SlideShare a Scribd company logo
Software Change Management
Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy
SAP AGS - IT Planning
May 2013
Elements of a Software Change Management
Strategy
Introduction
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 3
Introduction
Software Change Management is a key operations process
Software Change Management is a key operations process
 Enterprise change is continuous: Go to market strategies, regulatory compliance,
manufacturing innovations and technology upgrades are a few of the drivers that are fueling
continual change.
 Enterprises need to be prepared for continual change
to remain competitive and compliant
– in a consistent cyclic and re-occurring manner.
 Software Change Management is a key operations
process for an SAP system.
 A good Software Change Management strategy includes
– the definition of procedures and responsibilities,
– and the choice of supporting tools and transport landscape.
 When implemented correctly,
Software Change Management will
– mitigate the risks to production
– whilst enabling innovation to support the needs of the business.
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 4
Requirements
Management
Transport Management
Test Management
Release Management
Change Request Management
Requirements
• Input Channels
• Prioritization
• Classification
Design
• Blueprint
• Level of Effort
Estimate
• Release
Assignment
Build
• Resource
Assignment
• Develop
• Unit Test
Test
• Integration Test
• Regression Test
• Performance T.
• Cutover Test
• User Acceptance
Test
Deploy
• Dress Rehearsal
• Go-Live
Operate
• Monitor
• Support
• Continuous
Improvement
Introduction
Holistic View on Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy
Elements of Software Change Management Strategy
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 5
Introduction
IT objectives for Software Change Management
IT objectives for Software Change Management
 Typical IT objectives for Software Change Management are:
– Quality of service – Minimizing failure of changes, service degradation, and unplanned outages
– Speed of deployment – Reducing the time to implement support for a new business requirement or a fix into
production systems
– Reasonable IT cost – Minimizing IT cost without compromising quality of service
– Keeping technology up-to-date – Ensuring that infrastructure and software are up-to-date enough to enable
innovation and guarantee support from the vendors
 The importance of the different objectives is different
– from customer to customer
– from solution to solution within a customer,
based on the individual requirements (criticality of the system), and the amount of changes
expected for the solution (new vs. mature solution, small vs. large customer, etc.).
 So there is no “one size fits all” for Software Change Management processes and supporting
tools and transport landscape.
Elements of a Software Change Management
Strategy
Release Management
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7
Release Management
Motivation
Concept of Release Management: Bundling of Changes
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8
Release Management
Motivation
Motivation: Why should changes be bundled into releases?
 A release is the collection of software, processes and documentation which is required to
implement one or multiple approved changes. Such a release is then treated as single piece
when it comes to testing and deployment.
 A release may contain one or many projects.
– In a release with multiple projects, all projects must align
when the Release enters or exits a quality gate or
major milestone.
 Benefits of managing changes in releases:
– Clear promise to the business of what goes live when.
– Increased stability of production because frequency of
changes to production is reduced and solid testing for the
releases done
– Lower cost (people and systems) and
more simplified testing process using common regression and integration testing for several projects /
changes in one run
– Reduced risk of inconsistencies for example due to "forgotten transports" or sequence violations
– Reduced administration efforts for transport management as all projects move from one phase to
another at a single point in time
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9
Release Management
Release Categories
Release Categories differ in test effort/duration and therefore in scope/level of
changes that can be included in such a release
Major
Release
Minor
Rel.
Minor
Rel.
Emergency Changes
Standard Changes
Go Live
Cycle
Change Request
Categories
included
Change
Request
Priorities
included
Test Strategy Examples
Every
3 - 6 months
All types of
changes
including invasive
changes
Normal
Priority
Complete test scope
New (major) functions,
Support /
Enhancement
Packages,
Upgrades
Every
1 - 4 weeks
Non-invasive
changes
(+ Re-Import of
Emergency
Changes)
Normal
Priority
New features +
Regressions for core
processes
(automated tests)
Non-critical
configuration, medium
or low priority incidents
Every
1 – 7 days
Standard changes
only (non invasive ,
low risk and impact
well known)
Normal
Priority
Test identified in pre-
approval.
Regressions for core
processes
(automated tests)
Already approved
changes e.g. storage
locations, currency
exchange rates
On Request
only
Emergency only
Emergency
only
Regressions for core
processes
(automated tests)
Any changes to solve
high priority incidents
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10
Release Management
Release Categories
The test strategies (scope, effort and duration) are different per release
category according to the level of changes.
Major
Release
Minor
Rel.
Minor
Rel.
Emergency Changes
Standard Changes
Unit
Test
Scenario
Integration
Test
User
Acceptance
Test
Regression
Tests
Performance
/ Load
Tests
Additional
Tests
(System, Cut-
over Tests)
Yes,
including code
inspector and
peer reviews
Yes
(important)
Yes
(usually
required for
sign off)
Yes (complete
regression
test)
Recommende
d (e.g. based
on outcome of
single activity
trace)
Potentially
(depending on
request)
Yes
(code
inspection and
peer reviews if
possible)
Yes
Yes
(per
correction/
change)
Recommende
d at least for
core
processes
No Usually no
Yes
(According to
standard
change
process)
No No No No No
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11
Release Management
Release Calendar (agreed with the Business)
Release Calendar
 After the release categories are defined, the releases are put into a central release calendar.
 Best Practice is to align the release go live dates across all SAP applications within an
environment (e.g. SAP ERP and SAP APO within a region).
 The release calendar needs to be aligned with the business on freeze periods, downtime
scheduling and frequency of shipment of changes.
 The release calendar should also include cut-of days, CAB meetings and testing periods.
Month
Calendar Year
Business requested system freeze
Minor
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Oct Nov Dec
Major
Sept
Minor MinorMinor Minor Minor Minor Minor Minor
Major
Business agreed planned downtimes
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 12
Release Management
Link of Change Request Management to Release Management
Change Requests
1) Break Fixes
2) New
requirements
3) Standard
changes
4) Business
enhancements
……..
……..
……..
Project
features
1)……
2) ….
3) …..
……..
x)…..
Requirements
Project
features
1)……
2) ….
3) …..
……..
x)…..
Non-business-driven
Requirements
1) OS/DB Patches
2) DB Reorg
3) …..
Requirements
Review
 Central categorization and prioritization of requirements
 Allocation of all change requests (and projects) to release categories based
on change categories and prioritization and other well-defined criteria
 Alignment to a specific releases and Go-Live dates for a change/project
Major
Release
Minor
Rel.
Minor
Rel.
Emergency Changes
Standard Changes
Release Categories
Elements of a Software Change Management
Strategy
Transport Landscapes
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 14
Transport Landscapes
Overview of Transport Landscapes
Overview of Transport Landscapes
 Find below typical transport landscapes used by SAP customers. A lot of variations of the
shown landscapes exist and could be suitable – based on the company’s requirements.
 In large enterprises, the 3-system landscape is generally not suitable given the expected
high amount of changes that needs to be processed.
Supports enterprises during initial implementation
and also production support where change volume is
low.
3-System
Landscape
To reduce risk and increase flexibility, an additional
testing instance is added.
PRE is a pristine testing environment where release
changes can be imported and tested in isolation.
4-System
Landscape
To further mitigate risk, a second development track
can be introduced to separate production support
from project development. Production in PSD,
projects in DEV track.
5-System
Landscape
Similar to the 4-tier landscape, an additional testing
instance can be added to the project landscape (and
potentially for the production support track) to isolate
release changes and improve testing capabilities.
6-System
Landscape
DEV QAS PRD
DEV QAS PRDPRE
PSD PSQ PRD
DEV QAS
DEV QAS PRE
PSD PSQ PRD
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 15
Single track 3-System Transport Landscape
 Concept:
– All changes are created and unit tested in DEV.
– All major tests are done in QAS before transports are imported into PRD.
– Sandbox System can be added (temporarily) and used for prototyping of new functionality or initial testing
of disruptive changes such as maintenance. There should be no transport path between SBX and DEV.
 This landscape has lowest costs, but quality risks in case of high project activity/scope
– Overlapping projects with different release dates may be tested in parallel in QAS.
Testing environment does not represent PRD. Risk that change works in QAS, but not in PRD.
 The 3-tier landscape is best suited to those customers that have entered a mature production
support state, and need only to update production periodically with minor enhancements and
corrections.
 This scenario is not suited for testing multiple long running development projects as the ability
to isolate and test in a pristine environment is restricted to QAS where developments with
such a requirement would be in varying stages.
Transport Landscapes
Single track 3-System Transport Landscape
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 16
Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape
 Concept:
– All changes are managed in a single development system, incl. production support and project
development.
– All changes can be transported to QAS for integration testing. This system partially contains the changes
from the new release that currently is in development.
– PRE (=pre-production) provides a pristine environment where the next release can be isolated and tested.
That means that only changes released for the next release go to PRE – “staged testing”. Release and
regression testing is done in PRE
 This landscape is best practice for solutions with production support and development projects
of a medium scope.
 There are a number of very large customers who manage all changes – even larger projects –
through this environment. Pre-requisites are a very mature organization and very mature
software change management processes.
– Some of these customers even execute SAP maintenance events in this landscape, whereas others use a
temporary dual track landscape consisting of a project DEV and QAS for maintenance events.
