SAP Project Update
SAP S/4HANA is being built and configured in sprints, where certain amounts of work are planned for each sprint, and we execute against that. Any unfinished work rolls to the next sprint. We had a slower start with Sprints 1 and 2 given the end-of-year holidays, but we are making progress and kicked off Sprint 3 the week of January 13.
We created an initial SAP change impacts summary (not a comprehensive list of SAP change impacts) and distributed it through the SAP Change Leader Network the week of January 20. The purpose of the initial summary is to start early communications with an emphasis on changes with high levels of complexity and large groups of impacted end users.
We started developing the ERP training program with a focus on curriculum and the end-user training courses coming in Q4. We’ll cover training information, such as Train-the-Trainer details and training dates, at an upcoming SAP Town Hall.
Sprint Update
Sprints are intented to build on top of the work from past sprints. In Sprint 1, we focused on baseline configuration for master data, and in Sprint 2 we focused on configuration for transactional processes. In Sprint 3, we are focused on integrating processes to create more end-to-end scenarios.
In the first few sprints, we also concentrated on enhancements and received a large number of change requests, so we’re slightly behind on configuration as we finalize the scope for development and decide when to incorporate those change requests into different sprints. Now, in Sprint 3, we’re focused on build.
SAP Awareness Survey Results
Thank you to all who responded to the SAP Awareness Survey. It’s the first of three SAP surveys you can expect to receive. This survey assesses end-user awareness and understanding of the SAP project at the end of the explore phase. At the end of the build phase, we’ll send an SAP Readiness Survey to find out if end users have knowledge of the upcoming changes in their functional area. Finally, we’ll send an SAP Post-Go Live Survey four to six weeks after Go Live to see if end users feel they can perform their job responsibilities within the new S/4HANA system.
The SAP Awareness Survey was distributed through the SAP Change Leader Network to about 1,500 end users, and we had over a 60% response rate! Three-quarters of respondents know of the SAP Project, but less than half feel adequately informed. End users want more information around what’s changing, training, and cutover. We’re comfortable with the survey results at this phase of the project, but we need to continue to reinforce the SAP Change Leader Network as only 58% of respondents know their SAP Change Leader.
In order to address the concern for more project-related information, we’re committed to:
- Communicating the initial SAP change impacts summary by the end of January through the SAP Change Leader Network
- Hosting workshops for functional areas to create personas that describe job role specific changes, and distribute the personas through the SAP Change Leader Network
- Discussing the overall training strategy, including Train-the-Trainer and end-user training, at an upcoming SAP Town Hall
- Providing future SAP Town Hall meeting recordings to all SAP end users
- Aligning with local resources who can support language translations
Change Impacts
Change impacts are the detailed differences between the current and future state of the system. Change impacts can involve technology, processes, people, and more. During the design phase of the SAP project, the change management team worked with the process teams to collect, review, and validate an initial set of SAP change impacts.
We created a summary of those initial change impacts that we sent to the SAP Change Leader Network on January 24 to communicate with their end users. The purpose of the summary is to start early communications about what’s changing and focus on change impacts with the highest degree of change. Expect to hear about key changes in your process area from your SAP Change Leader in the upcoming weeks.
February SAP Town Hall
The next SAP Town Hall is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 8:15 – 9:00 AM, Eastern Time. If you are part of the SAP Project Team and don’t see the invite on your calendar, please email the SAP OCM Team at bear_gabrielle@network.elanco.com or landis_evan@network.elanco.com.