Assigning at least one responsible subscriber - ideally several, depending on the area of expertise - to each of your applications is a critical step during LeanIX onboarding. This establishes a strong and reliable foundation for data governance in the long run. To determine how many key stakeholders to involve and who the right ones are, this microlearning will guide you in creating your model of application ownership.
Note
Even if you already have an application ownership model in place, take a moment to review the What and Why sections. They offer valuable tips on aligning your process with SAP LeanIX standards and persuading stakeholders to take ownership o their responsibilities.
WHAT
An application ownership model involves assigning the right people to the right responsibilities and following a structured process to ensure the contribution of accurate and relevant data. Since SAP LeanIX is a collaborative tool, establishing a clear application ownership model is essential for its long-term success
To help you achieve this, we will outline our best-practice approach below:
| What you should do | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Understand what an application ownership model is | In SAP LeanIX, application ownership is a framework for assigning clear accountability and responsibilities for managing and maintaining the data of individual application fact sheets within an organization's IT landscape. This framework forms the foundation for transparency, efficiency, and reliable, up-to-date data in your workspace. | |
| Understand the concept of application ownership | An application ownership model involves defining a structure that includes key personas, their responsibilities, tasks, and the knowledge required for managing specific applications. We recommend establishing a model with two main personas. This approach facilitates quick wins during onboarding, simplifies the process of identifying which stakeholders should be assigned to each role based on the personas, and reduces complexity when assigning individuals to applications. Hint Exceptions may occur, particularly with custom-built or SaaS applications, where a single person might be responsible. However, every application in the workspace must have at least one assigned subscriber. | |
| What is the role and related tasks of an application owner? | Application owners are responsible for providing the initial onboarding data for an application's fact sheet and regularly maintaining it to ensure the information remains up to date. This process is guided by a defined framework that uses quality seals. Application owners are notified to resolve broken quality seals, which may be triggered by changes made by others or based on a preconfigured timeframe (e.g., every six months). To perform this task effectively, accurate information about specific attributes is essential. In large organizations, this knowledge is rarely centralized within one individual. Therefore, responsibilities should be distributed across personas, even within a single application, as outlined in the next section. | |
| Understand the two different personas | Application business ownere.g. Product Owner (if exists) | Application technology owner (IT owner)e.g. Team lead for the Application (if exists) |
This role should be served by someone who is functionally responsible within the business domain and has a vested interest in the business performance and success. | This role should be served by someone who is functionally responsible within the technology domain and has a vested interest in IT's performance and success. | |
Individuals who:
| Individuals who:
| |
WHY
SAP LeanIX is a collaborative tool that requires input from multiple stakeholders to function properly. Think of all the different sections and attributes stored on every single application fact sheet, and now multiply that by the total number of applications used in your organization. The truth is, no single person can know every piece of information needed, maintain all fact sheets, and ensure they are accurate. That is simply not possible.
However, only when all these attributes are filled - and most importantly, filled correctly and kept up to date - will your workspace deliver the value you’re looking for. This is crucial, whether you’re presenting to a C-level stakeholder or planning your next application rationalization assessment.
To tell the truth: an accurate application ownership model is essential for your success with SAP LeanIX.
| What is in for you when defining application owners right from the start With specific individuals responsible for the applications they manage: | ||
|---|---|---|
1. you can trust in having reliable data in the system | 2. you will always find the right point of contact for any queries or information needs | 3. you can make use of the quality seal mechanism to ensure the right person is notified when maintenance work is required |