Hello ALM Community!
Support Package Stack 17 for SAP Solution Manager 7.2 has just been released! For the latest details, check out the complete Release Notes, and see the “What’s New in SPS17” presentation on the SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Home Page. In addition, SAP Note 3261336 details the recommended corrections to install with the stack.
In addition, Focused Build and Insights 2.0 SP12 is also available, with SAP Solution Manager SPS17 as a prerequisite. See the Release Notes and SAP Note 2541761 for the supported combinations of ST-OST 200 and SAP Solution Manager 7.2
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17's key focus is on the following critical topics:
- Security
- Supportability
- Technical Adaptations
- Integrations
- Performance Improvements
- Usability Improvements
- Customer Connection innovation requests
Now, let’s spotlight a few key features!
NEW for Process Management
Solution Documentation Tree Assignments Report
In 2021, we asked our customers to submit and vote on improvement requests for the focus topics of Process Management, Test Suite and Change and Release Management, including SAP Focused Build for SAP Solution Manager. We received many requests and were pleased to include many of them in earlier support packages. With SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17, we have concluded the process to include these customer requests to improve and streamline the user experience.
In the area of Process Management, customers submitted two innovation requests for the ability to easily generate a visual report of the complete solution documentation hierarchy of all business processes down to the level of process steps and their respective assigned elements. Previously, this was only possible by a labor-intensive workaround.
With SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17, a new Solution Documentation Tree Assignments Report is available that can list the structure elements under the Business Processes folder as a visual hierarchy tree. The report includes Folders, Scenarios, Processes, Process Steps, and any assigned Elements. You can easily include or exclude elements and save the selection as a custom scope.
Tree Assignments Report Results
New Methods for Handling Orphan Documents
When a document is deleted from its solution, it is not completely deleted from its storage. Deleting it only removes the assignment of the document and still leaves the document content and its header information in the storage. This is known as an orphan document. This orphan document can be either assigned again in a solution, archived, or completely deleted from the storage. Since document content takes up a lot of storage, having excessive amounts of obsolete orphan documents can lead to memory issues.
SAP Solution Manager SPS17 provides multiple reports that allow you to reassign, archive, or completely delete orphan documents from storage. More details can be found in the help documentation.
Note on Downloading SAP Best Practices
The SAP Best Practices Explorer was deprecated on June 30th, 2023, and was replaced by the SAP Signavio Process Navigator (see the SAP Community blog). However, we have received questions from customers and partners how to download the content. SAP Note 3082833 describes how to download the SAP Best Practices packages assets/documentation either as single document or as a complete documentation package.
NEW for Test Suite
Synchronization and Execution with REST API for Third-Party Integration
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 has been able to synchronize test packages with external tools for many years. However, SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17 delivers the ability to conduct this synchronization using REST API technology. Using this method, test packages in an external tool can be started from the Tester Worklist in SAP Solution Manager, with the external tool client opening directly in the tool server. The external tool executes the test package, and the results are updated in SAP Solution Manager. As availability of this method is dependent on the third-party test solution, you should consult your solution provider to see if their product supports this integration.
Test Package Report
You can now execute a test report for a single test package. The resulting report includes cumulated results for the whole test plan, but only the detailed results for the selected test package are displayed. This greatly reduces the size of the report.
Easy Report Generation!
CBTA Usability Improvements
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17 delivers some key usability improvement for the Component-Based Test Automation (CBTA) such as:
- Help and Documentation buttons are now available in the CBTA Configuration tool to improve easy access to the corresponding documentation.
- Checkboxes in the CBTA Configuration tool setup are replaced by drop-down lists to provide explicit text about the setting.
- Information about unstable SAP CRM pages is announced prior to recording to prevent failed test executions.
Additional Test Suite Improvements
- You can now ignore process links when the test plan hierarchy is generated from Solution Documentation through Customizing under Administration Global Settings.
- Notifications can be sent in the recipient's language when the workflow for a test plan is active, or during the execution of automated test cases.
- In the tester and review worklists, you can display an additional column to show information about the external execution of a synchronized test package.
NEW for Change Management
Display Transport Logs in SAP Cloud Transport Management
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17 improves the integration between Change Control Management and the SAP Cloud Transport Management service. You can navigate to the log page in the SAP Cloud Transport Management service by choosing the Import Status icon and then selecting a transport request ID in the transport log popup.
Seamless Navigation!
Abandon SAP Cloud Transport Management Transport Requests
If you have decided not to use an SAP Cloud Transport Management transport request (that has not already been transported to the production system) it is now possible to use a report to decouple (abandon) an SAP Cloud Transport Management transport request from its change. This transport request is then no longer controlled by Change Request Management / Quality Gate Management / Focused Build and is deleted from the import queues of all the systems on the SAP Cloud Transport Management service. The outcome of the action is displayed after the execution of the report, and the action is logged in the SLG1 transaction code.
Simple Process to Decouple Requests!
Processing Git-enabled Changes with Emergency Mode
When using Git-enabled CTS and SAP Solution Manager, SPS17 provides this process to make emergency changes that are not part of a project plan. For example, fixing an issue in an existing functionality that could jeopardize the production environment. The changes are directly transported to the production system via a dedicated emergency branch while the project development in another branch is on hold.
New with Business Process Operation (Job Management and Monitoring)
Utility for Mass Update of Incident and Notification Variants in Job Monitoring
A new report allows you to perform a mass update of notification and incident variants for specific monitoring objects or for the monitoring objects that are linked to a technical scenario. This is especially useful in cases of organizational changes for handling job monitoring alerts. You can change the recipient information for alerts easily.
In addition, additional validation checks have been added to the job documentation mass maintenance report, which also now supports the mass maintenance of multiple job request processes.
Wrap-Up and More Information
Along with SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17, SAP has also released SP12 for Focused Build and Focused Insights for SAP Solution Manager! Check out Joerg Marenk’s blog post Support Package 12 of Focused Build has been released along with Frederick Ozon’s post What’s new in Focused Insights 2.0 SP12 for SAP Solution Manager 7.2 as well.
I hope this post gave you a condensed review of some of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SPS17’s key enhancements. As always, thanks for your time and your comments are aways welcome!
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