Lesson 5 of 5
Sign-off: the evidence pack and the decision
9 min
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Sign-off is the moment the business accepts that maintenance will work on SAP S/4HANA. For Contoso, the Detroit maintenance manager signs as process owner for Asset Management, with Dan co-signing the cost flow. They sign on evidence, assembled by Priya's team and Rosa, and the decision has three possible outcomes: approve, approve with conditions, or do not approve.
What goes in the evidence pack
| Section | Content | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Scenario map with every line linked to a passed test, or an accepted gap | Test management in SAP Cloud ALM |
| Corrective flow | End-to-end runs with settlement evidence in both plants | Orders, settlement documents, cost center reports |
| Preventive flow | Expected and actual call dates and operations; deadline monitoring job log | Scheduling lists, orders, job logs |
| Settlement completeness | Clean settlement log, no unexplained balances, totals reconciled | Period-end runs in the mock closes |
| Analytics | Breakdown, damage, cost and backlog figures traced to source documents | Fiori apps, PMIS, order lists |
| Conversion | Object counts reconciled; in-flight orders settled; converted plans match ECC dates | Mock conversion reports, samples |
| Defects | Open defects by severity with owner, workaround and target date | Defect management in SAP Cloud ALM |
Contoso's maintenance sign-off evidence pack.
Tracing analytics to source
Analytics evidence deserves one extra step. For a sample of figures, trace the number back to its source: the September breakdown count for winding machine 10000451 in the Technical Object Breakdowns app should match the notifications with the breakdown indicator in the notification list; the settled cost for line 1 in the cost center report should match the settlement documents of the orders. If the figures do not trace, the report cannot be trusted on Monday morning, however good it looks.
- Are all high-impact scenarios covered with passed tests and evidence?Yes → continue · No → do not approve; close the gaps
- Any open critical or high defects in maintenance or settlement?Yes → do not approve · No → continue
- Do settlement totals reconcile and analytics trace to source?Yes → continue · No → do not approve until explained
- Are there open medium or low items with workarounds and dates?Yes → approve with conditions, each with an owner and due date · No → approve
Conditions that mean something
A condition is a promise with an owner and a date, not a hope. Contoso's final maintenance sign-off before the dress rehearsal was approved with two conditions: a medium defect in the Chicago deadline monitoring variant, with a corrected variant to be tested in the dress rehearsal (owner Rosa); and a training gap for night-shift technicians on the emergency app, to be closed in the week before go-live (owner the Detroit maintenance manager). Both were tracked to closure in SAP Cloud ALM, and the closure evidence was added to the pack.
- End of cycle 2Draft packCoverage and defects reviewed with Rosa and Priya
- Mock close 2Settlement evidenceCompleteness checks with Dan's team
- Before dress rehearsalSign-off meetingApproved with two conditions
- Dress rehearsalConditions closedChicago variant retested; closure evidence added
- Go/no-goFinal confirmationSigned pack presented to Grace's go/no-go meeting
Present the pack so it can be read in a meeting. Lead with the decision you are asking for, then the coverage summary, the open defects and the conditions, then the evidence by section. The process owner should be able to see in five minutes what was tested, what is still open and what would happen if it went wrong. Detailed evidence stays one click away in SAP Cloud ALM.
Sign-off is not the end of quality. After go-live, the same evidence pack becomes the baseline for hypercare: the first month-end settlement in production is checked with the same completeness checks, the first deadline monitoring runs are compared with expected calls, and the KPIs are read with the definitions agreed during testing. When those first production checks pass, the maintenance stream can hand over to the support team with confidence.
Sign-off criteria in numbers
| Criterion | Threshold for approval | Contoso result (dress rehearsal) |
|---|---|---|
| High-impact coverage lines tested | 100% passed or accepted by the process owner | 62 of 62 |
| Open critical or high defects | 0 | 0 |
| Open medium defects | Each with workaround, owner and date | 1 (Chicago deadline monitoring variant) |
| Settlement completeness | Clean log; balances explained; totals equal | Equal: $186,400; one explained balance |
| Analytics traced to source | At least 3 samples per report, all matching | 12 samples, all matching after one fix |
| Converted plans | Next due dates equal ECC for the sample | 40 of 40 plans match |
Turning the sign-off questions into thresholds removes arguments in the meeting.
- The process owner signs on an evidence pack: coverage, flows, settlement, analytics, conversion and defects.
- Trace sampled analytics figures back to the documents behind them.
- Open critical or high defects block sign-off; medium and low items can become conditions.
- Every condition needs an owner, a due date and closure evidence.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which outcome fits a maintenance stream with no open critical defects but two medium items with workarounds?
2. How should analytics evidence be validated for sign-off?
3. Who co-signs the maintenance cost flow at Contoso?
4. Why turn the sign-off questions into numeric thresholds before the meeting?