How Could The Unified Process Be Applied To The Sap Implementation Group Project

When implementing new ERP software, companies often spend a lot of time identifying their
requirements but relatively little assembling the team that will drive the implementation. Yet,
the ERP project team is without question the biggest success factor, one that can make the
difference between on-target implementation and a project that goes sideways.
Deceptively simple, here is the formula for a successful implementation: the right people, with
the right skills, following the right steps. Make sure you start your ERP planning in tandem with
the team selection process. These eight steps will help you structure your project team, create
your plan, and put the right measures in place.

The formula for a successful implementation :
1. Recognize that it's not an IT project
2. Secure executive commitment
3. Choose the right project team leader
4. Get the right people on your ERP implementation team
5. Follow a structured and inclusive implementation planning process
6. Track your project plan

The Solution for a successful implementation :
The SAP Activate methodology is SAP's content rich, agile methodology for the implementation
and/or upgrade of SAP solutions across industries and customer environments. Built on our
experience from tens of thousands of SAP projects, SAP Activate Methodology provides pre-
built implementation content, accelerators, tools, and best practices that help consultants to
deliver consistent and successful results across industries and customer environments.

Discover Phase:

The Discover phase is where the customer realises there is a need for a solution to satisfy their
business pain point and starts looking out for the right SAP solution to map their requirements.
During this phase, customers can apply for a free trial solution if applicable and try it out for
themselves to check the features and functionalities of the solution. Customers can even reach
out to partners like iQuantM to get the best consulting advise based on years of industry and
SAP product experience to find the best solution. By the end of this phase, customers finalize to
go ahead with the required SAP solution and move to the next phase in their implementation
lifecycle.

Prepare Phase:

As the name suggests, this phase is crucial to both customers and partners as key activities that
are crucial to the success of the project are completed with mutual consent. The system is
provisioned to the customer post-signing of the contract with SAP and the partner.
Simultaneously, key resources are identified from the partner side in terms of the SAP
Consultants getting onboarded and enabled. From the customer side, business process owners
are identified to provide the right requirements to the consultants implementing the project. A
high-level project plan along with roles and responsibilities is finalised along with the project
team, project governance procedure and escalation matrix and the project is ready to kick-off!

Explore Phase:

The Explore Phase pretty much lays the foundation for the success of the project. In this phase,
customers and partners collaborate with each other for 1 outcome – to finalize the business

process to be followed in the new SAP system. Consultants first display a flowchart of the
business process and later drive a demo of the same using the initial system that was
provisioned to them. The project team then have a healthy discussion on how the business can
map their business to the best practices. This is the usual process when it comes to SAP
S/4HANA Public Cloud, otherwise known as SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Multi-tenant Edition. For the
SAP S/4HANA business suite and SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud otherwise known as SAP S/4HANA
Cloud, Single-tenant Edition, there is an additional "Fit-to-Gap Analysis" session where,
additional requirements of the business can be noted and later mapped to the SAP system
based on feasibility.

Realize Phase:

Once the Explore Phase deliverables are signed off, the project team can start working on the
Quality system provisioned by SAP. In this phase, the SAP consultants start configuring the SAP
system according to the Backlog document that is signed off. This happens in an iterative
approach where the project team works based on multiple sprints that have been planned to
execute the project by breaking down the backlog requirements into smaller deliverables that
need to be showcased to the business process owner and signed off as completed once it
matches the agreed-upon completion criteria. This is the phase where consultants are in
regular touch with the business process owner to showcase to them, the SAP system they are
building through multiple Solution Walkthrough's that are scheduled through the Realize Phase.

Deploy Phase:

In the Deploy Phase, once every checkbox is ticked and everything is ready, the business faces a
temporary downtime as the new SAP system is Deployed for usage to the business users. This is
typically done during a weekend to ensure that customers have little to no effect due to the
downtime. The cutover is a process that sometimes gives consultants sleepless nights as this is
the culmination of all their hard work being moved into the SAP system for the usage of an
entire organisation.

Run Phase:

The Run Phase signifies the end of the customer's lifecycle from identifying a solution for their
business need to finally implement the solution and running their business process on the
same. In the Run Phase, the customer project team are given only 1 task – to be updated with
the latest innovation and technologies in SAP, especially in the product they have implemented
by having a "Continuous Learning" to keep up with the pace of technology.

Summary

SAP Activate Methodology combines guided configuration, SAP best practices, and methodology that gives you the capability to streamline your company's build- and run
activities. This represents a giant step forward in exploiting the potential and power of SAP
S/4HANA. It uses the agile approach, which advances greater flexibility and lowers total cost of
ownership. Plus, S/4HANA improves user experience through the Fiori front end application for
a quick, well-executed implementation.

source : https://insights.sap.com/erp-implementation-team-structure/
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Writer :
Muhammad Noviarman Adiputra – Presales Solution Consultant Equine Global