Lesson 5 of 5
Checkpoints and handover to testing
10 min
Listen to this lesson
SAP is explicit that finishing the technical procedure does not by itself make a system ready for productive use. Between SUM's last phase and the first business user there are technical checks, application follow-up steps and tests. If Basis and the test lead agree these checkpoints in advance, every run ends with a clean, documented handover. If they do not, testers start on a half-finished system and log defects that are really unfinished follow-up work.
- Did SUM finish without open errors?Yes → review logs and phase durations · No → stop; fix or reset before anyone tests
- Are technical follow-ups done?Yes → kernel, profiles, SPAU, SDMI status checked · No → Basis completes them first
- Are application follow-ups done?Yes → finance migration and mandatory steps confirmed · No → functional leads finish and reconcile
- Is the system technically healthy?Yes → hand over to testing with evidence · No → classify and fix the issue first
The technical checklist
| Check | Where | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| SUM ended successfully; no unresolved errors or skipped phases | SUM logs and summary | Log extract and duration report |
| Modifications adjusted | SPDD during the run, SPAU and SPAU_ENH afterward | Adjustment status, transports |
| Silent Data Migration running or complete in every client | SDM_MON | Status per client |
| No new runtime errors or system log alerts | ST22, SM21 | Screenshot-free summary: counts and causes |
| Background jobs released in a controlled way | Job overview SM37 | List of released and still-held jobs |
| Interfaces and RFC destinations reachable | SM59 connection tests, interface monitors | Test results per connection |
| Custom code checked against simplifications | ABAP Test Cockpit with check variant S4HANA_READINESS | Findings and fixes |
| Fiori launchpad and output management working | Launchpad, output control setup | Smoke test of key apps and forms |
Technical checks Basis completes and evidences before handing over. Adjust to your landscape.
Proving the data came across
A conversion keeps business data, so testing must show it is still right. SAP's Data Transition Validation (DTV) tool compares business data before and after a conversion or upgrade using business reports or transactions; SAP's conversion guide describes it as part of the standard license. Define the comparison reports in the preparation phase with the business and auditors, extract during ramp-down, and validate in the target after the run. For Contoso, Dan defines the finance comparisons (trial balance in company codes 1710 and 1810, open items, asset values) and Maria defines the order-to-cash ones.
When a run must be abandoned
Agree in advance what happens if a production run cannot finish in time. With DMO, SAP states that the source database is not modified during the run and that SUM offers a reset, so falling back means restarting the old system rather than restoring a backup (sap-bas-302 covers this). The fallback decision needs two times in the runbook. The latest fallback start is Sunday 18:00: Monday 06:00 minus the 9-hour fallback measured in Mock 2, minus a 3-hour margin, which makes go/no-go 2 at Sunday 14:00 the last planned decision before it. The point of no return is Monday 06:00, when business opens. Once the fallback deadline has passed, the program is committed to fixing forward.
- Is the run on schedule at the checkpoint?Yes → continue · No → estimate remaining time from rehearsal data
- Can it still finish, with validation, before the window ends?Yes → continue with a recorded deviation · No → go to fallback decision
- Is it before the latest fallback start (Sun 18:00)?Yes → fall back to ECC and reschedule · No → fix forward with the escalation plan
What would you do?
On the dress rehearsal weekend, SUM finishes at 03:00 Sunday. Testers are waiting. Sam has not finished SPAU and the SDMI jobs are still running in client 100. Luis wants testing to start now to protect the timeline. What should happen?
- A finished SUM run is not a finished system: technical and application follow-ups come first.
- Agree a technical checklist with evidence: logs, SPAU, SDMI, dumps, jobs, connections, custom code, Fiori and output.
- Use before-and-after comparisons, such as SAP's Data Transition Validation, for data acceptance.
- Hand over each run with a note, and record the run number in all test evidence.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which transaction shows the status of Silent Data Migration after an upgrade?
2. What does SAP's Data Transition Validation tool compare?
3. Which check variant does SAP name for finding S/4HANA simplification issues in custom code after conversion?
4. Why should every piece of test evidence record the conversion run number?