It has been only a few weeks since we The new ASAP Methodology For Implementation released to the market. I have been asked to speak to a number of customers and colleagues about what is so significant about this new release of ASAP and what value it brings to them. I thought it may be useful to put some of the key points into a blog post to share with fellow community members.
I do not want to make this post a long listing of changes we did so let me start with a little comparison to one of projects I undertook outside of my role in SAP. A few weeks ago my wife and I started a little project of our own - a re-model of a master bathroom in our house. In a way the work on the new ASAP release 7.0 is like a remodel - only a remodel of an entire house. Let me walk you through the process we went through. In May of last year a small team gathered to take a serious look at the ASAP 3.10. We reviewed its structure, complexity, ability to support our projects and decided that it was time for a major overhaul. In this small team we defined the objectives for how our new house (ASAP) should look like to meet the needs for delivery of successful projects. Then we identified experts in their respective fields and invited them to help us remodel the methodology. We decided to tear out all the carpets, removed appliances, old tub and all the 'stuff' that we collected and striped the ASAP methodology to its basic structure. Then we asked the expert team to develop a much more streamlined methodology with up-to-date content, templates and accelerators for efficient projects. I'm simplifying the process a little here, but for illustration purposes it is sufficient. So when people ask me what is new in ASAP I smile and say - well it is all new. And it is true.
But you may be interested in specific areas that have been added or significantly enhanced over the previous release. Following list is probably incomplete, but should give you a pretty good idea of what has changed in this new release of ASAP.
The key improvements of ASAP Methodology are:
- Streamlined roadmap to reduce complexity and shorten learning curve for methodology users - from 1300 nodes to around 400 while adding two new phases to cover Opportunity Management and post-production Run phase.
- Clear path - the roadmap represents the project deliverables in work breakdown structure (WBS). This organization of the roadmap assures tight integration between the project plan, project schedule, communication, execution and control.
- Improved Blueprint by adding clear guidelines for structuring the blueprint workshops including acceleration techniques and design work through e.g. use of pre-configured content, show-and-tell approach.
- Focus on value delivery – the roadmap guides the project teams in linking the business case into appropriate activities and deliverables throughout the project duration by considering the entire value lifecycle.
- Provides efficient guidance for Business Process Management projects covering to-be design and solution transformation as well as build, run and landscape development operations for SOA projects.
- Fully integrated with SAP Solution Manager – the roadmap guides project teams in how to best use SAP Solution Manager toolset through the life of the project and how to set it up for post-go-live support.
- Enables more impactful project governance, risk management and quality management through consistent application of structured Quality Gates and PMI aligned risk management process to keep project on track.
Over the next few weeks we will be bringing additional posts about the indivudal improvement areas and provide more details on what is new and how your project can benefit from these improvements.
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