PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN SAP SOLUTION MANAGER 7.2 FIELD REPORT

In August 2016, SAP announced the availability of the new release, SAP Solution Manager 7.2, for all SAP customers. It is the newest version of SAP’s Application Management tool that brings comprehensive changes and enhancements in the new topic Process Management.

In this article you will learn about our experience we have gained during the support of first implementations and tests of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 with a specific focus on what to consider as part of the so called “Content Activation”.

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THE CHANGES

The scenario Solution Documentation, which is used to model business processes, was completely revised.

The Content Activation has to be executed in order to transfer the built up documentation of SAP Solution Manager 7.1 and to ensure the further usage in 7.2. As the official maintenance support will end in December 2017, only little time remains for SAP customers to switch to SAP Solution Manager 7.2 and to execute the Content Activation.

THE NEW CONCEPTS

The SAP Solution Manager 7.2 reinforces the requirement to combine the needs of business and IT in one tool. In order to fulfill this requirement, SAP Solution Manager 7.2 delivers new concepts which impacts a whole range of scenarios. The known Solution Documentation of SAP Solution Manager 7.1 is now part of Process Management in 7.2 and is extended with additional functionality.

The limitation of three levels for the business process structure was removed and replaced with additional folders that can be inserted at overlying levels. You can now graphically model your business processes in BPMN without an external tool integration.

An essential change in the concept is the elimination of Projects in SAP Solution Manager 7.2 and the exclusive description of a SAP application via one Solution which contains the sum of all systems, applications and business processes.

With the SAP Solution Manager 7.2 you can document your productive landscape and describe planned business processes.

Therefore, SAP Solution Manager 7.2 provides a new concept which is called “Branches”. These branches allow among others a versioning and provide a staging area for future productive solutions.

One more innovation are the Libraries that allow the reuse of e.g. process steps and development objects.

OUR EVALUATION

With the release of the version 7.2 SAP has succeeded an important step towards a further usage of SAP Solution Manager. The user interfaces have been entirely moder-nized, hence leading to a higher acceptance of new users. In particular, the changes to the Solution Documentation scenario are significant, so that it results for experienced users of 7.1 in a completely new handling of the tool. Especially the Content Activation requires important conceptual preliminary considerations before starting an upgrade.

PREPARE TRANSITION AT THE RIGHT TIME

Technically, during the Content Activation the existing solution documentation of projects and solutions of 7.1 will be transferred into the Process Management of 7.2. Beforehand a few examinations are necessary. First of all, the users have to decide whether an upgrade - with the Content Activation - is required.

This applies to all users of the following areas:

• Solution Documentation

• Change Request Management

NEW PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN SAP SOLUTION MANAGER

EXPERIENCES AND BACKGROUND

SolutionProduction

PRD

MaintenanceDEV & QAS

Development 2DEV & QAS

Development 1DEV & QAS

Solution

Project

Project

BRANCHES

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• Quality Gate Management

• IT Portfolio and Project Management

• Test Management and Test Automation

• Business Process Monitoring

If none of the areas are being used with 7.1 and therefore, the SAP Solution Manager is rather utilized rudimentarily, a new fresh installation might be a valid alternative with respect to an upgrade.

solutions and projects will be transferred into a new solution with the associated Branches. Based on functional changes, some individual information won’t be trans-ferred. However, the loss of the assignment between incidents in the SOLAR documentation and administrative information of projects, dispensation of business process blueprint diagrams and the omission of keywords can be tolerated. The transfer of test plans and test packages from the Test Workbench in a purely read only mode is understandable because of the profound technical changes but has to be absolutely considered during the ongoing projects.

For users that have utilized Template Management in 7.1 for global rollouts, an alternative with the current service package (SP2) of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is still open from our point of view.

The preparation of the Content Activation should already start in 7.1. Part of this should be:

• Scoping of relevant projects and solutions for the Content Activation

• Clean up of existing solution documentation and consolidation of existing solutions and projects

• Conception for needed branches and logical component groups

As the Content Activation can only be executed once and there is no mechanism to reset it to the original state, SAP is offering the possibility in the SAP Cloud Appliance Library (CAL) to test the activation with your own solution documentation. The CAL system can be ordered at a short notice with manageable costs.

The usage of a CAL system for the SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Content Activation is free for three months except for the costs of the computing power. The computing power will be provided by an Amazon Web Service (AWS) account which requires a credit card. Our costs were around 80 to 200€ per month depending on the usage time.

The CAL image contains a pre-configured SAP Solution

NEW PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN SAP SOLUTION MANAGER

EXPERIENCES AND BACKGROUND

For the technical part of the activation, SAP provides extensive material which support the preparation, the upgrade, and the activation. Knowing that the Content Activation can only be executed once in a system, it is essential to understand the above-mentioned concepts and plan accordingly in advance for a successful activation. Within the planning the following questions should be considered:

• Which projects of SAP Solution Manager should be transferred?

• What projects and solutions can be consolidated?

• Which dependencies can be identified between the release planning of current implementation projects?

• Which end-users have to be trained?

