In the third installment of the "Innovate Faster: The Power Duo of SAP Activate and SAFe" series, we delve into the Prepare and Explore phases, providing detailed insights into the activities commonly associated with the ART Launch, the PI Planning Preparation, and the PI Planning within the SAFe framework.
Prepare Phase considerations.
The SAP Activate Prepare phase provides the initial planning and preparation for the project.
As visible in the enclosed picture, as exemplification for SAP Activate Methodology for RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, in this phase :
- the project is officially started (project kick-off),
- high level plans are finalized and go-live(s) milestones agreed,
- project team is onboarded and assigned to roles and responsibilities,
- preparatory work is under way to start the implementation work optimally e.g. infrastructure, team enablement, tools access, facilities etc.
Now, let us look how these activities are seen by an organization leveraging SAFe, and, more specifically, by the Agile Release Train that shifts from organizing technology efforts as projects to a continuous flow of product-centric Features in a value stream.
Just as a reminder, the Value Stream in SAFe is the collection of people (internal and contractors/Suppliers), systems, information, and material needed to provide a mission-enabling capability. A value stream can contain one or more software products(or systems) that work together to provide a capability. The SAP solution along with the team that delivers the work to deploy the SAP solution capabilities is always part of a Value Stream in a Lean Agile organization that is implementing SAFe.
In a SAFe organization, in most cases, the Value Stream already exists, and the Epic initiative(see previous article in the series - Working with Epics in Discovery Phase) is adding to the existing Value Stream :
- a new system - in our case, the SAP solution,
- the corresponding implementation team for the new system.
The SAP experts are onboarded into the ART(s) that is taking ownership on the Epic implementation either as individual SAP Solution experts taking a SAFe role (System Architect, Scrum Master/Agile Coach, Agile Team Member) or as an entire Agile Team or even as a new ART with all corresponding roles.
The attributions of the Project Management role from the SAP Activate methodology are allocated across various roles in SAFe, like in the example here :
- Epic Owner – for budget management,
- Product Manager – for scope and timeline/roadmap management,
- Release Train Engineer – for coaching Agile and supporting the ART processes, relationship management with ART stakeholders, impediments escalations, risk management, and software implementation process improvement at the ART Level,
- Scrum Master/Team Coach – for coaching Agile and supporting the Agile team in delivering Features by managing the risks and impediments at the team level.
It is important to note that the SAFe roles mentioned above have many more responsibilities than those listed. The enumeration provided is merely an indication of how traditional project manager responsibilities are distributed within a SAFe organization.
In both methodologies, the customer represents a focal point and takes roles and responsibilities at all levels of the organization no matter if it is project-oriented (SAP Activate) or product-oriented (SAFe), as for example:
- Business Owners(SAFe) or Process Owners(SAP Activate) - provide insights for the solution Features and value definition.
- Business Process Experts/Subject Matter Experts (SAP Activate) - participate in the Backlog refinement and design activities.
- Business Users(SAP Activate) participate in solution testing and validation during the implementation cycle.
- IT Experts (SAP Activate) - participate in the technical and design activities.
- Operations(SAP Activate) - participate in cutover and go-live preparation activities .
Aligning the roles and responsibilities in SAP solution implementation with SAFe roles is crucial, and should be done in the Prepare phase.
SAP Activate methodology offers an accelerator called Agile Project Team Roles and Responsibilities, in the Project Management workstream, for the Prepare phase, that contains the template of roles and responsibilities required by the SAP solution implementation activities. This accelerator serves as a valuable starting point for creating a comprehensive collaboration handbook with Suppliers.
The resource planning activity that is happening in the Prepare phase is a shared forecast effort that depends on the Supplier involvement model mentioned in the previous article in this series - Innovate Faster: The Power Duo of SAP Activate and SAFe.
Possessing extensive knowledge of the activities and expertise required for the SAP solution implementation, and informed by the relevant SAP Activate methodology, the Supplier is leading the resource planning efforts. The Supplier is able to offer guidance on the necessary skills and the expected level of effort from team members within the SAFe organization to contribute effectively to the SAP solution's implementation.
As in every iterative approach, the first Planning Interval(PI) can start with a core team that is extended or adjusted in the subsequent PIs as per the identified needs. SAP Activate methodology recommends that coordination roles like Scrum Master/AgileCoach, Release Train Engineer, the System Architect and the Agile Teams are staffed from the beginning of the Explore phase and that Fit-to-Standard workshops be organized as reduced duration Sprints (1 week). In this way teams are built and working on cadence is rehearsed by the newly formed Agile teams – see an example of such an approach in the image below.