Transport Landscapes
Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape (1/2)
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 17
Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape – Illustration of Staged Testing
 Example of Staged Testing:
– 4 parallel projects in DEV, with only RED project going live with the next business release
 Steps:
1. In DEV there are 4 separate independent projects.
2. At various stages 3 of the 4 projects are transported to QAS to start various testing scenarios.
3. Prior to the net release window PRD should be copied into PRE.
4. You then transport the RED project into PRE, conduct the necessary final regression and user acceptance
testing. Any potential dependencies / handshaking defects the RED project may have with any of the other
developments can only assuredly be detected during qualified and isolated testing in PRE.
5. After successful testing in PRE, you can transport the RED project to production.
Transport Landscapes
Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape (2/2)
1
2
3
4 5
Soft Freeze for
Regression testing
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 18
Dual Track Transport Landscape – Overview
 Concept:
– One set for production support and smaller projects: PSD, PSQ, PSP (optional)
– One set for major project development: DEV, QAS, PRE (required if multiple projects with different release dates)
– Changes in PSD are retrofitted to DEV periodically (ideally using Solution Manager ChaRM)
– Ideally the transport landscape is the same for all systems in an SAP solution. In case of a temporary project development
track for individual systems only, concept for early integration test needs to be worked out.
– More than one project development track is generally not recommended.
 This landscape is a good option in case of large projects as it allows for segregation of production support
and development tasks and its personnel, thus for safe and fast production support at all times.
 However, this landscape is not a must-have in case of large developments for a landscape. In the end it
becomes a costs/benefits discussion, as the additional costs are quite high with multiple applications. For
some customers it may only be suited as a temporary landscape for maintenance, if at all.
– Benefits: A dual track transport landscape can help mitigate risks for production from project development, e.g. if the
solution is still in full roll-out mode, there are different organizations with different skills involved, a lot of invasive transports
are expected or there is high risk sensitivity in the company or for the particular solution.
Transport Landscapes
Dual Track Transport Landscape (1/3)
Production Support
Project Development
Retrofit
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 19
Transport Landscapes
Dual Track Transport Landscape (2/3)
Production Support
Project Development
Retrofit
Refresh
from PRD
Regression testing
w/o impact on
production support
Dual Track Transport Landscape with 6 systems – Illustration of Staged Testing
 Example of Staged Testing:
– 4 parallel projects in DEV, with only RED project going live with the next business release
 Steps:
1. In DEV there are 4 separate independent projects, plus potentially a project in early phases in SBX.
2. At various stages 3 of the 4 projects are transported to QAS to start various testing scenarios.
3. Prior to the net release window PRD should be copied into PRE.
4. You then transport the RED project into PRE, conduct the necessary final regression and user acceptance
testing. Any potential dependencies / handshaking defects the RED project may have with any of the other
developments can only assuredly be detected during qualified and isolated testing in PRE.
5. After successful testing in PRE, you can cut-over the RED project to production.
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 20
Cut-Over Options PRO CON
1. Option:
PRE  PSD
(or QAS  PSD if PRE does not exist)
 Single source of developments for production, i.e.
all changes (project and correction) arrive in PRD
systems from PSD system.
 Opportunity to build new transport packages in PSD
system in order to improve import runtime, e.g. re-
packaging original transports and by that achieve
that an object is only transported once.
 This option is the standard configuration in SAP
Solution Manager ChaRM.
 PSD system not available for production support
during time of re-packaging and testing of the
project developments in Pre-Prod systems.
 In case of “Virtual Single Instance” (multiple PRD
with single PSD/DEV): very limited possibility to
deploy new projects to different PRDs at different
points in time, as production support for remaining
PRD systems may not be possible in PSD
anymore.
2. Option:
PRE  PRD
(or QAS  PRD if PRE does not exist)
 End-to-end support for development and production
support during project test and cut-over
 Potentially more hardware required to run
regression tests in project and production support
environment (both PSQ and QAS have to meet test
data requirements)
3. Option: Track Switch
(using DEVQASPRE after project go
live for production support and build new
DEV2QAS2PRE2 for project
development, e.g. reusing
PSD/PSQ/PSP)
 Easier go live from a single project perspective  All open developments and change history in PSD
are lost after go live.
 Challenges in Solution Manager if system role
changes.
 Challenges in test systems if only certain
applications switch tracks (integration, data with
LOGSYS in key).
Transport Landscapes
Dual Track Transport Landscape (3/3)
Options for Project Cut-Over in case of a permanent Dual Track Landscape
Generally not recommended
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 21
The Pre-Production System
• The pre-production system (PRE respective PSP on the previous slides) is the environment
the regression test, technical system tests of infrastructure changes and final integration
tests.
• The pre-production systems should represent the status in the production systems with
respect to technical architecture (e.g. HA setup), data and transport. In particular, it means
that the pre-production systems must not be “corrupted” with new functionality or new
maintenance packages until the appropriate time (ideally as close to go-live as possible). It
also means that the pre-production system should be regularly refreshed from production, if
possible.
• However, the pre-production system does not have to have the same size as the production
system. Primarily the set-up should be similar, i.e. multiple dialog instances.
• The quality assurance system (QAS respective PSQ on the previous slides) is used as a
testing environment for integration tests and unit tests. This system partially contains the
changes from the new release that currently is in development. Therefore regression tests in
the quality assurance system, e.g. for emergency changes, may not detect issues or detect
“false positives”.
Transport Landscapes
System Role of the Pre-Production System
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 22
Transport Landscapes
Suggested Sizes of the Systems in the Transport Landscape
Suggested Sizes of the Systems
 Explanation of T-Shirt Sizes in table above:
High Availability
solution in place
CPU and RAM Size –
compared to PRD
DataVolume –
compared to PRD
S no small Small
M yes medium 100% of PRD
L yes 100% of PRD 100% of PRD
S M L
3-system
landscape
DEV QAS PRD
4-system
landscape
DEV, QAS PRE PRD
5-system
landscape
PSD, PSQ,
DEV QAS
PRD
6-system
landscape
PSD, PSQ,
DEV, QAS PRE
PRD
(PRE)
DEV QAS PRD
DEV QAS PRDPRE
PSD PSQ PRD
DEV QAS
DEV QAS PRE
PSD PSQ PRD
Elements of a Software Change Management
Strategy
Transport Landscapes for
Template Management
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 24
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Landscape Strategies to achieve Process Harmonization
Level of process harmonization depends on the Non-production Systems
1. Virtual Single Instance
Single DEV PRD 1
PRD 2
2. Template + Multiple Dev. Systems
Common DEV PRD1
PRD 2
L-DEV 1
L-DEV2
3. Multiple Dev. Systems
PRD 1
PRD 2
DEV 1
DEV 2
 Harmonization across systems – same
as with single instance
 All localization in central system
 Harmonization across systems for
common processes
 Localization in the multiple systems
 Very complex model in practice
 Autonomy of the systems
 Harmonization across systems by
information sharing (“paper-based”)
0. Single Instance
Single DEV PRD
 Harmonization across all tenants
 All localization in central system
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 25
Best Practice Options for Template Dev. with multiple Production Systems
(1) Virtual Single Instance
 all PRD systems share the same code and configuration
(2) Template DEV + localization DEV systems
 PRD systems differ in terms of localization code/configuration
(3) Central DEV system with separate clients per PRD system
 PRD systems share the same code, but differ in terms of localization configuration
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Overview of Landscapes
QAS
QAS
QAS
Client 001: Common
Client 010: PRD1
Client 020: PRD2
Client 010
Client 020
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 26
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
General Pre-Requisites for having a common DEV (1/2)
Minimum technical Pre-Requisites for the Production Systems
 If a DEV system is shared for multiple production systems (with or without additional DEV
systems for localizations), certain pre-requisites for the production systems have to be met:
– Same release, enhancement package, support package, country versions and legal packages
– Unicode compliance of all systems
– Same enterprise extensions and business functions activated – has business impact
 Temporarily, e.g. in case of an upgrade, the systems can deviate.
 If the system requirements cannot be met (e.g. flexibility on release levels needed by
production system), separate DEV systems on regional level are needed.
 The production systems can have different OS/DB than DEV, but with operational
complexities.
– For safe software change management, it is important that similar hardware and same OS/DB as in the
production system are used in the corresponding pre-production systems.
– And in case of different DB platforms, performance tests per DB platform are recommended. To support
such activities the pre-production system should be set up like the respective productive system.
– In operations with different platforms, there are differences, e.g. you cannot just reuse tools, procedures
and configuration settings between platforms. And there are differences when it comes to maintenance
tasks, e.g. SAP kernel patching, OS patching, VMware patching etc. This drives complexity in operations.
– If the DB platform is different on central DEV and test systems than in production, you cannot just use
backup restores from production for test system refreshes, but have to use export/imports instead.
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 27
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
General Pre-Requisites for having a common DEV (2/2)
Other Pre-Requisites
 If a DEV system is shared for multiple production systems (with or without additional DEV
systems for localizations), certain other pre-requisites for the production systems have to be
met:
– Common landscape track usages – retrofit / track switching
– Single release strategy and release calendar
– Global solution manager for change request management by ChaRM
