SAP & ERP Consulting from the Customer Point of View

SAP Reimplementation

Some time ago I started a series on doing an SAP reimplementation for little more cost than a technical upgrade.  While I have done these, there were also a couple of interesting scenarios that added new complexities which needed to be addressed.  For example, how do companies deal with a seriously fragmented application landscape?  This is esepcially true in large enterprises where each company code, location, business unit, or other area decided to implement their own SAP applications independent of the others.  Then there are the companies with rollouts or upgrades underway.  For them the situation is a little different.  As a result I have decided to try to wrap this up with a focus on three key types of situations outlined below.

To review the previous posts on this topic, please see:

• Technical SAP Upgrade or SAP Reimplementation
• SAP Reimplementation For Little More Cost than a Technical Upgrade Part 1
• SAP Reimplementation for Little More Cost than a Technical Upgrade Part 2

This topic is difficult just because there are so many “dimensions” of options to consider. As a result I’ve narrowed the focus to a few key areas.

Primary SAP Reimplementation Approaches or Options

As I pondered it more, and looked at the re-implementations I’ve done, as well as some of the system assessments and options, I finally decided to “bracket” them with a few key approaches. Because the numbers of options for re-implementation are too significant to address here I decided to stay at the high level to cover the major approaches.

1. A reimplementation of a single SAP production instance.
2. Integrating a landscape with multiple SAP production instances onto a single global instance.
3. Rollout – whether it is an ongoing project that is not complete or a fully implemented system and you are considering an upgrade.

SAP Reimplementation Assumptions

As I wrote previously, one of the crucial considerations for a re-implementation is to move away from Software Engineering and toward business process engineering. First, let’s establish a few very basic assumptions about an SAP reimplementation:

1. After you went live, or as you continued to roll out your solution, you discovered several “if we had known “x” we would have done “y.”
2. Or, you may have incorporated a significant amount of custom code, or custom application development (inside or outside of SAP) and discovered that standard functionality would have met about ~90% (more or less) of your requirements (see SAP Implementation Focus, Software Engineering or Business Process Engineering?).
3. You’ve already worked through the hard stuff in your original SAP implementation (see the section by this same title in SAP Reimplementation For Little More Cost than a Technical Upgrade Part 1). In other words, the hard decisions around the processes, organizational structures and data types have already been made.
4. You may have additional functionality or other modules you want to implement and find that custom coded “solutions” are making them difficult to bring in.
5. The custom-coding is requiring significant amounts of time for break-fix testing, integration testing, regression testing, SOX or other regulatory compliance when any new change is added.
6. As new regulatory or other industry requirements are established, in whatever jurisdictions your company operates, you have to custom-code new solutions to meet them (rather than using SAP’s standard maintenance to add the new functionality).
7. The time to work around all of the customized “solutions” when you want to add new functionality, or new modules, takes a significant amount of time.
8. In some cases adding on brand new functionality is nearly impossible because of how much your system was “hacked together.”
9. You need to upgrade, but there are probably hundreds, and in some cases thousands of custom programs to evaluate, test, integrate, and update to the newer version of ABAP.

Coming up we will start to review the three key types of re-implementations: a single production instance, consolidating multiple instances into a single global instance, and a re-implementation rollout.

Related Posts:

• SAP Reimplementation for Little More Cost than a Technical Upgrade Part 2
• SAP Reimplementation For Little More Cost than a Technical Upgrade Part 1
• Key Design Considerations for SAP Reimplementation
• SAP Reimplementation Method Key Considerations
• Technical SAP Upgrade or SAP Reimplementation

SAP Project Leadership

SAP Project Management drives me crazy!  As I’ve often said, I don’t generally fault customers or clients who hire outside help for SAP project management.  If they believed they had the answers they wouldn’t bother with contractors for guidance.

Too often I see SAP project management treated as more project administration without much leadership.  Just about anyone can be a checklist administrator.  What is lacking from many SAP projects is the project management leadership to move things along.  

After managing a few SAP projects myself and the many projects I have participated in over the years I’ve learned an effective formula for SAP project success–, it takes a project manager who can actually lead the project.  What do I mean by leadership?  I mean someone who actually pitches in, rolls up their sleeves, gets busy, and gets their hands dirty.  They must be directly engaged with the project participants, they need to spend more time with their “ear to the ground” rather than serving as passive administrators. 

