How to Access Process Documentation Sap Solution Manager
Every organization talks about breaking silos and boosting to have better business processes, but very few can point to a consolidated repository of these processes. SAP Solution Manager's (SolMan) Process Management (formerly known as Solution Documentation – SolDoc) is such a repository, plus more. It is important to understand the basics of SolDoc and the "plus more" aspect of it. SolDoc is capable of far more than just being a dumping ground of static process diagrams and process steps. In this article, I will try to highlight the immediate and long-term true value of Process Management.
Before diving into the details of SolDoc, it is important to understand that there are many tools in the market that can show fancy visuals of Process Management. While these other tools may provide results individually (and come at a cost, while SolMan license is free as is part of your SAP maintenance contract), it is the holistic approach that sets SolMan's Process Management apart. This integrated holistic approach makes SolMan's Process Management a powerful tool; providing a long-term true value. It is important to first realize the immediate value. However, the future or long-term value is where the true benefits of SolMan's Process Management lies.
To understand the immediate value of Process Management, let's try to answer these questions:
· How often does a new hire (e.g. SAP Functional or QA expert) feel lost to understand your organization's processes?
· How long does it take to find certain functional/technical design document or training material in your organization?
· How often do you wait for that one Solution Architect who is the only one in your organization understanding a specific process to be available so you can evaluate a change impact?
Now imagine a consolidated tool that captures your organization's processes, that is visually pleasing and helps store all the above in one location. Imagine on-boarding a new resource to the team and being able to point them to this one repository where they can access all materials in a process oriented approach, with all the details of those processes at their fingertips. If you can achieve this consolidation, you are already ripping the initial benefits of SolMan's Process Management in saving valuable and expensive resource time.
Let's now jump to the true value of SolMan's Process Management. First, I commend SAP for the name change from "Solution Documentation" to "Process Management". This change will remove the misconception many customers have that SolDoc is ONLY for storing your functional/technical design documents in Word or other formats. Over the years, I have tried explaining customers that SolDoc is more than just a shared space where you keep your design and training documents. It is "live" documentation of not just your business processes (from scenarios to steps), but also the identification of SAP transaction codes and programs ("executables") and test cases associated to those business processes.
But why should an organization invest in an effort of identifying t-codes, programs and test cases for every business process step? To answer this, ask yourselves:
· How long does it take or what expertise do you consult to identify impact of a change to your SAP system?
· Who identifies what test cases needs to run for a certain SAP change? Where do they get this knowledge to pick one test over another?
· How often do you hear that QA/functional team did not identify an impact, missing a test case, causing recently migrated code to disrupt business functionality?
Often the answer to the above is our reliance on peoples' experiences and their longevity in an organization to help us understand. SolMan's Process Management integrated with its other capabilities removes this uncertainty and lets the system assist in identification of possible impacts and planning for adequate testing.
The true value of Process Management is realized in integrated (upstream and downstream) tools of Solution Manager. Tools such as:
· Business Process Change Analyzer (BPCA): Analyzing impacts to business processes from one transport or an enhancement pack (EHP). Further being able to integrate into Change Request Management (ChaRM) approval workflow to ensure the impact is dealt with prior to approving the change to Production
· Test Suite Management and its complimenting tools like Component Based Test Automation (CBTA): Planning test scope and coverage based on the results of BPCA and possibly executing those test scripts through CBTA
· Business Process Monitoring: Adding business critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) using Key Figures to an already defined Business Process to identify various backlogs and throughputs ensuring proper alerting to avoid business disruptions
· Other integration points like Project Management
Add to the above, SolMan 7.2's fully revamped Process Management using BPMN notation with drag and drop functionality and multi-hierarchy capability; gone are the days when customers complained about not-so-good user interface.
The true value is in SolMan's integrated model where not only Process Management but many other tools work hand-in-hand to help organizations Build and Run with excellence.
I agree with many customers that Process Management is not an easy endeavour as it requires efforts from the process owners to build the processes and its various associated t-codes, programs and executables. However, an organization needs to ask itself, do they want to continue operating half-blinded as to what change impacts which processes?, over or under test solutions resulting in either increased cost in QA or failures in production causing business disruption; or rise to an excellence level where each impact can be automatically identified and hence tested with the right coverage. This excellence in building and delivering solutions, makes Process Management a central building block, a foundation, upon which other capabilities can be built.
So while you might consider other tools for your process management, consider the holistic benefits of using SolMan's Process Management and its integrated capabilities to truly come full-circle and build SAP solutions more efficiently.
As I pointed out in my previous article, "Setting expectations for SAP Solution Manager (SolMan)" , it is important to understand while SolMan offers vast capabilities, customers need to have a clear roadmap. The enablement of these integrated capabilities is best implemented in a phased approach. Process Management, BPCA, integration with ChaRM, Test Suite Management & CBTA, and Business Process Monitoring can be projects in their own aspects. It is important to align expectations with your executive sponsors and embark on this integrated journey.
How to Access Process Documentation Sap Solution Manager
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-value-sap-solution-managers-process-management-rahim-kassam