– Strategy for transport landscape and processes for related applications/systems (e.g. SAP APO)
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 28
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Option (1): Virtual Single Instance
Option (1): Virtual Single Instance
Explanation:
 Single development system, independent of the number of production systems.
 All localizations done in central development system, always hitting all production systems at
more or less the same time.
 Result: all production systems share the same code and configuration
 Project landscape can be added.
Considerations:
 Single development system is easiest way to achieve harmonized processes.
– One development system easier to control
– Risk minimized for getting out-of-sync
– Psychological effects of a single system
 In case a strong template is desired: strong governance is needed nevertheless to protect the
global processes. Otherwise proliferation of process variants can happen in this option.
QAS
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 29
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Option (1): Virtual Single Instance – Software Change Flexibility
Software Change Management Flexibility in Virtual Single Instance
 Main principle: Production systems should be kept in sync as there is only a single
development system for support.
 For speed for changes and downtime planning this model allows for more flexibility in
comparison to a single production system, but the flexibility is limited in the following sense:
– Single changes (in particular “emergency” transports) can be transported to a single PRD system first, but
should be regression tested and imported to all production systems with the next minor release (e.g.
weekly).
– Medium/major business releases should be imported to all production systems within a few days, ideally
within a weekend..
– Upgrades (or other major changes for which a project landscape is needed) can be done – if required – at
different consecutive weekends using the project landscape or the QAS-PRE landscape temporarily for
production support (of course with the respective limited support and extra retrofit effort).
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 30
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Option (2): Common + Localization DEV Systems (1/2)
Option (2): Template DEV + localization DEV systems
Explanation:
 All common processes are developed as a template in the central development system and protected
against changes in the localization L-DEV systems (e.g. using BC-sets and authorization on development
classes)
 All localizations done in L-DEV systems, only hitting the respective productive system.
 Result: PRD systems share the same code and common configuration, but differ in terms of localization
configuration.
 Project landscape can be added
Considerations:
 Tools support the protection of the template (e.g. BC-Sets, authorization concepts), nevertheless quite
sophisticated governance process needed to avoid “too much localization”. Ideally only one development
team for common and local objects to avoid too much autonomy in the L-DEV systems.
 Quite complex transport patch and – in case of dual track – very complex retrofit process.
 Advantage that independent project schedules and downtimes per production system possible.
 Advantage that only selective configuration hits the production system.
QAS
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 31
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Option (2): Common + Localization DEV Systems (2/2)
Keeping the Balance: Flexibility vs. Effort/Risk
 The landscape can be used in very different ways and for different template cases, e.g. 95%
template or partial 20% template.
 This landscape has built-in flexibility for change on the regional level, e.g. in case a correction
is urgently needed in one of the PRDs, this could be done in the respective L-DEV.
 However this can partially also be achieved with a single DEV (e.g. cherry-picking of
transports).
 And all flexibility on the L-DEVs comes with additional effort/costs and risks of inconsistencies:
– “Short-cuts” by implementing things first in one of the L-DEVs can lead to long-term inconsistencies. A solid
process of how to retrofit those changes back in DEV is required.
– The more flexibility on the regional level is allowed, the more complex is the overall process (governance of
the template, potential conflicts with the template / adoption of the template).
– If flexibility for upgrades is needed per track, the template DEV has to be maintained in multiple version.
 So generally, companies who want a strong template do all major developments and all
corrections relevant for all PRDs only in DEV.
QAS
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 32
Option (3): Central DEV system with separate clients per PRD system
Explanation:
 There is only one DEV system, but different clients are used for configuration for each PRD system.
 Code and client-independent configuration is developed in client 001 and transported to all PRD systems.
 Common client-dependent configuration is developed as a template in client 001 and copied to clients 010
and 020 in DEV where the localization happens. Configuration is then transported to the respective PRD
system (e.g. DEV client 010 to PRD 1 client 10).
 Of course, each PRD system only has a single client.
 Result: PRD systems share the same code and common configuration, but differ in terms of localization
configuration.
Implications and risks for operations:
 Transport execution is significantly more complex.
 Risk of inconsistencies for developments (configuration and code have to arrive at the same time.)
 Not having identical PRDs can lead to issues, in particular for “cherry-picked” transports, e.g. unexpected
failure situations because of dependencies to/from cross-client customizing and coding possible.
 Problem solving is more difficult (they first need to understand the differences in a given system).
Transport Landscapes for Template Management
Option (3): Global DEV system with separate clients
QAS
Client 001: Common
Client 010: PRD1
Client 020: PRD2
Client 010
Client 020
Elements of a Software Change Management
Strategy
SAP MaxAttention
IT Planning Offering
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 34
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning
“Strategic” services for Software Change Management
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning: Topics
 SAP Production System Strategy, i.e. number, size and location of production systems
 SAP Software Change Management
 SAP Technical Architecture, i.e. type of hardware, number of application server per system,
HA/DR concept, virtualization concept, etc.
Example: SAP Software Change Management
 Onsite Review of software change management processes at the customer
 Comparison to Best Practices
 Identification of improvement points
 Result: Report with concrete recommendations for software change management
improvement points
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 35
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning
Motivation (1/2)
Motivation
 Customer has the requirement to rollout new functionality for the foreseeable future, in
release waves, during which time the customer will also need to able to:
– Stabilize and isolate production from on-going development and maintenance risks
– Provide an environment which has the ability to handle multiple major projects in parallel, inclusive of
maintenance, and provides software change management governance
– Is capable of supporting business as usual requirements, such as, providing production with emergency
corrections, standard changes and minor enhancements
 Typical situations at SAP customers:
– Release Management processes, to manage complex requirements, are not in place.
– Project Management not optimized
o Projects are often treated as a release, and as such individual projects drive the landscape. This
leads to a landscape optimization/consolidation effort
o Project conflicts often lead to the deployment of a second development instance, separating the
projects, causing significant integration effort later
– Change Management / Transport Management and its governance not defined, causing errors in
production
o Transports in environments where they do not belong, at this point in time
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 36
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning
Motivation (2/2)
Motivation
 Most of these situations drive the customer questions:
– Are my software change management processes optimized?
– What are the software change management Best Practices?
– How to follow a fixed release calendar and still provide flexibility to the business units?
– How to manage multiple projects in parallel?
o How to manage object conflicts?
– How to govern change, their transports, and adequately test the change?
– Is the landscape optimized?
o What are the landscape best practices?
o How are other customers managing their software change management requirements and their
landscapes?
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 37
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning
Overview of IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service
At a Glance: IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service
 The IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy service …
– is a service exclusively delivered for SAP MaxAttention customers.
– helps customers to
o understand the benefits of proper software change management in general,
o understand how release management can ensure the quality of production software,
o understand how multiple projects can be developed, tested and deployed in parallel,
o ensure the fundamental change categories and prioritization are in place,
o evaluate transport landscape options and its usage to ensure it can manage the software change
management requirements.
– minimizes future risks and reduces costs of the future SAP landscape – for a relatively low investment
 The IT Planning team has experience with software change management and its transport
landscape requirements – from jointly working with SAP MaxAttention customers around the
world.
© 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 38
SAP MaxAttention IT Planning
Details for the IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service
Approach of the IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service
 Onsite Workshop (typically 2-3 days):
– Understand the customer’s Software Change Management situation
o What is the customer situation (change volume, types of changes, time for realization of
enhancements, downtime requirements, ….)?
o What is the situation today? What are important boundary conditions?
o What will change in the future? What are new requirements
– Review of the overall Software Change Management concept.
o Does it effectively support the requirements of the customer?
o Is it in line with best practices?
– Review of the transport landscape
o What is the concept behind the current transport landscape? How did it evolve, what were driving
factors?
o Does it support the processes effectively?
o Is it in line with best practices?
o How does it compare to the landscapes used by other companies?
 Remote creation of Final Report:
– Documentation of the findings and recommendations for improvement from the workshop
 Result: Final Report (ppt-format) – delivered typically one week after the workshop
Thank You!
IT Planning
SAP Active Global Support

