Let’s be honest: you need changes to your SAP system like you need another hole in the head. Your business users expect a lot in a little time. But your resources and tools are far from up to the job. So your change processes are: • Manual • Slow • Linear • Inefficient This slideshare is about the Seven Circles of SAP system change Hell – but more importantly, it’s about a different way of delivering SAP projects. One that speeds up every change, saves you resources, and makes your project a lot safer – and less painful. Take a look.

1. The7circles
ofSAPproject
deliveryhell
Whysystemchangesare
slow,clumsy,andeverysane
person’sworstnightmare

2. Here’sabasicdilemma:

3. Ifyou’reanythinglikeatypical
SAP-basedbusiness,youneed
areliableproductionsystem
thatkeepsrunningwithoutfail:

4. Todeliverconsistentservice

5. Todeliverconsistentservice
Tokeepcustomershappy

6. Todeliverconsistentservice
Tokeepcustomershappy
Toprotectyourrevenue

7. Butatthesametime....
Yourbusiness
isconstantlyevolving.
Anythingfrom:

8. Settingupa
newstorage
location
Butatthesametime....
Yourbusiness
isconstantlyevolving.
Anythingfrom:

9. Settingupa
newstorage
location
Tocreating
anewreport
foraccounts
Butatthesametime....
Yourbusiness
isconstantlyevolving.
Anythingfrom:

10. Settingupa
newstorage
location
Tocreating
anewreport
foraccounts
Tore-inventing
themarketwith
arevolutionary
newoffer
Butatthesametime....
Yourbusiness
isconstantlyevolving.
Anythingfrom:

11. Settingupa
newstorage
location
Tocreating
anewreport
foraccounts
Tore-inventing
themarketwith
arevolutionary
newoffer
…meansyouneedtomakeachangetoyourcorebusinessplatforms.
Butatthesametime....
Yourbusiness
isconstantlyevolving.
Anythingfrom:

12. SAPtransportsaretricky.

13. Andyouneedtorelyonthemmoreandmore
oftenthesedays.Inparallel.Atdifferentpaces.
Todifferentpriorities.

14. Unfortunately,thewaythingsarerightnow,
prettymucheverysingleSAPchangethreatens
yourworkingsystemswithmajordisruption:

15. Downtime
Ifyoumovefaultycodeinto
productionanditbreaks.

16. Lossofrevenue
Becausethecrashmakesyoumiss
thatbigdeliverydeadline.

17. Reputation
Becauseyoupromisedthat
wasn’tgoingtohappen.

18. Customers
Becausetheydefinitelyweren’t
happyaboutit.

19. Andthat’sariskeverysingletime
youdeliveranSAPrelease.

20. Inshort,most
companiesopenthe
gatesofhelleverytime
theymakeachangeto
theirSAPsystems.

21. Inshort,most
companiesopenthe
gatesofhelleverytime
theymakeachangeto
theirSAPsystems.
Here’swhatthathelllookslikeformostorganizations:

22. Thevisibilityvortex

23. Thevisibilityvortex
Ifyou’retheperson
responsiblefordelivering
SAPreleasesinyour
organization,youdon’t
needustotellyouthis:

24. Thevisibilityvortex
They’re
impossible
totrack.

25. Thevisibilityvortex
Andthat’snotjusttherequests
andideasforpotentialchanges–
it’stheactualdevelopment,too.
Lotsofpeopleareworkingonlots
ofchangessimultaneously.Even
devteamleadersdon’tnecessarily
knowwho’sdoingwhatandwhere
theyareintheprocess.

26. Thevisibilityvortex
NottomentiontheCsuite,
who’shopelesslyoutoftheloop.
Allofwhichkillscollaboration
andmakesthesystemchanges
inyourorganizationaboutas
transparentasbrimstone.

27. Spreadsheetlimbo

28. Thereasonnobodyknowswhat’sgoingonisthat
thereisn’tasinglesysteminplacethat
everybodycanworkfrom.

29. Spreadsheetlimbo
Instead,JimisusingIT
servicemanagement
softwarewhileJohn,Mike
andLauraareeachworking
fromadifferentversionof
thesamespreadsheet.

30. Spreadsheetlimbo
Andthat’snotevenmentioning
theexponentialdocument
proliferationthathappens
whenyououtsourcesome
ofyourdevandchange.

31. Spreadsheetlimbo
Sojusttrackingeverything
that’sgoingonismorethan
enoughtokeeprelease
managersandITdirectors
busy(andclosetoinsanity)
allday.

