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openSAP

System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA


Week 1 Unit 1

00:00:06 Hello and welcome to the openSAP course System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA.
00:00:12 This week consists of seven units and focuses on Fundamentals and Technical Tooling.
00:00:17 My name is Lars Rueter. I'm a member of the S/4HANA Product Management team
00:00:22 and I will be your host for this unit, Arguments for Choosing SAP S/4HANA System Conversion.
00:00:29 In this unit we will take a quick look at the main reasons why doing a system conversion
00:00:34 will be the most appropriate transition option for most SAP customers.
00:00:39 I will briefly touch on the differences between S/4HANA and SAP ERP, before highlighting the
transition options
00:00:48 and sharing first-hand experiences from implementation projects.
00:00:52 I will finish the unit with giving you an overview of the key decision factors that influence
00:00:58 which transition scenario you should use. S/4HANA is at the core of SAP's integrated suite of
applications,
00:01:09 embedding intelligence into business processes at the application level. This is giving you the
built-in ability to automate tasks
00:01:19 based on learning patterns, on a massive scale. It is about empowering the experts in a
company
00:01:26 which have decades of experience and judgment, to do the job they are good at,
00:01:30 but relieving them from the basic repetitive work. Combine this with dynamic analytics,
00:01:37 which allows you to proactively analyze new data types and discover unfamiliar patterns, giving
you
00:01:43 a new level of insights. And you have the next-generation user experience
00:01:48 in S/4HANA, which is based on voice, vision, and messaging to replicate how people interact in
real life.
00:01:56 Together, these innovations have the potential to help companies better understand their
business
00:02:02 and make faster and more informed decisions. To make this and other innovations possible,
00:02:09 SAP had to make some fundamental changes in S/4HANA. It is important that you familiarize
yourself
00:02:16 with these changes. Given these changes, it is clear that moving
00:02:22 to S/4HANA needs some careful planning and preparation, and this is something this course will
help you with.
00:02:30 But the important thing to take away here, is, that by understanding your options you have full
control
00:02:36 to decide where you want to set priorities and to what extent you want
00:02:42 to leverage innovations in S/4HANA. Once you have made the decision to move to S/4HANA,
00:02:48 understanding the different transition options is key to ensuring you select the transition path
00:02:54 that is the best fit for your company. The first option, which is available for all customers,
00:03:02 those that have been with SAP for years and those that are new to SAP,
00:03:07 is to do a new implementation of S/4HANA. For customers with no existing SAP ERP system,
00:03:14 this would obviously be the only approach, but also existing customers may have valid reasons
00:03:21 to start fresh. Most customers these days have strategic preferences
00:03:27 for cloud-based solutions, and with SAP S/4HANA there is a choice of several cloud-based
deployment options available.
00:03:35 Alternatively, S/4HANA can be deployed on- premise. You can also combine the benefits of
cloud-based
00:03:43 with on-premise-based options in hybrid deployments. Now, let's have a look at another option
00:03:50 for transitioning to S/4HANA: the system conversion. In short, if you have an existing SAP ERP
system,
00:03:58 you can convert it to an S/4HANA system if certain prerequisites are fulfilled.
00:04:05 Later in this course, you will learn more about what these prerequisites are.
00:04:10 Converting a system into an S/4HANA system is possible because S/4HANA was built with SAP
ERP
00:04:17 at its core, and there is still a natural overlap between the two products.
00:04:23 In terms of determining the right time for a transition, sooner is usually better.
00:04:28 This is because the functional delta between S/4HANA and SAP ERP is getting bigger
00:04:35 with every yearly release of S/4HANA. To make a system conversion as smooth as possible
00:04:41 for customers, SAP has provided tooling, which allows you to assess the extent
00:04:48 and the impact of the changes in S/4HANA and tools to automate the conversion process as
much as possible.
00:04:57 And for procedures which are difficult to automate, detailed documentation has been released.
00:05:05 But still, regardless of tools and documentation, like with any other IT project, detailed planning
is required.
00:05:13 And next, I will highlight some of the important aspects. This slide summarizes on a high level
00:05:23 some of the factors which influence a system conversion project. Let's start with change
management.
00:05:30 A common mistake is to treat a system conversion like a technical upgrade.
00:05:35 Even though there are similarities in the process between an upgrade and a system conversion,

00:05:42 a system conversion involves much more than a technical upgrade.


00:05:47 With a conversion to S/4HANA, there are always also application-level changes involved
00:05:52 where change management is required to ensure a smooth transition for the business.
00:05:58 One common strategy is to keep change management and business disruption to a minimum,
00:06:03 and only manage the absolutely necessary application-level changes.
00:06:08 On the other hand, some projects make a decision to use the opportunity and to process
optimizations
00:06:14 or even process re-engineering as part of their S/4HANA system conversion projects.
00:06:20 This would then require additional change management. Technical changes in S/4HANA are not
always as visible
00:06:29 as the Fiori user interface. For example, simplifications in many of the data models,
00:06:36 the embedded analytical capabilities, the built-in machine learning, or the innovations
00:06:42 in the database access layer introduced with core data services.
00:06:47 Every project needs to evaluate the impact of these technical changes, and decide on how,
00:06:53 when, and to what extent to leverage these new technologies for their organization, moving
forward.
00:07:04 To support the transition to S/4HANA, getting familiar with the conversion tools and processes is
essential.
00:07:12 One of these very important tools is the Simplification Item Check, which is available
00:07:18 as of S/4HANA 1709. You run the check to determine which simplification items
00:07:24 are relevant for your particular system and also to check the data in your system for
consistency.

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00:07:31 How consistent your data is, will influence how much cleaning up work needs to be accounted
for
00:07:37 as part of the conversion project plan. This work should not be underestimated,
00:07:43 and can consume a significant amount of time and resources. Particularly, older systems with no
regular archiving
00:07:51 are more likely to encounter inconsistencies. Therefore, sufficient time should be allowed
00:07:56 for the first sandbox conversion, which will uncover many of these data issues.
00:08:04 Checking the compatibility of S/4HANA with existing add-ons, business functions, and industry
solutions
00:08:10 is also required, and to be taken into account when making a decision on the transition path.
00:08:17 This check is fully tool supported. Necessary optimizations include the review of custom code
00:08:25 and the options to either adapt it or use it in S/4HANA, or to retire it.
00:08:35 Even for customers with a significant amount of custom code, rework takes usually
00:08:40 much less effort than expected. From a project management perspective,
00:08:46 testing and change management are the most underestimated activities in S/4HANA system
conversion projects.
00:08:53 In particular, testing should start early, and because it has to be repeated several times,
00:08:59 it is recommended to automate the test process. When choosing the transition scenario,
00:09:05 you should consider the following factors. System conversions to S/4HANA generally require
less time
00:09:15 than new implementations. This is also because most of the processes,
00:09:20 customizations, and settings from your current system can be directly carried over to S/4HANA
00:09:27 without the need to start from the ground up with business blueprints.
00:09:32 On the other side, if you are planning to achieve a fundamental process re-design for significant
parts of your business,
00:09:39 a new implementation may be more appropriate. With a system conversion, you do not need
00:09:46 to load initial data - it's all already there. As mentioned, before you have to do
00:09:52 certain housekeeping activities, which involve cleaning up your master data
00:09:57 and transactional data, to ensure consistency before doing the system conversion.
00:10:03 But as a result, you have all the historical data from your previous system inherently available in
S/4HANA.
00:10:11 These housekeeping activities also include making the necessary adjustments to custom code.
00:10:18 Most SAP ERP customers have significant investments in their existing systems,
00:10:23 in terms of business process setup and customization, as well as in enhancements and custom
extensions.
00:10:30 Choosing the system conversion as the transition path to S/4HANA lets you protect these
investments.
00:10:38 If you want to move to S/4HANA, but also want to keep the change impact
00:10:43 for the organization to a minimum, then the system conversion would be the recommended
option.
00:10:49 Doing a system conversion is the preferred way for adapting innovations gradually,
00:10:54 step-by-step, while ensuring business continuity at the same time.
00:11:00 In general, customers using SAP ERP today should first consider the feasibility
00:11:05 of doing a system conversion over doing a new implementation, unless there are valid reasons
00:11:11 for not doing a system conversion, for example, if the prerequisites cannot be fulfilled
00:11:16 or the decision has been made to go for the S/4HANA Cloud. From the decision factors
mentioned on this slide,
00:11:26 you can derive a few straightforward questions that can help you determine the right transition
scenario.

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00:11:34 The first question you may want to ask is whether you want to keep your solution enhancements

00:11:40 or your transaction data history. If the answer is yes, it is a clear indicator
00:11:47 for doing a system conversion, because it allows you to preserve investments
00:11:52 in your current system and to keep your historical data. Next question - does your system fulfill
00:11:59 all conversion prerequisites? If the answer is no, you first need to remove the blockers.
00:12:06 In many cases, it is possible. For example, for non-supported add-ons,
00:12:12 you can reach out to the vendor to find out if an add-on can be uninstalled
00:12:17 or if there is version of the add-on that is compatible with S/4HANA.
00:12:22 Third question - do you need a phased business rollout? Most system conversions choose a
phased approach
00:12:30 where the aim of the first phase is twofold. A - transition to S/4HANA while minimizing the
impact for the business.
00:12:37 And B - to show the benefit of S/4HANA to the business by implementing selected innovations.
00:12:46 In subsequent phases, additional innovations can be introduced in a controlled way
00:12:50 in line with business requirements. So, in summary, a system conversion is a good choice
00:12:57 if you favor a phased approach. Fourth question, do you need a renewal
00:13:03 of your complete ERP solution? If you want a complete overhaul of your existing
00:13:09 or a fresh start, you may want to consider a new implementation
00:13:14 instead of a system conversion. And the final question - how do you perceive your current
system?
00:13:21 If you believe your current system is a key asset and not limiting your ability to innovate,
00:13:27 a logical first step would be to analyze the feasibility of doing a system conversion.
00:13:33 I hope these questions will help you to choose the right transition path to S/4HANA.
00:13:38 And with this, we came to the end of this unit. In the next two units we will focus on the project
plan
00:13:44 for a system conversion project. Thank you for your attention, and see you in the next unit.
00:13:50 Bye-bye for now.

4
Week 1 Unit 2

00:00:08 Hello and welcome again to the openSAP course System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA.
00:00:14 We are in week one. This is unit two, which is about
00:00:18 Project Plan and Breakdown into Preparation and Realization. My name is Dirk Holzhausen.
00:00:24 I am an Enterprise Architect with a focus on SAP S/4HANA. I am also a member of the
S/4HANA Customer Care program.
00:00:32 As part of this S/4HANA Customer Care program, I have guided already several customers
00:00:37 throughout their conversions to SAP S/4HANA. So, I am happy to share some insights
00:00:42 on this with regards to project planning. Let's start.
00:00:49 The topic around project planning and how to break it down into preparation and realization
00:00:54 is split up into two parts. The first part is covered in unit two,
00:00:59 the second part is covered in unit three. In both units, we will specifically look
00:01:03 into project planning activities and the specifics for SAP S/4HANA conversions.
00:01:09 The first part focuses on how to get started with project planning when it comes to an S/4HANA
project.
00:01:16 As part of this unit, we will look into the proposed project methodology
00:01:20 that is aligned with SAP S/4HANA. In a nutshell, this unit touches the following topics:
00:01:26 how an S/4HANA project can be structured into phases, what workstreams should be
considered,
00:01:32 what roles and skills are required, and where you can find deep dive information
00:01:37 to get support on your project planning activities. Unit three, which follows this unit,
00:01:43 will cover the second part, which is focusing on special attention topics
00:01:48 in the context of SAP S/4HANA. These are topics that are relevant
00:01:53 or might have a major impact on project planning. We will see more in unit three.
00:02:02 So, what drives a project plan for S/4HANA conversion? This slide has been shown already in
unit one.
00:02:08 But let's re-emphasize the messages because they are important for setting up
00:02:13 a project for S/4HANA conversion. It is important to understand that a conversion
00:02:19 to S/4HANA is not exactly like an upgrade or a technical migration that you might know
00:02:25 from the past projects. There might be similarities, but more importantly,
00:02:30 it is about understanding what the differences The differences come from topics
00:02:36 as you can see here on the slide. Just to mention some of them,
00:02:40 we have topics such as the transition approach itself that differs between a technical migration
00:02:46 and a conversion for S/4HANA. This is all about what the differences are
00:02:51 when converting to S/4HANA. The drivers for a conversion are functional
00:02:57 or technical changes that come with S/4HANA. These changes are described as part
00:03:02 of the simplification list. The simplification list is, together with
00:03:07 the release notes coming with S/4HANA, the most important information.
00:03:12 It is important to know, but also to understand, the content of the simplification list
00:03:16 and the provided release notes. Another example is the new user front end Fiori
00:03:22 that is part of S/4HANA. Fiori needs to be considered appropriately
00:03:27 as part of the project, and has for that reason an implication on project activities.
00:03:33 This includes the architecture, but also the skills you're going to need
00:03:37 for the project, but also for future operations. SAP gives guidance with a project methodology.
00:03:44 This methodology is called SAP Activate. Every customer has to define
00:03:48 its specific path towards S/4HANA. Since it is not only a technical migration

