SAP projects as safe as a flight

Like air travel, IT development projects are subject to clearly defined phases. In the cockpit, the pilot uses numerous instruments to navigate his plane safely to its destination. Focused Build (FB) of SAP Solution Manager provides a comparable set of instruments. Its methods and closely interlinked tools help to plan large development projects in an agile manner and to steer them successfully to go-live. Like a black box, FB provides comprehensive documentation of the entire project. The transparent FB project management takes over the function of air traffic control in the tower.

Start check for the safe flight

Before each journey, the pilots work through an extensive chain of checks. In addition to the technical checks, they find out about the weather conditions, whether the passengers are wearing seat belts and whether the doors are firmly closed. 

As substantial as the launch check is for the flight, it is the solid setup for the project. Among other things, it is necessary to concretely define the project as well as the resources and roles in the project team, to set up the FB tools, and to familiarize the team members with their tools. Ready for Take-off! The plane is now taking off.

The plane picks up speed, takes off and begins its climb. What does this mean when applied to the SAP project? The solution architect sets up the development environment, and the project manager plans the project waves including work packages and tasks. The expected testable and transportable functional result is now clearly specified and the scope defined.

Once the cruising altitude is reached, the focus is on performance. In view of the current weather conditions, the pilot determines the optimum speed for flying quickly but with as little fuel consumption as possible. Performance is now also required in project operations: development performance. Work packages are implemented in sprints, and with the first valid results the test team starts its agile management of the project life cycle.

Before the realistic, integrated test with surrounding systems and interfaces, the first errors are corrected in an isolated system. The entire quality check is documented by the testers, including their methods and results. The test manager has full insight into the status of testing and documentation at all times.

As they approach their destination, the pilot plans his landing. He knows exactly when to start the descent and reduce speed to land his plane safely.

For the project, this means that it enters the release phase with system support. Finally, the solution is transported to the production system by means of a release, where tools simplify commissioning.

Manager and project office

In the tower, the air traffic control team has various tools at its disposal to steer the numerous aircraft through the airspace without any accidents. The same is ensured by SAP Solution Manager with Focused Build as the control system for the many project participants. The predefined dashboards give the project management constant transparency about the status of the expected delivery objects.

As a turnkey solution, FB offers the complete tool set to centrally manage, implement and document projects in detail, from requirements to development with testing to simple operational handover. Once requirements and tests have been captured, they can be reused. Without additional licensing costs, Focused Build is the first choice for managing SAP and non-SAP projects that work and are fun to use.