More Related Content

What's hot

SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
SAP ChaRM and Retrofit SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
Mark Hansraj
 
Sap s 4 hana client strategy
Sap s 4 hana client strategySap s 4 hana client strategy
Sap s 4 hana client strategy
ssuser017e8f
 
SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
SAP S/4HANA Migration CockpitSAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
Edwin Weijers
 
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview final
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview finalSolution Manager 7.2 Overview final
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview final
Deb Martina
 
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activateS4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
Lokesh Modem
 
Sap Upgrade Project Brief
Sap Upgrade Project BriefSap Upgrade Project Brief
Sap Upgrade Project Briefvpallapothu
 
Sap Change And Transport Management
Sap Change And Transport ManagementSap Change And Transport Management
Sap Change And Transport Management
Ravi Jain
 
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANABuilding the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
Bluefin Solutions
 
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA CloudSAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Benedict Yong (杨腾翔)
 
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENT
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENTSUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENT
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENTAlpha Sirius
 
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management) SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
anjalirao366
 
Introduction Into SAP Fiori
Introduction Into SAP FioriIntroduction Into SAP Fiori
Introduction Into SAP Fiori
Blackvard
 
SAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
SAP ECC to S/4HANA MoveSAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
SAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
AGSanePLDTCompany
 
SAP System copy
SAP System copySAP System copy
SAP System copy
ashish_bbd
 
Sap S/4 HANA New Implementation
Sap S/4 HANA New ImplementationSap S/4 HANA New Implementation
Sap S/4 HANA New Implementation
Soumya De
 
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and RecoverySAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
SAP Technology
 
Sap Implementation Presentation
Sap Implementation PresentationSap Implementation Presentation
Sap Implementation Presentation
larrymcc
 
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANARoadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Absoft Limited
 
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver OverviewUnified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
SAP Technology
 

What's hot (20)

SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
SAP ChaRM and Retrofit SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
SAP ChaRM and Retrofit
 
Sap s 4 hana client strategy
Sap s 4 hana client strategySap s 4 hana client strategy
Sap s 4 hana client strategy
 
SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
SAP S/4HANA Migration CockpitSAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit
 
Fiori Presentation
Fiori PresentationFiori Presentation
Fiori Presentation
 
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview final
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview finalSolution Manager 7.2 Overview final
Solution Manager 7.2 Overview final
 
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activateS4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
S4 h 188 sap s4hana cloud implementation with sap activate
 
Sap Upgrade Project Brief
Sap Upgrade Project BriefSap Upgrade Project Brief
Sap Upgrade Project Brief
 
Sap Change And Transport Management
Sap Change And Transport ManagementSap Change And Transport Management
Sap Change And Transport Management
 
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANABuilding the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
Building the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA
 
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA CloudSAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
 
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENT
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENTSUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENT
SUCCESSFUL CHARM IMPLEMENTATION IN A VALIDATED ENVIRONMENT
 
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management) SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
SAP ChaRM (Change Request Management)
 
Introduction Into SAP Fiori
Introduction Into SAP FioriIntroduction Into SAP Fiori
Introduction Into SAP Fiori
 
SAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
SAP ECC to S/4HANA MoveSAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
SAP ECC to S/4HANA Move
 