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00:03:54 or an upgrade as mentioned before, it is key for project success
00:03:58 to consider change management activities in the project plan.
00:04:02 This includes, for example, upskilling activities or guidance for end users because of new
functionality
00:04:09 and the new user front end as part of S/4HANA. For that reason, knowledge transfer is key,
00:04:15 not only for the project staff but also for the end users. SAP provides a lot of information
00:04:22 and I want already to encourage you to use these sources of information.
00:04:27 We will see one of these sources later in this course with regards to project planning.
00:04:32 This means that all relevant stakeholders need to be integrated into the project.
00:04:37 This includes stakeholders from business as well. The simple reason is, again, that due to the
changes
00:04:43 of functionality, a conversion can't be seen as a pure IT-driven or technical project.
00:04:50 S/4HANA provides simplified functionality. But exactly this also means change for stakeholders
00:04:56 as mentioned above. Project activities addressing these changes
00:05:00 need to be considered properly in the project plan. SAP supports with a project methodology
00:05:10 the conversion towards S/4HANA. The project methodology is called SAP Activate.
00:05:16 SAP Activate is supposed to provide a good starting point for planning an SAP S/4HANA
conversion
00:05:21 and to give the right guidance for the project. The project can be planned and structured
00:05:27 from different perspectives. First, project phases.
00:05:32 Project phases are stages of a project. We will look into that on the next slide in more detail.
00:05:39 Second, workstreams. What kind of areas and deliverables need to be worked on
00:05:44 during the conversion project? We will also look into that in more detail
00:05:49 on one of the next slides in this unit. Third, project activities and tasks.
00:05:56 Project activities are sorted along the project phases and workstreams.
00:06:00 They provide detailed information in terms of project tasks, so with regards to what needs to be
considered
00:06:06 in a project plan. Fourth, quality gates.
00:06:11 A good project plan considers quality gates and checkpoints to measure and follow up
00:06:15 the status where you stand with the project plan. As part of the SAP Activate methodology,
00:06:22 Quality gates are proposed to have this included as part of the project plan.
00:06:27 As a matter of time, we don't look into the third and fourth point here as part of this unit.
00:06:33 But I already would like to propose to you at this point to follow the link you see here
00:06:37 on the slide, where you can find detailed information about the project methodology.
00:06:47 As mentioned on the previous slide, a project plan can, or should, be divided into several
phases.
00:06:54 Project phases are stages of the project. At the end of each phase, a quality gate exists
00:07:00 to verify the completion of deliverables. SAP Activate proposes to do so in six phases.
00:07:08 We have highlighted some key activities as part of each phase. Please follow the link provided
on the previous slide
00:07:15 to get all and even more detailed information. So now let's quickly look at the phases.
00:07:22 Discover is the first phase. This phase might not be part of every project plan.
00:07:27 But nevertheless, this should be always the first step. It is about getting familiar with S/4HANA in
general.
00:07:34 Why is that important? It is about learning and discovering all the new features
00:07:39 that S/4HANA supports. Try to get a demo to see and feel S/4HANA.
00:07:45 There are many possibilities to do so. I believe this is an important step to envision

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00:07:51 what you can achieve with SAP S/4HANA after a conversion, but also can help to build a good
roadmap towards S/4HANA.
00:08:00 Prepare is the next phase. This is the first step for proper project planning
00:08:05 since it is all about setting up the project, the team, and creating the project plan.
00:08:11 The Prepare phase is also about including and enabling the stakeholders.
00:08:16 Explore phase comes next. This is about preparing the conversion
00:08:21 as such, including all preparation steps necessary for that. Just some very important examples
00:08:27 because they drive the project effort. Execution of the readiness check to assess in detail
00:08:33 what the functional change is, and the execution of the custom code check for the custom code.

00:08:39 SAP is providing tools and guidance for this. It is crucial to do so to prevent any surprises.
00:08:48 The Explore phase should also look at the technical architecture and infrastructure setup
00:08:52 since S/4HANA leverages the S/4HANA platform as the underlying database.
00:08:58 But also, Fiori must be considered in the technical architecture.
00:09:03 Very important is also to get clarity on the test approach, and to define a proper test strategy
00:09:09 to ensure a successful S/4HANA conversion. The Realize phase is all about implementing
00:09:16 the required changes on the functional, but also on the custom code side as discovered
00:09:21 as part of the Explore phase. Also, the integration to connected systems needs to be
considered.
00:09:28 First tests are recommended. Also, the preparation of the end-user training
00:09:32 to address change management needs should be kicked off. The Deploy phase is about setting
it live.
00:09:39 Final testing, final conversion runs are done here. The productive infrastructure needs to be
finalized
00:09:45 if not done before. Training for end users must be delivered,
00:09:50 all for a successful go live. Hypercare immediately after the go live is delivered
00:09:56 to be prepared for any issues and to ensure a quick reaction. Finally, the Run phase.
00:10:03 The project is handed over to operations as part of the Run phase.
00:10:07 But this is also about planning how to leverage the brand-new innovation and features
00:10:12 that are now possible with S/4HANA as the next step. Next to the project phases, we take a look

00:10:22 into the relevant workstreams for a conversion project. A workstream in the perspective of SAP
Activate
00:10:29 is a collection of deliverables that are related to this specific area.
00:10:34 It is important to understand that all workstreams are related to other streams.
00:10:39 So, no stream lives on its own. A workstream spans over different project phases.
00:10:45 The workstreams that are foreseen as part of the project methodology are listed here on the
slide.
00:10:51 Project Management. Application Design and Configuration.
00:10:55 System and Data Migration. Application Solution Adoption.
00:11:00 Custom Code. Analytics and Reporting.
00:11:03 Testing. Integration.
00:11:05 Technical Architecture and Infrastructure. And finally, Transition to Operations.
00:11:10 As you can see, there are a lot of different tasks to be considered for an S/4HANA conversion.
00:11:15 As mentioned before, all workstreams can be broken down into project activities and tasks
00:11:20 in the specific project phases. For more information on this, I would like to point you
00:11:25 to the roadmap viewer. Quite often the question is what kind of roles,
00:11:32 but also skills, are necessary to run an S/4HANA conversion project.

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00:11:36 Here on this slide you can see some typical roles that we have come over on the S/4HANA
projects
00:11:42 already in the past. Next to the obvious role of a project manager,
00:11:47 it is good to have people on board who can take care of basis activities. An architect is required
to drive the architectural changes.
00:11:56 Typical roles on the functional side are from Finance and Logistics.
00:12:02 Since with S/4HANA the concept of Business Partners is mandatory, an expert who's looking
after
00:12:07 the customer/vendor integration is also recommended. With regards to all the changes on the
custom code side,
00:12:14 development expertise is required as well. Key users and test users are other important roles
00:12:21 on the project to support an effective project execution. Last but not least, Fiori expertise is good

00:12:28 to have on the project as well. Next to the roles, you can see the corresponding skills
00:12:34 that are required. There will be a deep dive on roles later in this course.
00:12:43 I would like to conclude this unit with another to the roadmap viewer that follows
00:12:47 the Activate methodology. Following the link provided here on the slide,
00:12:51 you can find much more detailed information on the topics we have touched as part of this unit.
00:12:57 Let's have a quick look now. Okay, let's check the roadmap viewer on the Web directly.
00:13:04 First follow the link that you have seen on the slide, then we go to the tile Solution Specific and
we click on it.
00:13:10 Afterwards, a new pop-up shows up with detailed tiles. We take the first one called "Transition to
SAP S/4HANA".
00:13:17 So, we click on it. Then we get some kind of an overview that already gives
00:13:22 a lot of general information about the transition roadmap with regards to S/4HANA.
00:13:27 We have already touched some points as part of this unit. If we scroll down a bit, we get the
same overview graphic
00:13:34 we have seen in the unit. This contains all the project phases we spoke about,
00:13:38 but also the workstreams we have seen earlier. Already at the top of the graphic,
00:13:44 you find a link to download a project plan template, which is a great help in speeding up a
project planning
00:13:50 based on the SAP Activate methodology. At top of the page you find it again.
00:13:55 We will look into that later on. Next if we click on the Content button,
00:14:02 we get a list of all the project phases. If you scroll down, we get the same
00:14:06 for the project workstreams. All that we have seen as part of the unit is there.
00:14:12 If go ahead scrolling down, you also get the transition scenarios.
00:14:19 Since we speak about conversions, we select this box to filter the project activities.
00:14:26 Now we see only the conversion activities on the right-hand side. You might have already seen
that the list has changed already.
00:14:35 Let's take a closer look at that. As an example, if you're interested only
00:14:42 in testing activities, we go to the Workstreams selection
00:14:45 and filter the "Application: Testing" activities. Immediately after selecting,
00:14:51 the view on the right-hand side is changed. Now we only see only testing-relevant activities
00:14:56 which are only relevant for two project phases, the Explore and the Realize phase
00:15:01 and the corresponding activities and tasks. We can drill down into more detail.
00:15:05 So, if we click on the first activity, Test Planning, then we get on the next page, more detailed
information
00:15:11 about the activity with a lot of description. If we scroll down, we land with the relevant tasks.

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00:15:16 But also, we see a list of accelerators that contain templates and other help to efficiently plan
your project.
00:15:23 So now, let's go back to the overview to take a closer look at what you can download
00:15:28 as a project template. If you click on Download, a ZIP file is downloaded
00:15:34 that contains all the templates. If you open that, you find a lot of templates for Excel,
00:15:40 MS Project, and also an upload for Solution Manager. Also, other helpful documentation is
included.
00:15:48 Let's have a quick look at the Excel template. In the Excel template, you get all the activities
00:15:57 with the project phases, proposal for the duration, the dependencies between activities,
00:16:01 and a lot more information. We think these kinds of templates should help you already
00:16:07 in conversion project planning. So I hope you got a good impression
00:16:14 about the roadmap viewer. I would like to encourage you to follow the link.
00:16:18 It is worth considering this, and this should help to support your project planning and should
even
00:16:23 to speed up the project planning process. With this, I would like to end this unit.
00:16:29 In the next unit we will come to the second part of Project Plan and Breakdown into Preparation
and Realization.
00:16:35 See you then.

9
Week 1 Unit 3

00:00:08 Hello and welcome back to the openSAP course System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA.
00:00:13 We are in week one, this is unit three. That is the second part of Project Plan and Breakdown
into Preparation and Realization.
00:00:20 In the first part, we had a closer look at the project planning activities,
00:00:23 and introduced SAP Activate project methodology. In this part, we are going to focus on special
attention topics
00:00:31 when it comes to a conversion towards SAP S/4HANA. We will touch several topics that are
important to consider
00:00:37 and might lead to additional activities in the project plan. Our first attention topic we want to look
at
00:00:47 is about the planned target architecture. The goal is clear, it is about getting towards S/4HANA.

