Start Your ALM with Solution Documentation

1. © 2016 ConnectALM 1
Your Company's Business in SAP
Solution Manager
Altin Ceka
Sr. SAP Solution Manager &
ALM Consultant
Start Your ALM Processes With Solution Documentation

2. © 2016 ConnectALM 2
About This Document: Topics Covered
 SAP Solution Manager & Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
 Solution Documentation: First Step of the Application Lifecycle Management
 SAP Solution Manager 7.1 and Architecture of New Solution Manager 7.2
 How Documentation Improves Your Company’s Financial Metrics

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SAP Solution Manager & Application Lifecyle Methodology (ALM)
Historically, ALM started as a version control tool. Nowadays, to better address ongoing changes in Business
and IT sectors, the list of ALM categories and processes covered keeps growing.
SAP Customers can benefit from SAP Solution Manager as the only 15 Processes ITIL PinkVERFIY certified
tool in the market today (http//.scn. sap-solution-manager--itil-pink-verified)
What is an Application Lifecyle Management (ALM):
There are a number of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) definitions as there’re ALM products in the market. The following definition seems
to be fitting of the time and money invested on ERP software. What is included in ALM ?
“An application’s lifecycle includes the entire time during which an organization is spending money on this asset, from the initial idea to
the end of the application’s life.” (Chappel, David, 2008).
Source: SAP ALM Road-map for
Documentation (SAP AGS, 2014)
(6) Six Phases of ALM as ITIL Based
Processes.
A complete and an up-to-date SAP Solution Documentation of Technical Landscape and core Business
Processes ought to be viewed as an asset; that is available for use and re-use throughout the six (6)
phases of the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) methodology based on ITIL processes.

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SAP Solution Manager & Application Lifecyle Methodology (ALM)
SAP Solution Manager offers Solution Documentation for SAP and non-SAP core business processes and technical landscape documentation as
an application lifecycle process to help customers document and use technical and business information throughout the Enterprise.
Solution Documentation should be seen as an End-to-End process in All of the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) phases i.e. from a new
Project Implementations, Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of Production instances to the Upgrades.
Long-term efforts and investments put towards the configuration of the software matching company’s business needs, ERP software
implementations in general, have been compared to the rewiring of the central nervous system.
“Rewiring the infrastructure that delivers information throughout the enterprise, is sort of enhancing the human body’s central nervous
system, it doesn’t turn everybody into clones…it enhances the characteristics of who you already were.” (Pollock, Hodgson, 2004).
Stating the obvious, the vast majority of SAP projects are a large investment for any company that either undergoes a new SAP implementation,
or operates and maintains their existing SAP ERP applications. Along with the hefty price associated, companies spend long-time in preparation
and configuration of SAP applications according to their business needs.
SAP defines Solution Documentation as “..centrally document business processes and technical information about SAP and non-SAP
solutions…The proper documentation of your business processes, and the technical information on systems upon which these
processes ideally already run as part of a template or project maintained in SAP Solution Manager”
Source: SAP AGS (Standard Solution Documentation,2011)
.

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Up to SAP Solution Manager 7.1, Projects are used to document, deploy, standardize, test, and maintain the future work on SAP systems, and
Solutions to monitor, maintain and optimize the current productive business processes and system landscapes.
Projects & Solutions: Start Or Update Documentation in SSM 7.1
Source: SAP Roadmap for Documentation (SAP AGS, 2014)
Six (6) Steps of Application Lifecyle in SAP Solution Manager:
Solution Documentation can be continuously enriched along the Application Lifecycle
1. Requirements: Requirements gathering for new SAP application or
updating an existing ERP application. Identifying what is needed now.
2.Design: Convert requirement into functional & technical specifications.
Get a preliminary blueprint to meet the requirements
.
3. Build & Test: Software is adapted to become operational according to
the Requirements & Design (blueprinting). Build the new SAP Solution
and Test it.
4. Deploy: Transfer the new Solution to Go-Live Landscape. Release
the new solution for a real operational use. Make suitable changes when
needed.
5. Operate: ALM & ITSM services to keep the Live Solution running.
Keep the Solution working and make full use of it.
6. Optimize: Start of activities to improve Solution. SAP Innovation &
Best Practice, Service Level fulfillment. Optimize the current Solution
and prepare for the next life cycle.