SAP System copy
SAP System copySAP System copy
SAP System copy
 
Sap S/4 HANA New Implementation
Sap S/4 HANA New ImplementationSap S/4 HANA New Implementation
Sap S/4 HANA New Implementation
 
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and RecoverySAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
SAP HANA SPS09 - Backup and Recovery
 
Sap Implementation Presentation
Sap Implementation PresentationSap Implementation Presentation
Sap Implementation Presentation
 
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANARoadmap to SAP S/4HANA
Roadmap to SAP S/4HANA
 
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver OverviewUnified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
Unified Connectivity (UCON) for SAP NetWeaver Overview
 

Similar to BestPractices_SoftwareChangeMgmt

GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.pptGV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
CarlosRodriguez703287
 
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
Bernhard Luecke
 
ERP Training
ERP TrainingERP Training
ERP Training
Soumya De
 
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdfASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
mail2cnivas1
 
Focused build overview
Focused build overviewFocused build overview
Focused build overview
ANNAMALAI VELMURUGAN
 
Realtech assessment services combined slides final
Realtech assessment services combined slides finalRealtech assessment services combined slides final
Realtech assessment services combined slides final
Carly Shank
 
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAPEverything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
Worksoft
 
R12 Up Grade
R12 Up GradeR12 Up Grade
R12 Up Grade
Jody5802
 
R12 Up Grade
R12 Up GradeR12 Up Grade
R12 Up GradeJody5802
 
Development Best Practices
Development Best PracticesDevelopment Best Practices
Development Best Practices
Salesforce Partners
 
Introduction to ERP Concept
Introduction to ERP ConceptIntroduction to ERP Concept
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP ProjectsProcess-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
Software AG
 
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013 landscape implementation
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013  landscape implementationPlanning guide sap business suite 7 2013  landscape implementation
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013 landscape implementationLeonardo Parpal Roig
 
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
ennVee TechnoGroup Inc
 
Configuration Managment Powerpoint
Configuration Managment PowerpointConfiguration Managment Powerpoint
Configuration Managment PowerpointJeannine Jacobs, MS
 
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change ManagementWebinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
Panaya
 

Similar to BestPractices_SoftwareChangeMgmt (20)

GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.pptGV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
GV2-TM-CM-PR-Cutover Strategy Template-V1.ppt
 
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
SAP Active Global Support - Support for Innovation - Quality Assurance at Cus...
 
Developer want change Ops want control - devops
Developer want change Ops want control - devopsDeveloper want change Ops want control - devops
Developer want change Ops want control - devops
 
ERP Training
ERP TrainingERP Training
ERP Training
 
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdfASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
ASAP Methodology Roadmaps and Phases.pdf
 
I
II
I
 
Focused build overview
Focused build overviewFocused build overview
Focused build overview
 
Realtech assessment services combined slides final
Realtech assessment services combined slides finalRealtech assessment services combined slides final
Realtech assessment services combined slides final
 
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAPEverything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
Everything You Need to Build a Risk-Based Testing Strategy for SAP
 
R12 Up Grade
R12 Up GradeR12 Up Grade
R12 Up Grade
 
R12 Up Grade
R12 Up GradeR12 Up Grade
R12 Up Grade
 
Development Best Practices
Development Best PracticesDevelopment Best Practices
Development Best Practices
 
Software Development Life Cycle Part II
Software Development Life Cycle Part IISoftware Development Life Cycle Part II
Software Development Life Cycle Part II
 
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
 
Introduction to ERP Concept
Introduction to ERP ConceptIntroduction to ERP Concept
Introduction to ERP Concept
 
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP ProjectsProcess-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
Process-Driven SAP Management for successful SAP Projects
 
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013 landscape implementation
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013  landscape implementationPlanning guide sap business suite 7 2013  landscape implementation
Planning guide sap business suite 7 2013 landscape implementation
 
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
GLOC 2018: Automation or How We Eliminated Manual EBS R12.2 Upgrades and Beca...
 
Configuration Managment Powerpoint
Configuration Managment PowerpointConfiguration Managment Powerpoint
Configuration Managment Powerpoint
 
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change ManagementWebinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
Webinar: Gartner Predicts New Challenges of SAP Change Management
 