The key dimensions of SAP project leadership involves enough direct involvement in project coordination to:

1. Create a sense of urgency to build momentum.
2. To maintain that sense of urgency and maintain momentum.
3. To eliminate obstacles, roadblocks, and impediments which slow (or even stop) SAP project momentum.
4. To manage conflict (which WILL happen if sufficient momentum is gained).
5. To set, manage, and maintain expectations with both the project participants and the broader areas affected by the SAP project outcomes.

1.  Creating a Sense of Urgency

I’m still amazed at how often SAP project managers or program managers avoid using project plans with WBS structures, tasks, activities, and the assorted milestones, etc.  The only sense of urgency they create is reactive firefighting.  Everything will always be last minute, single-threaded, chaotic, disjointed, panicked, and difficult to follow.  Without a structured project plan any dates are just aspirations at best and timelines will continuously be missed.  This avoidance may be from a lack of ability, fear, or an attempt to evade accountability, whatever the reason it happens too often.  Maybe you should be asking yourself what deliverables, tasks, and execution activities your contracted leadership should be providing.

The Effective SAP Project Plan and Project Structure

The most appropriate method to create a sense of urgency is to have a fairly tight timeline but with very clearly defined milestones, tasks, deliverables, templates, and instructions on how to support project execution.  Those deliverables must help to measure project progress and they must be carefully managed.  Communicating and then supporting the message that as an SAP project manager your goal is to ensure the success of the project participants (then living it out) will bring badly needed leadership.

Without a project plan and proper templates any sense of urgency that is created is really reactive firefighting.

For each project phase or upcoming milestone an SAP project manager must have well defined presentations of what is coming, the timeline,  templates, instructions, and the resources to accomplish each set of tasks.

Nearly every contract SAP project manager somehow manages to put together steering committee presentations so why do they have such a hard time putting together critical project supports?  What are they really presenting to the steering committee if they aren’t providing meaningful project guidance?

If SAP Project Decisions Need to be Made Get Them Made Immediately!

Over the years I’ve been blessed to have several pretty decent mentors.  Back when I was an early manager in industry, long before consulting, I got a major schooling from our GM (and a senior VP).  We had a problem come up and the GM wasn’t around to consult so I did nothing.  I was the operations manager responsible for all shop floor production areas–, over a dozen leads and over 200 employees at the time.  My lack of decision-making brought large portions of the production floor to a halt. 

A “manager” who doesn’t make decisions isn’t managing or leading anything.

When the GM/VP got back he immediately set about to get things going and made a number of snap decisions and provided immediate direction.  After things got going again he called me into his office and we had a short discussion about my career.He was polite but firm and provided me a very valuable lesson. 

The GM expected me to make the decision I believed was correct even if it turned out wrong.  He said that 8 or 9 times out of 10 it would probably be right and that 1 or 2 that might be wrong or maybe not the best decision it was easier to correct than doing nothing.  He promptly let me know if I made a bad decision he would hold me accountable but it would not be as bad as making no decision at all.  He would hold me accountable for my decisions to help me learn to make better decisions but if I couldn’t make a management decision to keep things going he didn’t need me because I wasn’t managing anything.

That was a profound insight.  As an SAP project manager if you won’t make the tough decisions to get things going and keep them going then what are you managing?

Decisions must be made as quickly as humanly possible.  Delaying key decisions, or delaying any decision making, creates the appearance of indecisiveness, reduces confidence in your ability to lead, creates constant “swirl” around key issues, and slows the project.  It also creates an atmosphere where others avoid decision-making and become embroiled in analysis paralysis (or “swirl”) because that is the culture you as the project manager are creating.

Next week, more on building and maintaining momentum and the sense of urgency.

Related Posts:

• More SAP Project Leadership Tips for Managing Conflict
• SAP Project Manager – SAP Program Manager, Lessons from the Trenches
• SAP System Vendor Project Success Criteria 1
• Series on SAP ERP Project Success Factors
• 5 More Leadership Tips for Successful SAP Project Management

SAP Program Management

Many may be unaware that SAP provides a broad set of tools and resources for Program Management and Competency Maturity Management (or CMM). Very few are familiar with SAP’s broad set of supports for this purpose such as the “new” ASAP Methodology Phase 6 “Run” enhancement. It is loaded with key information which aligns with Program Management responsibilities and CMMI.

So, what is CMM (or CMMI as it is more properly referred to)?

“CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes, which will improve their performance… CMMI models are collections of best practices that help organizations to dramatically improve effectiveness, efficiency, and quality” [FN1].

