SAP consultants - Shows configuration to Clients ?

[former_member211526]

Hi experts,

I am trying to get an opinion from you all. Comments welcome !

My client wants me to show every single setting that I make in their system and document it.

Should we do this ? What about our job security then ? Why will they need us then ?

Example: Like SAP FICO person will know all about MM and the company will roll off MM guy and keep only the FI guy to do both.

I understand during implementation we show general configuration screen shots. Thats ok with me. What I am talking about it very detail IMG settings. They want us to show every click that we did to resolve the issue on a support project.

Lets see what consultants think in general around the world.

Thanks and regards!

[Former Member]

This is a balancing act and should be the role of the Project Manager with the key stake holders of the Client.  I totally agree that if everything is given then this can and does occur where the Client can try to do things by the themselves - usually a complete disaster. If the documnentation is done and signed off then this a way to prove later on that the Client touched the configuration and then a consulting fee can be applied.

But I always remember one thing.  I left a document on how to do bank uploads into SAP via EBS (configuration & BPP) and when they started business with another bank they still needed me!!  Further, no one can learn SAP from reading books & documents, they may pass a certification exam, but they can never do the job.  The experience comes from handling multiple scenarios and you doing the work to find the best solutuon in SAP.

Hope it helps.

Waza

[former_member184080]

Hi,

In our case, we have to get the signoff on each and every document (FS,TS,Config log etc.) from the client. We do have to provide design documents which will be reviewed in CAB (Change advisory board).Now a days, clients are recruiting SME's in each area to ensure that service providers/consultants are giving best solutions. I remember one of my implementations the client has SMEs with 15 yrs of SAP exp with SAP AG. Now, rather than worrying about giving details, we should think of giving best solution. By doing this client will never ever think of  changing consultant.

All The Best!!

Regards, Sai Krishna.

[JL23]

I think your job is more in danger if you do not document what you are doing.

Documentation is just a piece of the daily work a consultant has to do.

it helps others to evaluate the quality of your work, it helps yourself after years to reproduce how and why it was done that way...and I certainly could add about 100 more good reasons why documenting is  important for you and others.

back in the 80s of the last century our production people had similar concerns, they did not want to enter the BoMs into the computer system

[Shiva_Ram]

Should we do this ? What about our job security then ? Why will they need us then ?

Example: Like SAP FICO person will know all about MM and the company will roll off MM guy and keep only the FI guy to do both.

-Surprised to see the comments!!! nobody can grab other's job, as long as the consultant/configurer has thorough knowledge/experience in his/her area.I was into consulting some years ago and when I did configuration, I used to provide as much as details as possible. In my opinion it is the responsibility of the consutant/configurer to provide the details to the clients/employer.

In a competitive world, anybody can learn any module (for example FICO can MM and vice-versa) at any time, but due to time constraints/other requirements, working on parallel modules is not always possible.

So go ahead and provide the details that the client needs.

All the best,

Regards,