BestPractices_SoftwareChangeMgmt

  • 1. Software Change Management Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy SAP AGS - IT Planning May 2013
  • 2. Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy Introduction
  • 3. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 3 Introduction Software Change Management is a key operations process Software Change Management is a key operations process  Enterprise change is continuous: Go to market strategies, regulatory compliance, manufacturing innovations and technology upgrades are a few of the drivers that are fueling continual change.  Enterprises need to be prepared for continual change to remain competitive and compliant – in a consistent cyclic and re-occurring manner.  Software Change Management is a key operations process for an SAP system.  A good Software Change Management strategy includes – the definition of procedures and responsibilities, – and the choice of supporting tools and transport landscape.  When implemented correctly, Software Change Management will – mitigate the risks to production – whilst enabling innovation to support the needs of the business.
  • 4. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 4 Requirements Management Transport Management Test Management Release Management Change Request Management Requirements • Input Channels • Prioritization • Classification Design • Blueprint • Level of Effort Estimate • Release Assignment Build • Resource Assignment • Develop • Unit Test Test • Integration Test • Regression Test • Performance T. • Cutover Test • User Acceptance Test Deploy • Dress Rehearsal • Go-Live Operate • Monitor • Support • Continuous Improvement Introduction Holistic View on Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy Elements of Software Change Management Strategy
  • 5. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 5 Introduction IT objectives for Software Change Management IT objectives for Software Change Management  Typical IT objectives for Software Change Management are: – Quality of service – Minimizing failure of changes, service degradation, and unplanned outages – Speed of deployment – Reducing the time to implement support for a new business requirement or a fix into production systems – Reasonable IT cost – Minimizing IT cost without compromising quality of service – Keeping technology up-to-date – Ensuring that infrastructure and software are up-to-date enough to enable innovation and guarantee support from the vendors  The importance of the different objectives is different – from customer to customer – from solution to solution within a customer, based on the individual requirements (criticality of the system), and the amount of changes expected for the solution (new vs. mature solution, small vs. large customer, etc.).  So there is no “one size fits all” for Software Change Management processes and supporting tools and transport landscape.
  • 6. Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy Release Management
  • 7. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7 Release Management Motivation Concept of Release Management: Bundling of Changes
  • 8. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8 Release Management Motivation Motivation: Why should changes be bundled into releases?  A release is the collection of software, processes and documentation which is required to implement one or multiple approved changes. Such a release is then treated as single piece when it comes to testing and deployment.  A release may contain one or many projects. – In a release with multiple projects, all projects must align when the Release enters or exits a quality gate or major milestone.  Benefits of managing changes in releases: – Clear promise to the business of what goes live when. – Increased stability of production because frequency of changes to production is reduced and solid testing for the releases done – Lower cost (people and systems) and more simplified testing process using common regression and integration testing for several projects / changes in one run – Reduced risk of inconsistencies for example due to "forgotten transports" or sequence violations – Reduced administration efforts for transport management as all projects move from one phase to another at a single point in time
  • 9. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9 Release Management Release Categories Release Categories differ in test effort/duration and therefore in scope/level of changes that can be included in such a release Major Release Minor Rel. Minor Rel. Emergency Changes Standard Changes Go Live Cycle Change Request Categories included Change Request Priorities included Test Strategy Examples Every 3 - 6 months All types of changes including invasive changes Normal Priority Complete test scope New (major) functions, Support / Enhancement Packages, Upgrades Every 1 - 4 weeks Non-invasive changes (+ Re-Import of Emergency Changes) Normal Priority New features + Regressions for core processes (automated tests) Non-critical configuration, medium or low priority incidents Every 1 – 7 days Standard changes only (non invasive , low risk and impact well known) Normal Priority Test identified in pre- approval. Regressions for core processes (automated tests) Already approved changes e.g. storage locations, currency exchange rates On Request only Emergency only Emergency only Regressions for core processes (automated tests) Any changes to solve high priority incidents
  • 10. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 10 Release Management Release Categories The test strategies (scope, effort and duration) are different per release category according to the level of changes. Major Release Minor Rel. Minor Rel. Emergency Changes Standard Changes Unit Test Scenario Integration Test User Acceptance Test Regression Tests Performance / Load Tests Additional Tests (System, Cut- over Tests) Yes, including code inspector and peer reviews Yes (important) Yes (usually required for sign off) Yes (complete regression test) Recommende d (e.g. based on outcome of single activity trace) Potentially (depending on request) Yes (code inspection and peer reviews if possible) Yes Yes (per correction/ change) Recommende d at least for core processes No Usually no Yes (According to standard change process) No No No No No
  • 11. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 11 Release Management Release Calendar (agreed with the Business) Release Calendar  After the release categories are defined, the releases are put into a central release calendar.  Best Practice is to align the release go live dates across all SAP applications within an environment (e.g. SAP ERP and SAP APO within a region).  The release calendar needs to be aligned with the business on freeze periods, downtime scheduling and frequency of shipment of changes.  The release calendar should also include cut-of days, CAB meetings and testing periods. Month Calendar Year Business requested system freeze Minor Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Oct Nov Dec Major Sept Minor MinorMinor Minor Minor Minor Minor Minor Major Business agreed planned downtimes
  • 12. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 12 Release Management Link of Change Request Management to Release Management Change Requests 1) Break Fixes 2) New requirements 3) Standard changes 4) Business enhancements …….. …….. …….. Project features 1)…… 2) …. 3) ….. …….. x)….. Requirements Project features 1)…… 2) …. 3) ….. …….. x)….. Non-business-driven Requirements 1) OS/DB Patches 2) DB Reorg 3) ….. Requirements Review  Central categorization and prioritization of requirements  Allocation of all change requests (and projects) to release categories based on change categories and prioritization and other well-defined criteria  Alignment to a specific releases and Go-Live dates for a change/project Major Release Minor Rel. Minor Rel. Emergency Changes Standard Changes Release Categories
  • 13. Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy Transport Landscapes
  • 14. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 14 Transport Landscapes Overview of Transport Landscapes Overview of Transport Landscapes  Find below typical transport landscapes used by SAP customers. A lot of variations of the shown landscapes exist and could be suitable – based on the company’s requirements.  In large enterprises, the 3-system landscape is generally not suitable given the expected high amount of changes that needs to be processed. Supports enterprises during initial implementation and also production support where change volume is low. 3-System Landscape To reduce risk and increase flexibility, an additional testing instance is added. PRE is a pristine testing environment where release changes can be imported and tested in isolation. 4-System Landscape To further mitigate risk, a second development track can be introduced to separate production support from project development. Production in PSD, projects in DEV track. 5-System Landscape Similar to the 4-tier landscape, an additional testing instance can be added to the project landscape (and potentially for the production support track) to isolate release changes and improve testing capabilities. 6-System Landscape DEV QAS PRD DEV QAS PRDPRE PSD PSQ PRD DEV QAS DEV QAS PRE PSD PSQ PRD
  • 15. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 15 Single track 3-System Transport Landscape  Concept: – All changes are created and unit tested in DEV. – All major tests are done in QAS before transports are imported into PRD. – Sandbox System can be added (temporarily) and used for prototyping of new functionality or initial testing of disruptive changes such as maintenance. There should be no transport path between SBX and DEV.  This landscape has lowest costs, but quality risks in case of high project activity/scope – Overlapping projects with different release dates may be tested in parallel in QAS. Testing environment does not represent PRD. Risk that change works in QAS, but not in PRD.  The 3-tier landscape is best suited to those customers that have entered a mature production support state, and need only to update production periodically with minor enhancements and corrections.  This scenario is not suited for testing multiple long running development projects as the ability to isolate and test in a pristine environment is restricted to QAS where developments with such a requirement would be in varying stages. Transport Landscapes Single track 3-System Transport Landscape
  • 16. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 16 Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape  Concept: – All changes are managed in a single development system, incl. production support and project development. – All changes can be transported to QAS for integration testing. This system partially contains the changes from the new release that currently is in development. – PRE (=pre-production) provides a pristine environment where the next release can be isolated and tested. That means that only changes released for the next release go to PRE – “staged testing”. Release and regression testing is done in PRE  This landscape is best practice for solutions with production support and development projects of a medium scope.  There are a number of very large customers who manage all changes – even larger projects – through this environment. Pre-requisites are a very mature organization and very mature software change management processes. – Some of these customers even execute SAP maintenance events in this landscape, whereas others use a temporary dual track landscape consisting of a project DEV and QAS for maintenance events. Transport Landscapes Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape (1/2)