The entire CMMI methodology and development is maintained at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. These CMMI standards have been applied in a vast number of organizations together with various methodologies. The CMMI approach is well suited to engineering and software development, design, or implementation. SAP’s entire ASAP methodology, and especially the “new” Run methodology incorporates a number of CMMI principles.

SAP Program Management is all about Competency Maturity Management (or CMM)

The contract SAP program manager is accountable for providing the key tools, templates, techniques, and resources to ensure projects are properly managed and delivered for business benefit. If they are not providing this type of methodology guidance, including key templates and techniques to deliver business benefit, what are you paying them for?

SAP Program Management or Project Management Gaps

After all these years one of my biggest frustrations is the lack of SAP contract program or project managers use of the ASAP Methodology. They all talk about it, and during sales presentations they use lots of SAP’s material, but as soon as the project begins you never see it. They seem to have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

As I have often said, I never believe that a client / customer of project management or program management services has the primary responsibility for this knowledge. If they did why bother hiring outside help and paying the rates for this service except for that contract “expertise?”

Contract SAP program management or SAP project management that is not able to deliver on clearly understandable methodology development are fakes. Anyone can call themselves a program manager, but what does that mean? What is the contract SAP Program Manager accountable for? What are they on the hook to deliver and how is their performance measured?

Using SAP ASAP and CMMI to Mature the SAP Enabled Enterprise

The SAP ASAP Methodology, in particular the Phase 6 Run section, should be studied by every SAP program manager before they start doing project or program work. Even though it is in the last ASAP Methodology phase, its greatest effectiveness is realized when you begin your internal SAP delivery maturity planning from the beginning of your SAP project.

One of the critical benefits of starting your CMMI related planning right from the beginning is your SAP project can be structured to support business integration at the outset. Using this type of maturity model integration as part of your project guidance can have significant benefits to the enterprise:

“Many CMMI using businesses have beneficial results to their bottom line… including improvements in schedule and cost performance, product and service quality, forecasting accuracy, productivity, customer satisfaction, return on investment, and other measures of performance” [FN2].

SAP has already done a significant amount of the work for you. All your program manager has to do is adjust the plans, alter the templates, follow the ASAP Methodology instructions, and build the resources to support this transition. You really must question SAP program manager service providers who do not keep up with the ASAP tools and delivery methodology that SAP provides and supports.

SAP’s Competency Maturity Model Starting Point

The following maturity model is just one small example of a powerful tool that is critical for long term technology and business integration [FN3]:

This model, provided freely by SAP as part of their standard ASAP methodology is a great starting point. Your contract SAP program manager should be able to use this as it is, or adjust it to fit your particular organizational needs. This is just one very small component of the Run Phase and an even smaller component of the entire ASAP Methodology toolset.

In many cases you would be better off sending your own internal employees to SAP ASAP certification courses and Microsoft Project classes and making use of their new found knowledge. At least then you would have a knowledgeable employee who could help keep an integrator who claims to use ASAP honest. And if they claim to use ASAP in their sales materials or sales pitches GET THAT CLAIM IN YOUR STATEMENT OF WORK AND YOUR CONTRACT WITH THEM!

=====================

For more information on related topics please see:

• SAP Project Manager – SAP Program Manager, Lessons from the Trenches
• Effective Results from SAP Project Managers – SAP Program Managers
• SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment
• Create SAP Convergence Instead of Business to IT Alignment
• Integrating Business Stakeholders as Part of SAP IT Convergence
• Steps to Achieve SAP IT Convergence
• SAP IT Convergence is About Business Focused Integration
• Steering Committee Governance for an SAP Center of Excellence
• Using Your SAP Steering Committee for Business Transformation

=====================

[FN1] CMMI Overview: Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, retrieved November 5, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/

[FN2] Why CMMI: Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, retrieved November 5, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/why/

[FN3] SAP ASAP Methodology version 7.1, WBS 6.2.1 – Table 1: Maturity Level Characteristics. For more information on the SAP ASAP Methodology please go to http://www.sap.com/services/more/servsuptech/asap.epx

Related Posts:

• Steps to Achieve SAP IT Convergence
• Steering Committee Governance for an SAP Center of Excellence
• ERP and SAP Business Case for ROI, Business Benefit, and Success
• Why Use the SAP ASAP Methodology?
• SAP IT Governance, SAP Program Management, SAP PMO Metrics