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SAP Solution Documentation & ALM Portfolio
Usually, companies choose to change their business processes according to the SAP ERP packages, based on their industry best-practices, or
customize SAP software to fit their existing organization model and business processes, or a combination of both.
“SAP’s ALM Portfolio consists of Processes, Tools, Services, and SAP Best Practices to manage SAP and Non-SAP solutions throughout the
entire Application Lifecyle” (SAP AG Solution Documentation, 2011)
SAP puts into consideration core business processes, organization, services, tools and the external processes involved. (Funk, 2009)
Processes
Tools
SAP Best
Practices
Services
SAP ALM Portfolio Model
ALM
SAP Solution Manger ALM Portfolio as part of the Company’s Organizational Model
Governs & Supports Businesses and IT sectors to adapt to their changing needs
providing business continuity and innovation where SAP Solution Manger is used as
Single Source of Truth using Solution Documentation to provide Information throughout
the Enterprise.
SAP ALM Portfolio (Processes, Tools, Services, Best Practices) and an up-to-date Solution
Documentation compose of IT-business related requirements and SAP and nonSAP
core business processes facilitate and play an important role in Implementations
(Blueprinting, Configuration, Testing, &etc.), Project Administration, Operations and
Governance of SAP Solutions.
Source: Application Lifecycle Management from SAP AGS ALM

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Projects & Solutions: Use Templates for Projects and Solutions
Solution Documentation with SAP Templates
SAP Solution Manager Template Projects (SAP delivered or
customer defined templates) and Templates are a source of
creating other Projects and Solutions in Solution
Manager 7.1. You can create Templates that capture one
specific Business Scenario or a bundle of Business
Scenarios and use it as a Standard Process in other SAP
rollout functionality.
Templates can be viewed as a snapshot taken from an
entire business process hierarchy (BPH) from a master
Project and deployed in other projects or solutions as
standardization of the processes.
When rolled in other projects, you can control the Template
against changes in business structure (as shown in pictures) as
completely, partially or harmonized to control the
deployment of business scenarios.
Global Templates are transportable to other Solution
Manager systems. They’re transferable to the new
Solution Manager 7.2 as well.
Setting the Global
Attribute influences
the changeability in
the roll-out project
Source: SAP AGS
Roadmap for
Documentation and
Implementation
(Schönwald,2014)
Global
Template
Protects
Against
Structure
Changes
Even When
User is in
Change Mode

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SAP Template Activation from SolMan 7.1 To New SolMan 7.2
Source: How to Prepare for Solution Documentation Today for SAP Solution Manager 7.2 (SAP SE, 2015)
SAP Template Projects in SolMan 7.1 can be marked for content transfer to the new Solution Manager 7.2
Customers that depend on Global Template rollout functionality should wait for the new support pack (SP) release to do their
migration in Solution Manager 7.2

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Projects & Solutions: Create Your Blueprint from Excel File
Start Documentation with a Solution Manager Project from an Excel file Upload
Option :
It’s customary for the project teams to work on excel files from gathering of
requirements to the business blueprint deliverables.
The excel files can be used to build the (solar) Project structure -Business Process
Hierarchy (BPH) in Solution Manager enabling users to load transactions, configuration
tabs, development work in the development tab, test cases, and project documentation.
The excel upload method speeds up the work required to build the (Solar) Project
structure in Solar01 and Solar02 transactions.
The SAP picture shows the excel upload method used to create Implementation
Project and Solution maintenance phases as part of Application Lifecycle
Management.
After the excel upload, core business processes are available from an
Implementation Project turn into a Solution . A Maintenance type project is used to
bring new changes to the business structure using Check-in&Check-out functionality,
Compare&Adjust to update business scenarios, and ChaRM documents for
maintenance and support in a Solution.
Source: SAP AGS Roadmap for Documentation
and Implementation (Schönwald,2014)

