SAP S/4HANA Cloud: Top 10 Tips and Tricks List
Based on over 50 live customers, this list is a compilation of learnings from both SAP and Partner-led projects. The Top Ten Tips & Tricks Tick List (5TL) has been created for the implementing partner as a prescriptive indicator of what a successful implementation looks like.
1) ASSIGN CERTIFIED SAP S/4HANA CLOUD CONSULTANTS
All key project roles must be fulfilled by certified SAP S/4HANA Cloud Consultants. Certification is available per line of business. The respective Learning Journeys are available here.
The accelerated innovation and release cycles also require every consultant to develop a strong continuous learning strategy to ensure they stay-current quarter over quarter and maintain a valid certification. SAP Activate certification is also essential for SAP S/4HANA Cloud project managers.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud works on very different principles to many other SAP solutions – knowing how to implement on-premise ERP will not provide the knowledge foundation for success with multi-tenant cloud. The implementation partner maintains responsibility for identifying and assigning suitable resources.
2) CONFIRM COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF OBJECTIVES
It is essential that there is an aligned understanding between the business and IT as to the desired outcome of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud project. This alignment can be documented in a Project Charter. Templates and guidance are provided within SAP Activate.
3) ESTABLISH A BUSINESS AND IT DECISION BOARD
The speedy delivery of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is dependent on timely decisions that have the support of both business and IT stakeholders. One approach to achieving this would be a decision board—nominated individuals, representing IT and business stakeholders, who meet on a regular basis throughout the project lifecycle to make decisions.
4) ENGAGE WITH SERVICES AND SUCCESS PLANS
Preferred Success is a subscription-based success management model for SAP customers that have SAP public cloud solutions. Preferred Success is based on three pillars: Success Resources, Learning Resources, and Advanced Support.
5) ADHERE TO SAP ACTIVATE METHODOLOGY FOR SAP S/4HANA CLOUD
SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a tried and tested methodology. SAP Activate guides the implementation team through the project, in alignment with best practices.
SAP Activate Roadmap Viewer is home to Best Practice descriptions, Templates, and Release notes. SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA Cloud is routinely updated, in line with the quarterly release cycle.
6) CREATE A STATEMENT OF SCOPE, CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE LIFECYCLE
Traditionally, software is adapted to fit the business – an IT project. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud, the business evolves to adopt best practices – a business transformation project. Often across the lifecycle of identifying the business problem, selecting software solution, purchase, and implementation, responsibility will be handed from one person to another. With a focus on ensuring SAP S/4HANA Cloud delivers against business objectives, it is advisable to ensure expectations are consistent throughout the lifecycle.
It is the responsibility of the implementation team to make certain that scope and project expectations carry forward from sales to delivery.
7) CONSOLIDATE PROJECT PLANS BETWEEN ALL TEAMS
The success of the project is dependent on the collaboration between multiple teams, often; customer (both IT and Business), partner, and SAP. A common understanding of business imperatives, key milestones, tasks, and interdependencies is essential.
SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides a Project Plan Template. Across all teams, you need one consistent project plan; the responsibility of each activity will reside with one team, but rarely will it be completed without input from other teams. Draw up a plan as early as possible and attain agreement across all involved parties.
8) DEVELOP AND EXECUTE A CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Many ERP solutions can be flexed and configured to match the business, thus delivering functionality, but also complexity. Instead, with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, the business evolves to fit best practices, delivering simplicity, agility, and access to quarterly innovation.
This way of working has a significant impact on the adopting organization; to manage change properly, first you need to understand and recognize the scale, scope, and impact of the shift.
9) SCHEDULE ALL SAP ACTIVATE PHASE Q-GATES
A Q-gate, or Quality Gate, is a checkpoint that falls at the end of each SAP Activate phase. The Q-gate serves to validate progress against typical SAP S/4HANA Cloud projects and to highlight risks that may impact the project timeline. In all instances, feedback will be provided, inclusive of actions to remediate risk. Q-gates should be planned into the project plan from the start as key milestones.
10) EXECUTE TESTING, DATA MIGRATION, AND INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES
With this public cloud solution, the weight of testing is done by SAP. The implementation team and customer do, however, hold responsibility to validate configurations, to check end-to-end integration (across other SAP or third-party solutions) and to upload data.
Integration testing is essentially ensuring the communication between SAP S/4HANA Cloud and your other solutions. How to do this will depend on what makes up your full landscape.
For more information on best practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, speak with our team today.