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BPRT CompleteBPRT Complete Business Process Test Business Process Test
8/02/02Fri
11/01/02Fri
01/31/03Fri
N/A
Release to ProductionRelease to Production Production handoff Production handoff
8/09/02Fri
11/08/02Fri
02/07/03Fri
N/A
*=Q3-Contingent on complexity of the SAP upgrade: Pre approved items only; Q4-Closed-SAP upgrade
Upgrade Timeline
Scoping & Planning
Roles & Responsibilities replicated from Quarterly Release process, simplifies process of organizing upgrade project team
Plan for 6 month black-out for change requests
Give sufficient lead time to allow critical business and IT changes to occur before the blackout
Executive sponsorship for project plan and resource requirements
SAP technical enhancements considered where processes and support can be simplified
Scoping & Planning
System Landscape designed to minimize need for dual maintenance
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Analysis and Design
Necessary configuration and programming changes identified
SAP RBE tool used to build inventory SAP transactions & programs being used
Inventoried items reviewed and tested by Program Management
“Broken” items categorized in Timeboxes
Obsolete programs eliminated
Significant changes between SAP releases identified and communicated
Delta documentation
Navigational instructions
Development and Test Timeboxes
Four Timeboxes to organize effort and impact Core Transactions, Repairs & User Exits
Inbound and Outbound Interfaces
Reports/Security
Contingency
Clearly Defined Deadlines Program Specifications
Configuration
Testing
Testing: UAT & BPRT
User Acceptance Testing: ALL SAP transactions, reports and programs used
All bugs should be identified and fixed prior to BPRT
Broad security access assigned to prevent impact on user acceptance testing
Security Roles tested centrally by small teams
Business Process Regression Testing: Occurs over 10 weeks beginning 5/19
Follows guidelines used for normal quarterly release process
Comprehensive End to End testing including tools and upstream/downstream systems
Broad Security Role testing
Testing: Inventories & Scripts Existing Quarterly Release test inventories leveraged for
Upgrade Project
Updated to reflect new and retired transactions Opportunity to enhance for existing transactions
Business Units own and maintain independent repositories of test cases and scenarios
Various tools used (Access DB, Excel, SharePoint)
Users are critical in defining scope and documenting test cases
Global Testing Networks developed to support ongoing regression testing
Detailed test scripts required and used in many operational groups
Other groups identify test cases only and rely on subject matter expertise for testing
Testing: International Scope Regional Product Managers/Coordinators - Critical
Manage International testing effort
Regular meetings with Corporate team
Evangelists and communication liaisons for their regions
International Finance/Procurement resource constraints required focus on “Unique” requirements Examples:
Country specific Statutory Reports
Country specific tax calculations (e.g. VAT)
Accounts Payable processing in each subsidiary
SAP allocations executed by subsidiaries
Subsidiary specific output requirements such as Dunning or Purchase orders
International Fixed Asset Depreciation
Testing: Issue Management
Effective Issue/Bug Management Tools are Essential
IT Teams Share Bug Tracking Tool (Product Studio) Enhanced visibility and reporting
Efficient status tracking
Maintain IT & Biz Contacts, Steps to Reproduce, Dev Status, Testing Status…
Relevant documents such as specifications are attached or linked
Business groups maintain independent issue tracking tools Examples:
Excel
SharePoint
Product Studio
Product Studio for Bug Tracking
Communication and Coordination Establish communication framework early Evangelize SAP Upgrade Benefits regularly Schedule project kick-off meetings
Set expectations Confirm support
Maintain Team Web Sites (SharePoint) Communication Store Project documentation Contact information Issue and Risk Management Links to other sites and information
Hold Frequent Status Meetings Team specific and cross organizational Schedule Brown Bag Sessions
Send Weekly Status Reports and Meeting Summaries
Documentation & Training Business Units determine own documentation and training
strategy Common themes across organizations
Web Based Self-Help Training & Documentation Delta documentation & training to support testing Train the trainer approach widely used Workshops Limited End User Live Training
Factors resulting in different strategies Centralized versus decentralized users Size of user groups Cross organizational considerations Extent that Web Tools are used Resources Distributed Project Management Turnover considerations Use of Vendors to initiate transactions
Documentation & Training
World Wide Operations Widely distributed user community
Domestic and International Cross Organizational
International scope requires Regional Coordinators Broad Range of Training & Documentation Products
Step by Step Procedures Quick Reference Cards Mandatory workshops with workbooks Online quizzes testing proficiency
Web Based Training and Documentation Live Training Two Weeks prior to Go-Live Train the Trainer approach
Documentation & Training
Finance Widely distributed user community
Domestic and International Cross Organizational
International Scope Requires Regional Product Managers Communication, coordination, education
High use of Web Tools minimize training requirements Reporting Posting Journal Entries Master Data Maintenance
Web Based Training and Documentation Live Workshops Formal Training Focus Several Weeks Prior to Go-Live
Documentation & Training
HR/Payroll Small, centralized user group Limited training required Preliminary delta training provided to support testing Existing Online Documentation Manual Updated
Procurement Centralized domestic Accounts Payable Limited training needed for domestic team High use of Web Tools minimize training requirements
International and Domestic Some international subsidiaries require training and
documentation Where web tools not implemented Regional Product Managers key to success
Lessons Learned “Technical” does not necessarily = “Simple” EARLY analysis of Security
Impact from new and retired transactions EARLY analysis of new, changed and retired transactions
User education and documentation requirements Impact on security profiles Old versus New decisions for similar transactions Impact on RFCs
Plan for EARLY development RFC impacts Internally released function modules Unicode enabled programs
Good documentation for custom programs is important Provide sufficient user education early to support testing Make sure ALL groups budget project support capacity
Wrap up
Project Status: All analysis, development and unit testing complete in
test environment 5/19 Business Process Regression Testing beginning 5/19 Formalized training for most groups starting in July On schedule for release to production 8/8
Summary: Upgrades are unique so start assessment early Cannot over communicate Get Executive Sponsorship from all teams participating Effective Cross Organizational Partnering is Critical Limit scope if possible Flexibility is a must!