00:00:54 But from an architecture perspective, there are several areas that need to be evaluated.
00:01:00 Based on the result of these evaluations, further activities or sub-projects
00:01:05 must be planned to achieve the goal. The architecture includes several aspects
00:01:10 on different levels. First of all, it is important to understand
00:01:15 what kind of additional add-ons or business functions are in use, and are required
00:01:20 to be available in the target architecture. Consider all add-ons from SAP and third parties.
00:01:27 Please note that an add-on might not be released or that there might be a delay
00:01:31 in releasing the add-on for S/4HANA. This is also true for third-party add-ons.
00:01:37 Consider the release plan of add-ons and match it to the project plan.
00:01:41 Note that there are third-party add-ons that are rather consulting solutions than real add-ons.
00:01:48 Run tools such as the Precheck and Maintenance Planner early because these tools help to
identify
00:01:54 potential issues early in the project. S/4HANA brings new capabilities such as Fiori,
00:02:01 but also PDF forms. This requires that the right system components
00:02:05 are available in the target architecture, such as NetWeaver Gateway for Fiori,
00:02:09 or Adobe Document Services, ADS, which, for example, requires NetWeaver Java.
00:02:16 Please note that these capabilities might also be delivered from the cloud.
00:02:21 This brings us to the next topic. All integrated and connected systems must be checked.
00:02:26 This is true for connected SAP systems, but also for third-party systems as well.
00:02:32 Important factors to check are check major connected systems,
00:02:36 check satellite systems, check releases and the versions of the connected systems,
00:02:41 consider simplification list and the blacklist for remote function modules,
00:02:45 test relevant, critical interfaces as early as possible. In addition, it is recommended to check
00:02:52 if there are some dependencies with regards to the release versions of the connected systems.

00:02:57 It must be made sure that the connected environments are released for S/4HANA.
00:03:02 So, check if every version is fitting to each other. Check the so-called NetWeaver hub systems,
00:03:08 such as BW, Enterprise Portal, PI/PO, for their interoperability for S/4HANA.
00:03:15 An upgrade of these systems might be required as well. Check the HANA revision.
00:03:22 Sizing is something that needs to be examined as well. Sizing is specifically required if you
move
00:03:27 from AnyDB to the HANA database. The HANA database must be sized appropriately.
00:03:33 So run a proper sizing for the HANA database. But also, the application side is recommended
00:03:38 to be validated if the sizing still suits. This goes along with the usage of Fiori.

10
00:03:44 So consider a check of application sizing, considering the new functions leveraged
00:03:48 by S/4HANA, including Fiori. Again, these are activities that need to be evaluated
00:03:54 during the Prepare phase, since this can lead to additional tasks in the project plan.
00:04:04 Conversions can cost a significant amount of that can't be avoided.
00:04:09 There are must-do activities that need to be executed. All this must be considered
00:04:14 with a realistic planning in the project plan. To put this into a plan in an appropriate way,
00:04:20 a sandbox approach is the appropriate way to plan for this, and to assess the unknown in terms
of timing.
00:04:28 But also, corrections and mitigation activities that need to be considered.
00:04:33 A sandbox should be built up as realistically as possible, ideally based on a copy of production.
00:04:40 A sandbox offers even more advantages, because it can be used for many different purposes:
00:04:46 to learn and get first hands-on experience of a conversion that can be used for downtime
optimization purposes as well;
00:04:54 to learn and test about the functional changes relevant to your environment
00:04:58 described in simplification list; to check data quality issues,
00:05:03 and to trigger the right mitigation activities with the right stakeholders in time.
00:05:08 Note that for correcting data issues in finance, business stakeholders might need to be involved
as well.
00:05:15 One might argue that building up a sandbox extends the project time and the project effort.
00:05:20 But a good preparation for an S/4HANA conversion is everything, and will help you later during
project execution.
00:05:29 In a nutshell, a sandbox allows you to better for the unknown in your concrete environment,
00:05:35 that can be reflected in the project plan. S/4HANA on-premise has yearly innovation cycles.
00:05:45 This means that a new release is planned to be published once a year.
00:05:50 As an example, as of now, at the time of this course, we have S/4HANA 1709 with the feature
pack FPS02 delivered.
00:05:58 This is the current available S/4HANA release for on-premise.
00:06:01 In September, a new release, S/4HANA 1809, is planned to be released to the customer.
00:06:07 These release cycles need to be considered in the project plan, specifically,
00:06:12 if you have a long-running project. From that perspective, it is recommended to clarify
00:06:18 the S/4HANA target release, up front, you're planning to go live with.
00:06:23 Several aspects or questions should be answered and should be taken into consideration.
00:06:29 Check what the current available S/4HANA release is. Are there any features required that are
only delivered
00:06:35 in a future release, but where you want to take the first preparation steps already now?
00:06:41 Consider the total time of the conversion project. Are there any new releases or feature packs
delivered
00:06:48 during the runtime of your project that you need to take into consideration?
00:06:52 Consider the end of the standard maintenance of the release you're planning to start with.
00:06:57 For that consult the Product Availability Matrix. Take the HANA database revision into your
planning as well,
00:07:04 because the HANA database gets new revisions and releases as well.
00:07:10 There might be different ways to address this. All options come with pros and cons,
00:07:14 and must be balanced out as part of the project preparation to define the best option that fits to
your context.
00:07:21 Again, this is specifically true for long-running conversion projects.
00:07:30 On the previous slide, we spoke about the target release for S/4HANA.
00:07:34 Here we look at the source release for the conversion, so where you're starting from.

11
00:07:40 In general, having a Business Suite system with a release of ERP 6.0 is already a good starting
point.
00:07:47 It does not matter what Enhancement Pack, EHP, you're on. Also, it doesn't really matter
00:07:53 what database you're running on. The best way forward is the direct way,
00:07:57 so converting your current system directly into an S/4HANA system.
00:08:01 We call this a one-step approach. But there are some prerequisites for the source system.
00:08:07 Here are just some key points. The source system must be on ERP 6.0.
00:08:13 Only ABAP systems can directly be converted to S/4HANA. If there's a Java stack in place,
00:08:18 then the source system must be split first. The source system must be already on Unicode,
00:08:25 because S/4HANA only supports Unicode. If the systems are already running on the HANA
database,
00:08:31 it needs to be on the HANA version HANA 2. If the direct way, a one-step approach, is not
possible,
00:08:39 then a two-step approach needs to be considered. We will speak about one-step versus two-
step approach
00:08:45 on the next slide as well. In a nutshell, there's always a way
00:08:50 to convert to SAP S/4HANA, even for systems older than ERP 6.0, so don't be worried.
00:08:56 But the ways to convert to S/4HANA are different, that is also depending on the source system.

00:09:02 Therefore, the situation of the source system must be checked as part of the project preparation
phase,
00:09:07 because this can lead to additional tasks and activities in the plan.
00:09:15 As just mentioned on the previous slide, there are several ways to convert to S/4HANA.
00:09:21 In general, we differentiate two different approaches to get to S/4HANA,
00:09:26 the one-step approach and the two-step approach. As you can already imagine,
00:09:31 this has an impact on the project plan, and therefore must be addressed as part of the
preparation.
00:09:36 One step means, Convert from Suite on AnyDB to S/4HANA in one step.
00:09:42 This includes converting the application, the data, and the database in one step.
00:09:49 The benefits of a one-step approach are: move to S/4HANA directly with all the benefits;
00:09:54 do things once in the right way, for example, custom code adaptations;
00:09:59 one downtime only, one testing phase only. This is the recommended approach
00:10:05 if no road blockers or showstoppers exist. If there are road blockers,
00:10:10 then a two-step approach needs to be taken. Two-step means move first from Suite on AnyDB
00:10:17 to Business Suite on HANA, and then convert to S/4HANA in the second step.
00:10:23 Basically, it means that project tasks and risks are distributed across several phases into two
steps.
00:10:29 The first step of a two-step approach can be seen as a technical step
00:10:33 with lower involvement of business, and can be combined with other preparation activities
00:10:38 towards S/4HANA transition. For example, Unicode conversion,
00:10:43 already first custom code checks, et cetera. Here's an overview of what can be a reason
00:10:48 for a two-step approach. Current system is not on Unicode.
00:10:54 Technical readiness of the current system, for example, a wrong starting release
00:10:58 that is lower than required. Functional readiness with regards to simplification items,
00:11:03 with regards to business functions, add-ons, industry solutions, and so on.
00:11:07 Customer roadmap that includes other projects in the pipeline that are in parallel execution.
00:11:13 Timing, risk, skills might be other factors to consider. But keep in mind that a two-step approach

12
00:11:20 requires also two downtimes. As you can imagine, the one-step approach
00:11:25 is the preferred option since the project time is shorter, and there's only one downtime
00:11:29 for the productive environment required. But this is crucial to check
00:11:33 as part of the project preparation if no showstoppers or other constraints exist
00:11:38 that prevent a one-step approach. If so, then you must plan for a two-step approach.
00:11:48 Now let's quickly look at the conversion itself and how this can impact the project plan.
00:11:52 Basically, there are four blocks. First, it is all about preparation.
00:11:57 This is reflected in the timing in the slide as the point T1.
00:12:01 Here you must check all the prerequisites to allow for proper planning.
00:12:05 This includes to execute the pre-checks for S/4HANA on the source system as well.
00:12:10 The pre-check report is a tool provided by SAP. Second, three more topics need to be done.
00:12:17 It is the Maintenance Planner to calculate the so-called STACK.XML
00:12:22 that is required by the Software Update Manager, the SUM tool. For S/4HANA only the
Maintenance Planner
00:12:28 that runs at SAP on the Service Marketplace can be used for this stack calculation.
00:12:34 This means that your system environment including the Solution Manager must be connected
already
00:12:37 in a proper way to the Service Marketplace. If this is not the case, then please plan it in.
00:12:45 The pre-checks are executed here as must-do. As mentioned on the first block,
00:12:50 the recommendation is to rather execute this already during the preparation, since this allows to
consider
00:12:56 results of the pre-check with the right activities in the project plan, right from the beginning.
00:13:03 Also, the adaption of custom code must be considered here at the latest.
00:13:08 Third, the conversion itself is executed. The conversion is done
00:13:12 with the Software Update Manager, the SUM tool. The tool executes on database migration,
00:13:18 the software update, and the data conversion to the new S/4HANA data structures.
00:13:23 Most of the conversion, specifically for the logistics part, is done here.
00:13:28 Fourth, after the software upgrade tool is finalized, further activities must be executed.
00:13:35 These are so-called application-specific migration activities that are part of the business
downtime.
00:13:41 Most of the finance conversion is done as part of this step. In general, it's recommended
00:13:47 to practice this on the sandbox, but also to consider several runs during the project.
00:13:53 Details about the conversion can be found in the Conversion Guide.
00:14:01 The conversion to S/4HANA includes many different aspects of the conversion that needs to be
considered
00:14:06 in the project phases. This slide summarizes different aspects
00:14:10 from a conversion perspective. This goes along with the project methodology
00:14:14 that was presented in unit two. Aspects that need to be executed
00:14:20 before the conversion starts must be considered in the project plan
00:14:23 as part of the Prepare and Explore phase. These are topics such as custom code analysis,
00:14:30 assessing the impact of the simplification list, defining and preparing
00:14:34 the system landscape and architecture. This includes the architecture required for Fiori.
00:14:40 Security authorization. Clean-up and archiving activities
00:14:43 with regards to custom code, but also data. Define appropriate conversion approach,
00:14:49 including the number of conversion cycles. During the Realize and the Deploy phase,
00:14:54 the required recommended actions from the simplification list must be worked on.
00:14:59 In addition to that, more topics should be considered in the project plan.

13
00:15:03 Performance and load tests. User experience and Fiori-related activities.
00:15:09 Adaptation of custom code to make it S/4HANA and HANA-ready. Consideration of data
validation
00:15:15 and reconciliation activities. Testing in general.
00:15:19 Operational aspects for handing over the S/4HANA operations after go live.
00:15:24 After the go live, during the Run phase, the post-conversion activities can be addressed.
00:15:29 Some of the changes from the simplification list can be addressed post-conversion.
00:15:34 So this can be done during the Run phase. Also, continued clean-up activities are
recommended.
00:15:41 So, let's finalize. There are several specific topics that need to be addressed
00:15:45 as part of project planning. It is important to check as part of the preparation
00:15:50 that all of these topics are considered properly, and, if required, are reflected in the project plan.

00:15:58 With that, I hope you've gotten a good overview of what is relevant for project planning
00:16:02 when it comes to an S/4HANA conversion. And with this, we came to the end of this unit.
00:16:09 So I'd like to thank you for your attention. And for now, I would like to hand over to Hendrik,
00:16:13 who's giving you more details on Project Roles and Skills in the next unit.

