Lesson 1 of 6
Scope items as a starting point
10 min
Most key users are asked to "write the UAT scripts" with a blank spreadsheet and a deadline. You do not have to start from nothing. SAP publishes a library of standard business processes, each with a process flow and a test script, and every SAP S/4HANA project can use it. This lesson shows what that library contains, how to find the right entry, and how to judge what you have found.
What a scope item is
SAP Best Practices is SAP's predefined content for running common business processes in SAP S/4HANA. The content is organized into scope items: self-contained business processes with a short ID and a name. Examples you will meet on almost every project are BD9 Sell from Stock, J45 Procurement of Direct Materials, BJ5 Make-to-Stock Production for discrete manufacturing and J58 Accounting and Financial Close. SAP's newer tools also call these solution processes; the IDs remain the quickest way to search.
A scope item is not just a label. It describes a process that SAP has configured and tested end to end in a reference system, using sample organizational units and sample master data. For a US localization that means company code 1710, plant 1710 and sales organization 1710, which is why Contoso Motor Co.'s project uses the same numbering.
The assets that come with a scope item
| Asset | What it gives you | How a key user uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Process flow diagram | The steps of the process in swimlanes, one lane per business role, with the apps used at each step | Agree the scope of a scenario and who performs each step |
| Test script | A step-by-step procedure with prerequisites, roles, apps, test data and expected results for each step | The skeleton of your business test scenario |
| Set-up or configuration documentation | What has to be configured or activated for the process to run | Understand preconditions and why a step behaves as it does |
| Tutorials and end-user information (where available) | Click-through walkthroughs of the process | Learn the apps before you write about them |
Finding them in SAP Signavio Process Navigator
The assets live in SAP Signavio Process Navigator, a free service you reach through SAP for Me with an S-user (or the universal ID your company uses for SAP support). Search by scope item ID or by name, then open the solution process. The page shows the process flow and lists the accelerators you can download, including the test script. Labels and tab names have changed over the years, so if a screen looks different from a colleague's description, look for the downloads or accelerators section rather than a specific tab name.
- Sign inOpen SAP for Me and launch SAP Signavio Process Navigator
- Pick the productChoose SAP S/4HANA (on-premise and private cloud), not Public Edition, and the release your project runs
- SearchEnter the scope item ID, for example BD9, or the process name
- Read the flowOpen the process flow diagram and note the roles and steps
- DownloadDownload the test script and any set-up documentation for your country version
What the test script is, and what it is not
The standard test script describes how the process works in SAP's reference configuration. It is an excellent starting point because the steps are in a sensible order, the roles are named and every step has an expected result. It is not your company's test. It knows nothing about Contoso's customers, Contoso's pricing agreements with fleet customers, or the approval step Dan's finance team added for large orders. It uses SAP's sample data, not yours. Treat it as a well-built template you will adapt, which is the subject of lesson 3.
SAP's own implementation guidance uses the scripts the same way. Partners download them before fit-to-standard workshops, run them in a starter system to show the standard process, and later adjust them for the delta requirements the workshops uncovered. Where a project uses SAP Cloud ALM, standard test content can also be brought into its test management, which saves typing but does not remove the need to adapt.
What would you do?
Maria, Contoso's order-to-cash key user, has been asked to write UAT scenarios for selling alternators from stock. She has never written a test before and asks you where to begin. What do you suggest?
- A scope item is a predefined business process with an ID, such as BD9 Sell from Stock or J45 Procurement of Direct Materials.
- Each scope item comes with assets such as a process flow diagram, a test script and set-up documentation.
- Find them in SAP Signavio Process Navigator via SAP for Me; choose the right product, release and country version.
- The standard test script is a template built on SAP sample data, not your company's test.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What is a scope item?
2. Where do key users find scope item process flows and test scripts?
3. Why must you choose the correct product and release before downloading a test script?
4. Which scope item is the standard sell-from-stock process?