Defining the Standardized Framework

The RISE with SAP Methodology augments the existing SAP Activate roadmap tasks and deliverables by adding activities that focus on gathering important information prior to the implementation, then onboarding the project team and ensuring the team is familiar with the clean core-related activities and how to complete them. With clean core activities and quality gates as checkpoints, the RISE with SAP Methodology enables improved business agility, shorter upgrade cycles, and faster adoption of innovation and new functionality.

In the Discover phase, valuable information is captured while working with the customer through the Digital Discovery Assessment. This information is handed over to the implementation team to set the direction for the project and provide critical insights into the customer’s planned journey. The onboarding team and customer success managers play a crucial role in gathering this data.

In the Prepare phase of the SAP Activate Methodology, a dedicated Onboarding Advisor from SAP will host five 1:1 sessions to introduce the customer and core project team (including Project Manager from partner implementation team or SAP) to the RISE with SAP Methodology, concepts of "Clean Core", and how to trigger the initial provisioning of systems via SAP for Me.

Additional live webinars are hosted to cover onboarding topics, and a detailed handbook is available in the RISE with SAP Onboarding Resource Center.

Throughout the remaining phases of the implementation (Explore, Realize, Deploy, and Run), the Project Manager of the implementation (partner or SAP) verifies completion of tasks for each phase through Clean Core Quality Gates. These check-points include questionnaires filled out by the Project Manager through SAP Cloud ALM. After completion, the questionnaire is submitted to SAP’s Enterprise Support team. This team then provides a feedback report with 1) recommendations based on the responses to the questionnaire, and 2) recommendations based on the available data of the customer’s system. These reports are reviewed between the RISE with SAP Enterprise Architect from SAP and the Project Manager of the implementation team (partner or SAP). This continuous cycle of reflection and review is intended to keep the system in the best possible state to consume upgrades and innovations faster.

Watch the video to get an overview of the RISE with SAP Methodology Standardized Framework.

The standardized framework leverages an enhanced SAP Activate project roadmap and begins with the Discover phase. The customer’s existing IT architecture, business processes and operations are analyzed to refine the target scope and value proposition for the future implementation. Documents referred to as "artifacts" are completed by the pre-sales and/or sales people working with the customer to gather their requirements and technical architecture needs. These artifacts are handed over to the implementation team once the implementation project begins to create a smooth transition from the Discover phase to the Prepare phase.

In the Prepare phase, a series of calls are led by the onboarding advisor from SAP to introduce the customer to concepts of the RISE with SAP Methodology and introduce them to some of the key tasks that will be competed throughout the implementation.

Watch the video to get an overview of what’s covered during the onboarding calls during the Prepare phase.

The recent enhancements to the Executive Summary of the Clean Core Assessment Report, part of the Rise with SAP methodology, are designed to strengthen organizations' business transformation efforts. These enhancements focus on providing clear insights into key areas such as adherence to clean core principles, effective use of SAP's integrated toolchain, comprehensive product adoption, and the incorporation of transformational innovations like AI.

The 2509 release introduces new focus areas in the Clean Core Quality Gate Assessment, emphasizing the SAP Integrated Toolchain and adoption strategies for SAP products. Organizations can enhance the clarity and depth of their Executive Summary, while those using EA-Rise benefit from additional insights and commentary from the EA-Rise architect, ensuring a more tailored and insightful evaluation.

A significant change in the process is the deliberate pause after generating the Clean Core Quality Gate Assessment report. This pause allows for a careful review, ensuring that reports are comprehensive and adjusted to meet each customer's unique needs. The Enterprise Architect – Rise adds valuable context, enhancing customers' understanding of clean core principles and adoption strategies.

The editing capabilities facilitate easy modifications by users and enterprise architects, allowing for the integration of specific plans or actions seamlessly into the report. This functionality supports real-time adjustments, enabling users to highlight process improvements and strategic directions effectively.

These enhancements are aimed at removing barriers to understanding and adopting changes, while ensuring the integration of strategic actions into service workflows. The improvements are being widely shared to maximize ease of use and adoption across relevant processes.

The Executive Summary provides detailed insights into areas like Clean Core Extensibility, SAP Integrated Toolchain usage, product adoption, and transformational innovation. Users are encouraged to customize reports to reflect customer-specific needs, ensuring alignment with transformation goals.

Overall, these improvements empower organizations in their business transformation efforts, streamlining processes and encouraging the adoption of strategic innovations. This enhanced reporting experience ensures clarity, supports strategic alignment, and fosters regular, tailored customer engagements.

The Enhanced Clean Core Assessment Report readout provides onboarding advisors and EA-Rise with essential guidance to effectively communicate the report's findings to customers. The report focuses on Clean Core principles, including business processes, extensibility, data, integration, and operations, each of which empowers companies to adopt transformational capabilities like AI innovations and streamlined processes.

During the readout session, onboarding advisors or EA-Rise can present an executive summary to provide high-level insights. For customers with an Enterprise Architect – RISE, the EA leads the session, offering detailed discussions and insights relevant to the customer’s business transformation objectives.

The key sections of the report include:

1. Executive Summary: This part is crucial for customers with a Rise Enterprise Architect (EA), as it provides precise insights during readout sessions, although it is not applicable for customers without an EA.
2. Status Overview: Offers a summary of findings based on Clean Core principles, which can be expanded upon in each specific section during the session.
3. Clean Core Extensibility: Details SAP’s support and guidelines in maintaining a clean core environment. It provides prerequisites for managing extensibility effectively, ensuring a robust framework for customization without deviating from core stability.
4. AI Adoption: Provides insights into AI technology trends at the customer site, including flagship AI products and features. The focus is on illustrating visibility into AI integration and identifying potential areas for future deployment or expansion.
5. SAP Integrated Toolchain Adoption: This snapshot overviews the SAP-owned tools currently in use by the customer, reflecting SAP's strategic recommendation to deploy its suite of tools effectively without prescribing specific evaluations.
6. Product Adoption: Reviews solution deployment statuses, helping customers understand which solutions are actively in use, in the project setup phase, or not yet started. For deeper analysis, customers can be directed to the Customer Insights dashboard, which offers further insights into the functional footprint and extent of product use.

The report aims to empower onboarding advisors to conduct efficient and insightful readout sessions, aligning with transformation goals while providing clear guidance on adopting and integrating strategic innovations. This structured approach ensures that customers receive tailored advice and understand their pathway to achieving robust business transformations through the adoption of SAP solutions.

The RISE with SAP Methodology provides a consistent framework that supports customers and partners in their move to RISE with SAP, ensuring smooth and effective transformations. A key element of this methodology is the creation of a clean core Success Plan, which serves as a guide to the tasks and deliverables that must be completed throughout the implementation.

SAP Cloud ALM is the tool used to complete iterations of the success plan during implementation, along with documenting the completion of tasks and deliverables throughout each phase of the implementation. The success plan includes over 150 recommended clean core tasks and a detailed runbook, enabling precise progress monitoring throughout the transformation journey. To maintain integrity and alignment with transformation goals, the methodology incorporates proactive and iterative quality gate checks. These checks occur at each phase, covering essential clean core principles and key transformation enablers. This iterative validation process helps prevent issues and mitigates risks early.

Watch the video to get an understanding of how SAP Cloud ALM is used to facilitate project management and completion of the success plan throughout the implementation, including setting up a project, reviewing pending tasks, assigning tasks to roles, establishing the clean core runbook, and generating a clean core report.

Access the SAP Cloud ALM launchpad here.