charm overview

Change Request Management

sample for a picture in the title slide

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security

Normal / Urgent Corrections

Challenges

Upcoming functionality

SAP AG 2006, Change Request Management / John Osburn and John Krakowski / 3

SAP Change Manager: Functional Overview

The SAP Change Manager is composed of three major functions:

Central Configuration

Change Tracking

Task Lists for Projects


Project created in cProjects

Solution ManagerProject

IMG project

IMG project

...

Change Request ManagementPhysical

(development) systems

CTS project

CTS project

CTS project

..

.CTS project

CTS project

CTS project

...

Logical systems(clients)

SAP Solution Manager

Change Request

Change Transaction

cProject System

Tasklist

Change Request Management

TransportRequest TransportRequest TransportRequest

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges



Project Types

The following project types are relevant for the scenario Change Request Management:

Maintenance Project

- Project holder for production support maintenance activities. E.g. Break fixes, small changes not needing a full project.

Implementation Project

- Implementation of a SAP solution or addtional functionality, typically a single-site project.

Upgrade Project

- Upgrade of a existing SAP solution.

Template Project

- Project to create a re-usable solution. E.g. Partner solutions or global rollout.


Project Types


Cycles

The following cycles are relevant for the scenario Change Request Management:

Maintenance Cycle

- Assigned to a maintenance project.

- A one-to-many relationship to a maintenance project but only one cycle can be open at a time for the given maintenance project.

- Period of the maintenance cycle should correspond to the timeframe to release changes into production environment. e.g. – Quarterly release cycles would mean you would have 4 maintenance cycles a year for this project remembering only one can be open at a time.

Project Cycle

- Assigned to a template, implementation or upgrade project.

- A one-to-one relationship to a project.

- Period of the project cycle corresponds to the project timeframe.


Status Schema of Project Cycle

Created

In development

Emergency correction phase

Completed

Test phase

Withdrawn

Development close

In development without release

In completion


SAP Solution Manager Projects and Project Cycles

SAP Solution Manager project

Project cycleDevelopment phase(w/o or w/ release) Test phase

Go-live phase

Emergency correction phase

cProject


Phase Switching

SAP Solution Manager Project

RegularCorrections

Synchronizing

Project Phases

Synchronizing Synchronizing

Development(w/o or w/ release) Test Go-LiveEmergency

Correction

cProject

No export No export No export

…

Urgent Corrections(independent of MC)


Phases of a Project Cycle (1 of 2)

CreatedInitial status of a project cycle.

In Development w/o ReleaseCorrections can be developed, and transport requests and transport tasks can be created. Exports, however, are not permitted (except in the case of urgent corrections for maintenance project). Urgent corrections for a maintenance project are permitted in every phase except for the Go Live phase.

In Development w/ ReleaseTransport requests can be released from within a Normal correction. The administrator uses the task list to import all released corrections into test systems.

TestIf any normal corrections exist whose status has not yet been set to Development closed when the project cycle phase is changed from Development with Release to Test, the system issues a warning. These corrections are then excluded from the integration test and cannot be released.


Phases of a Project Cycle (2 of 2)

Emergency CorrectionIf changes still have to be made after the test phase has been completed, transport requests and tasks can be created and released as part of the Emergency Correction phase, but only by using the task list of the Schedule Manager.

Go-LiveImporting the entire project buffer into the production system. Neither transport requests nor urgent corrections can be released during this phase.

If there are still any open transport requests, you have to return to the Development w Release phase and repeat the process including the test phase to ensure that any open requests can be released and transported.

To be closedIf there are no open transport requests, you can close the project cycle by setting the status to To be closed. For a maintenance project you can subsequently create a new project cycle without creating a new maintenance project.

CompletedProject cycle is closed.


Task Lists

All systems that are part of your maintenance project landscape including the tasks that have to be executed are displayed in the task list.

The sequence in which the systems and tasks (task groups) are displayed depends on the transport track and the types of system roles.