32. Andthat
meansthey’re
notactively
managing
anything.
Spreadsheetlimbo

33. Manualprocess
damnation

34. There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

35. Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

36. Afterapproval,write
anemailtoyourbasis
guysaskingthemto
deploythechanges
Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

37. Standovertheir
shouldertomake
suresequencingis
doneright
Afterapproval,write
anemailtoyourbasis
guysaskingthemto
deploythechanges
Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

38. Afterapproval,write
anemailtoyourbasis
guysaskingthemto
deploythechanges
Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
Standovertheir
shouldertomake
suresequencingis
doneright
Printoutaspreadsheet
that’sdefinitelyoldnews
bythetimeyoubringit
totheCABmeeting
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

39. Afterapproval,write
anemailtoyourbasis
guysaskingthemto
deploythechanges
Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
Standovertheir
shouldertomake
suresequencingis
doneright
Printoutaspreadsheet
that’sdefinitelyoldnews
bythetimeyoubringitto
theCABmeeting
Re-keychangesacross
severaldevelopment
systemsandhopethat
they’reidentical
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:

40. Afterapproval,write
anemailtoyourbasis
guysaskingthemto
deploythechanges
Ringupthethird
controllerfromthe
left,witharequest
foranapproval
Standovertheir
shouldertomake
suresequencingis
doneright
Printoutaspreadsheet
that’sdefinitelyoldnews
bythetimeyoubringitto
theCABmeeting
There’sanothernastyeffectfromallthedifferent
documentationsilos:Youdoeverythingbyhand.
Thingslike:
Re-keychangesacross
severaldevelopment
systemsandhopethat
they’reidentical

41. Manualprocessdamnation
Andthat’s
nowaytorun
aproject,isit?

42. Agilityannihilation

43. Yourproductionsystem,
whichisthebigbeating
heartofyourbusiness,
needstobeabletoreact
todemandsquickly.
Agilityannihilation

44. Fordevelopers,this
meanscontinuousdev
anddeployment.Not
twiceayearoroncea
quarter,butwhenever
thecodeisready.
Agilityannihilation

45. Thatsoundsgreat,but
withoutanup-to-speed
testingsetupiteasilyturns
intoabusinessagilitykiller:
Agilityannihilation

46. Agilityannihilation
Becausethere’sno
wayyoucandeployyour
changesquicklywithout
theconfidencethat
you’vetestedagainst
production-likedata.

47. Butasthingsareinmost
organizations,ittakesages
tostandupatestsystem
that’sworthitssalt.
Andthatprettymuchmeans
sayinggoodbyetomoreagile
development.Andthat’s
goodbyetoagilebusiness
change,too.
Agilityannihilation

48. ThetormentofQA

49. ThetormentofQA
Here’sanotherreasonmanual
testingisstilloneofthemost
pain-inducingprocessesfor
manybusinesses:
Intherealworldofbig-
organizationdev-test-release
cycles,thereisnosuchthing
asplentyoftime,ever.

50. ThetormentofQA
Andthismeansthatdev
happensinahurry,withcoders
trustingthetestingteamto
pickupthepieces,tieupthe
looseendsandhopethatthe
supportteamfixesanything
thatneedsfixing.

51. Theonlyproblemisthat
whenchangesmoveto
test,testersareusually
neckdeepinwork,andup
againstseveralbygone
deadlinesalready.
ThetormentofQA

52. Soinsteadofprioritizingquality
controlearlyon,youendup
washingallthedevdebrisinto
test,rushingapprovals,and
trustinginrandomsampling
andsloppydependencychecks.
ThetormentofQA

53. ThetormentofQA
Andthatknot-in-your-gut-
feelingmeansyoujustknowthis
kindofprocedureisincredibly
badnewsfor

54. ThetormentofQA
Andthatknot-in-your-gut-
feelingmeansyoujustknowthis
kindofprocedureisincredibly
badnewsfor
• Theoverallqualityofyourcode

55. ThetormentofQA
Andthatknot-in-your-gut-
feelingmeansyoujustknowthis
kindofprocedureisincredibly
badnewsfor
• Theoverallqualityofyourcode
• ThestabilityofyourSAPsystem.

56. ThetormentofQA
Andthatknot-in-your-gut-
feelingmeansyoujustknowthis
kindofprocedureisincredibly
badnewsfor
• Theoverallqualityofyourcode
• ThestabilityofyourSAPsystem.
YIKES!

57. Thelickingflames
ofapproval

58. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Let’sgobacktothoseapprovals
foraminute.They’rekindofabig
deal,becauseit’sreallyhardfor
anybodytoseefivelevelsdown
intotheimpactofthechange
they’reapproving.

59. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Wouldn’titbe
greatif...
Peopleactuallyhadsome
insightintowhatelements
inthesystemareaffected
byagivenchange?

60. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Wouldn’titbe
greatif...
Alittleredflagpoppedup
whenyoutouchedarisky
object?Orwhentwo
developersaremakinga
changetothesameone?

61. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Wouldn’titbe
greatif...
An“ok”didn’tjustmean
“Iguessit’sfine”,butwas
actuallyaconsciousapproval
basedonathorough
dependencycheck?

62. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Butasthingsstand,peopleare
authorizinganintimidating
numberofdevchangeswithout
reallyknowingwhatisbeing
changedatatechnicallevel.

63. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Whichiskindofcrazy
consideringthisstuffwill
eventuallycomefullcircle
andendupaffectingpriority
numberone,whichis:

64. Thelickingflamesofapproval
Your.Sacred.
Production.
System.

65. Thecutovercatastrophe

66. Givenallthat,it’sreallynottoo
hardtoimaginetheworst
nightmarecomingtrue:
Areleasethatyou’vedeveloped
andtested.Andsuddenly,when
you’removingitintoproduction,
forsomereason,everything
goeswrong.
Thecutovercatastrophe

67. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow:

68. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow: X Itwillcreatedowntime

69. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow: X Itwillcreatedowntime
X Stopyourbusiness

70. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow: X Itwillcreatedowntime
X Stopyourbusiness
X Enrageyourusers
(orworse,customers)

71. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow: X Itwillcreatedowntime
X Stopyourbusiness
X Enrageyourusers
(orworse,customers)
X Loseyoumoney,
everysinglesecond

72. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andyouknow: X Itwillcreatedowntime
X Stopyourbusiness
X Enrageyourusers
(orworse,customers)
X Loseyoumoney,
everysinglesecond
X Andbenefityour
competitors.

73. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andthereisn’tan
optiontoreverse
itinaControl-Z
kindofway.

74. Thecutovercatastrophe
Andthissimplefact
makesyouwanttobe
responsibleforthat
transportlikeyouwant
anotherholeinthehead.

75. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare

76. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare
• Slow

77. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare
• Slow
• Inefficient

78. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare
• Slow
• Inefficient
• Unmanaged

79. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare
• Slow
• Inefficient
• Unmanaged
• Ofuncertainquality

80. Youdidn’tneed
ustotellyou:
Moreoftenthannot,
SAPchangesare
• Slow
• Inefficient
• Unmanaged
• Ofuncertainquality
• Andpotentiallydangerous
toyourbusiness.

81. Andyoucertainlyknowthat
formostorganizationsthat
haveinvestedinapriceySAP
solution,anothercostlytool
tomanagethatsolutionisn’t
anoption.

82. Andyoucertainlyknowthat
formostorganizationsthat
haveinvestedinapriceySAP
solution,anothercostlytool
tomanagethatsolutionisn’t
anoption.
Sowhere’sthe
goodnews?

83. Thegoodnews

84. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:

85. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Bringeverythingtogetherinoneplace
Soeveryonecantrackthestatusofchanges
andreleases

86. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Orchestrateparalleldevelopment
Soallyourimprovementefforts,eveninacomplex
SAPlandscape,gohand-in-hand

87. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Embedqualitycontrolfromdayone
Forfasterreleasesandfewersurprisesintest
andproduction

88. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Activelymovechangesthroughyoursystem
Toavoidthedowntimecreatedbymanual
managementandcommunicationsilos

89. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Optimizetestingandapproval
Soyoucanfocusonfixingthegaffes,
insteadoffindingthem

90. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Checkdependenciesthoroughly
Tomakeyourcodesaferandmorestable

91. Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:
Instantlyback-outfailedchanges
Soyouroperationandprofitshaveasafetynet

92. Andthismeansyoucanfocusonchangestrategyinstead
ofheadachemanagement,saveyourcompanyalotofmoney
andyourselfthetormentofadhoc,manual,disorganized
transportmanagement.
Alotofthetorturewejustoutlinedisactuallyeasily
resolvedusingafewnimbletoolsthattakethehell
outofSAPreleasemanagement.Andtheyletyou
dosomereallyimportantthings:

93. We’reBasisTechnologiesand
we’vebeenthroughhell.

94. OurteamofindomitableSAPspecialists
hasbeenthroughthesevencirclesofrelease
managementhellandback.

95. Andthey’vecreatedafire-hardened,
software-only,easy-to-implement
toolthathelpsyougetthemostout
ofyourSAPdevelopment,speedup
theprocessandminimizetherisk
aroundyourdevactivity.

96. Andthey’vecreatedafire-hardened,
software-only,easy-to-implement
toolthathelpsyougetthemostout
ofyourSAPdevelopment,speedup
theprocessandminimizetherisk
aroundyourdevactivity.
It’spartofafamilyofdevelopment
andperformanceoptimizersthatare
re-enablingbusinessesbychanging
thewaytheyruntheirSAPsystems.

97. Anditmight
justchangethe
wayyoufeel
aboutyours.

98. Talktous
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knowmore?
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