The ASAP solution was developed to ensure the successful, on-time delivery of a project. SAP delivers the AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) methodology for project management and system implementation.
Developed by SAP to optimize the success of implementing the SAP Business Suite, ASAP streamlines the implementation by providing templates, methods, tools, and accelerators that have been built on the success of thousands of previous SAP implementations.
The ASAP methodology adheres to a specific road map that addresses the following five general phases:
1. Project Preparation, in which the project team is identified and mobilized, the project standards are defined, and the project work environment is set up;
2. Blueprint, in which the business processes are defined and the business blueprint document is designed;
3. Realization, in which the system is configured, knowledge transfer occurs, extensive unit testing is completed, and data mappings and data requirements for migration are defined;
4. Final Preparation, in which final integration testing, stress testing, and conversion testing are conducted, and all end users are trained; and
5. Go-Live and Support, in which the data is migrated from the legacy systems, the new system is activated, and post-implementation support is provided.
ASAP incorporates standard design templates and accelerators covering every functional area within the system, as well as supporting all implementation processes. Complementing the ASAP accelerators, the project manager can create a comprehensive project plan, covering the overall project, project staffing plan, and each sub-process such as system testing, communication and data migration. Milestones are set for every work path, and progress is carefully tracked by the project management team.
Effective Communication
Weekly update meetings ensure full communication between the project team, the client project team, and project management. These meeting are used not only to update on project status, but also to identify any issues or risk areas that may threaten the project. By identifying these problems early, they are more easily mitigated and resolved, reducing their impact on the project timeline.
Ensuring Quality and Mitigating Risk
Project quality is verified near the completion of each project phase. Using existing ASAP checklists, these quality checks ensure that all tasks for the phase have been completed properly, that all relevant documentation has been kept, and that all tasks required to commence the next phase of the project have been completed.
In addition to the specific project team, companies may use Quality Assurance reviews on all of its projects to ensure that experience gained on other projects has been taken into account and that the optimum system design has been utilized.
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.