14
Week 1 Unit 4

00:00:08 Welcome back to week one, unit four of this openSAP course.
00:00:12 My name is Hendrik Luetjohann. I'm an SAP S/4HANA product expert
00:00:17 and part of the SAP S/4HANA Regional Implementation Group. In this unit, we'll take a look at
00:00:22 Project Roles and Skills for System Conversions - Part I. My colleague Dirk already briefly talked

00:00:32 about roles and skills in the second unit. In this and the next unit,
00:00:36 we'll take a closer look at this topic. Since the release of SAP S/4HANA
00:00:42 into the market in November 2015, the Regional Implementation Group has been involved
00:00:47 in a few hundred SAP S/4HANA projects, New implementations as well as system conversions.
00:00:55 Our impression is that there's still the need in the SAP ecosystem to build up their personal
experience.
00:01:02 A common question we receive especially from project managers is,
00:01:06 which roles and skills are required for a system conversion project?
00:01:11 In discussions with these people, it is interesting to understand how they view the world
00:01:17 and why they are planning to approach the staffing of a project in the way they do.
00:01:23 This is the reason we decided to cover the topic in a dedicated unit.
00:01:27 We are assuming that most people have been involved in SAP projects in the past,
00:01:33 and try to compare their experience with the one for a system conversion.
00:01:38 This comparison is a main factor leading to the different thinking in the involved skillset
00:01:43 for a system conversion versus a new implementation. This kind of mindset leads to a common
mistake
00:01:50 for system conversion projects, because it's often seen as a technical upgrade project.
00:01:56 This leads to missing out on important roles, driving the best outcome for the project.
00:02:05 The project roles we will cover in this and the following unit are depicted on this slide.
00:02:11 We're using the graphic to structure the unit. The intention to is highlight the need
00:02:16 for these roles in a project. The importance of some roles will depend
00:02:21 on the current solution scope and the main objective of the project.
00:02:26 For example, you want to make a transition to the technical platform
00:02:31 or want to include some process improvements as well. It is not the intention of this unit
00:02:36 to provide a prescriptive organizational setup which must be followed.
00:02:42 Depending on the size of the project and its complexity, some roles may be split in projects,
00:02:49 some roles may be covered by the same person. The number or roles might be a surprise
00:02:55 for many people planning to start a conversion project, because the view of many people is,
00:03:00 that a system conversion is a technical-like upgrade. For example, upgrading from SAP ERP 5.0
system
00:03:08 to SAP ERP 6.0, or to the latest enhancement package. With repeating this, it hopefully
becomes obvious
00:03:18 that this is not a technical project only. You will need to consider much broader talent
00:03:23 to manage your conversion project. The first role for the project is the project manager,
00:03:31 which is obvious since it's part of any project. Before looking into the role,
00:03:37 I'll first introduce you to the four main characteristics we'll use to highlight each project role.
00:03:45 The first one is the mindset somebody should have. This is very important,
00:03:49 because SAP S/4HANA projects will require changes. Leading others through this change is an
important factor.
00:03:58 For this type of project, it is a key success factor
00:04:02 in changing the environment we're working in. The second topic we will be covering

15
00:04:09 is the potential challenges a person in this role will be facing.
00:04:13 The intention is to highlight some areas which are specific to conversion projects.
00:04:19 Most of these are common knowledge. It is important to keep in mind that we are still talking
00:04:24 about a software implementation project. The third point we'll be looking at,
00:04:30 is the responsibilities that a person in this role will carry in this project.
00:04:37 The fourth but not less important topic is the skills, the knowledge someone in the role should
bring with them.
00:04:43 In this unit we will only highlight some aspects. The other units will cover specifics in more detail.

00:04:51 We'll now take a look at these topics for the role of a project manager.
00:04:56 Starting with the mindset someone in this role should have. The project manager needs to be
fully aware
00:05:03 that a system conversion project is not a pure technical project.
00:05:08 He will need to ensure that the technical as well as the functional side is being taken care of.
00:05:15 Looking at the challenges for this role. He needs to understand the overall
00:05:19 digital transformation of this company. This is important because the person needs
00:05:24 to be able to steer the project into the right direction and prioritize the work accordingly.
00:05:31 The longer customers wait to start their journey, the more the functional challenges will be
required.
00:05:37 This may mean that the project timeline is increasing. The impact will not only be related to
changing processes,
00:05:45 but include changes to the user experience as well. The project plan will need to be adjusted
00:05:51 and fine-tuned following each test conversion cycle. The responsibilities for a project manager
are very similar
00:06:00 to any other software implementation project. Ensure that success criteria
00:06:06 for the conversion project have been defined. The scope of the project is aligned with them.
00:06:14 Prepare the project plan, tracking all parts of it and reporting on the progress of the project
00:06:19 will be the standard task expected from any project manager. The final characteristic, the
knowledge
00:06:27 of a project manager, should not come as a surprise. They are the same as for any major
change project
00:06:33 and follow the same principles. It was mentioned in the previous point,
00:06:38 that communication is part of the responsibilities. Being able to drive the collaboration
00:06:43 within the project team and the business stakeholders will be an important success part for the
project.
00:06:56 The solution architect plays an important role, helping to establish SAP S/4HANA as the digital
core
00:07:03 and define the roadmap for future changes to take advantage of the new technical platform
itself.
00:07:10 With SAP S/4HANA, changes to the technical and functional side are being introduced.
00:07:16 Some of the changes will be covered in their respective units. Let's have a look at the four
characteristics,
00:07:22 and what they mean for the role of a solution architect. We will start by looking at the mindset.
00:07:31 The solution architect needs to be aware that the introduction of SAP S/4HANA
00:07:36 will only be the first step on the transformation journey. The enterprise management system is
the core part
00:07:43 of a system landscape, which needs to interact with all the other parts.
00:07:49 The introduction of SAP S/4HANA via system conversion will most certainly require some further
changes
00:07:55 to the landscape. The challenges someone in this role will face

16
00:08:00 are going to surface in different forms. There's the need to understand
00:08:05 and plan the holistic way for the technical changes. This includes the possibility
00:08:11 of simplifying the system landscape over time and removing some of the satellite solutions.
00:08:17 It may be feasible to replace SAP Customer Relationship Management or SAP Supplier
Relationship Management
00:08:25 with the functionalities in SAP S/4HANA. Some of these changes are most likely not part of
00:08:32 the first step of a system conversion. Nevertheless, changes to the current interfaces
00:08:38 and the introduction of other solutions may be required. The planning should address the
adoption
00:08:45 of the new user interface. The value of the changes need to be understood
00:08:50 and reflected in the technical roadmap. The responsibilities are driven by the above challenges.
00:08:58 The solution architect will need to understand the technical changes introduced by SAP
S/4HANA
00:09:04 and how they might impact the existing system landscape. It will most likely include the changes

00:09:10 to the user experience and support the needs of the business.
00:09:15 The primary focus for a system conversion is often the change from the existing SAP ERP
00:09:21 to an SAP S/4HANA system, but the planning needs to make sure
00:09:26 that the new innovations can be consumed without creating new roadblocks.
00:09:31 A very important skill for a solution architect will be to quickly learn and understand the impact of
the technical
00:09:38 and functional changes compared to the as-is situation. Knowledge of new technologies and the
solution
00:09:48 that best addresses the business requirements. In some projects, the role of solution architect
00:09:54 may be covered by the team and a lead architect. The overall aspects will still apply
00:10:02 to each of the team members and the individual task would need
00:10:05 to reflect the work someone needs to cover. With change, there is a need for someone to
ensure
00:10:16 this is being addressed accordingly in the project. Organizational change management
00:10:23 is one of the main success factors in SAP projects. This remains true for system conversion
projects as well.
00:10:31 With the simplification of business processes comes the reduction and removal of some existing
processes,
00:10:38 and change is likely to occur. And this is the reason we included the role,
00:10:44 because organizational change management focuses on these effects it can have
00:10:50 on the end users, on the community. The characteristics for a person
00:10:55 in this role remain similar to other projects, but it is important to recognize the need for this role.

00:11:04 Most of us don't easily accept change in our workspace. Now for the change manager, it is
important
00:11:11 to go into a conversion project with the mindset that a conversion project will only be the start
00:11:17 of the changes. This means that dealing with challenges
00:11:21 will be a major part throughout the project. The standard challenges someone will need to
address are:
00:11:30 communicate with all required stakeholders to know about the upcoming changes
00:11:35 and being open to the changes; empowerment of the people,
00:11:40 making them feel to be allowed to participate in this change and being able to contribute to the
change,
00:11:50 making them feel in control. The person in this role will need

17
00:11:55 to work closely with the different workstreams and understand the areas which will face the
biggest impact.
00:12:04 Understand the full digital transformation and the change it will have
00:12:07 on the existing way of doing business. The change manager will have the responsibilities
00:12:15 to define the organizational change management and governance of the project.
00:12:22 From a skill/knowledge perspective, a person should provide very good communication skills.
00:12:29 Being able to motivate the affected people and address their needs effectively,
00:12:34 for example share information and give the opportunity to share their concerns.
00:12:44 Testing the converted system and identifying issues and resolving them is essential
00:12:50 for successful system conversion to SAP S/4HANA. All required tasks should be coordinated
00:12:57 by a dedicated test manager. The mindset for a test manager remains the
00:13:02 as for any other software project. Testing the solution should not be an afterthought.
00:13:09 It is essential for a successful project, with the time and effort well ensuring
00:13:14 that the core processes are working without issues. The challenges remain the same
00:13:21 for a system conversion, compared to an upgrade of an SAP ERP system.
00:13:27 There are fundamental changes to the technical layer, as well as the functional side.
00:13:32 This means that there are a few more challenges to be managed.
00:13:36 Beside identifying the core business processes, time will need to be spent updating the test
scripts
00:13:43 based on the new designed business processes. The identification of issues
00:13:49 and the resolution need to be managed well. Some of the issues may need to be corrected
00:13:56 in the productive SAP ERP system before the final conversion.
00:14:01 A test manager and the team will need to manage all responsibilities,
00:14:08 to correctly address these challenges mentioned before. The test manager will need to define
the test scope,
00:14:15 which will need to be covered during the different phases of the project.
00:14:21 The following topics should be covered as well. Integration testing between the different SAP
00:14:27 and third-party solutions. The conversion will most likely require changes
00:14:32 to the existing security concept, for example for new screens or the introduction of Fiori.
00:14:40 The functional changes will need to be included in this. This may relate to new features being
consolidated
00:14:47 into one solution like the material evaluation. The testing of the remaining custom code
00:14:54 will be a point of focus. The user acceptance testing will need to be prepared.
00:15:02 It's suggested involving key business users at an early stage to include their feedback
00:15:07 in the future test plans. It is beneficial for a test manager to have knowledge
00:15:13 from an earlier SAP implementation project. This will help to understand the critical areas
00:15:19 and how to set the correct priorities. We are now looking at the role
00:15:26 of the process owner, the experts. It's important to involve them early
00:15:32 in the setup of the project. They will need to make important decisions
00:15:36 converting from the current SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA. This is not only due to the
simplification
00:15:44 SAP is introducing with SAP S/4HANA. The conversion is the opportunity for a lot of customers
00:15:50 to change the status quo. A process owner will need to have a mindset
00:15:56 that this change is an opportunity to improve and resolve current business challenges.
00:16:04 They will need to understand the changes and turn them into advantages
00:16:08 that should enable to help them. The challenges for the process owner will depend
00:16:16 on the area represented, and the impact of this line of business.

