Mastering Configuration in short time is not just a fantasy, its achievable! A good news for beginners, I’m sure. While some know the trick, for others the “how” is still a mystery.
Copy - Paste - Change!
My approach in developing technical skills was/is Reverse Engineering and I think it’s one of the easiest ways to learn a product / solution design. There must, obviously, be other techniques being practiced by gurus; in this blog, however, I’m sharing my S O P of learning new topics of interest.
Steps
- Front-End: If some solution is already there, I usually explore the front-end of the process first and try to make myself very comfortable with its usage.
- Disassemble: Once I’m confident with the apparent part of the solution, I start looking at the individual elements of the design on which solution is based.
- Reading: As soon as I’ve identified the basic components of overall design, I start to read about each component.
- Assemble: With a good understanding of the solution’s components, I try to assemble the solution myself and try to execute it.
- Compare: When I face issues with my configuration, I compare it with the original design on which my ‘copy’ was based.
- Focus-Areas: This way I also identify the areas where improvement is required & which I need to focus more.
- Self Start: As I’ve developed the solution myself, I look for hypothetical requirements to try designing a similar solution.
- New Scenarios: After experiencing the solution design, I get a ‘can-do’ feeling and keep looking for scenarios at SCN and other forums.
New Design
The approach works fine where a solution is already in place. However, in situations where I’m assigned with a role to start from scratch I follow slightly different approach and it’s to refer to forums like SCN, seek help from other gurus in my network (after all I’ve spent quite a few years working with SAP solutions & Experts) and finally get my hands dirty by practicing it. What do you think?
