Lesson 3 of 6
Fit-to-standard workshops
10 min
The old way to design an ERP system started from the business's current process, wrote it down in detail and then built the system to match. The SAP Activate way starts from the opposite end. Fit-to-standard workshops show the business how SAP's standard process works, using SAP Best Practices content and a working system, and then ask: does this fit? Where it does not, why not, and does it matter?
How a workshop runs
- PrepareConsultant selects the relevant scope items; key users bring examples, volumes, forms and pain points
- ShowConsultant demonstrates the standard process end to end in a Best Practices system
- CompareKey users walk through their real cases against the demo, step by step
- ClassifyEach difference is recorded as a fit, a configuration value or a gap
- Follow upConfiguration values collected; gaps written up and sent to the process owner and design authority
SAP Best Practices processes are organized as scope items, each with a process description, flow diagrams and test scripts. They can be browsed in SAP Signavio Process Navigator. A key user who reads the scope item for their area before the workshop (for example, sell from stock for order-to-cash) arrives knowing the vocabulary and the standard flow, and can spend the workshop on the differences that matter.
Three possible outcomes
| Outcome | Meaning | Contoso example |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | The standard process works as shown | Standard order, delivery and invoice for aftermarket customers |
| Configuration value | The standard process works once company-specific values are set | Payment terms "net 45" for fleet customers; Contoso's shipping conditions; plant 1720 for Chicago |
| Gap (delta requirement) | The standard process does not support a real business need, even with configuration | Fleet contract ID must be captured on every order and printed on the invoice |
Most of a workshop's output should be fits and configuration values. If a workshop produces mostly gaps, something is wrong: either the scope item does not match the business, or the participants are describing their current system rather than their business need. The question that separates the two is "what would happen to the business if we did it the standard way?". If the honest answer is "people would have to learn a new screen", it is not a gap.
- Does the standard process, as demonstrated, meet the business need?Yes → record a fit · No → continue
- Can it meet the need with company-specific settings?Yes → record a configuration value and who will supply it · No → continue
- Is the need real (legal, contractual, financial or customer-facing), not just a habit?Yes → record a gap with its business impact · No → record a fit and a change management note
- Does the gap need a decision on process change?Yes → escalate to the process owner · No → pass to the design authority for a solution
What to bring
- Real documents: three or four typical orders and the two strangest ones from last year.
- Volumes: orders per day, lines per order, peaks at month-end or season.
- Forms and outputs customers or suppliers rely on.
- Legal and contractual obligations, with their source.
- Today's pain points: what goes wrong, what is done outside the system.
What would you do?
In Contoso's order-to-cash workshop, the standard demo shows credit checks during order entry. Maria says, "In ECC we check credit only at delivery, so we need that." Nobody can explain why ECC was set up that way. How should this be recorded?
- Fit-to-standard shows the standard process first and then examines the differences.
- Every difference is a fit, a configuration value or a gap.
- Read the scope item in SAP Signavio Process Navigator before the workshop.
- Bring real documents, volumes, outputs and obligations; describe needs, not the old system.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What is a configuration value in fit-to-standard?
2. Where can key users browse SAP Best Practices scope items?
3. A workshop produces mostly gaps. What does this most likely indicate?
4. Which question best separates a real gap from a habit?