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Projects & Solutions: Create Your Blueprint from Excel File
Start Documentation with a Solution Manager Project from an Excel file Upload
Option :
After exporting the file format from SolMan project, it is possible to upload business
scenarios  business processes business process steps as structure elements (set in
scope and system logical component is required) from an excel or txt file that you generate from the
Solar Project.
Creating Projects from the excel file upload method has its limitations as it uses an either
all or nothing way of uploading. It requires a final version of a file to upload. For example,
when you upload all transactions in transactions tab, and later on you want you need to add
one or more transactions to the structure, users must upload a file with all of the transactions
already uploaded, including the new ones they want to add in order to get everything.
There’re limitations getting the Config. and Dev. tabs populated as well.
To overcome the file upload limitations, it is possible to upload your business blueprint
hierarchy, structure attributes, transaction, configuration, development tabs by working with
your Developers on a customized utility program.
Currently, we have developed and successfully used it in projects, an Utility Tool that
uploads project structure and project tabs per need basis. It’s useful to use in scenarios
when teams are working on blueprinting phase building BPML. This speeds up the time and
effort it takes to keep excel files current and SolMan project in synch with the Project
changes.
Source: ALM Solution Management (SAP SE, 2015)

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Projects & Solutions: SAP and ARIS Documentation
Transfer of Solution Manager Projects to ARIS Business
Architect and synch back of ARIS script enables changes to
business process steps and introduction of the new business
process structure.
It’s important to have SAP Solution Manager as the system
of the record to establish other Application Lifecyle
Operations.
This is achieved by creating a project and system landscape
in Solution Manager transfer it to ARIS and start the synch of
new business structure. The synch of new processes can be
used and re-used throughout the Implementation of SAP
processes, and other ALM phases.
Create and Update Your SolMan Projects’ Business Blueprint with ARIS Option:
Solution Manager and ARIS tool integration allow for the (synch) exchange of the business blueprint, transfer of transactions assigned to blueprint
structure, documentation links, and end-user role information assigned to the business process structure. ARIS Business Architect used to create &
update scope changes in business process hierarchy (BPH).
Source: SAP Roadmap for Documentation (SAP AGS, 2014)Source: SAP Roadmap for Documentation (SAP AGS, 2014)

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Projects & Solutions: RBPD
Discover Your Company’s SAP Business Processes with Reverse Documentation: RBPD
“Reverse Business Process Documentation (RBPD) discovers if business processes are used in a customer’s productive environment and answers
the question of how business processes can be documented, reflecting real usage from day to day execution. “ Source: SAP ALM RBPD Handbook (SAP AGS, 2012)
There are customer situations when SAP Solution Manager is
unaware of the live SAP business processes that Company uses to
run on the daily basis. Solution Manager with Solution
Documentation Assistant (SDA) capabilities enables customers to
bring back their SAP (ECC) business processes. Analyses Projects
from RBPD can easily turn into SAP (Solar) Implementation
projects.
Custom Development Mgmt. Cockpit (CDMC) and UPL activation
can be used to show the custom programs (zprograms) frequency
of use, evaluate business processes, configuration, transactions
that are used in SAP (ECC) Live instance.
SAP Solution Manager RBPD is a great way to reverse blueprinting
from your Company’s Live SAP (ECC) applications back to SAP
Solution Manager solution for Application Lifecyle Management
(ALM) future work.
Source of: SAP Roadmap for Documentation (SAP AGS, 2014)