18
00:16:22 One challenge all process owners will have is that they will need to link
00:16:26 between the project team and the business. They will need to have a good understanding
00:16:31 of the current business processes and the challenges. Their responsibilities are: managing the
communication
00:16:40 between the different parties; preparing the business for the change;
00:16:45 overseeing the process of evaluation, the need of existing custom code, and the replacement
00:16:51 with new simplified processes, if possible; work with the user experience lead
00:16:57 to define the correct strategy for their line of business from a user interface perspective.
00:17:05 They will need to be knowledgeable about the current business practices.
00:17:09 It is essential to have a good network and have the skills to see beyond the current practices.
00:17:18 It seems that many seem to be under the impression, that there is no change required
00:17:25 because the user experience seems to be the same with an SAP GUI.
00:17:31 The new user experience is a key new innovation. In this unit we will focus on the role
00:17:37 of the user experience lead. From the perspective of a mindset,
00:17:43 the person should be the advocate that the user experience is a key factor
00:17:47 for the success of the acceptance of the new solution. This leads directly into the challenges
00:17:54 a person in this role will face: the user experience lead needs
00:17:59 to understand the end-user requirements to define the overall strategy;
00:18:05 orchestrate the user interface strategy across all solutions, and not only for SAP S/4HANA
system.
00:18:14 This means there are a few responsibilities which need to be managed:
00:18:21 the user experience lead will need to govern the UX experience centrally,
00:18:26 ensuring a coherent user experience; The most important factor in this mix is the people
00:18:32 who are going to use that solution at the end of the day; guiding the user community
00:18:38 through the journey will be important. Some of the critical activities
00:18:43 providing a good user experience are: communicate the user experience needs and
expectations;
00:18:51 provide user experience strategy guidance; validate the user experience with the end users.
00:18:58 The mentioned critical areas lead to the skills and the knowledge someone in this role should
have.
00:19:06 The person needs to be a good listener to understand the current challenges
00:19:10 and how the new solution can best benefit the individual user groups.
00:19:18 In this unit, Project Roles and Skills for System Conversions - Part I,
00:19:23 we covered the highlighted roles. In the next unit, we'll look at the other roles.
00:19:28 With this, we come to the end of this unit. In the next unit we'll focus on
00:19:33 Project Roles and Skills for System Conversion - Part II. Thank you for your attention and see
you in the next unit.
00:19:40 Have a nice day.

19
Week 1 Unit 5

00:00:07 Welcome back to week one, unit five, of this openSAP course. In this unit we will continue
talking about
00:00:14 Project Roles and Skills for System Conversion. In this unit we'll be covering the remaining
roles,
00:00:23 highlighted in yellow. We will walk through these roles in the same
00:00:28 as we did in the unit before. Let us start with the role of the trainer.
00:00:36 You should include the role of the trainer in a conversion project because:
00:00:40 the processes have been changed and there will be an impact to end users;
00:00:45 the project team may need some initial SAP S/4HANA training. This means training may be
required
00:00:52 for two distinct user groups - project members and end users. Building up knowledge about SAP
S/4HANA
00:01:00 and the changes compared to an SAP ERP are vital for the success of a system conversion.
00:01:06 We have often seen that the project team doesn't have the required knowledge,
00:01:11 and this is leading to issues during the project. For example, people who do not understand the
innovations
00:01:18 and therefore don't understand the potential impacts. A system conversion is only a first step
00:01:25 on a journey to SAP S/4HANA, and it is important to make this successful.
00:01:31 Most likely people getting involved in an SAP S/4HANA project will have been involved in SAP
ERP projects.
00:01:38 They will most likely want to work in the same way as before, based on their experience and
their knowledge.
00:01:45 The role of the trainer is usually included in the Organizational Change Management area,
00:01:50 as a sub-stream. The trainer needs to have the mindset
00:01:55 that they will need to ensure that people break their habits and adopt the new world of SAP
S/4HANA.
00:02:02 This may sound simple and not much of a challenge. For the tasks of a trainer this means they
need to ensure
00:02:09 that the project team members need to understand the as-is solution,
00:02:14 making sure they can address the changes SAP S/4HANA will have to the current business
processes.
00:02:20 This will help prepare the end users and minimize the potential changes for them.
00:02:27 The standard challenges for the trainers will of course remain the same.
00:02:32 A strategy for the end-user training will need to be defined, and how the best approach should
look.
00:02:38 Using the new user experience in the right way should help minimize end-user training
00:02:45 and impact to their daily work. Validation of the plan based on the first trial conversion
00:02:51 is very beneficial, and adjusting it with each further trial. This means working closely with the test
manager and other streams
00:02:59 is a key challenge that needs to be addressed. The responsibilities of the trainer are very
standard:
00:03:07 the trainer will need to lead the end-user training workstream activities;
00:03:12 complete workstream deliverables, timelines, and objectives; execute training development
programs;
00:03:20 train the new system functionality and the business processes;
00:03:25 develop training strategies, standards, and tools; coordinate the training activities with the
process teams;
00:03:33 create and manage training environments and the training landscape.

20
00:03:37 The trainer will need to have good communication skills and understand that the training
approach
00:03:42 is not only about building up knowledge. The soft skills of the people will have a big impact
00:03:48 on the success of the system conversion project. In our hierarchy we have linked the role
00:03:58 of the integration lead with the solution architect. The integration lead will need to work closely
00:04:04 with other roles as well, for example, the test manager. Proactively exchanging project
information is important
00:04:12 because the topics are very closely linked, and issues will most likely impact others as well.
00:04:19 From a mindset perspective, the integration lead will need to make sure that people understand

00:04:24 the new integration technologies, and how they may impact the status quo.
00:04:29 They may be more efficient or allow a resolution of existing challenges.
00:04:35 Changes in SAP S/4HANA to remove obsolete integrations which have been developed over
the lifetime of SAP ERP
00:04:42 will need to be addressed as well. The challenges the integration lead will need to address are:

00:04:48 working closely with the solution architect, understanding the future solution; define a test
strategy ensuring
00:04:56 that all the required integrations are working fine, a focus should be on third-party solutions
00:05:02 because these interfaces may be custom-built and may therefore need some adjustments;
00:05:08 understand the specifications of integration scenarios based on customer business processes
00:05:15 and the future usage to prioritize the effort; the design may include cloud solutions
00:05:22 and this may impact the approach and design; collaborating with the developers
00:05:28 and the different consultants will be important to understand the impact of the required changes;

00:05:35 analyzing feasibility for new and changed interfaces; conduct customer workshops.
00:05:42 The responsibilities for the integration lead are: define the test strategy and the test approach;
00:05:49 define the required types of test and their purpose, for example, cycle test, integration test,
00:05:56 end-user testing, performance testing, system testing. Skills and knowledge of this kind of
person:
00:06:04 knowledge of the technical platform and interfaces; knowledge of the integration between
applications
00:06:10 and the external systems; and business knowledge.
00:06:18 Since most people are seeing a system conversion as a technical project,
00:06:22 the assignment of a technical basis resource is the first role being considered for such a project.

00:06:29 A large part of a system conversion is indeed technical. The basis resource will need to work
closely
00:06:35 with the solution architect. We are looking at the role of the technical resource
00:06:40 and starting with the mindset which they will need to have for such a system conversion project.

00:06:47 A system conversion is not the same as a system upgrade, although many people still seem to
00:06:52 see a system conversion this way. The technical resource will need to be clear
00:06:57 that this is not the case, and the work has an impact for the future adoption of new innovations.
00:07:04 An example for this is the setup of applications for the introduction of the new user interface,
Fiori.
00:07:12 The challenges for a person in this role are therefore: being familiar with the various
components,
00:07:18 the UI aspect, front-end, back-end servers, the HANA database, the Web Dispatcher,
00:07:25 and the deployment of these options and the maintenance of SAP S/4HANA systems;

21
00:07:30 they need to be familiar with ABAP authorizations and the Fiori catalogs, the group authorization
concepts;
00:07:38 mobile security plays a bigger role and the design aspects need to be considered,
00:07:45 this is a top-down process rather than a standard bottom-up process;
00:07:49 understand the new tools SAP introduced for the system conversion itself,
00:07:54 the availability of these tools SAP is providing is covered in a dedicated unit of this openSAP
course;
00:08:04 ensure alignment and IT execution in accordance with the overall strategy.
00:08:10 A basis resource has quite a few responsibilities in a conversion project: they will need to check
the system, the prerequisites,
00:08:18 for example, a database, correct version for the release; prepare, install, upgrade and the
maintenance
00:08:26 of the SAP S/4HANA system; perform post-installation configuration tasks;
00:08:33 design and implement security requirements for the SAP S/4HANA system.
00:08:38 And in terms of the user interface, they will be required to: support launchpad-driven
authorization approaches;
00:08:46 monitor, troubleshoot, and fine-tune the SAP S/4HANA system; assist with troubleshooting and
solving
00:08:54 connectivity and performance issues. People covering this role will need to have
00:09:00 or quickly build up knowledge around the new tools SAP is providing.
00:09:05 It is beneficial having good communication skills, they will need to be able to work closely
00:09:10 with other team members, and open communication will help to understand the requirements
00:09:16 and translate them into the technical setup. Customers have often mentioned
00:09:25 that one of the major challenges of adopting new innovations is modifications in their systems.
00:09:31 Running a system conversion is a very good opportunity for all customers to review all the
developments
00:09:38 and decide on the importance and value of each of them. The role of a development resource
00:09:44 is therefore quite important. They will need to help review the developments
00:09:49 and how they can be adopted for the new technical platform, if they are still required, for
example.
00:09:56 Their mindset will need to be that SAP S/4HANA is a new technical platform with a new data
model - core data services -
00:10:03 changed business functionalities, and new extensibility concepts. A developer has multiple
challenges
00:10:11 they will need to manage during a system conversion. Here are some examples:
00:10:17 the system conversion will highlight any mistakes, shortcuts which have been made in the past
and need correction;
00:10:25 developers may need to resolve issues where people may have classified developments
incorrectly as SAP code,
00:10:31 or misused fields to hold data, which is stored in incorrect fields;
00:10:37 ensure custom data is being transferred into the new tables, which will require custom
extensions;
00:10:44 resolve issues of programs being assigned into wrong packages; adopting existing programs
into
00:10:52 the new technical landscape of SAP S/4HANA - in this case a decision needs to be made
00:10:58 if the adoption should be minimal leveraging compatibility views
00:11:02 or directly using the new core data services; removing unused custom code is another challenge

00:11:10 they need to resolve. The above challenges lead into the responsibilities:
00:11:16 they will need to be responsible for adopting the programs into the new technical platform;

22
00:11:22 helping to define the future programming standards - this may include to define if developments
00:11:28 are done in the SAP S/4HANA system itself or starting to use the SAP Cloud Platform
00:11:33 for the development of custom functionalities; improving the performance of programs
00:11:39 by adopting the new data model. It will be very important to build up knowledge
00:11:45 of the new virtual data models and the impact it has on the existing programs,
00:11:51 and how it should be used moving forward. Being able to adopt into the new world
00:11:56 and the extensibility concept will be a very important skill for any developer.
00:12:05 SAP started the transformation to SAP S/4HANA with the introduction of Simple Finance,
00:12:10 or SAP S/4HANA Finance, as it's called now. We have seen that having a finance solution
consultant
00:12:16 in a conversion project is one of the most critical resources for a successful project.
00:12:23 The changes between the old SAP world and the new SAP S/4HANA system are very
fundamental
00:12:29 and will impact current processes. A finance solution consultant will be important
00:12:35 even if a customer is converting from an existing SAP S/4HANA Simple Finance system.
00:12:41 The specific steps and tasks you will need to walk through during the conversion in the finance
area
00:12:46 will be covered in a dedicated unit in this openSAP course. A finance consultant will be required
00:12:53 from the very early stages of the project till the The process for finance deviates from the ones
00:13:00 for the logistics side. The details will be explained in the dedicated units.
00:13:06 A person taking on the role of a finance consultant should have the mindset that
00:13:10 the world of finance has been redefined and allows changing current business practices.
00:13:17 It seems a simple task, but changing an existing mindset and getting out of the comfort zone
00:13:23 and changing its habits is often very difficult. It is key for a successful project.
00:13:30 Some of the challenges for a finance solution consultant are:
00:13:34 understanding the digital transformation goals of the organization, and how these changes
00:13:39 will impact the finance area; this means a good understanding
00:13:44 of the as-is processes is very important; this includes understanding the new user interface
strategy
00:13:51 and how it impacts the business; helping others on the journey
00:13:56 from the old practices to the new world. The responsibilities of the role are:
00:14:02 understanding of the new applications and helping address the needs of the user groups;
00:14:08 validating the user experience extensions for the business processes.
00:14:14 Having a good knowledge of the new finance applications and processes will be key for anyone
in this role.
00:14:23 A plus for this role is good communication skills because it will help to guide the end users
00:14:28 to handle the new processes and the required changes. One role most projects don't seem to
cater for
00:14:40 is the role of logistics consultants. It seems that most are under the impression
00:14:45 that the functionality between ERP and S/4HANA in the logistics space are the same.
00:14:51 For any conversion project, it is important to include a logistics consultant in the project.
00:14:57 You may need more than one person to support the activities required in this area.
00:15:03 A consultant in this role needs to have a similar mindset compared to a solution consultant in
finance.
00:15:10 Business processes have been changed and the new solution allows to rethink existing
processes
00:15:16 and helps people to better focus on their work or makes them more efficient.
00:15:21 During the course you will learn more around the potential challenges

