ChaRM implementation at Foodstuffs North Island - … Events...ChaRM - Overview • Change Request Management methodology provided by SAP with you SAP license • Is a part of SAP

November 24, 2015

ChaRM implementation at Foodstuffs North Island

NZSUG

• ChaRM Overview

• Reasons at FSNI to start the project

• Realisation Phase 1

• Pre-Production Scenario

• Lessons Learnt

• Going Forward with ChaRM at FSNI

Agenda

• ChaRM Overview




• Lessons Learnt


Agenda

ChaRM - Overview

• Change Request Management methodology provided by SAP

with you SAP license

• Is a part of SAP Solution Manager

• Uses the SAP CRM Web-UI as user interface (No SAP GUI

log on)

• Once activated it handles all transports and transport releases

ChaRM Brief - Overview



• ChaRM Overview




• Lessons Learnt


Agenda

• ChaRM was in place in the old SAP landscape a widely

appreciated by the internal consultants and Business Analysts

• SAP Basis team is handling a large amount of transports on a

regular basis due to frequent unit testing in TST causing

multiple transports for one change

• Transports got missed in deployments or overtake each other

• Roadmap for System Landscape in process

• Change procedure in place for all systems (non SAP and

SAP); Request for Changes are documented and signed off in

Service Manager (non SAP application)

• Desire to re-implement ChaRM as part of the wider picture for

a future landscape

• Test Managers in control of TST systems

FSNI Situation before ChaRM

SAP Systems at start of project

• SAP ECC (3 Tier)

• SAP BW (3Tier)

• SAP PI (3 Tier)

• SAP CRM (3 Tier)

• SAP Solution Manager (2 Tier)

• SAP IDM and GRC

FSNI SAP System Landscape

FSNI SAP System Landscape (core systems)

DEV TST PRD

P-DEV P-TST

DEV TST PRD

Situation before project started

Planned Future Layout (at the time)

• ChaRM Overview


• Realisation Phase 1• Pre-Production Scenario

• Lessons Learnt


Agenda

• Get Going! Any time is a good time to start

• Get started for BAU on existing 3-Tier landscape

• Familiarise developers with ChaRM on existing landscape

• Implement Urgent Change only until systems are available for

Project and Normal change

• Do not change current RfC process, Charm is seen as a

technical implementation

• Stay as close to Best Practice as possible

• Get feedback to be included in future Phase(s)

• Learn to walk before running

Realisation - Objectives


DEV TST PRD

P-DEV P-TST

DEV TST PRD

Phase 1 ECC only

Phase 2 – Extend & Roll out to further systems

BAU

Project

Urgent Change

Normal Change / Project

1. Set up a dummy landscape to be controlled by ChaRM

2. Set up standard “vanilla” ChaRM

3. Walk through session through the system “who, when, what”

4. Decide on screen modifications, additional fields and

mandatory / optional steps

• Decisions made:

o Hide non essential fields in the Web-UI

o Add 2 custom fields

o Allow skipping of steps in the ChaRM RfC document

o New Role to match FSNI approval for production

5. Document, Train and Roll out

Implementation

Technical

• Monitored system set up not optimal

• Previous configuration “attempts” lingering in the system

• Transport layer of the dummy landscape not working properly

• Short dump during field activation made custom fields

unavailable

Organisational

• Process between SAP ChaRM and external Service Manager

remained unclear

• Role mapping between ChaRM roles and business structure

not 100% clear

• No future landscape model signed off

• General resistance to ChaRM from some consultants

Implementation Challanges

• No disruption to ongoing developments. No issues to attach

existing transports to new ChaRM change documents

• Some users needed a bit of familiarisation to the Web UI

• Minor issue with time outs during the release of transports

with authorisation objects (time out)

• Import buffer to the TST system still contains a lot of

transports

• No deployment of roles through IDM

Feedback from the user Base:

• ChaRM is easy to handle

• Duplication of administrative tasks with ChaRM and Service

Manager

• Easy release to TST and set back to development

Going Live

• ChaRM Overview



• Pre-Production Scenario• Lessons Learnt


Agenda

• The envisioned system landscape was not signed off, instead

it was decided to introduce a Pre-Production system to the

landscape

• ChaRM Roadmap had to be adjusted to implement

functionality for the Pre-Production system first before

continuing with Phase 2

• Standard ChaRM functionality does not suit the FSNI

requirements

• Test Managers control the release into and through Pre-PRD

Pre-Production Scenario - Overview


DEV TST PRD

P-DEV P-TST

DEV TST PRD


Planned Future Layout (at the time)


DEV TST PRD


New Layout (at the time)

DEV TST Pre-PRD PRD

• Requires change of action profiles, status schema, roles,

action definitions

• Adjusted roles to be deployed by IDM

• Additional system has to be added to the maintenance project

• First closure and re-opening of maintenance cycle

• New training documents and guides required

• Testing had to take place without actual transports because

dummy landscape was decommissioned

Result:

• Some authorisation issues after Go Live

• ChaRM issue in case a change is moved back to

development from Pre-PRD

Pre-PRD implementation - Impact

• ChaRM Overview




• Lessons Learnt• Going Forward with ChaRM at FSNI

Agenda

• ChaRM process and internal change process overlap

• Training was too much focussed on ChaRM, not enough

focus on the change process as a whole

• Roles and Responsibilities were not understood during Go

Live, leading to a lot of questions and on the spot support

• Authorisation issues after Pre-PRD release

• Some users see ChaRM as adding complexity

• Growing demand for added ChaRM functionality (systems,

Projects and Normal Change)

• Still a scary number of transports (pre-charm) in the buffer

Lessons learnt – The Bad

• Consultants appreciate the possibility to control their change

until testing is finished

• No missed transports anymore

• Combination of ChaRM and Pre-PRD adds release security

• Full visibility of how many changes are under way

• Full visibility of status of each change

• Test managers have visibility of which changes and transports

are in TST / Pre-PRD

• Reporting functionality extensively used

• Easy deployment of changes for SAP Basis

• ChaRM is accepted as a useful change management tool at

FSNI with a high demand to extend it’s functionality

Lessons learnt – The Good

• Close to 500 change documents since 22/06/15 (100 per

month or 5 per day)

• 350 Changes imported into production

• Up to 20 transports included in one change document

• 115 users set up for ChaRM

Statistics

ChaRM document

Simple Reporting

• ChaRM Overview




• Lessons Learnt


Agenda

Future of CHaRM at FSNI

• Phase 2 started to enhance functionality and roll out ChaRM

across system landscape

• Use Normal Change and Projects

• Introduce regular maintenance cycles (fortnightly) aligned with

FSNI release cycles

• Utilisation of cCTS and CTS+ for cross system locks,

downgrade protection and non ABAP systems

• Pre-Population of fields in Request for Change and Change

Document

• Re-Establish Dummy Landscape

• Review Change Process in itself

• Despite multiple design and system changes the

decision to get started with ChaRM is seen as

the right choice

• ChaRM on Solution Manager 7.1 (SP12) offers

flexibility while keeping a tight change control

(Preliminary imports, roll over to new change

cycle, Re-assignment of transports etc.)

• It was important to get started, no matter what

the future landscape will look like

Final thoughts

Thank You for your attention

• Questions?

Documents

ChaRM implementation at Foodstuffs North Island - … Events...ChaRM - Overview • Change Request Management methodology provided by SAP with you SAP license • Is a part of SAP