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Business Blueprint Generation in SAP Solution Manager 7.1
Generate Business Blueprint Process Steps Grouped by Application Components
In cases when customer has No Solution Documentation, another alternative to generate business blueprint with process steps by their usage in
Production quickly in Solution Manager 7.1 is to use the Blueprint Generation Report. The report itself is explained in SAP Note 2061626 . The
blueprint generation report groups the process steps, executables by SAP modules- i.e. ECC SD modules  Business Process  Business
Process Step  VA01, VA02, and so on.
The business blueprint report is based on usage statistics of process steps in client’s PRD environment and it includes SAP transactions, custom
development transactions, repots assigned to the process step level as well as Non-SAP programs.
Source: SAP ALM RBPD Handbook (SAP AGS, 2012)
Source of: SAP From Process Step Library to E2E Business Process (SAP ALM, 2014)
Note: More information on Generation of Business Blueprint by Application
Components is Available via Application “Scope and Effort Analyzer” (SP11) and
ABAP Program SAP Note 2061626 (SP10) in Solution Manger 7.1

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Architecture of New SAP Solution Manager 7.2
The New Solution
The Solution is the sum of a company’s systems and processes.
It acts as a container for versions of solution documentation,
one of which is the production version.
Real Project Management
Replace “underdone” Project Management with full Project
Management Suite – integrated into SAP Solution Manager
processes.
Change Control Management
Establish central landscape definition with Logical Component
Groups and Change Control Landscapes which allow easy,
instant and multiple re-use capabilities.
Projects and Solutions Landscapes from Solution
Manager 7.1 are replaced with Solutions as the Only
Landscape in the new SAP Solution Manager 7.2.
This new architecture uses Solutions as One
“Container” to bring IT and Business together, offering
Portfolio Project Management(PPM) to the IT &
Business to manage their projects together as a
Technical or Business Requirements.
Solution is composed of the following: Systems where Logical
Component Groups group systems that belong together. i.e. dual
landscape N+1; there will be two (2) logical component groups: Production
N and Development +1 (as logical component groups).
Processes a series of steps to achieve a business goal. Solar01/Solar02
business blueprint replacements.
Versions Solution Documentation (different from Solution Documentation explained in
old SolMan versions) version is a branch- i.e. Maintenance & Production branch.
Source of: SAP Solution Documentation Content Activation (SAP AGS, 2015)
“Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a continuous process of managing
the life of an application through governance, development and maintenance.
ALM is the marriage of business management to software engineering…”
(Rossman,2010)

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Architecture of New SAP Solution Manager 7.2
Forget About Your Favorites in Solution Manager 7.1
SOLAR01
SOLAR02
SOLAR_PROJECT
_ADMIN
RMMAIN
SOLAR_EVAL
IT PPM
Dashboards &
Reporting
Solution
Documentation
Business Blueprint & Configuration
Project Administration
Roadmaps
Source of: SAP Project Management in SAP Solution Manager 7.2 (SAP ALM, 2015)
In new SAP Solution Manager7.2 Solar transactions are replaced by
Solution Landscape UI and Solution Documentation UI, also allowing
for more than three (3) levels of business blueprint structure
hierarchy.
Solution Manager 7.2 comes with an enhanced Project Management
Capabilities- (PPM) for business and IT requirements. Now it is
possible to start a project, choose a template (old roadmaps), and
complete the project serving an IT or a Business need .Accd. to the PMI
PMBOK 5th edition, “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result. The temporary nature of the project indicates that
the project has e definite beginning and end.” SolMan PPM Projects
compliant with Project Management Institute methodology.
Old Solar_Eval solution and project analysis transaction is enhanced
with Project Scope, Time & Status Project management reporting
capabilities with new Dashboards & Reporting as one view Analysis
that is integrated with Portfolio and Project Management (PPM).