23
00:15:25 and the potential business benefits in the logistics space. The biggest challenge for solution
consultants themselves
00:15:32 will be to get out of their comfort zone and start to think differently
00:15:36 about existing business processes. For the logistics side, customers can continue
00:15:42 to use a lot of processes in a similar way. This means changes may not be introduced
00:15:47 with the system conversion itself, but they are the foundation for the future.
00:15:53 Reimagine the to-be processes that support digital transformation as a goal.
00:16:00 This is something that can start by introducing the new user interface.
00:16:05 The responsibilities of the role are the same as for the role of the finance solution consultant:
00:16:11 in-depth understanding of the business roles and relevant to the business processes in scope;
00:16:17 understand the new applications and help address the needs for the user groups;
00:16:23 resolve user experience gaps for the to-be business processes.
00:16:27 Having a good knowledge of the new logistics applications and the processes will be key for
anyone in this role.
00:16:35 Various areas have been fundamentally changed, for example, material evaluation.
00:16:41 Yes, I'm repeating this example - this is a process which existed twice
00:16:46 in a similar way in the SAP ERP world. With SAP S/4HANA we have simplified these processes

00:16:53 and kept only one moving forward. This means finance and logistics people
00:16:57 must be aware of these changes, and how they affect them in terms of the roles and security.
00:17:03 It is essential to understand the impact to the current processes
00:17:07 and how they need to be set up for the future. With this last... we are looking
00:17:15 at the last role we want to highlight, you may need quite a few different solution consultants
00:17:20 involved in your conversion project. We have seen that some customers in this area
00:17:26 have not done that. Like we have changes in S/4HANA Human Capital Management.
00:17:35 This is an example where customers programmed their own solution for a country they were
doing business in
00:17:42 but didn't follow the standards. It meant that this development had to be deleted
00:17:47 and had to be redone to ensure that it could be still used even in an SAP S/4HANA system.
00:17:54 You may want to start looking into some areas which you may need to address soon,
00:17:59 for example, customers converting a system with Warehouse Management will need to migrate
the solution
00:18:06 to Extended Warehouse Management, as an embedded solution or side-by-side,
00:18:11 at the latest December 31, 2025. A dedicated solution consultant may look after
00:18:18 the mandatory customer/vendor integration and help to design the processes,
00:18:24 keeping the master data clean for the future. In this sense, a system conversion project
00:18:30 is the opportunity to review existing processes and redefine them for the future.
00:18:36 From a mindset, challenges, responsibilities, and skills perspective the consultant needs to have
similar requirements
00:18:44 the other solution consultants, with the additional requirement of being an expert
00:18:49 in their specific area. One important topic will be the user experience.
00:18:55 Even though we have the UX lead, the individual solution consultants
00:19:00 will need to work very closely with the leads to define the best approach for the end users.
00:19:08 In this and the last unit, we looked at the most important roles for a system conversion,
00:19:13 which we are showing on this slide. With this, we come to the end of this unit.
00:19:19 In the next unit we will focus on SAP S/4HANA Architecture and Components.
00:19:25 Thank you for your attention and see you in the next unit. Have a nice day.

24
Week 1 Unit 6

00:00:08 Welcome back to week one of unit six of this openSAP course.
00:00:13 My name is Van Vi, and I'm a product expert in the S/4HANA Regional Implementation Group.
00:00:19 In this unit, we will look at the SAP S/4HANA Architecture and Component.
00:00:29 SAP S/4HANA was built from the ground up as an in-memory system to address
00:00:34 the challenges and customers facing with their growing SAP business applications
00:00:38 and business intelligence platform. With the initial introduction of SAP HANA seven years ago,
00:00:45 the platform was utilized in native HANA data mart and as sidecar scenarios along an ERP
system
00:00:53 to provide near real-time reporting. One of the advantages of the sidecar
00:00:58 is that you can continue using your existing system as is while using SAP HANA as a secondary
database,
00:01:07 with data replication from the ERP system. To progress the adoption for SAP HANA platform,
00:01:16 SAP BW powered by SAP HANA was introduced to market in 2012.
00:01:24 With SAP BW powered by SAP HANA, a simplification of the BW landscape emerged
00:01:32 where the BW traditional database and BW Accelerator, also known as BWA,
00:01:38 were replaced by SAP HANA. As a result, the application was rewritten
00:01:45 to conduct BW code push down to the SAP HANA platform. With SAP HANA-optimized data
store objects
00:01:53 and SAP HANA-optimized InfoCubes, providing the benefits of real-time analysis and reporting.
00:02:03 Building on the success of BW powered by SAP HANA, SAP Business Suite powered by SAP
HANA was launched in 2013.
00:02:13 With SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA, the goal was to drive real-time business,
00:02:19 and simplified how customers run their SAP Business Suite by bringing transactions and
analytics together
00:02:26 into a single in-memory platform for ERP, SCM, SRM, and CRM. In addition, SAP Business
Suite powered by SAP HANA
00:02:36 enabled SAP customers an option to offload the managing of the SAP footprint,
00:02:44 by offering an infrastructure as a service plus managed services option
00:02:49 through the HANA Enterprise Cloud. In 2014, SAP Business Suite powered by SAP
00:02:56 was further enhanced with the goal to manage SAP Finance and Accounting,
00:03:01 leveraging the power of the SAP HANA platform called SAP Simple Finance powered by SAP
HANA.
00:03:12 This product was designed to remove traditional barriers between transactional analytics
00:03:17 to provide instant insight and on-the fly analysis, leveraging all aspects of the financial data.
00:03:24 The foremost advantage is processing speed combined with integrated financial functionalities
00:03:30 to give the finance line of business a much faster reconciliation of financial closing
00:03:36 with a single source of the truth and the ability of real-time data with analytics
00:03:42 to model and predict the impact of changes that a company may want to make.
00:03:50 With SAP S/4HANA, we are building on the success of SAP Business Suite and SAP Simple
Finance
00:03:56 powered by SAP HANA with a business suite called SAP S/4HANA.
00:04:03 SAP S/4HANA is natively built on SAP HANA for massive simplifications, such as
00:04:10 a simplified data model with elimination of indices, aggregates, and data redundancies.
00:04:18 SAP S/4HANA is natively designed with user experience through role-based SAP Fiori apps,
00:04:24 which can be accessed on any device, whether it's a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile.
00:04:31 SAP S/4HANA is natively built with advanced processing for insight to action,

25
00:04:36 predictability, and digital businesses, with deployment options such as cloud,
00:04:41 on-premise, and hybrid. Digital transformation, whether strategically planned
00:04:51 or influenced to offset the dynamics of changing global economies,
00:04:57 is affecting how companies run their business. Having the ability to thrive with new opportunities

00:05:05 created by digital disruption requires agility and ability


00:05:10 to define new business models. SAP is uniquely positioned
00:05:16 to enable our customers' digital transformation across all key aspects of their business value
chain
00:05:21 with industry-leading portfolios of cloud solutions. The SAP digital business framework is a
methodology
00:05:29 for an end-to-end digital enterprise architecture that digitizes business processes across various
industries.
00:05:37 First, let's begin with customer experience, giving end users... sorry... giving end customers and
consumers
00:05:43 what they want and when they want it and in ways to build customers for life.
00:05:49 Second, Workforce Engagement. The most valuable asset in an organization is its people.
00:05:56 SAP digitizes the total workforce engagement across employees and contractors
00:06:02 with SuccessFactors and Fieldglass. Third, with Spend Management,
00:06:08 managing cost is every C-level's priority. SAP Ariba, Concur, and SAP Fieldglass
00:06:15 digitize spend management across direct materials, indirect spend, travel, and contingent labor.

00:06:23 Fourth, with IoT and Supply Chain, next generation manufacturing and productivity gains
00:06:28 are enabled by SAP to seamlessly leverage IoT across their business to optimize processes.
00:06:37 With SAP Leonardo, the Intelligent Enterprise is enabled. Artificial intelligence, machine
learning,
00:06:43 deep learning, and data science are influencing a new era of intelligent applications
00:06:49 and business automations. At the center is SAP's digital core, the infinity loop.
00:06:57 SAP S/4HANA on-premise and cloud editions drive real-time business transactions
00:07:02 and intelligent insight into the Digital Boardroom. Powered by SAP, digital applications enable
real-time, data-driven businesses.
00:07:13 SAP Cloud Platform delivers a best-in-class technology platform for new application
development,
00:07:19 extensions, and integrations across the SAP product portfolio.
00:07:24 Last but not least, SAP CoPilot, the one digital assistant across all product solutions,
00:07:30 industries, and lines of business. SAP S/4HANA is focused on three architecture layers:
00:07:40 UI, application, and database and structures. The SAP S/4HANA target architecture
00:07:47 is based on the following pillars: The first is responsive design.
00:07:54 It provides a single point of entry for business users across business applications.
00:08:00 Role-based simplification of business processes. SAP Fiori as user experience to provide insight
to action.
00:08:09 The second is the "Principle of One". Simplification and reduction of the digital core
00:08:14 based on avoiding redundant frameworks, reduction in data models, user interfaces,
00:08:22 and reduction in complexity. The third is re-architecting for an in-memory platform.
00:08:32 Optimal usage of SAP HANA as the one supported platform with data model simplifications and
support
00:08:39 for OLAP and OLTP in the same system. Semantic compatibility to support evolution
00:08:47 with least possible disruption across ABAP and SAP Cloud Platform.
00:08:53 One codeline for cloud and on-premise delivery. The concept of a simplified data model

26
00:09:03 is only relevant to install base customers interested in a system conversion
00:09:09 or a landscape transformation with the transition path from an SAP Business Suite system.
00:09:17 The SAP S/4HANA simplified data model and modern user experience are consistent
00:09:22 for both cloud and on-premise. Designed for in-memory, SAP S/4HANA brings
00:09:30 new business capabilities while simplifying the IT landscape.
00:09:35 As you can see, in SAP Business Suite, the data model contains a lot of redundant data
00:09:40 to store historical indices and aggregates for performance reasons.
00:09:49 Because SAP HANA is an in-memory database, redundant data storage in tables
00:09:56 is no longer required as SAP HANA can calculate on the fly. This allowed table simplifications
00:10:03 in the finance area starting with SAP S/4HANA Finance. With SAP S/4HANA, table simplification
continued
00:10:12 with sales, materials, values, and material quantities. The result is a combination of transactions
and analytics
00:10:21 on a single in-memory platform supported for OLAP and OLTP in the same system.
00:10:31 SAP S/4HANA is a new product and which delivers a real-time enterprise resource management
system
00:10:39 for digital businesses. It is built on SAP's own in-memory platform.
00:10:45 SAP HANA offers a personalized, consumer-grade user experience with SAP Fiori.
00:10:52 Here on this slide you can see there are two codelines. SAP S/4HANA is a brand new codeline
00:10:58 developed with cloud qualities and supplies to the on-premise S/4HANA version represented in
blue.
00:11:06 For SAP S/4HANA Cloud edition, customers essentially conduct a new implementation
00:11:12 of SAP S/4HANA with structured best practices, configurations, and extensibility,
00:11:17 followed by initial data loads with standard data migration tools, as well as content.
00:11:24 A similar approach can be followed for the on-premise edition, where customers who have
00:11:28 older releases than ERP 6.0 and/or highly customized, and/or does not meet the system
requirement
00:11:35 for a technical system conversion. The most beneficial for doing this approach
00:11:41 is the reengineering and process simplification based on pre-configured business processes
00:11:47 and rapid adoption in a standardized manner. For the on-premise edition,
00:11:53 in addition to the cloud codeline, the SAP Business Suite codeline
00:11:56 is also supplied as compatibility scopes, also known as compatibility packs,
00:12:01 to the S/4HANA on-premise. Utilizing compatibility packs,
00:12:10 the conversion to SAP S/4HANA becomes less disruptive for our install base customers.
00:12:18 SAP's goal is to have replaced all compatibility packs with a genuine SAP S/4HANA solution,
00:12:25 or a solution with the SAP S/4HANA suite by end of 2025. This mitigates the risk and investment

00:12:34 of a big bang conversion project by reducing the scope of the system conversion project,
00:12:39 followed by a phased approach for new innovations. To help you determine the difference
between
00:12:48 when a compatibility pack is used or not, let's start with a system where you are running
00:12:54 a side-by-side scenario. In this side-by-side scenario,
00:12:59 you have two systems. One system is your non-ERP 6.0 system
00:13:03 connected to your HCM system. Let's say you then convert your non-ERP system
00:13:10 to SAP S/4HANA with the Software Update Manager, and at the same time reconnecting back
00:13:18 to your HCM system after the conversion. In the converted SAP S/4HANA system,
00:13:24 let's pretend you also are no longer using any classic ERP line of business and industry
solutions.