  • 17. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 17 Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape – Illustration of Staged Testing  Example of Staged Testing: – 4 parallel projects in DEV, with only RED project going live with the next business release  Steps: 1. In DEV there are 4 separate independent projects. 2. At various stages 3 of the 4 projects are transported to QAS to start various testing scenarios. 3. Prior to the net release window PRD should be copied into PRE. 4. You then transport the RED project into PRE, conduct the necessary final regression and user acceptance testing. Any potential dependencies / handshaking defects the RED project may have with any of the other developments can only assuredly be detected during qualified and isolated testing in PRE. 5. After successful testing in PRE, you can transport the RED project to production. Transport Landscapes Single Track 4-System Transport Landscape (2/2) 1 2 3 4 5 Soft Freeze for Regression testing
  • 18. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 18 Dual Track Transport Landscape – Overview  Concept: – One set for production support and smaller projects: PSD, PSQ, PSP (optional) – One set for major project development: DEV, QAS, PRE (required if multiple projects with different release dates) – Changes in PSD are retrofitted to DEV periodically (ideally using Solution Manager ChaRM) – Ideally the transport landscape is the same for all systems in an SAP solution. In case of a temporary project development track for individual systems only, concept for early integration test needs to be worked out. – More than one project development track is generally not recommended.  This landscape is a good option in case of large projects as it allows for segregation of production support and development tasks and its personnel, thus for safe and fast production support at all times.  However, this landscape is not a must-have in case of large developments for a landscape. In the end it becomes a costs/benefits discussion, as the additional costs are quite high with multiple applications. For some customers it may only be suited as a temporary landscape for maintenance, if at all. – Benefits: A dual track transport landscape can help mitigate risks for production from project development, e.g. if the solution is still in full roll-out mode, there are different organizations with different skills involved, a lot of invasive transports are expected or there is high risk sensitivity in the company or for the particular solution. Transport Landscapes Dual Track Transport Landscape (1/3) Production Support Project Development Retrofit
  • 19. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 19 Transport Landscapes Dual Track Transport Landscape (2/3) Production Support Project Development Retrofit Refresh from PRD Regression testing w/o impact on production support Dual Track Transport Landscape with 6 systems – Illustration of Staged Testing  Example of Staged Testing: – 4 parallel projects in DEV, with only RED project going live with the next business release  Steps: 1. In DEV there are 4 separate independent projects, plus potentially a project in early phases in SBX. 2. At various stages 3 of the 4 projects are transported to QAS to start various testing scenarios. 3. Prior to the net release window PRD should be copied into PRE. 4. You then transport the RED project into PRE, conduct the necessary final regression and user acceptance testing. Any potential dependencies / handshaking defects the RED project may have with any of the other developments can only assuredly be detected during qualified and isolated testing in PRE. 5. After successful testing in PRE, you can cut-over the RED project to production.
  • 20. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 20 Cut-Over Options PRO CON 1. Option: PRE  PSD (or QAS  PSD if PRE does not exist)  Single source of developments for production, i.e. all changes (project and correction) arrive in PRD systems from PSD system.  Opportunity to build new transport packages in PSD system in order to improve import runtime, e.g. re- packaging original transports and by that achieve that an object is only transported once.  This option is the standard configuration in SAP Solution Manager ChaRM.  PSD system not available for production support during time of re-packaging and testing of the project developments in Pre-Prod systems.  In case of “Virtual Single Instance” (multiple PRD with single PSD/DEV): very limited possibility to deploy new projects to different PRDs at different points in time, as production support for remaining PRD systems may not be possible in PSD anymore. 2. Option: PRE  PRD (or QAS  PRD if PRE does not exist)  End-to-end support for development and production support during project test and cut-over  Potentially more hardware required to run regression tests in project and production support environment (both PSQ and QAS have to meet test data requirements) 3. Option: Track Switch (using DEVQASPRE after project go live for production support and build new DEV2QAS2PRE2 for project development, e.g. reusing PSD/PSQ/PSP)  Easier go live from a single project perspective  All open developments and change history in PSD are lost after go live.  Challenges in Solution Manager if system role changes.  Challenges in test systems if only certain applications switch tracks (integration, data with LOGSYS in key). Transport Landscapes Dual Track Transport Landscape (3/3) Options for Project Cut-Over in case of a permanent Dual Track Landscape Generally not recommended
  • 21. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 21 The Pre-Production System • The pre-production system (PRE respective PSP on the previous slides) is the environment the regression test, technical system tests of infrastructure changes and final integration tests. • The pre-production systems should represent the status in the production systems with respect to technical architecture (e.g. HA setup), data and transport. In particular, it means that the pre-production systems must not be “corrupted” with new functionality or new maintenance packages until the appropriate time (ideally as close to go-live as possible). It also means that the pre-production system should be regularly refreshed from production, if possible. • However, the pre-production system does not have to have the same size as the production system. Primarily the set-up should be similar, i.e. multiple dialog instances. • The quality assurance system (QAS respective PSQ on the previous slides) is used as a testing environment for integration tests and unit tests. This system partially contains the changes from the new release that currently is in development. Therefore regression tests in the quality assurance system, e.g. for emergency changes, may not detect issues or detect “false positives”. Transport Landscapes System Role of the Pre-Production System
  • 22. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 22 Transport Landscapes Suggested Sizes of the Systems in the Transport Landscape Suggested Sizes of the Systems  Explanation of T-Shirt Sizes in table above: High Availability solution in place CPU and RAM Size – compared to PRD DataVolume – compared to PRD S no small Small M yes medium 100% of PRD L yes 100% of PRD 100% of PRD S M L 3-system landscape DEV QAS PRD 4-system landscape DEV, QAS PRE PRD 5-system landscape PSD, PSQ, DEV QAS PRD 6-system landscape PSD, PSQ, DEV, QAS PRE PRD (PRE) DEV QAS PRD DEV QAS PRDPRE PSD PSQ PRD DEV QAS DEV QAS PRE PSD PSQ PRD
  • 23. Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy Transport Landscapes for Template Management
  • 24. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 24 Transport Landscapes for Template Management Landscape Strategies to achieve Process Harmonization Level of process harmonization depends on the Non-production Systems 1. Virtual Single Instance Single DEV PRD 1 PRD 2 2. Template + Multiple Dev. Systems Common DEV PRD1 PRD 2 L-DEV 1 L-DEV2 3. Multiple Dev. Systems PRD 1 PRD 2 DEV 1 DEV 2  Harmonization across systems – same as with single instance  All localization in central system  Harmonization across systems for common processes  Localization in the multiple systems  Very complex model in practice  Autonomy of the systems  Harmonization across systems by information sharing (“paper-based”) 0. Single Instance Single DEV PRD  Harmonization across all tenants  All localization in central system
  • 25. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 25 Best Practice Options for Template Dev. with multiple Production Systems (1) Virtual Single Instance  all PRD systems share the same code and configuration (2) Template DEV + localization DEV systems  PRD systems differ in terms of localization code/configuration (3) Central DEV system with separate clients per PRD system  PRD systems share the same code, but differ in terms of localization configuration Transport Landscapes for Template Management Overview of Landscapes QAS QAS QAS Client 001: Common Client 010: PRD1 Client 020: PRD2 Client 010 Client 020
  • 26. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 26 Transport Landscapes for Template Management General Pre-Requisites for having a common DEV (1/2) Minimum technical Pre-Requisites for the Production Systems  If a DEV system is shared for multiple production systems (with or without additional DEV systems for localizations), certain pre-requisites for the production systems have to be met: – Same release, enhancement package, support package, country versions and legal packages – Unicode compliance of all systems – Same enterprise extensions and business functions activated – has business impact  Temporarily, e.g. in case of an upgrade, the systems can deviate.  If the system requirements cannot be met (e.g. flexibility on release levels needed by production system), separate DEV systems on regional level are needed.  The production systems can have different OS/DB than DEV, but with operational complexities. – For safe software change management, it is important that similar hardware and same OS/DB as in the production system are used in the corresponding pre-production systems. – And in case of different DB platforms, performance tests per DB platform are recommended. To support such activities the pre-production system should be set up like the respective productive system. – In operations with different platforms, there are differences, e.g. you cannot just reuse tools, procedures and configuration settings between platforms. And there are differences when it comes to maintenance tasks, e.g. SAP kernel patching, OS patching, VMware patching etc. This drives complexity in operations. – If the DB platform is different on central DEV and test systems than in production, you cannot just use backup restores from production for test system refreshes, but have to use export/imports instead.
  • 27. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 27 Transport Landscapes for Template Management General Pre-Requisites for having a common DEV (2/2) Other Pre-Requisites  If a DEV system is shared for multiple production systems (with or without additional DEV systems for localizations), certain other pre-requisites for the production systems have to be met: – Common landscape track usages – retrofit / track switching – Single release strategy and release calendar – Global solution manager for change request management by ChaRM – Strategy for transport landscape and processes for related applications/systems (e.g. SAP APO)