SAP Activate methodology is having the flexibility to be tailored to the organization’s specifics: methodology, resource planning and budgeting and it is stricter in term of solution specific activities and best practices that are speeding up the implementation and the adoption of the SAP solution.
The Epic Lean Agile Case in SAFe contains business functionalities that are translated into the ART Backlog as Features but can also contain Enablers – large activities that are preparing the team or the system for the implementation of the functional capabilities. The SAP Activate Prepare activities that are dealing with system provisioning, preparation of the initial system for Fit-to-Standard workshops, technical studies to identify the integrations and the interfaces are examples of such Enablers that are part of the Epic MVP Backlog.
It is quite common that these types of Enablers are scheduled for realization in multiple Iterations from the first PI as it is also common to occur in subsequent PIs.
Explore phase considerations about Agile Product Backlog.
The image showcasing the SAP Activate Methodology for RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition's Explore phase clearly indicates that the activities during this phase are centered on the Application Design and Configuration workstream.
The Explore phase's outcome is the identification of the initial Product Backlog made of delta requirements and configuration values identified as result of a Fit-to-Standard analysis and design workshops. This analysis validates the SAP solution functionality included in the implementation scope and confirms that the business requirements can be satisfied. The backlog items identified during the Fit-to-Standard analysis are linked to business processes and to the SAP solution components.
Fit-to-Standard analysis and design sequence of activities are executed to:
- validate the predefined business processes that customer can consume without any additional tailoring,
- identify delta requirements for processes that require extensions, integration, or significant configuration effort and store them as Business Requirements and User Stories and deliver an approved design.
Fit-to-Standard activities are done based on the standard solution in the sandbox/solution demo environment that reflects the SAP solution implementation scope. Delta requirements are collected whenever the standard SAP solution does not meet the customer’s business requirements.
SAP Activate provide, along with the guidelines how to organize the Fit-to-Standard analysis and design workshops, the tools and the accelerators that are expediting the system preparation for analysis and the backlog identification process, with specifics to each SAP solution, like, for example:
- SAP Signavio Process Navigator for SAP S/4HANA,
- SAP SuccessFactors Leading Practices,
- Business driven configuration questionnaires per functional area (e.g., Finance, Human Resources, Manufacturing etc.),
- Checklists Template for the 5 Golden Rules,
- Custom Code Migration Guide for SAP/4HANA,
- UX Adoption: How to approach Design your Launchpad Layout Workshop,
- Etc.
Let’s look at the SAFe ART Backlog, that is a hierarchical multi-level Backlog, that, in a simplified view, looks like the left side of the below figure.
The structure is straightforward: a SAFe Epic, managed at the Portfolio level, drives the initiative to implement the SAP Solution that impacts the organization. The Features and Enablers, executed by the Agile Release Trains, are used for deploying the chosen processes and the non-functional requirements of the SAP solution. The Agile teams strive to deliver User Stories and non-functional requirements, either Iteration by Iteration (SAFe) or Sprint by Sprint (SAP Activate).
Looking at the SAFe organization’s approach to Backlog management for continuous value delivery we must look at the Continuous Exploration component that implements the Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP).
The Continuous Exploration component is corresponding to the implementation Product Backlog management activities described by SAP Activate Explore phase.
Continuous Exploration drives innovation by constantly aligning the build with the ever-evolving needs of customers and markets, and by defining the vision, roadmap, and feature set required for a solution. It replaces traditional approaches of up-front requirements definition with a process that generates a consistent flow of Features ready for implementation in the ART Backlog. Decomposing Features into small batches of User Stories enables work to move quickly through the remaining aspects of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline to the Customer. Getting fast feedback is built into the process, allowing the teams to adjust to market needs.
Looking closer at the Explore phase activities from SAP Activate we can easily understand that the Fit-to-Standard activities are nothing else than the SAP proposed approach for continuous exploration of Features or, in SAP vocabulary, of Processes that can be delivered by SAP solutions to serve the operational value stream.
