ASAP Methodology

[Former Member]

What is ASAP Methodology ?

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) is a comprehensive solution for efficiently implementing and continuously optimizing SAP software. It has a detailed, business-oriented structure and allows you to design implementation projects flexibly.

Implementation Considerations

AcceleratedSAP is currently a PC-based solution and is shipped independently of the R/3 system, allowing you to prepare for your implementation project before you have installed the SAP System.

You can use ASAP to:

Implement the R/3 System

Implement mySAP.com components (APO, BW, Business-to-Business Procurement, CRM)

Upgrade

for more info .

[http://help.sap.com/printdocu/core/print46b/en/data/en/pdf/SVASAP.pdf]

regard sandeep

• award point if useful

[Former Member]

ASAP:-

AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) is a comprehensive solution for efficiently implementing and

continuously optimizing SAP software. It has a detailed, business-oriented structure and allows you to design implementation projects flexibly.

Accelerated SAP (ASAP) is an approach specifically developed by SAP to help customers implement the SAP software as quickly and efficiently as possible in. ASAP provides content, tools and expertise from thousands of successful implementations, which can be reused to ensure a successful implementation.

ASAP toolset comprises of the following powerful tools which can be used for successful planning and implementation

Chk this PDF.

http://help.sap.com/printdocu/core/print46b/en/data/en/pdf/SVASAP.pdf

ASAP stands for Accelerated SAP. Its purpose is to help design SAP implementation in the most efficient manner possible. Its goal is to effectively optimize time, people, quality and other resources, using a proven methodology to implementation. ASAP focuses on tools and training, wrapped up in a five-phase process oriented road map for guiding implementation.

The road map is composed of five well-known consecutive phases:

• Phase 1 Project Preparation

• Phase 2 Business Blueprint

• Phase 3 Realization

• Phase 4 Final Preparation

• Phase 5 Go-Live and support

Phase 1 : Project Preparation

Phase 1 initiates with a retrieval of information and resources. It is an important time to assemble the necessary components for the implementation. Some important milestones that need to be accomplished for phase 1 include

• Obtaining senior-level management/stakeholder support

• identifying clear project objectives

• architect an efficient decision-making process

• creating an environment suitable for change and re-engineering

• building a qualified and capable project team.

Senior level management support:

One of the most important milestones with phase 1 of ASAP is the full agreement and cooperation of the important company decision-makers - key stake holders and others. Their backing and support is crucial for a successful implementation.

Clear project objectives:

be concise in defining what your objectives and expectations are for this venture.

Vague or unclear notions of what you hope to obtain with SAP will handicap the implementation process. Also make sure that your expectations are reasonable considering your company's resources. It is essential to have clearly defined ideas, goals and project plans devised before moving forward.

An efficient decision making process:

One obstacle that often stalls implementation is a poorly constructed decision-making process. Before embarking on this venture, individuals need to be clearly identified. Decide now who is responsible for different decisions along the way. From day one, the implementation decision makers and project leaders from each area must be aware of the onus placed on them to return good decisions quickly.

Environment suitable for change and re engineering:Your team must be willing to accept that, along with new SAP software, things are going to change, the business will change, and information technology enabling the business will change as well. By implementing SAP, you will essentially redesign your current practices to model more efficient or predefined best business practices as espoused by SAP. Resistance to this change will impede the progress of your implementation.

Phase 2- Business Blueprint

SAP has defined a business blueprint phase to help extract pertinent information about your company that is necessary for implementation. These blueprints are in the form of questionnaires that are designed to probe for information that uncovers how your company does business. As such, they also serve to

document the implementation. Each business blueprint document essentially outlines your future business processes and business requirements. The kinds of questions asked are germane to the particular business function, as seen in the following sample questions:

1) What information do you capture on a purchase order?

2) What information is required to complete a purchase order?

Accelerated SAP question and answer database:

The question and answer database (QADB) is a simple although aging tool designed to facilitate the creation and maintenance of your business blueprint. This database stores the questions and the answers and serves as the heart of your blue print. Customers are provided with a customer input template for each application that collects the data. The question and answer format is standard across applications to facilitate easier use by the project team.

Issues database:

Another tool used in the blueprinting phase is the issues database. This database stores any open concerns and pending issues that relate to the implementation. Centrally storing this information assists in gathering and then managing issues to resolution, so that important matters do not fall through the

cracks. You can then track the issues in database, assign them to team members, and update the database accordingly.

Phase- 3 - Realization:

With the completion of the business in phase 2, "functional" experts are now ready

to begin configuring SAP. The Realization phase is broken in to two parts.

