Solution Manager NZ Defence The Defence ERP ecosystem

Solution Manager @ NZ Defence

The Defence ERP eco-system ECC PI Portal Id. M BW SRM MDM TRex Content store

The Defence ERP eco-system ECC PI Portal Id. M BW SRM MDM TRex Content store

The Defence ERP eco-system Solution Manager • Portal Id. M BW SRM MDM TRex Content store 3 < landscape stacks < 6 • 10 < servers each < 25 • 2 < domains < 4 • Mix of • PI • physical/virtual hosts, • Operating systems • Programme languages • Databases Connections for Africa ECC

What does Solution manager offer ? Build IT service mgmnt Req’mnt mgmnt Release mgmnt Change Request mgmnt Project /Portfolio mgmnt Plan/design Solution Docs. Custom Code mgmnt Job schedule mgmnt RCA, EUEM tools Retire Test mgmnt Transport mgmnt Change, Scope & Effort analysis Tech. , Interface, Health, Process Monitor Patch. Mgr Operate & Manage Deploy “Run SAP like a factory”

What does NZDF do with Solution Manager ? Build IT service mgmnt Req’mnt mgmnt Release mgmnt Change Request mgmnt Project /Portfolio mgmnt Plan/design Solution Docs. Custom Code mgmnt Job mgmnt RCA, EUEM tools Retire Test mgmnt Transport mgmnt Change analysis Tech. , Interface, Health, Process Monitor Scope & Effort analysis Operate & Manage Deploy

Specific use cases • • Solution documentation Monitoring/Job documentation Test management/change analysis Change management

Specific use cases • Solution documentation • Monitoring/Job management • Test management/change analysis Change management Solution Docs.

Build IT service mgmnt Req’mnt mgmnt Release mgmnt Change Request mgmnt Project /Portfolio mgmnt Plan/design Solution Docs. Custom Code mgmnt Job mgmnt RCA, EUEM tools Retire Test mgmnt Transport mgmnt Change analysis Tech. , Interface, Health, Process Monitor Scope & Effort analysis Operate & Manage Deploy

NZDF Business scenarios Financial processes Accounts payable Consolidation HR processes Logistics processes Manage Org. structure Inventory management ……… ……. Post invoice ……. Hierarchy of business processes undertaken in the ERP environment

Define the business process in terms of. . • The steps performed Materials Management • Where the step is performed • Logical component Ecc/SRM etc • How the step is performed Purchasing • Programme/transaction etc • What happens when something goes wrong Shop from Catalogue Fill shopping cart M SR w flo / w 21 me Approve expenditure al rt Po ……. . Order goods C EC

Describe the business process in terms of. . • It’s context, up- and downstream relationships and the end-to-end overview. Materials Management • Exactly how to execute each step Purchasing Shop from Catalogue Fill shopping cart Approve expenditure Order goods ……. .

Describe changes/additions to the technical components of business process in terms of. . Materials Management • Custom-built executables and technical specifications for them • or changes to the configuration that governs how the process runs Purchasing • and by linking the change control document to the process Shop from Catalogue Fill shopping cart Approve expenditure Order goods ……. . Zl 18

Define the testing of the business process in terms of. . Materials Management • End-to-end and/or individual tests • Either manual or automated Purchasing tst 3 Shop from Catalogue Fill shopping cart Approve expenditure tst 2 Order goods ……. . tst 1

Specific use cases • • Job schedule mgmnt Solution documentation Monitoring/Job management Test management/change analysis Change management Tech. , Interface, Health, Process Monitor

Monitoring/Job management • Early watch (of course) • Technical monitoring – – RFC connections including to non-SAP systems Remote file servers http latency …. . • Job management & monitoring – – – scheduling Cancellations Delays Messages Run time thresholds

• • • What bus. Process is this for? What does the job do? When should it run Who to contact when it fails Easy scheduling across Prod, QA etc

Job event monitoring . . tied back to the business process

True story !! • BI process chains – Normal run time 6 – 7 hours – Sudden increase to 30+ hours – Sudden return to 15+ hours • Why ? – Transports ? – Application or Database ?

Run-time True story !!

Specific use cases • • Test mgmnt Solution documentation Monitoring/Job management Test management/change analysis Change management Change, Scope & Effort analysis

Business Process Change Analyser …. Solution manager …. FB 03 IE 08 Managed system(s) Technical Bill of Materials (TBOM) Technical objects B P C A …. Which business process is this method used in ? What should I test ?

Test plan generated from BPCA and optimized

Specific use cases • • Req’mnt mgmnt Solution documentation Monitoring/Job management Test management/change analysis Change management Change Request mgmnt

Change management rhythm A change management rhythm that is essentially ad-hoc with special handling for major projects…. …. to a rhythm with differing release types and approval needs, according to change categories based on; • • Risk Impact Test requirements Ability of business to adopt/adapt Emergency change Deployment cycle As necessary Change categories Emergency only Test focus Standard change Weekly Low risk, low impact, predictable results Regression test UAT and based on results of Regression test change impact based on results analysis of change impact analysis Minor Release Major release Monthly(ish) Twice annual Non-invasive changes All types of change UAT and Regression test based on results of change impact analysis, Interface Tests and Integration Validation.

CHARM: The Request For Change: Solution Documentation Links (Bi-Directional) Integrated Test Plans/Packages

Aspects & Benefits of Charm: • • • • • Manages import of related objects in sync across landscapes (Multi Envmt per Change) Transport Tracking/Import Tools Critical Object identification and Alerting. Identifies Transport conflicts and sequencing discrepancies (Downgrade Protection) Handles both ABAP & Java changes (CTS+) Manages parallel developments – Project Stacks (Cross System Object Locks & Retrofit) Changes can be reflected in Solution Documentation & vice-versa Identifies impacts of object changes on other unrelated processes (BPCA Integration) Test workbench Integration & Assignment of Test packages Reporting Tools and BI Integration Incorporates Change Logging Provides Email notifications (Workflows) Supports Release Management (Release Cycles) Uses Templates to Simplify Change Requesting (for End Users) Built in check-lists BRF+ for automated agent assignment Ability to manage different types of change according to their own Custom Rules.

Challenges • Solution manager needs a full-time champion/analyst • It’s not just a back-office tool anymore (if it ever was) • SAP design ‘evolving’ • Project vs. Solution • LMDB / SLD / SMSY • Monitoring architecture • Automated testing is not easy • Developing good tests needs development (coding) skills • Test prep. takes time – short term pain vs. long term gain • Occasional performance issues, especially in the monitor/alert inbox application • Business resistance – IT staff • Process hierarchy/documentation is boring • Testing is boring • Current change mgmt system is embedded, works & is simple • Maintaining the process hierarchy from a business perspective • Lack of a diagramming tool*

Business view of the process