SAP developed the Run SAP methodology to help companies improve their solution operation organizations and processes to decrease costs and improve service to end users. The methodology is a set of recommended steps, involving standards, templates, and tools, aimed at enabling centralized, standardized support of your SAP solution. The methodology is based on five phases that detail how to design and implement improved solution operations, providing leading practices and standards along the way. See the sidebar “Run SAP Methodology Phases” for descriptions of the five methodology phases.

SAP project teams can use the methodology’s documentation, containing best practices, white papers, procedures, and training, to guide implementations and achieve the desired results. SAP Solution Manager is the central tool recommended by the Run SAP methodology to optimize project results by enabling consolidated management of a company’s SAP environments. SAP regularly updates both the methodology and Solution Manager, and provides industry-specific versions of the methodology.

The Run SAP methodology leads you through critical support considerations that can be overlooked or dismissed as less business critical during an implementation. This ensures important factors such as change management and operations’ business processes are considered, thereby reducing future downtime that can be a costly drain on time and resources. 

Sarah Grotelueschen, a specialist leader at Deloitte, says that in addition to reduced costs, SAP’s goal is for Run SAP methodology to encourage customers to stay updated on the most current tools. “If you follow SAP’s recommended standards and implement the tools they’re recommending, SAP will be able to provide support more efficiently, which ultimately decreases downtime,” she says.

Achieving the Greatest Benefits from the Run SAP Methodology

While any project could benefit from the methodology in some way, Grotelueschen feels that there are some scenarios that generally achieve the greatest benefit. She suggests that the more complex your SAP solution landscape is, the greater benefits you can achieve. This is because much of the Run SAP methodology and the associated tools are focused on providing centralized processes and monitoring tools. If you have only one SAP system (just SAP ERP Central Component [SAP ECC], for example), your processes are likely already centralized.

Grotelueschen also suggests the magnitude of the achieved benefits will vary depending on the sophistication of your existing solution operations. For a company that has been live on SAP systems for several years, solution operation processes and procedures tend to be more honed and efficient. A company new to SAP may still be struggling to support its system. The latter company will likely gain more and have to invest less using the Run SAP methodology. The former company will potentially have significant gains, but will likely have to invest more in change management and updating tools. For companies implementing a new SAP solution, following the recommendations in the next section can decrease the time needed to implement the standards associated with Run SAP, thus minimizing work needed to change support processes and tools after the implementation is complete.

Regardless of the complexity of your SAP solution and sophistication of your support organization, you are likely to see some level of benefits using the Run SAP methodology, Grotelueschen says. “One reason companies see immediate value is because Run SAP is challenging them to ask questions that they probably haven’t asked before,” she says. Questions and procedures surrounding SAP end-to-end solution operations standards help companies implement continuous process improvements, keeping them up to date on current tools and processes (Figure 1).

Figure 1

SAP end-to-end solutions operations standards included in the Run SAP methodology

How Run SAP Can Prevent Future Issues

According to Grotelueschen, one of the greatest challenges the Run SAP methodology helps overcome is a lack of proper planning. “There are probably a thousand or more little processes that that you are inclined to overlook during an implementation,” she says. “But if you’re following the Run SAP method and its standards, then you’re far less likely to forget even just one or two.”

Processes related to batch job scheduling, for example, won’t be forgotten if the Run SAP methodology is used during an implementation. “It’s really important that during the implementation schedules you’ve thought through what’s going to be the request process for a batch job,” Grotelueschen says. “Will there be an automated request process? If so, how will end users access the process and request form? Who will maintain the form? Who does it get sent to? Who is responsible for training end users on how to access and use the form?”

The Run SAP methodology, which includes batch job scheduling in its standards, creates a checklist for you take into account the various areas that the ripples of the implementation reach. In that way, the methodology prevents the emergence of issues down the road that weren’t considered in early project phases.

