Meet Today's Implementation Requirements with the Methodology for Future Innovations

Frequently Asked QuestionsSAP Activate

Meet Today’s Implementation Requirements with the Methodology for Future Innovations

SAP® Activate is an innovation adoption framework that expedites SAP S/4HANA software implementations with ready-to-run digitized business processes, implemen-tation tools, and next-generation methodology. It supports any deployment mode and works with multiple starting points, including system conversion and landscape transformation. From best practices to quality gates, SAP Activate helps your implementation meet the highest standards.

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6 SAPActivateMethodology

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SAP ACTIVATE FOR SAP S/4HANA

WhyisSAPlaunching a new delivery framework?

Over time, SAP has acquired a number of companies and released several new solutions. When the ASAP® methodology was developed, there were no cloud solutions. The SAP Activate innovation adoption framework applies a single methodology that supports any deployment mode across all cloud and on-premise solutions. With our partner ecosystem in mind, we’ve designed it to be extensible. It is the one tool you need for starting your innovation and implementation journey to the SAP S/4HANA suite.

What’s new about this framework?

The SAP Activate innovation adoption framework: • Starts with SAP Best Practices packages for any implementation and is customized for use with SAP S/4HANA

• Includes guided configuration tools for assisted implementation of SAP S/4HANA, from initial setup through establishing the production environment

• Provides one software implementation methodology for any deployment mode – cloud, on premise, hybrid, or mobile

• Supports integration with adjacent cloud solutions, such as the SAP SuccessFactors® Employee Central solution and the Ariba® Network; both SuccessFactors and Ariba are SAP companies

• Is designed for partner extensions, with extendable best practices and methodology geared for partner solutions

• Comes with an awareness of content history – what has been configured – and keeps track of the potential impact of future configurations

• Supports continuous innovation while running the solution in a produc-tion environment


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How does SAP Activate compare to other SAP delivery and development methodologies?

The table below compares the ASAP and SAP Launch methodologies with SAP Activate.

Implemen tation Existing Now Available Supported Implementation

New ASAP® methodology

SAP® Activate methodology for on-premise implementation

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition SAP Business Suite software

New SAP Launch methodology

SAP Activate methodology for cloud implementation

CurrentSAP S/4HANA, cloud editions (enterprise, marketing, and project services) Planned for H2 2015SAP SuccessFactors® solutionsSAP Cloud for Customer solutionAriba® solutions

System conversion and landscape transformation

N/A SAP Activate methodology for conversions and trans-formations (planned)

SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition SAP S/4HANA, cloud editions (enterprise, marketing, and project services)

Whether you’re performing a new implementation, system conversion, or landscape transformation, SAP Activate enables the following improvements:

• Support for best practices developed by SAP and leveraging our expertise and over 40 years of experience co-innovating with our customers

• Agile project delivery • Streamlined project lifecycle (only four phases) • Replacement of blueprint activities with fit/gap workshops • Easier access to key guides and accelerators, with up to 10 key deliverables per phase

How will I know if SAPActivateisagoodfitformycompany?

If you’re interested in getting started with – or just learning more about – SAP S/4HANA, SAP Activate is the best place to begin. It takes into account your specific circumstances, provides the tools you need, and guides you through your journey to SAP S/4HANA, giving you an opportunity to get your hands on all of the SAP Activate elements.


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If SAP Activate is delivered with a product, is there a separate line item or license for it?

SAP Activate is free for SAP customers and partners upon request. Additionally, when you acquire SAP S/4HANA, your contract includes usage rights for SAP Activate, including best practices and guided configuration. For more on the SAP Activate methodology, see the SAPMethodologiesgroupontheSAPJam™socialsoftwareplatform.

SAPActivateusesfit/gapanalysisinsteadofblueprinting.Whatarethebenefitsofthischoice?

The most tangible benefit of fit/gap analysis over blueprinting is the speed at which your team can confirm fit and identify gaps. The ability to see the processes in the product also speeds understanding of solution capabilities. And early access to the system can help you feel more confident in the solution.

SAP started using fit/gap analysis on a larger scale in the assemble-to-order delivery model; it represents a significant innovation over traditional blue-printing. During fit/gap analysis, the team uses ready-to-run, best-practice processes to quickly confirm the fit of the solution with a running system and to identify any gaps or required delta configurations. The team then conducts delta design workshops to resolve known gaps with additional configurations or extensions that address the customer’s requirements. The fit/gap process is centered around a customer’s business drivers and objectives, helping the team stay focused and on track.

Projectmanagershaveaccess to a vast number of ASAP assets and documents.Whenwillsimilar assets be avail-able for SAP Activate?

You can access SAP Activate assets through the SAPMethodologiesgrouponSAPJam today. The group offers links to accelerators, templates such as a work breakdown structures (WBS), project schedules, predefined management plans, design documents, and other tools to speed up your projects.

SAP BEST PRACTICES

What are SAP Best Practices?

Built on SAP’s extensive industry knowledge and technology expertise, SAP Best Practices packages include ready-to-run, digitized business and technology processes. Using best practices for standard processes saves time, helps deliver predictable results, and focuses efforts on innovation. SAP Best Practices packages provide clear guidance on integration and migration fundamentals and include business processes such as finance and logistics. They’re designed to guide you through an optimal implementation or migration scenario, whether you’re moving from a legacy SAP software system or a third-party database.