27
00:13:33 While HCM is running outside of the SAP S/4HANA instance, this example would not require the
usage
00:13:41 of the compatibility pack. Now let's take another example where you have HCM and ERP
00:13:50 running on the same instance as an embedded installation. You then convert the system
00:13:57 with Software Update Manager to SAP S/4HANA. After the conversion, you will continue to use
00:14:03 classic ERP, HCM, along with some functionality of classic ERP line of business and industry
solutions.
00:14:12 In this case, compatibility packs will be used. Please refer to the two links on what compatibility
packs are
00:14:21 available in frequently asked questions. Now let's talk about an example of the components
00:14:31 of an SAP S/4HANA 1709 system within a central hub SAP Fiori deployment.
00:14:38 SAP S/4HANA is the next-generation business suite and a new product consisting of
00:14:46 an SAP Web Dispatcher. In addition to an SAP Web Dispatcher,
00:14:49 you can also leverage other hardware load balancers too. A NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.52 instance

00:14:57 used for the SAP Fiori front-end server. And an SAP S/4HANA 1709 ABAP instance
00:15:05 built on top of a NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.52. One thing to note that is different
00:15:12 from traditional SAP Fiori front-end servers from SAP Business Suite,
00:15:18 the central hub SAP Fiori server for SAP S/4HANA requires the database to be an SAP
database,
00:15:26 such as SAP HANA, SAP MaxDB, or SAP ASE. Finally, you have the back-end server with
S4CORE
00:15:38 software component running on top of an AS ABAP NetWeaver 7.52 with an SAP HANA 2.0
database.
00:15:52 To give you more information around components that make up the software and database
stacks
00:15:58 from the evolution of SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA, let's discuss this slide in more detail.
00:16:07 Let's first discuss the SAP Business Suite stack. We have ERP 6.0 running on top of SAP
NetWeaver
00:16:13 on any database. Next we have SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA.
00:16:20 The difference between this and the SAP Business Suite is some application optimization
00:16:27 push down to SAP HANA, and the underlying database is swapped
00:16:31 to SAP HANA from AnyDB. Then we have SAP S/4HANA Finance,
00:16:39 which was an add-on to the SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA to bring in the
simplified data model
00:16:45 and the S/4HANA Finance functionality. Last, we have SAP S/4HANA, which is the new ERP,
00:16:55 built on the extension of the simplified finance with the addition of logistics,
00:17:01 SAP Fiori, and embedded analytics. With SAP Business Suite,
00:17:08 we have essentially an ERP 6.0 system ranging from EhP0 to EhP8
00:17:14 and with NetWeaver 7.0x to NetWeaver 7.5. With SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA,
00:17:23 you can have an SAP ERP 6.0 system with EhP7 or EhP8 with SAP HANA.
00:17:33 With SAP S/4HANA Finance, you build on top of SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA
00:17:39 with either a 1503 or a 1605 add-on to bring in the new simplified finance functionality
00:17:49 With SAP S/4HANA, the first introduction was the 1511 release on top of NetWeaver 7.5 and
HANA 1.0.
00:17:58 In the new releases of SAP S/4HANA, for example 1610, 1709, and soon to be 1809,
00:18:05 you can also see the pattern of the NetWeaver stack increasing in conjunction.
00:18:13 With each release of feature packages or support packages, the SAP S/4HANA release and
NetWeaver release

28
00:18:19 stay on the same level, but the patch level increases. Starting with 1610, feature pack one,
00:18:27 the introduction of HANA 2.0 was made available as a deployment option in parallel to HANA
1.0.
00:18:36 With the release of SAP S/4HANA 1709, SAP HANA 2.0 was the required version.
00:18:46 Now SAP HANA 2.0 supports any SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA to SAP
S/4HANA
00:18:54 regardless of which version. Now let's go into the release strategy
00:19:03 and the required components that make the various releases of on-premise versions of SAP
S/4HANA.
00:19:10 For the on-premise version, we have a yearly general availability release,
00:19:15 which started with 1511, 1610, 1709, and soon 1809. Let's say, for example, in Q3 of every
year, moving forward.
00:19:26 Following each general availability or release-to-customer release,
00:19:30 two feature packs are delivered with some innovations and bug fixes
00:19:35 with FPS01 in Q1 and FPS02 in Q2 of the following year. Once a new version of SAP S/4HANA
release is GA in Q3,
00:19:46 the previous release will take on support packages for the remainder of its mainstream
maintenance.
00:19:54 Essentially, an SAP S/4HANA release has a five-year mainstream maintenance
00:19:59 once general available. Customers should consider implementing
00:20:05 a strategy around FPS/SPS or release upgrade based on this information,
00:20:11 and along with their innovation priorities. To finish off this unit,
00:20:19 let's discuss the last topic around the evolution of SAP S/4HANA.
00:20:27 In classic ERP or SAP Business Suite, we have ABAP add-ons which bring
00:20:31 additional functionalities into the ERP. For example, financial closing cockpit,
00:20:39 commercial project management, and portfolio and project management.
00:20:44 Along ERP, other SAP Business Suite products, such as Extended Warehouse Management,
00:20:51 Transportation Management, Supply Chain Management, Supplier Relationship Management,
00:20:57 and Customer Relationship Management, are running in a side-by-side scenario.
00:21:05 With SAP S/4HANA Finance, the database was swapped out with SAP HANA,
00:21:10 the simplified finance data model also known in this slide as the Universal Journal,
00:21:17 was delivered as an add-on, and HANA Live content was deployed on SAP
00:21:22 for near real-time reporting. With the release of SAP S/4HANA 1511
00:21:31 built on the Principle of One, the Universal Journal is no longer an add-on
00:21:36 but part of the S4CORE, with logistics simplifications. Furthermore, business partner and
material ledger
00:21:44 were mandatory, and a new programming/modeling paradigm was also introduced, called core
data services view,
00:21:52 or CDS view. With CDS view, the intensive calculation and the processing
00:21:59 are done at the database layer and less programming at the application layer,
00:22:05 thus replacing HANA Live and enabling CDS with OData services for SAP Fiori.
00:22:14 With the release of 1610, additional innovations and evolution occurred,
00:22:18 where functionality from Extended Warehouse Management and Supply Chain Management
such as PPDS
00:22:25 and advanced ATP moved into the S4CORE, and liveCache functionality also moved
00:22:31 into the SAP HANA with LCAPPS. With this release, starting with feature pack one,
00:22:39 this SAP S/4HANA release ran on top of SAP HANA 2.0 and enabled SAP Fiori analytical apps
00:22:47 to utilize the Active/Active functionality with SAP HANA. In release 1709, further emergence

29
00:22:58 and harmonization occurred, where more SAP Business Suite functionality
00:23:03 evolved into the SAP S/4HANA either as an S/4HANA add-on or part of the core, for example
00:23:10 transportation management, central requisition, service core, financial closing cockpit,
00:23:17 commercial project management, and portfolio and project management, to name a few.
00:23:23 This was also the first SAP S/4HANA release made available with machine learning applications

00:23:29 towards the intelligent ERP. With this, we came to the end of this unit.
00:23:35 In the next unit, we will focus on SAP S/4HANA Technical Tooling for System Conversion.
00:23:41 Thank you for your attention and see you in the next unit. Have a nice day.

30
Week 1 Unit 7

00:00:09 Welcome back to week one, unit seven, of this openSAP course.
00:00:15 My name is Van Vi, I'm a product expert in the SAP S/4HANA Regional Implementation Group.
00:00:22 In this unit, we will take a look at SAP S/4HANA Technical Tooling for System Conversion.
00:00:31 In this slide we will go over the steps for a system conversion from SAP Business Suite to SAP
S/4HANA.
00:00:38 A system conversion is defined in two phases - preparation and realization - each represented
00:00:45 by mandatory stages and tasks or activities. In the preparation phase, you are required
00:00:52 to check the system requirement for the source system to ensure it meets the minimum
prerequisites
00:00:58 for a system conversion and SAP HANA initial sizing. Upon completion of system requirement,
00:01:06 you continue with running a Maintenance Planner to generate the stack file and required
software to download.
00:01:13 Completing the preparation phase, pre-checks and custom code analysis against the
simplification database
00:01:19 are conducted on the source SAP Business Suite system to ensure cross-application and
application- specific
00:01:27 preparation activities are completed before you begin converting and migrating with Software
Update Manager
00:01:33 to SAP S/4HANA in the realization phase. Once the system is on SAP S/4HANA,
00:01:41 completing the conversion requires finance data migration and any follow-up application-specific
activities.
00:01:49 Now that we went through the steps, let's discuss what system conversion tools
00:01:53 are used to assist with each of the relevant steps. In the system requirement step, the goal is to
ensure
00:02:02 the current source system meets the minimum requirement for a system conversion.
00:02:07 Tools like Product Availability Matrix, or PAM, can be used to help determine if an OS for an
application server upgrade
00:02:15 is required prior to a system conversion on the source system. In addition, using the current note
for the
00:02:23 database migration option, or DMO, of SUM 2.0 can be used to determine if the database on the
source system
00:02:30 meets the minimal level for SUM 2.0. Lastly, your SAP Business Suite system
00:02:37 may be connected to side-by-side NetWeaver hub systems, such as Enterprise Portal, BW,
00:02:44 and/or Process Integration or Process Orchestration. Because we are converting the SAP
Business Suite
00:02:53 to SAP S/4HANA, the version interoperability 2251604 can be used to determine if these
systems
00:03:03 require an upgrade to be compatible with the SAP S/4HANA target release.
00:03:11 The Maintenance Planner is a cloud-based tool used for system conversion planning,
00:03:16 stack file generation for SUM tool, and media download. In addition, Maintenance Planner also
determines
00:03:24 compatibility of add-ons and business functions. For pre-checks, the simplification report
determines
00:03:33 which simplification items are relevant, and identifies data inconsistencies
00:03:37 and/or missing mandatory preparation activities for the specific system you want to convert.
00:03:44 Another good tool is the simplification item catalog. This tool mainly allows you to search
00:03:49 and browse simplification items online. To conduct a deeper level of custom code analysis
00:03:58 and preparation, the ABAP Test Cockpit with the S/4HANA readiness check variant
00:04:04 can be used to analyze custom code impact for HANA DB change,

31
00:04:10 as well as the simplification impacts. A comprehensive cloud-based tool for system conversion
00:04:18 called SAP S/4HANA Readiness Check can be used in the planning cycle.
00:04:24 In addition to some overlaps with Maintenance Planner, pre-checks, and custom code
preparation,
00:04:31 the Readiness Check tool also covers estimated SAP S/4HANA system size,
00:04:37 recommendation for size reduction before the conversion, and recommended SAP Fiori apps
based on which transactions
00:04:44 are currently used from the source system. Finally, the last tool is the Software Update
Manager, or SUM,
00:04:54 which is used to convert and migrate the source SAP Business Suite on AnyDB to SAP
S/4HANA.
00:05:01 Or only convert if your source is SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA. Now let's take an example
of how the DMO of SUM and PAM
00:05:15 can be used in a real-life scenario to conduct a system requirement analysis.
00:05:21 Say we have an SAP Business Suite system on ERP 6.0 EhP6 running MS SQL Server 2008
00:05:30 Both application and database server are on Windows 2008 R2. We then want to take this
system and convert it
00:05:39 to SAP S/4HANA 1709 using the Database Migration Option, or DMO, with the Software Update
Manager.
00:05:49 Let's assume the latest version of DMO of SUM is 2.0 SPS01. Using the current SAP note for
this version,
00:05:59 we find the target database is SAP S/4HANA and the source database is Microsoft SQL Server.