Using the Run SAP methodology to Improve Your Implementation

Grotelueschen, with 12 years of experience with SAP implementations, compared the way Deloitte conducts clients’ SAP implementations with the Run SAP methodology. Her goal was to determine areas of focus during an initial SAP solution implementation to support Run SAP method recommendations. The result was the following five activities that can help you organize your SAP implementation project.

1. Project Preparation: Finalize the Scope of Support Activities

During the project preparation phase, determine the scope of the support thread of your project. Identify the relevant support processes and tools based on the complexity of the planned SAP solution. Then clearly delineate which support processes and tools will be the responsibility of the project team versus those that will be designed and implemented by the existing support organization. After establishing clear responsibilities, communicate the scope to both parties and get sign-off.

Before the end of the Blueprint phase, identify the individuals who will fill the necessary roles outlined by SAP standards (Figure 1). “Work to make them part of the project team early so they can start familiarizing themselves with Solution Manager and the end-to-end solutions operations standards,” says Grotelueschen.

2. Project Preparation/Business Blueprint: Plan and Procure Your Production Support Tools

Holding a detailed assessment of needed tools is important for the execution of your project preparation phase. Because so many external tools can integrate with SAP systems, and because the procurement and configuration process is often long, having a complete picture of the tools that will be used in the solution operations organization is a critical step early in the project.

Grotelueschen explains that because SAP Solution Manager easily integrates with many third-party tools, such as Quality Center by HP and Central Processing Scheduler by Redwood, opportunities abound regarding different tools you can choose to include in your implementation. Researching additional tools ahead of time will help your project move along smoothly. “Planning early will make sure we not only procure all the tools that are needed, but also have time to get them installed and configured in time for testing during the realization phase,” Grotelueschen says.

3. Realization: Include Your Production Support Processes as Part of Integration Testing 

When the time comes for integration testing, be sure to include areas of production support. “When you’re integration testing, treat your support processes just like you treat the business processes,” says Grotelueschen. She stresses that just as business process testing requires running through tasks such as creating a purchase order, support process testing should include tasks like creating a help desk ticket. All steps involved — such as escalating the ticket to the next level and submitting a ticket to SAP if necessary — need to be carefully tested.

Although testing duration depends on the project scope, Grotelueschen sees most rounds of integration testing taking about two weeks. Deloitte Consulting LLP generally recommends a minimum of three rounds of integration testing.

4. Final Preparation: Document Your Post Go-Live Support Processes 

Throughout the project, document the support organization processes just like all other business processes. For example, configuration documents should be created for SAP Solution Manager configuration and Business Process Procedures should detail the steps to complete a business process. This documentation will provide you with the base information and guidelines required to effectively run a solution operations organization. Similarly, depending on the size of your support team, training materials should be created. During the final preparation phase, these documents are made accessible in SAP Solution Manager.

“All project documentation should be stored in a centrally accessible location to ensure that not only are all relevant steps are tested, but also that help desk personnel have access to design and configuration explanations post go-live,” Grotelueschen says. “Make sure all quick reference guides and training material are ready to go. The support organization should have training materials similar to what the rest of the business users would have.”

Poor documentation can lead to inconsistent processes and reoccurring issues that take costly time to solve due to a lack of known resolutions. Create careful documentation now to avoid these issues in the future.

5. Final Preparation: Train Your Help Desk and Technology Support Personnel in Run SAP 

Once you’ve researched and implemented your tools and processes and established documentation on the new arrangements, the last step is to train your users. The training materials created in the previous step will guide training and provide users with reference material for future use.

“Be sure to provide comprehensive training, including tool training, customer service behavior training, and process and procedure training,” says Grotelueschen. “Additionally, the team should be trained on key concepts of Run SAP to help institute an environment of continuous improvement and ongoing understanding of SAP’s resources and recommended practices.”   Sidebar: Run SAP Methodology Phases

Laura Casasanto

Laura Casasanto is a technical editor who served as the managing editor of SCM Expert and Project Expert.

You may contact the author at lauracasasanto@gmail.com.

If you have comments about this article or publication, or would like to submit an article idea, please contact the editor.