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Can you tell me more about the SAP Best PracticespackageforSAP S/4HANA?

The SAP Best Practices package for SAP S/4HANA provides fundamental, ready-to-run enterprise business processes, supporting both online trans-actional processing (OLTP) as well as online analytical processing (OLAP). It comes with the SAP Fiori® user experience and covers all deployment modes: cloud, on premise, hybrid, and mobile.

In addition to SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA, additional best practices cover integration between SAP S/4HANA and adjacent cloud solutions, including SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, the Ariba Network, and the SAP hybris® Marketing solution. Whether you want to migrate from a third-party database to SAP S/4HANA or migrate data from legacy systems to SAP S/4HANA, SAP offers best-practice guidance that addresses your migration needs.

Customers and partners can enhance and extend best practices supported by SAP, or implement their own to fit their businesses. For example, SAP Best Practices packages include templates for building customized SAP Fiori apps.

GUIDED CONFIGURATION

Whatisguided configuration?

Guidedconfiguration is a content lifecycle management tool that helps you configure, test, and receive support in data migration processes that are needed for your selected best practices. You have the option to add or update your preferred best practices later. Automated updates and intui-tive configuration changes support initial implementation and help you adopt ongoing innovation more quickly with minimal disruption while tracking your configuration history. The result? Your business users can customize preconfigured business processes – from charts of accounts to approval thresholds – without IT involvement.


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Can we take a deeper diveintotheguidedconfigurationof SAP Activate?

As part of SAP Activate, guided configuration tools give you an overview of available best practices. They can help you perform ongoing content management while adding innovations to SAP S/4HANA, from initial setup through launch.

You can use self-service configuration to adapt business processes. To create your own processes or make changes to the content in SAP Best Practices, use the implementation guide in the guided configuration environment. As your configuration evolves, you can use your configuration history to help ensure that delta implementation activities don’t conflict with previous configurations. Configuration records also help ensure compatibility with future innovations in SAP S/4HANA.

SAP ACTIVATE METHODOLOGY

What is the SAP Activate methodology?

SAP Activate methodology is our new software implementation methodology that builds on proven approaches and our experience to offer a consistent, agile method for any deployment type – cloud, on premise, hybrid, or mobile. It offers support for initial implementation and continuous innovation with SAP S/4HANA. The implementation best practices walk project teams through the planning, building, and deployment of their SAP solution. SAP Activate methodology caters to customer-specific configuration and extensions requirements to reflect a customer’s own business practices while remaining extremely scalable – nimble enough for smaller engage-ments and more robust for larger projects.


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It looks like SAP Best Practicesandguidedconfigurationarelinked.What’s the role of the methodologyelementin SAP Activate?

As the speed of innovation increases, IT and business must keep pace. Many of our customers are facing shorter release cycles, working on time-box projects, and employing agile development principles.

The SAP Activate methodology focuses on helping customers minimize modifications of standard SAP solutions, build solutions incrementally, and deploy them more quickly – all without disrupting the business. Customers emerge in a position to apply future system innovations more rapidly. The methodology builds on SAP’s proven approaches, backed by more than 40 years of implementation experience, to offer a consistent, agile approach for any deployment type – cloud, on premise, hybrid, or mobile.

Starting with established best practices, the project team is supported through planning and deployment, using validation and gap analysis to minimize modifications and achieve faster outcomes.

As an example, project managers can pick the components they need for a particular project. The methodology recommends an appropriate work breakdown structure and provides a high-level overview of tasks, sizing, and roles needed for that effort.

What are the methodologyphases in SAP Activate?

The SAP Activate methodology consists of four phases.

Prepare. The project is initiated and planned, including quality and risk plans. The system environment is set up, including best practices with ready-to-run processes.

Explore. The customer team explores SAP solution functionalities while the system integrator explores the customer’s business. Together, they use fit/gap workshops to identify the configuration and extensions that best meet the customer’s requirements.

Realize. Together, the teams configure and extend the system, based on prioritized requirements captured in the explore phase. Configuration and build are done in short, iterative cycles, with regular validation and feed-back from the business. Structured testing and data migration activities help ensure quality.

Deploy. Final preparations before cutover to production help ensure that the system, data, and users are ready for transitioning to the production environ-ment. The transition to operations includes setting up and launching support, then handing off operations to the organization managing the environment.


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Where can I learn more about the SAP Activate methodology?

SAP Activate methodology experts and resources are available through the SAPMethodologiesgrouponSAPJam. The group’s resources and resident experts can help you find out if SAP Activate is right for your business.

DISCLAIMERThis document outlines our general product direction and should not be relied upon in making a purchase decision. This document is not subject to your license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. SAP has no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this document or to develop or release any functionality mentioned in this document. This document and SAP’s strategy and possible future developments are subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or noninfringement. SAP assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except if such damages were caused by SAP intentionally or grossly negligent.

Learn more

For expert insight into the SAP® Activate methodology: • Visit the SAPActivatebloglibrary on SAP Community Network • Go to SAP.com/activate • Join the SAPMethodologiesgroup on the SAP Jam™ social software platform


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Meet Today's Implementation Requirements with the Methodology for Future Innovations

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