
1. 1. Sandbox server: In the initial stages of any implementation project, you are given a sandbox
server where you do all the configuration/customization as per the company’s business process.
2. 2. Development Server: – Once the BBP gets signed off, the configuration is done is development
server and saved in workbench requests, to be transported to Production server.
3. 3. Production Server: This is the last/ most refined client where the user will work after project
GO LIVE. Any changes/ new development is done is development client and the request is
transported to production.
These three are landscape of any Company. They organized their office in these three way. Developer
develop their program in Development server and then transport it to test server. In testing server
tester check/test the program and then transport it to Production Server. Later it will deploy to client
from production server.
Presentaion Server- Where SAP GUI have.
Application Server – Where SAP Installed.
Database Server – Where Database installed.
TYPES OF SAP PROJECTS & TESTING METHODS

Purpose : Explanation of different types of SAP projects .

1. SAP Implementation Project. :
Company wants to implement SAP Module( Ex :HCM/MM/SD/FI/CO etc) for the first time. In
implementation projects consultant from various modules do configuration based on company
requirements. Role of consultants are configuration, integration of several modules, Data
migration from Legacy system to SAP system, prepare interfaces/RFC’s to interact with sap/3rd
party systems,testings, document preparation, end user training etc Methodology suggests by SAP
for implementation is ASAP.
There are 5 stages in the ASAP methodology
1. Project Initial Preparation
2.Business Blueprint – Preparation of AS-IS and TO BE documents , MoM , workshops….
3.Realization – complete configuration settings in backend
4.Final Preparation- Unit testing, integration testing, UAT and end user training
5.Golive And Support : data migrations
2. SAP Support Project.
After implementation of SAP modules customer/business need assistance of consultants in
their day to day business operations using SAP software. The end user raise their
concerns,issues,errors etc through a ticket handling tool. A ticket handing tool is must for a support
project ,it helps to track the status of tickets. Basically there is no phases in it. Roles of a
consultant Accept /Acknowledge the tickets, analysis the issue, document it ,solve, provide
solutions to client,Get confirmation from the user & close the ticket.
Change request and service request is the main roles in support projects.
there is a different tools to update the tickets like SM7, USD or ticket tools and so on.
3. SAP Roll-Out Project.
Company has upgraded/implemented SAP HR & wants to rollout country specific changes in
different countries.
4. SAP Up gradation Project.
Customers are moving from the older versions to new versions. It is called as SAP Migration
Projects.
Example : Company migrating from older versions like 4.5,4.6b, 4.6c to ECC 5.0 / ECC 6.0 . SAP
HR EHP3 to SAP HR EHP 5 .
TESTING METHODS IN SAP PROJECTS:
1.Development Unit Testing This is done by developer .Unit test is executed in development system.
This tests alone pieces of functionality.
For example, you have configured the absence quotas,special absences(maternity leave or military
leaves) , custom pcrs or FMLA in development system, you dont know whether the output is coming
correct or not , for that you have to login another client in same development system , do the copy from
client by using transaction code SCC1 ,here you have to give your transport request and execute ,
whatever you have configured in main system all objects are copied to testing client, Now hire the
employee , run the time eval and test the output .

2. Security Testing Security testing ensures the SAP security roles and authorization roles provided
based on the requirements. Test IDs will be created of different job roles and used to both confirm
what a user can do and what a user cannot do. The tester will perform both Positive and Negative
testing of the of job roles that are assigned to user test ids.
3. Integration Testing In a multiple plat form environment integration testing is mandatory
.All integrated areas need to test by a tester. It is testing of SAP transactions (for example , Hr is
integrated with Sales and distribution(creation of order and raise a invoice for billable resources, HR
is integrated with Controlling or Project system, you need to test all accordingly.
4.Parallel Testing During parallel testing all the existing data in the legacy system will transfer to
SAP system & perform same process in both systems. A successful Parallel test shows identical
results when both the legacy system and new system results are compared. Tester will run the
programs / transaction repeatedly in both system , resolve issues with the help of other team if any
issues, continue perform tests till gets the identical results in both. Example : Parallel
payroll process. Run payrolls in SAP & legacy system for 2-3 months & analyze the payroll results
5.User Acceptance Testing(UAT) User Acceptance testing is conducted in by a group of business
end users to validate that the new developed SAP system meets all requirements. During User
acceptance testing the system end users separately execute test cases & find out the results are as
expected. The test team will guide the UAT team in their testing activities. UAT will ensure that the
system is acceptable from the users perspective, performing as per the requirement & if the users
are satisfied they provide a sign off.