The header contains general tasks and the footer contains general final tasks that automatically appear in every task list that is generated.


Task Lists

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges



Transaction Types in Change Request Management

Maintenance Cycle – (SDMN)

Contains links to the task list and relevant corrections and administration messages assigned to this maintenance project for the given timeframe for this cycle.

Project Cycle – (SDDV)

Contains links to the task list and relevant corrections and administration messages assigned to this template, implementation or upgrade project.

Change Request – (SDCR)

Gives information about the type of change and what the impact will be.

Allows someone to approve/reject and to classify the type of change.



Urgent Correction – (SDHF)

They can occur through out all phases of a maintenance cycle.

They are transported individually and have their own task list.

They are imported by the transport method import subset and stay in the transport buffer after import

Urgent Corrections are propagated into other systems at the end of phases in the Maintenance Cycle together with the Regular Corrections by the transport method import project

Regular Correction – (SDMI – New transaction type SDMJ)

The regular correction relates to the life cycle of the project

Each project can have as many regular corrections as required

A regular correction can be shared by multiple developers, and multiple transport requests and transport tasks can be created

A regular correction phase depends on the phase of the project cycle phase

Transports are created manually and imported from the task list.

Regular corrections can only be distributed by means of ‘import project’

Import into the follow-on systems takes place in the historical sequence


Additional Transaction Types in Change Request Management

Test Message - (SDTM)

Can only be created when cycle is in test phase and requires no approval.

Test Messages allow inserting any system of the system landscape as a reference, supposedly a test system.

Test Messages allow creating and releasing transport requests when the phase is in test , normal corrections are not allowed to be created during this test phase.

Administration Message – (SDAD)

An Administration message can be created during all phases of a project and allows logon any system that is part of the project. Not directly tied to TMS.

Access to the task list is provided

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges



Change Request Management – Roles in a Nutshell

… categorizes, approves and monitors Change Requests.

… is the Steering Committee in the Change Management process.

… implements a change and hands over to the Tester.

… tests a change, sets status in the Change Document.

… takes care of software logistics.

… creates an Service Message or a Change Request directly.

Developer

Requestor

Tester

Change Manager

IT Operator

Service Desk Employee

Change Advisory Board

… handles the Service Message and creates a Change Request.


Change Request Management – Security Concepts

There are SAP delivered roles.

Security driven by the following factors:- Do they have change, create or display for the transaction type?- What is the status of the transaction type?- Do they have access to the follow on transaction type?

Reporting security is handled by transaction variants assigned to the user role for the monitor tranaction CRM_DNO_MONITOR.

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges



SAP Solution Manager

Change Request Management – Normal/Urgent Correction

Change Request

Service Message

Developer

Requester

Tester

ChangeManager

DEV

IT Operator

QAS

PRD

Controlled transports

Controlled transports

Service Desk Employee

Ser

vice

Des

kC

han

ge

Req

ues

t M

anag

em

ent

ChangeDocument Task

List

Feedback

Maintenance Cycle


Demo

Demo Urgent Correction Process


Status Schema of (Standard) Correction

Created Withdrawn

In Development

Test1 - NM

Successfully Tested

M

Successful Test

M

Test not successful

This status decides whether thechange has been made and can be set as productive, and does not need to

be included in a new cycle

Development Completed

M

M

Multi-Level Test

Productive


Harmonizing Maintenance Activities

SAP Solution Manager Project (Maintenance Projects)


NormalCorrections

Harmonization

Maintenance Cycle

Harmonization Harmonization

Developmentw/o release

Developmentw/ release

Go-LiveTest

cProject

Test messages(during integration test)


Status Schema of (Urgent) Correction

Created Withdrawn

Being developed

To Be Tested

Successfully Tested

Released for Import

Production

Confirmed

Closed

Production Approval



SAP Solution Manager Project (Maintenance Project)


NormalCorrections

Harmonization

Maintenance Cycle




Go-LiveTest

cProject



Transport buffer Transport buffer

Consistency of Urgent Corrections and Maintenance Activities

DEV QAS PRD

Legend:

Maintenance ActivitiesUrgent CorrectionConsolidated Transport

Urgent corrections are propagated into other systems at the end of phases in the maintenance cycle together with the normal corrections by the transport method import project all.