1) Your SAP consulting team helps you configure your baseline system, called the baseline configuration.

2) Your implementation project team fine-tunes that system to meet all your business and process requirements as part of the fine tuning configuration.The initial configuration completed during the base line configuration is based on the information that you provided in your blueprint document. The remaining

approximately 20% of your configuration that was not tackled during the baseline configuration is completed during the fine tuning configuration. Fine tuning usually deals with the exceptions that are not covered in baseline configuration. This final bit of tweaking represents the work necessary to fit your special needs.

Configuration Testing:

With the help of your SAP consulting team, you segregate your business processes into cycles of related business flows. The cycles serve as independent units that enable you to test specific parts of the business process. You can also work through configuring the SAP implementation guide (IMG). A tool used to assist you in configuring your SAP system in a step by step manner.

Knowledge Transfer:

As the configuration phase comes to a close, it becomes necessary for the Project team to be self-sufficient in their knowledge of the configuration of your SAP system. Knowledge transfer to the configuration team tasked with system maintenance (that is, maintenance of the business processes after Go-live) needs to be completed at this time.

In addition, the end users tasked with actually using the system for day-to-day business purposes must be trained.

Phase 4 - Final Preparation:

As phase 3 merges into phase 4, you should find yourselves not only in the midst of SAP training, but also in the midst of rigorous functional and stress testing. Phase 4 also concentrates on the fine-tuning of your configuration before Go-live and more importantly, the migration of data from your old system or systems to SAP.

Workload testing (including peak volume, daily load, and other forms of stress testing), and integration or functional testing is conducted to ensure the accuracy of your data and the stability of your SAP system. Because you should have begun testing back in phase 2, you do not have too far to go until Go-live. Now is an important time to perform preventative maintenance checks to ensure optimal

performance at your SAP system.

At the conclusion of phase 4, take time to plan and document a Go-live strategy.

Preparation for Go-live means preparing for your end-users questions as they

start actively working on the new SAP system.

Phase 5 - Go-live and Support:

The Go-live milestone is itself is easy to achieve; a smooth and uneventful Go-live is another matter altogether. Preparation is the key, including attention to what-if scenarios related not only to the individual business processes deployed but also to the functioning of technology underpinning these business processes and preparation for ongoing support, including maintenance contracts and documented processes and procedures are essential.

[Former Member]

Hi,

ASAP stands for Accelerated SAP. Its purpose is to help design SAP implementation in the most efficient manner possible. Its goal is to effectively optimize time, people, quality and other resources, using a proven methodology to implementation. ASAP focuses on tools and training, wrapped up in a five-phase process oriented road map for guiding implementation.

The road map is composed of five well-known consecutive phases:

• Phase 1 Project Preparation

• Phase 2 Business Blueprint

• Phase 3 Realization

• Phase 4 Final Preparation

• Phase 5 Go-Live and support

In today's post we will discuss the first phase.

Phase 1 : Project Preparation

Phase 1 initiates with a retrieval of information and resources. It is an important time to assemble the necessary components for the implementation. Some important milestones that need to be accomplished for phase 1 include

• Obtaining senior-level management/stakeholder support

• identifying clear project objectives

• architect an efficient decision-making process

• creating an environment suitable for change and re-engineering

• building a qualified and capable project team.

Senior level management support:

One of the most important milestones with phase 1 of ASAP is the full agreement and cooperation of the important company decision-makers - key stake holders and others. Their backing and support is crucial for a successful implementation.

Clear project objectives:

be concise in defining what your objectives and expectations are for this venture.

Vague or unclear notions of what you hope to obtain with SAP will handicap the implementation process. Also make sure that your expectations are reasonable considering your company's resources. It is essential to have clearly defined ideas, goals and project plans devised before moving forward.

An efficient decision making process:

One obstacle that often stalls implementation is a poorly constructed decision-making process. Before embarking on this venture, individuals need to be clearly identified. Decide now who is responsible for different decisions along the way. From day one, the implementation decision makers and project leaders from each area must be aware of the onus placed on them to return good decisions quickly.

Environment suitable for change and re engineering:Your team must be willing to accept that, along with new SAP software, things are going to change, the business will change, and information technology enabling the business will change as well. By implementing SAP, you will essentially redesign your current practices to model more efficient or predefined best business practices as espoused by SAP. Resistance to this change will impede the progress of your implementation.

Phase 2- Business Blueprint

SAP has defined a business blueprint phase to help extract pertinent information

about your company that is necessary for implementation. These blueprints are in

the form of questionnaires that are designed to probe for information that

uncovers how your company does business. As such, they also serve to

document the implementation. Each business blueprint document essentially

outlines your future business processes and business requirements. The kinds

of questions asked are germane to the particular business function, as seen in

the following sample questions:

1) What information do you capture on a purchase order?