00:06:06 Since the target we want to convert our system is SAP S/4HANA, running on NetWeaver
version 7.52,
00:06:14 we concentrate on the line that states, "MS SQL Server 2012 or higher if target SAP_BASIS is
751 or higher".
00:06:24 What this means is before we can use this version of the SUM, we will need to conduct
00:06:30 a prerequisite upgrade of the MS SQL Server from 2008 to 2012.
00:06:39 Now let's use PAM to analyze the Windows version of the source system. Using PAM for the
SAP S/4HANA 1709 release,
00:06:49 we check what is the minimum operating system supported for the application server.
00:06:56 From the PAM, the minimum supported Windows operating system is Windows 2012.
00:07:01 With this finding, the source system where the application server resides that will be used for the
DMO of
00:07:07 will need to be upgraded from Windows 2008 to Windows 2012 at a minimum.
00:07:16 To conclude, using these two tools, DMO note and PAM, we have determined before the system
conversion
00:07:24 can take place, a separate effort is needed to upgrade the operating system of the application
server,
00:07:29 as well as a MS SQL server database upgrade being needed. Maintenance Planner is a solution
hosted by
00:07:42 that helps you plan and maintain systems in your landscape. Maintenance Planner is the
successor
00:07:49 of Maintenance Optimizer, Landscape Planner, and Product System Editor.
00:07:54 Maintenance Planner simplifies the maintenance process by consolidating critical tasks such as
definition
00:08:00 of product maintenance dependencies, implementing changes by generating stack
configuration,
00:08:08 and downloading software in one tool. From a setup and configuration point of view,
00:08:15 the steps are simple. Data from the SAP Business Suite system

32
00:08:19 is sent to the System Landscape Directory, also known as the SLD.
00:08:24 Data from SLD is synchronized with the landscape management database, also known as
LMDB.
00:08:31 Data from LMDB is uploaded to SAP Support Portal's customers profile.
00:08:41 Maintenance Planner is a hosted application on the ONE Support Launchpad.
00:08:47 Once the tool is launched, you log on with your S-number and click on the "Plan for SAP
S/4HANA" tile.
00:08:55 From here, you can start your system conversion planning by converting the ERP 6.0 Business
Suite system only,
00:09:03 or converting the ERP 6.0 Business Suite system and adding a co-deployment of SAP Fiori,
00:09:09 or converting the SAP 6.0 Business Suite system and upgrading plus migration of an existing
SAP Fiori system,
00:09:19 or lastly converting the ERP 6.0 Business Suite system and installing a new SAP Fiori as a
central hub deployment.
00:09:30 In summary, Maintenance Planner allows you to for a system conversion, and further checks
00:09:37 the technical feasibility by analyzing add-ons, business functions, industry solutions,
00:09:42 and dependent Java systems against the ERP 6.0 Business Suite system
00:09:47 you want to convert to, such as SAP S/4HANA 1709. To complete the pre-check step, you will
need to implement
00:09:58 the Simplification Item Check program. For the implementation, SAP notes 2399707 and
2502552
00:10:08 are required to be implemented. Starting with SAP S/4HANA 1709, to minimize the number
00:10:16 of notes customers have to implement for the Simplification Item Check,
00:10:20 the individual application-specific check classes are not delivered as individual SAP notes.
00:10:28 Instead they are delivered as a new type of note correction called "transport-based correction
instruction",
00:10:36 When executing the Simplification Item Check, ensure you select the required target version
00:10:43 of the SAP S/4HANA you want to convert the system to. This should also match the stack file
that was generated
00:10:50 from the Maintenance Planner step, and in addition, the SUM tool will also run a validation by
scheduling
00:10:56 the same report to run in client 000 to ensure all errors are cleared.
00:11:02 It is not a bad idea to run the report in client 000 to mimic SUM.
00:11:09 In addition, run it in the background, as it can take some time to also complete.
00:11:15 SAP will periodically deliver updates and improvements on the check framework, check classes,
and check content.
00:11:22 In the earlier stages of the conversion project, you should always start with the latest version.
00:11:28 After a successful conversion of the development system, it is also recommended to freeze
00:11:33 the version for the subsequent conversions. For example, in the quality assurance,
00:11:37 MOCK, and the production system. This can be done easily by moving the transport
00:11:43 created from applying the two SAP notes 2399707 and 2502552 in the development system and
downloading
00:11:53 the simplification item catalog from development, and uploading and switching source from
latest version
00:12:00 to local version for the quality, MOCK, and production systems. As the Simplification Item Check
is an important
00:12:11 for conducting a system conversion, I want to provide three demos on the simplification check
report.
00:12:17 In the first demo, I would like to demo how to run the report and highlight any tips.
00:12:37 When running the Simplification Item Check, we want to simulate how SUM will run the report,

33
00:12:43 therefore long on to client 000. Call transaction SA38,
00:12:50 enter the program /SDF/RC_START_CHECK then execute. One common mistake that I have
seen
00:12:58 on system conversion projects is not running the check against the correct target SAP S/4HANA
version.
00:13:06 Please note, the default is always the latest available release and feature pack level.
00:13:12 Therefore, you should click on the pull-down and select the correct target version and FPS level.

00:13:25 Also notice that I have the current version of the two notes at the time this demo was made,
00:13:32 by the green icons. Select "New Check as a Background Job" to run the check in the
background,
00:13:41 because depending on the system, we have seen some long runtimes.
00:13:53 Once the job is scheduled, you will get a popup window stating so,
00:14:02 and you can call transaction SM37 to monitor the background job.
00:14:19 In the previous demo, I started the run for the Simplification Item Check in the background.
00:14:25 Now let's check to see if the background job is completed, and view the Simplification Item
Check result.
00:14:40 So we go to transaction SM37. Enter the job name, RC_NEW_CHECK_IN_JOB,
00:14:50 and then we go to SA38, run the simplification check report. And now select the target version
00:15:02 that you ran the check for, then click on Display Last Check Result, and execute.
00:15:11 Now you have the result from the simplification check. In the first demo, I showed you how to
run
00:15:27 the Simplification Item Check in the background, followed by a second demo, which showed
how to check
00:15:32 the background job and view the high-level results. In the last demo, I would like to show
00:15:37 how to view an example of a detail log, how to rerun a single Simplification Item Check
00:15:44 once the errors have been dealt with, and last, how to set an exemption
00:15:49 to a simplification item which allows exemption. Here is the result of the Simplification Item
Check.
00:16:04 In the first column, you can see it's the Relevance column. The Relevance column tells you
which simplification items
00:16:12 are relevant based on your source system. There's various icons.
00:16:17 The yellow icon means it's relevant, and the green check mark icons mean it's non- relevant.
00:16:26 The second column is the last consistency check. Any simplification items that have a stop sign
00:16:33 or a red icon mean you have to fix those before you can convert your system.
00:16:40 The Exemption column basically means any simplification items that have an error you can
exempt.
00:16:47 Now for the detailed analysis. So here in the detail log, you can see it's pretty detailed
00:16:56 in the sense that it tells you what the actual error is, and also tells you the client that you need
00:17:00 to fix the error that it's complaining about. So now let's pretend I have this simplification item
error
00:17:12 that I highlighted, and I fixed it. And now I want to rerun just this simplification item.
00:17:18 So notice right now there's a stop icon next to it. After rerunning it, everything,
00:17:25 all the errors have been resolved. And now the icon
00:17:32 is now green. So now let's pretend we want to exempt this error.
00:17:44 So here you would highlight the simplification error, and then on the exempt, click on the exempt
button.
00:17:50 Just click Yes, and now we have exempted this error. And here you can see the exemption
shows a check mark.

34
00:17:59 And then the last consistency check from a red to a yellow icon.
00:18:12 Since May 29, 2017, customers can initiate their SAP ERP system analysis themselves
00:18:19 for an SAP S/4HANA system conversion, getting an overview on the most important
00:18:26 aspects and potential requirements of an SAP S/4HANA system conversion.
00:18:32 The main purpose of the SAP S/4HANA Readiness Check is to conduct a readiness analysis of
the source system
00:18:39 around the areas of impact in regard to simplification, custom code, business functions, add-
ons, SAP HANA sizing,
00:18:50 usage of current transactions, and SAP Fiori app recommendation.
00:18:55 The minimum source release is SAP ERP 6.0, extension pack 0, on any database or SAP
HANA.
00:19:04 The tool supports all SAP S/4HANA releases as target. Using the readiness check is optional
but highly recommended.
00:19:15 Some recent additions to the tools fall in the areas of Business Warehouse extractors in regard
to
00:19:20 compatibility of current active extractors being and recommendation potentials around data
volume management.
00:19:31 Another new feature of using Software Update Manager 2.0 for a system conversion to SAP
S/4HANA
00:19:37 is the prerequisite check. With the prerequisite check, you can run analysis checks
00:19:43 against the source system to ensure the source and source database versions, as well as the
SPAM patch level,
00:19:50 to ensure it meets the minimum requirement to conduct a system conversion to the SAP
S/4HANA
00:19:56 release from the stack file. After the check, a detail log is provided to you
00:20:03 to let you know if you need to conduct any prerequisites, such as upgrade of the OS, DB,
00:20:09 and/or SPAM on the source system. Here you can see a high level of the activities
00:20:16 of a sample cutover for a system conversion project. In most cases, two weeks before the
business downtime,
00:20:24 the first step of the cutover starts by moving transports into the production system
00:20:28 for the pre-check activities. Then the project team will execute
00:20:32 the Simplification Item Check and finance pre- check reports and resolve all data
inconsistencies and/or missing
00:20:39 mandatory preparation activities which could cause the system conversion to fail.
00:20:45 One week before business downtime, the Basis team will start the Software Update Manager
00:20:50 in the uptime phase, and with the inclusion of the SPDD and SPAU transports.
00:20:56 As mentioned in the earlier slides, the Simplification Item Check report
00:21:00 will also be executed by SUM in client 000 to ensure all data inconsistencies
00:21:06 and/or missing preparation activities have truly been corrected by the functional team
00:21:11 before allowing the shadow conversion and the migration to proceed further.
00:21:16 Basis will typically continue through the remainder of the uptime phase
00:21:20 and pause at the starting of downtime phase, until after close of business the Friday
00:21:25 of the downtime weekend. At this point, I want to pause and highlight one important part.
00:21:31 As you can see, the preparation phase starts two weeks before business downtime, the pre-
check and Software Update Manager uptime have already been executed,
00:21:40 and are waiting for the business downtime window. Because of this, it is recommended to
identify
00:21:47 and add critical business operation test scripts into the quality assurance, MOCK, or dress
rehearsal cycles
00:21:55 to ensure no business impacts occur. I have seen in many system conversion projects

35
00:22:00 where these parallel activities (pre-check, SUM uptime, and regular business transactions) have
not been tested together until the production cutover.
00:22:11 Before Friday downtime, one step that should be considered is a Quiet and Ramp Down.
00:22:16 During this step, the business transactions begin to decrease as it's getting towards
00:22:21 the end of the business operation, batch job managements are handled, and users are locked
out of the system
00:22:27 immediately after business close. Immediately after all users are locked out,
00:22:32 the functional prep activities before downtime start to take place.
00:22:37 In this step, customer vendor to business partner final synchronization check is conducted.
00:22:43 The finance team will step through their pre- conversion activities from the documentation of
SAP note 2332030,
00:22:50 conversion of accounting to SAP S/4HANA, and in addition, any other functional activities
required
00:22:56 to ensure the transactional data created after the prior pre-check from two weeks ago
00:23:02 is consistent and no missing preparation activities occur. Once this is complete, Basis will enter
downtime
00:23:09 by continuing with the SUM tool. After SUM downtime and post-processing is completed,
00:23:17 finance migration S/4HANA customizing transports are moved in in the system, and the system
00:23:24 is turned over to their finance team to start their finance data migration.
00:23:30 After the finance data migration is finished, application-specific follow-up transports are moved
00:23:35 in the system, and final validation will take place with go live to follow.
00:23:40 This concludes unit seven, and brings us to the end of this week.
00:23:44 In the next week we will talk about Converting Finance, Business Partner, and UX.
00:23:50 Thank you for your attention, and I wish you good luck with your weekly assignment.
00:23:55 Stay tuned for the next weeks, and have a nice

36
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