Urgent corrections are transported individually and thus have no dependency to other corrections.

Urgent corrections are imported by the transport method import subset and stay in the transport buffer after import.


Differences Between Urgent and Normal Corrections

Normal Correction Urgent CorrectionNo individual task list but the task list of the maintenance cycle is used.

An individual task list is used.

Transports have to be created manually using actions of the change transaction.

Transports are generated automatically

Transports are exported and imported in concordance with the phases of the maintenance cycle.

Transports can be propagated directly into the follow-on systems but remain in the transport buffer.

A violation against the separation of functions is only a warning.

Developer and tester must be different persons.


Status Schema of Test Message

Created Withdrawn

In Process

Test1 - NM

Confirmed

M

Successful Test

M

Test not successful

To be Retested

M

M

Multi-Level Test



SAP Solution Manager Project (Maintenance Project)


NormalCorrections

Harmonization

Maintenance Cycle




Go-LiveTest

cProject



Status Schema of Administration Message

Created Withdrawn

In Process

Test1 - NM

Confirmed

M

Successful Test

M

Test not successful

Completed

M

M

Multi-Level Test


NormalCorrections

Harmonizing Project Activities

SAP Solution Manager Project (All Projects)

Administration Message

Harmonization

Project Cycle




Go-LiveTest

cProject



Change Transactions: Administration Message

An administration message can be created during all phases of a project and allows logon to any system that is part of the project.

Access to the task list is provided.

Administration messages allow performing any action including logon system that can be performed within one particular system.


Harmonizing Project Activities

SAP Solution Manager Project (Imp./Upgrade/Temp.Project)

RegularCorrections

Harmonization

Project Cycle


Development(w/o or w/ release) Test Go-LivePreparation

for Go-Live

cProject

Test messages(during intergration test)


Usage of Projects

Development Test Production

Implementation Project Market Campaign

Complaint Management

…Maintenance Project ERP

… Maintenance Cycles

Implementation Projects

… Urgent Corrections

Rollout Brazil

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges



Challenges

Implementation, Template, Upgrade Projects

CHARM does support these projects but there is additional upfront work to create change requests and then normal corrections . You can create as many transports and/or tasks that are needed for these corrections. This usually gets projects thinking about bundling changes which can reduce the number of transports.

There is the ability to run multiple imports into QA but remember we use project import for these projects so what ever has been released will be imported. This requires a mindset change to practicing release management and not transport management.

Support for complex landscapes is available because underneath we are still using native TMS but the status and actions on the transaction type is limited to dev , test and production. There is the ability to add single systems to the task list which will allow the ability to do imports for systems that fall outside the 3 system landscape.


Challenges

Maintenance Projects

Support for complex landscapes is available because underneath we are still using native TMS but the status and actions on the transaction type is limited to dev , test and production. There is the ability to add single systems to the task list which will allow the ability to do imports for systems that fall outside the 3 system landscape.

All successfully imported urgent corrections can be imported into parallel test systems by starting the /TMWFLOW/SCMA_BTCH_SYNC_TEST program

All urgent corrections that are successfully imported into the production environment can be imported into parallel production systems by starting the /TMWFLOW/SCMA_SYNC_UC program

All urgent corrections will remain in the buffer until the normal corrections are imported via the project import method.

Projects and Cycles

Overview

Transaction Types

Security


Challenges

Upcoming Functionality


Upcoming Functionality

Retrofit Functionality – The ability to backfill a system with changes that usually are done manually by using SCMA for workbench requests and virtual BC sets for customizing requests.

One Transport Order – The ability to support NW04s java changes.

charm overview

Documents

template project project

project typesthe

john krakowski

project typessap ag

given maintenance project

upgrade project upgrade

singlesite project

request managementprojects