There are typically six steps that form the deliverables of the Fit-to-Standard Analysis/Design activity. These steps are defined as such to support the project approach, but they can be also adapted to the SAFe continuous flow of feature approach as per the proposal in the table below:
Steps | Project Approach | SAFe, continuous flow of features, approach |
1.Fit-to-Standard Workshop Preparation | Fit-to-Standard workshops are planned and executed at the beginning of the project. | Fit-to-Standard workshops for a subset of in-scope business processes are prepared, serving as Enablers for the functional Features. These Enablers should be planned and executed in every PI, depending on the ART Backlog replenishment needs. These Enablers will cover process identification, briefings and enablement for Subject Matter Experts and Business Owners and other workshop preparatory activities described by SAP Activate methodology. |
2.Fit-to-Standard System Preparation | Fit-to-Standard workshops are executed in a short-lived sandbox system. This system is serving just as basis for the SAP Solution show and tell, and it is decommissioned at the end of the Explore phase. | The system preparation for the Fit-to-Standard workshops is delivered as an Enablers for the functional Features, planned and executed the PI, depending on the ART Backlog replenishment needs. These Enablers will cover SAP solution capabilities activation, configuration of baseline processes, sample data preparation etc. A long-lived sandbox environment might be necessary to be used only for the Fit-to-Standard purposes (to not impact the implementation work). |
3.Fit-to-Standard Workshops and Documentation | Fit-to-Standard workshops are planned and executed at the beginning of the project and has as objective to review and document the full solution scope. | The execution of these workshops is done in the ART Backlog refinement sessions as part pf the PI planning preparation or during the Iterations as Enablers to increase the knowledge about SAP solution capabilities and drive architectural and functional decisions. |
4.Fit-to-Standard Workshop Validation | It has as objective to determine the completeness of the collected delta requirements and the global prioritization of requirements. | Requirement prioritization is done by assessing the requirements’ relation to the defined MVP. A certain level of uncertainty is accepted regarding the detailed specifications for the ART backlog (Features and Enablers). PI confidence voting is used to assess the level of trust of the ART team in the PI plans that were made (indirectly and collectively assessing the needful level of details for the planned Features). |
5.Design Workshops and Documentation | Most important design decisions are taken before the implementation starts as design impacts estimations and costs. | Implementation strategy and architecture is evolving as preparation for each PI. Product Managers, Product Owners, System Architect and Solution Architect are evolving it collaboratively, in an iterative way. The major design decisions are taken in a just in time manner, in the PI preparation, with a Set-Based Design (SBD) or Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) approach as described by SAFe Principle #3 – Assume variability; preserve options. Solution design evolved during the Sprints using spikes or in the Backlog Refinement sessions. |
6.Review and Customer Sign-Off | Sign-Off is needed on the collected list of requirements to baseline the solution functional scope and to support the change management process. | PI Planning results in a series of team-level and ART-level committed objectives representing the functional capabilities delivered at the end of each PI. The commitment is made with the joint participation of all ART members, from the organization and from the Supplier(s) participating in the value stream. The PI scope remains unchanged during the PI execution. |
Once the Fit-to-Standard workshop series and connected activities are executed and the Product Backlog is collected, the Explore phase continues with the Release Planning activity that is drawing an initial timeline for the implementation of the selected business process – in a very similar way with the PI Planning in SAFe.
Multiple Planning Intervals(PIs) may be required before the SAP solution attains the capabilities needed for productive use, as outlined in the Epic MVP. Consequently, Release Planning activities will be carried out across all necessary PIs.
We can conclude that the PI planning preparation and the PI planning activities are covering some of the activities from SAP Activate Prepare phase and many of the activities from Explore phase. The difference between the two frameworks is that in SAFe, these activities are connected to a smaller set of functionalities and are split into smaller pieces so that they can be executed during the PI Iterations, as per the functional scope agreed in the PI planning – see the picture below.
The next article in the series will cover activities specific to SAP Activate Realize and Deploy phases in the context of an organization leveraging SAFe.
Article References:
1st article in the series - Innovate Faster: The Power Duo of SAP Activate and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
2nd article in the series - Working with SAFe Epics in the SAP Activate Discover phase
Government - Transitioning from Projects to a Lean Flow of Epics - Scaled Agile Framework
Operational Value Streams - Scaled Agile Framework
Continuous Delivery Pipeline - Scaled Agile Framework
Principle #3 - Assume Variability; Preserve Options - Scaled Agile Framework
Enablers - Scaled Agile Framework
SAP Activate Methodology for RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition- Roadmap Viewer (sap.com)
SAP Activate Methodology for SAP SuccessFactors - Roadmap Viewer(sap.com)
Main Reviewer : @Seb_Ziegler
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