  • 28. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 28 Transport Landscapes for Template Management Option (1): Virtual Single Instance Option (1): Virtual Single Instance Explanation:  Single development system, independent of the number of production systems.  All localizations done in central development system, always hitting all production systems at more or less the same time.  Result: all production systems share the same code and configuration  Project landscape can be added. Considerations:  Single development system is easiest way to achieve harmonized processes. – One development system easier to control – Risk minimized for getting out-of-sync – Psychological effects of a single system  In case a strong template is desired: strong governance is needed nevertheless to protect the global processes. Otherwise proliferation of process variants can happen in this option. QAS
  • 29. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 29 Transport Landscapes for Template Management Option (1): Virtual Single Instance – Software Change Flexibility Software Change Management Flexibility in Virtual Single Instance  Main principle: Production systems should be kept in sync as there is only a single development system for support.  For speed for changes and downtime planning this model allows for more flexibility in comparison to a single production system, but the flexibility is limited in the following sense: – Single changes (in particular “emergency” transports) can be transported to a single PRD system first, but should be regression tested and imported to all production systems with the next minor release (e.g. weekly). – Medium/major business releases should be imported to all production systems within a few days, ideally within a weekend.. – Upgrades (or other major changes for which a project landscape is needed) can be done – if required – at different consecutive weekends using the project landscape or the QAS-PRE landscape temporarily for production support (of course with the respective limited support and extra retrofit effort).
  • 30. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 30 Transport Landscapes for Template Management Option (2): Common + Localization DEV Systems (1/2) Option (2): Template DEV + localization DEV systems Explanation:  All common processes are developed as a template in the central development system and protected against changes in the localization L-DEV systems (e.g. using BC-sets and authorization on development classes)  All localizations done in L-DEV systems, only hitting the respective productive system.  Result: PRD systems share the same code and common configuration, but differ in terms of localization configuration.  Project landscape can be added Considerations:  Tools support the protection of the template (e.g. BC-Sets, authorization concepts), nevertheless quite sophisticated governance process needed to avoid “too much localization”. Ideally only one development team for common and local objects to avoid too much autonomy in the L-DEV systems.  Quite complex transport patch and – in case of dual track – very complex retrofit process.  Advantage that independent project schedules and downtimes per production system possible.  Advantage that only selective configuration hits the production system. QAS
  • 31. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 31 Transport Landscapes for Template Management Option (2): Common + Localization DEV Systems (2/2) Keeping the Balance: Flexibility vs. Effort/Risk  The landscape can be used in very different ways and for different template cases, e.g. 95% template or partial 20% template.  This landscape has built-in flexibility for change on the regional level, e.g. in case a correction is urgently needed in one of the PRDs, this could be done in the respective L-DEV.  However this can partially also be achieved with a single DEV (e.g. cherry-picking of transports).  And all flexibility on the L-DEVs comes with additional effort/costs and risks of inconsistencies: – “Short-cuts” by implementing things first in one of the L-DEVs can lead to long-term inconsistencies. A solid process of how to retrofit those changes back in DEV is required. – The more flexibility on the regional level is allowed, the more complex is the overall process (governance of the template, potential conflicts with the template / adoption of the template). – If flexibility for upgrades is needed per track, the template DEV has to be maintained in multiple version.  So generally, companies who want a strong template do all major developments and all corrections relevant for all PRDs only in DEV. QAS
  • 32. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 32 Option (3): Central DEV system with separate clients per PRD system Explanation:  There is only one DEV system, but different clients are used for configuration for each PRD system.  Code and client-independent configuration is developed in client 001 and transported to all PRD systems.  Common client-dependent configuration is developed as a template in client 001 and copied to clients 010 and 020 in DEV where the localization happens. Configuration is then transported to the respective PRD system (e.g. DEV client 010 to PRD 1 client 10).  Of course, each PRD system only has a single client.  Result: PRD systems share the same code and common configuration, but differ in terms of localization configuration. Implications and risks for operations:  Transport execution is significantly more complex.  Risk of inconsistencies for developments (configuration and code have to arrive at the same time.)  Not having identical PRDs can lead to issues, in particular for “cherry-picked” transports, e.g. unexpected failure situations because of dependencies to/from cross-client customizing and coding possible.  Problem solving is more difficult (they first need to understand the differences in a given system). Transport Landscapes for Template Management Option (3): Global DEV system with separate clients QAS Client 001: Common Client 010: PRD1 Client 020: PRD2 Client 010 Client 020
  • 33. Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy SAP MaxAttention IT Planning Offering
  • 34. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 34 SAP MaxAttention IT Planning “Strategic” services for Software Change Management SAP MaxAttention IT Planning: Topics  SAP Production System Strategy, i.e. number, size and location of production systems  SAP Software Change Management  SAP Technical Architecture, i.e. type of hardware, number of application server per system, HA/DR concept, virtualization concept, etc. Example: SAP Software Change Management  Onsite Review of software change management processes at the customer  Comparison to Best Practices  Identification of improvement points  Result: Report with concrete recommendations for software change management improvement points
  • 35. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 35 SAP MaxAttention IT Planning Motivation (1/2) Motivation  Customer has the requirement to rollout new functionality for the foreseeable future, in release waves, during which time the customer will also need to able to: – Stabilize and isolate production from on-going development and maintenance risks – Provide an environment which has the ability to handle multiple major projects in parallel, inclusive of maintenance, and provides software change management governance – Is capable of supporting business as usual requirements, such as, providing production with emergency corrections, standard changes and minor enhancements  Typical situations at SAP customers: – Release Management processes, to manage complex requirements, are not in place. – Project Management not optimized o Projects are often treated as a release, and as such individual projects drive the landscape. This leads to a landscape optimization/consolidation effort o Project conflicts often lead to the deployment of a second development instance, separating the projects, causing significant integration effort later – Change Management / Transport Management and its governance not defined, causing errors in production o Transports in environments where they do not belong, at this point in time
  • 36. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 36 SAP MaxAttention IT Planning Motivation (2/2) Motivation  Most of these situations drive the customer questions: – Are my software change management processes optimized? – What are the software change management Best Practices? – How to follow a fixed release calendar and still provide flexibility to the business units? – How to manage multiple projects in parallel? o How to manage object conflicts? – How to govern change, their transports, and adequately test the change? – Is the landscape optimized? o What are the landscape best practices? o How are other customers managing their software change management requirements and their landscapes?
  • 37. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 37 SAP MaxAttention IT Planning Overview of IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service At a Glance: IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service  The IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy service … – is a service exclusively delivered for SAP MaxAttention customers. – helps customers to o understand the benefits of proper software change management in general, o understand how release management can ensure the quality of production software, o understand how multiple projects can be developed, tested and deployed in parallel, o ensure the fundamental change categories and prioritization are in place, o evaluate transport landscape options and its usage to ensure it can manage the software change management requirements. – minimizes future risks and reduces costs of the future SAP landscape – for a relatively low investment  The IT Planning team has experience with software change management and its transport landscape requirements – from jointly working with SAP MaxAttention customers around the world.
  • 38. © 2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 38 SAP MaxAttention IT Planning Details for the IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service Approach of the IT Planning Software Change Management Strategy Service  Onsite Workshop (typically 2-3 days): – Understand the customer’s Software Change Management situation o What is the customer situation (change volume, types of changes, time for realization of enhancements, downtime requirements, ….)? o What is the situation today? What are important boundary conditions? o What will change in the future? What are new requirements – Review of the overall Software Change Management concept. o Does it effectively support the requirements of the customer? o Is it in line with best practices? – Review of the transport landscape o What is the concept behind the current transport landscape? How did it evolve, what were driving factors? o Does it support the processes effectively? o Is it in line with best practices? o How does it compare to the landscapes used by other companies?  Remote creation of Final Report: – Documentation of the findings and recommendations for improvement from the workshop  Result: Final Report (ppt-format) – delivered typically one week after the workshop
  • 39. Thank You! IT Planning SAP Active Global Support