SAP Activate – An optimum mix of Waterfall and Agile Methodology
SAP Activate – An optimum mix of Waterfall and Agile Methodology
When I first came to know about the SAP Activate methodology, I thought – Oh! No, one more project management methodology to understand and implement. Like many of you, I was reluctant to go through the details of the approach. SAP had provided unparalleled documentation on SAP Activate but for me, sometimes, too much documentation does not raise my interest level.
I am managing SAP projects & programs for almost two decades (and this is my first blog, unbelievable) and like many of you, I am well versed in the ASAP methodology. I have managed many organizational changes but surprisingly, it was difficult to manage my own change from ASAP to ACTIVATE methodology. My only motivation factor was career growth and forward-looking lucrative market. Believe me, I do not want to learn another “new” thing.
One fine day, I dared to look into the approach documentation provided by SAP and I was surprised, pleasantly. First thing, I noticed is that they have not changed the names drastically. The SAP is still calling project plan by “Project Plan”. It was unlike SAP but I continued reading.
In this blog, I am going to highlight the “Waterfall” & “Agile” part of the Activate methodology. In subsequent blogs, I will summarize the roles & responsibilities of the PM, functional resources, client – IT & Business & deliverables during each phase of the ACTIVATE Methodology. Before we deep dive into ACTIVATE, here are the pros & cons of Waterfall and Agile methodologies.
Pros & Cons of Waterfall Methodology
| Pros | Cons |
| Structured Process with predefined & predicted milestones & deliverables | Changes are costlier |
| Knowledge Transition is easier | Less Flexible |
| Boxed Approach – “Requirement” is boxed, “Design” is boxed – supposedly minimizes the last minute change | Not suitable for projects with continuously changing requirements, stakeholders, sponsor. |
| Expectations are set in terms of deliverables | Poor User Experience |
Here is typical Waterfall approach
Pros & Cons of Agile Methodology
| Pros | Cons |
| Strong involvement of Stakeholders | No framework for Risk Management and may lead to delayed deliverables/schedule |
| Flexible and Easy to change | No learning curve for the team |
| Cost effective and change can happen in any phase | “Push the can down the road” approach may lead to too many activities at the end of project |
| Project can start with limited requirement as well | Need highly skilled and knowledgeable resources |
Here is a generic diagram of Scrum
The ACTIVATE methodology took the best of both worlds. The approach overcomes the challenges of poor user experience by involving them right from the beginning. It provides complete flexibility for changes within the defined approach of industry best practices. Additionally, it provides the great detail of Risk Management and enough documentation to reduce the learning curve. Let us look at the pros/cons of ACTIVATE Methodology
| Pros | Cons |
| Flexible approach to make configuration changes | Requires highly skilled resources |
| Involvement of Business & IT stakeholders from the beginning of the project | Not suitable for a project that requires a continuous change in requirement & key stakeholders. |
| Boxed approach to confine the activities within the boundary. It also helps define the milestone. | |
| It takes less time to implement and hence cost effective |
Nice Article Mr. Aditya Lal. It’s a good read.
Can you please let me know when are you planning to write the blog on roles & responsibilities of the PM, functional resources, client – IT & Business & deliverables during each phase of the ACTIVATE Methodology? I am interested to see that.
What is the hybrid approach that you talked about? Good one though
An awesome blog Mr. Lal! Its very well written and wonderfully explained.. Very Well done and keep it up
Another good one, let me know when you can publish your next article.
Good article on Activate. I was looking for one such article.
Mr. Lal, Thank yo for the article. It’s a great one.
I have gone through your blog and this is the best way to explain things.
Thank you for this great article too. Do you have more blogs related to this?
I was looking for these kind of articles where explain all these things. Thanks
Good and very detailed article.
I have found your two blogs and I really enjoyed the way you describe.
I found another post. It was really awesome. Do you have new blog of SAP?
Yes, He is really good. I saw his 2 three blogs....
Good one Aditya... I will wait for more blogs.
HI, Pamela, you can see his more blogs at https://people.sap.com/aditya.nlal05#content
Very well written steps.
Well explained blog.
Awesome blog on implementation methodologies.
Detailed steps are great.
I was looking for one such article.
Great write up Aditya.
Just saw this another article from you, good one.
Nice one Aditya!
Well done Mr. Adiya. I read your three blogs and all are awesome and well detailed.
Awesome Lal.
Very nice post. You did a great job here. All points are very detailed.
Another good one Aditya.
Another great post on SAP.
The steps you have explained is very easy to understand. Well done Mr. Aditya.
Yes, I agree with you Payal.
Thanks Aditya, I was looking for this kind of post. Thanks again. Can you please write more articles related to this.
Yes, very understanding post and very helpful.
Great post Aditya. Do you have more blogs like this?
Another good one Aditya, Let me know when you can publish your next blog.
Nice one Aditya!
HI Aditya, This is a really nice post. Very well written steps.
I like your post Aditya.