SAP Project Management Consulting Clichés
There’s an old saying (aren’t they all old?) that instructs you to avoid clichés like the plague. SAP has generated its own set of overworked buzzword terminology and has an eco-viral-collective that churns out more and more each day. I can hardly keep up with the acronyms. Over the years I’ve accumulated three favorites of my own that I’d like to share. The aim here is not to kill off the clichés, instead it is to suggest ways to head them off before you use one and have clients rolling their eyes at you–Or at least have a quick follow up so that the cliché actually has some value.
SAP Solution Manager (SOLMAN) Template Projects
In my previous post I discussed some of the functionality available in Solution Manager (SOLMAN) to capture and build business process scenarios, processes and steps. Once you captured this information it could be readily transformed into a test plan and SOLMAN functionality used to execute, manage and monitor testing.
This is good functionality and once your business scenarios, processes and steps are in SOLMAN you can use them as a baseline for additional projects.
Consider the “global template” scenario that crops up in companies today: a core set of business processes are designed and rolled out on a global basis – the only deviations allowed are those mandated by local legal requirements (a.k.a. localization). On top of this there are the business scenarios that fall outside of the business template. You don’t want to build a standard implementation project from scratch each time for the core business processes. This is where template projects save you time and effort.
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SAP Testing Terminology – Common Understanding on Your Project is Crucial
There are many ways to start an argument on an SAP project and here’s another one to add to the list: define these terms – unit testing, system testing, integration testing, regression testing, scenario testing, end-to-end testing, end user testing, user acceptance testing, stress testing, load testing, performance testing, string testing, usability testing, security and authorizations testing, cut over testing, dry run testing, application testing, interface testing, day-in-the-life testing. I probably missed a few testing types, but the point is there are many kinds of testing and the same testing may be referred to by different names.
Welcome to the SAP Project Management & Project Observations Blog
Introduction
Welcome to my SAP project management and project observations blog. I’m Tim Cooper, an SAP FI/CO certified consultant with a lot of project management experience. My goal with this blog isn’t to make you PMP certified or to address all and any project management issues you may have. Instead I’m going to share some of my experiences from various projects – some good, some not so good – with the hope that you can make your project more successful. At times I’m going write about subjects that will feel like it is project management 101, but I haven’t stopped being surprised by how often my assumptions have turned out to be incorrect and need to be reconfirmed.
I hope this blog is helpful to consultants and non-consultants: it should help you understand some of each others’ expectations and make working together a better experience for you both.
Let me know what you think, but please be civil.