2) What information is required to complete a purchase order?

Accelerated SAP question and answer database:

The question and answer database (QADB) is a simple although aging tool

designed to facilitate the creation and maintenance of your business blueprint.

This database stores the questions and the answers and serves as the heart of

your blue print. Customers are provided with a customer input template for each

application that collects the data. The question and answer format is standard

across applications to facilitate easier use by the project team.

Issues database:

Another tool used in the blueprinting phase is the issues database. This

database stores any open concerns and pending issues that relate to the

implementation. Centrally storing this information assists in gathering and then

managing issues to resolution, so that important matters do not fall through the

cracks. You can then track the issues in database, assign them to team

members, and update the database accordingly.

Phase- 3 - Realization:

With the completion of the business in phase 2, "functional" experts are now ready

to begin configuring SAP. The Realization phase is broken in to two parts.

1) Your SAP consulting team helps you configure your baseline system, called the

baseline configuration.

2) Your implementation project team fine-tunes that system to meet all your

business and process requirements as part of the fine tuning configuration.

The initial configuration completed during the base line configuration is based on

the information that you provided in your blueprint document. The remaining

approximately 20% of your configuration that was not tackled during the baseline

configuration is completed during the fine tuning configuration. Fine tuning usually

deals with the exceptions that are not covered in baseline configuration. This final

bit of tweaking represents the work necessary to fit your special needs.

Configuration Testing:

With the help of your SAP consulting team, you segregate your business

processes into cycles of related business flows. The cycles serve as independent

units that enable you to test specific parts of the business process. You can also

work through configuring the SAP implementation guide (IMG). A tool used to

assist you in configuring your SAP system in a step by step manner.

Knowledge Transfer:

As the configuration phase comes to a close, it becomes necessary for the

Project team to be self-sufficient in their knowledge of the configuration of your

SAP system. Knowledge transfer to the configuration team tasked with system

maintenance (that is, maintenance of the business processes after Go-live)

needs to be completed at this time.

In addition, the end users tasked with actually using the system for day-to-day

business purposes must be trained.

Phase 4 - Final Preparation:

As phase 3 merges into phase 4, you should find yourselves not only in the midst

of SAP training, but also in the midst of rigorous functional and stress testing.

Phase 4 also concentrates on the fine-tuning of your configuration before Go-live

and more importantly, the migration of data from your old system or systems to

SAP.

Workload testing (including peak volume, daily load, and other forms of stress

testing), and integration or functional testing is conducted to ensure the accuracy

of your data and the stability of your SAP system. Because you should have begun

testing back in phase 2, you do not have too far to go until Go-live. Now is an

important time to perform preventative maintenance checks to ensure optimal

performance at your SAP system.

At the conclusion of phase 4, take time to plan and document a Go-live strategy.

Preparation for Go-live means preparing for your end-users questions as they

start actively working on the new SAP system.

Phase 5 - Go-live and Support:

The Go-live milestone is itself is easy to achieve; a smooth and uneventful Go-live

is another matter altogether. Preparation is the key, including attention to what-if

scenarios related not only to the individual business processes deployed but also

to the functioning of technology underpinning these business processes and

preparation for ongoing support, including maintenance contracts and

documented processes and procedures are essential.

Regards

Kiran Sure

[Former Member]

ASAP is a standard methodology for implementing and continually optimizing SAP software efficiently.

Regards,

Dara.

[Former Member]

Project Preparation:

The first step in ASAP is Project Preparation. In this step the Functional Consultant will analyse the business process and define the system for SAP and will give the time line for the project. The Manpower required and the budgets are also considered in this step.

Blue Print Preparation:

This is second step in ASAP Methodology. In this step the Project Preparation scenarios are finalised. A out line of the Project is given in this step.

Realisation:

In this step actual development is taken place. The ABAPer is responsible for this step.

Testing:

In this step the development done by the abaper is being tested. This is the area where the Unit Test Document is prepared (i.e. Positive Testing and Negative Testing).

GO live and Support:

This is the final stage where the project is running in the live environment. In this step the bugs if any that are found in the go live procedure are fixed and the project will be considered as support project.

[Former Member]

[ASAP Methodology|http://www.sap-basis-abap.com/sapgeneral/what-is-asap.htm]

[ASAP Links|http://www.geocities.com/rmtiwari/main.html?http://www.geocities.com/rmtiwari/Resources/Management/ASAP_Links.html]

I hope it helps.

Best Regards,

Vibha

Please mark all the helpful answers