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How Solution Documentation Improves Your Financial Metrics
ALM &PPM
ALM Application Listing Phase Implementation O&M Production
Business Process Documentation $35,500 $50,000
Change Control Management $13,000 $29,000
Custom Code Management $ - $402,000
Test Management $83,000 $92,000
Test Automation & Optimization $250,500 $506,000
Service Desk Management $14,500 $25,000
Business Process Monitoring - $675,000
Business Process Change Analyzer $15,000 $22,000
Total Savings
$ 411,500 $1,801,000
Companies want to attain the Return on Investments (ROI) of their SAP ERP systems. And CIOs are under pressure to support their SAP
applications, ensure business continuity, and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). SAP Solution Manager as an ALM tool helps customers
justify their investments of SAP applications by managing their business-focused IT environments, helping businesses improve their performance
,ensuring business continuity, and being compliant with the Government rules and regulations such as SOX and BASEL II.
Statistically, customers share that their SAP Solution Manager is either unused or underused. In a study done by (Panaya Inc 2010) 42% of
customers are already experiencing the benefits of SAP Solution Manager system control, among others, 20% are not even aware of the SolMan
ALM capabilities. Therefore companies result in buying third-party tools creating and Enterprise Tools clutter and losing value in Enterprise
Support.
Below is a monetary table showing the direct value customer benefits from SAP Solution Manager ALM services based on customer’s assessments for their project
Implementation & Production (O&M) operations. SAP Solution Manager ALM services provide direct monetary value and business performance, support for customer’s
business-focused IT operations, reducing the costs and risks of introducing new SAP and non-SAP functionalities and supporting the modernization of SAP systems-Best
Practices & Innovation efforts.
Source: Based on the customer(s) in the U.S with SAP ERP operations

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How Solution Documentation Improves Your Financial Metrics
ALM &PPM
For example, changes made to a SAP application are no longer seen as an IT change or software configuration only event, but rather as a part of a
process that can affect the entire business.
Solution Documentation as part of SAP Solution Manger ALM services enables customers to use the documentation information throughout the
Enterprise Support cycles, provides information to monitor and ensure business continuity, mitigate the risks of business disruption, improve software
performance and business operations, help reduce the Total Costs of Operations (TCO), all which give companies a superior business value and
platform for continuous improvements.
There’s more than One Way available to Create or Update Your Solution Documentation in SAP Solution Manager 7.1 and prepare for the new
SolMan7.2 Solution transfer. To gain the full value of ALM services it is very important that customers have an up-to-date documentation of their IT
landscape and core business processes. Important to know your Projects and Solutions in SAP SolMan7.1 and update them according to the current
business usage before you mark them for activation to the new SAP Solution Manager 7.2.
Investing in your company’s Solution Documentation and SAP Solution Manager ALM services yields to the expected Return on Investments (ROI)
results and increase of productivity.
“Every business has its own way of dealing with change. How you respond can mean the critical difference between paying for it - or
profiting from it” ERP Application Lifecycle Management (ALM): 10 reasons why ERP change management has outgrown helpdesk software (Hooks, 2006)

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References:
Adaptive Information (Pollock, Hodgson, 2004)
Application Lifecycle Management - Activities, Methodologies, Disciplines, Tools, Benefits, ALM Tools and Products (Rossman, 2010)
What is an Application Lifecycle Management (Chappell, 2010)
http://hosteddocs.ittoolbox.com/AH011507.pdf
ERP Application Lifecycle Management 10 Reasons why ERP change management has outgrown helpdesk software
http://www.divaportal.se/smash/get/diva2:438659/FULLTEXT1.pdf
SAP Solution Manager: An Application Lifecyle Tool White Paper
http://support.sap.com/content/dam/library/SAP%20Support%20Portal/support-programs-services/solution-manager/processes/solution-
documentation/Content%20Activation/Content_Activation_Preparation_BP.pdf
How to Prepare for my solution Today for SAP Solution Manager 7.2
ALM link https://support.sap.com/solution-manager/processes.html
Solution Manager Processes
SAP® Solution Documentation: Standard Solution Documentation (SAP AGS, 2011)
Road map for Documentation and Implementation in SAP Solution Manager (Schönwald,2014)

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Questions or Comments Are
Welcome!!!

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Altin Ceka
Sr. SAP Solution Manager & ALM
Consultant
ConnectALM LLC.
M: 916.955.1825
E: aceka@connectalm.com
I: www.connectalm.com
THANK YOU