Via Content Activation the complete documentation of

7.2

PREPARATION

UPGRADE

ACTIVATION

7.1

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Manager where SOLMAN_SETUP has been already executed but no additional scenarios have been confi-gured. The familiarization with the system which is based on service pack 1 could be overcome by a technical expert with SAP administrative knowledge. The fact that the SAP Solution Manager images in the cloud environment could be created easily and fast was positively noticed. This allows to execute the Content Activations multiple times.

OUR APPRAISEMENT

In our view, the biggest challenge when upgrading to SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is the fact that the Content Activation can only be executed once. The more a company is using the tool in their implementation projects, the more it will be required to start with a detailed planning and coordi-nation phase with users of SAP Solution Manager early on. With the possibility to try the Content Activation in the SAP CAL environment, SAP creates an intelligent possibility to gain first experiences. Customers who are not allowed to transfer their business processes into a cloud environment outside of their own company based on compliance policies can use artificial projects or solutions. However, those might not reflect the complexity of their real project landscapes.

CHANCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

In general, the overhaul of the user interfaces and the user guidance are an obvious progress in the version 7.2. The key benefit of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is the option to establish it as a central tool for the business users and the IT. A whole range of enhancements and the integration of the Solution Documentation provides the basis for this.

The integrated graphical modeling of business processes using BPMN is now possible without a solution from a third-party provider or the installation of additional components.

Users who are planning to implement S/4HANA can benefit from the SAP Best Practices Content of the SAP Active methodology. It contains among other things ready

faces. It reduces the redundancy of data in the Solution Documentation.

OUR EXPERIENCES

From our perspective, the cleaning and consolidation of projects and solutions, especially for users that already utilize the solution documentation extensively, is a challenging task which should not be underestimated in terms of effort and should be started soon.

As a result, a documentation is created which is standar-dized and closely linked to the technical solutions. It convinces with the consistent integrated aspect. During the familiarization, it takes a while to get used to the new application. Nevertheless, you can start directly and use the pragmatic way of modeling to discuss the business process with your business users. In regards to perfor-mance of the Process Management component with complex models or large user groups, we cannot yet give an assessment at the moment.

As already with 7.1, we see a comprehensive advantage through the usage of the Solution Documentation which can be leveraged in other areas of SAP Solution Manager, but now with an improved user interface.

NEW PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN SAP SOLUTION MANAGER

EXPERIENCES AND BACKGROUND

to use process diagrams, documentation and test cases.

Another advantage of the Process Management is the capability to reuse elements of the library for process steps, development and configuration objects and inter-

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FURTHER INFORMATION

A good start for getting familiar with the Content Activation is the Content Activation Guide which is provided by SAP and can be found here. Furthermore, important technical information in regards to the upgrade to 7.2 are provided by SAP Note 2227300.

A detailed introduction with many exercise and practical insights into the new Process Management with SAP Solution Manager 7.2 can be gained with the two day Content Activation Training (WSMCAT) offered by SAP Education.

NEW PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN SAP SOLUTION MANAGER

EXPERIENCES AND BACKGROUND

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OUR FOCUS

SAP business applications are subject to continuous change during their lifecycle. Application Lifecycle Ma-nagement assists you in implementing innovations faster, standardizing processes within the business and IT areas, and adapting to specific company situations in a way that is profitable to you.

SAP Solution Manager is SAP’s integrated platform to im-plement your ALM strategy.

Vostura’s service portfolio seamlessly covers the entire cycle from strategy development through to technical implementation. Successful SAP Application Lifecycle Management requires a holistic view of SAP solutions over the entire software lifecycle. This includes the planning, implementation, operation and optimization of SAP solu-tions.

OUR CONSULTING TOPICS

Our ALM consultancy focuses on the optimization of IT processes and organization, and the implementation of SAP Solution Manager.

ALM STRATEGY

Our ALM strategy service provides an assessment of the as-is situation and supplies a planning guide covering all ALM processes.

IT PROCESS CONSULTING

With customized offerings and best practice processes, we support you with the planning, concept design and imple-mentation as well as the development of new solutions.

ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPES

We develop the landscape options, evaluating them based on the requirements, and compile recommendations for handling the measures necessary to modernize the system landscapes.

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

A detailed conception and the sustainable implementa-tion of the IT Service Management processes ensure an efficient operation of your SAP solutions.

TEST MANAGEMENT

Testing is a vital factor for successful rollouts of SAP solutions. Vostura shows you the best method of efficient test management, test tool usage, and test automation for your projects.

VOSTURA CONSULTS YOUR IT-ORGANIZATION TO IMPROVE YOUR IT

PROCESSES AND TO OPTIMIZE YOUR SOLUTION LANDSCAPES.

RELEASE MANAGEMENT

Vostura creates release strategies which balance the requi-rement for stability and availability of the systems with the requirement for agile implementation of new business requirements.

CHANGE REQUEST MANAGEMENT

We combine the experience of a wide range of Change Request Management projects and can support you in adapting the change processes in your company.

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CONTACT

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T +49 30. 40 05 78 74F +49 30. 36 74 62 877

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