Lesson 3 of 5
Approaches
9 min
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For every interface in the inventory, choose one of four approaches: migrate it largely as is, redesign it, consolidate it with others, or retire it. The choice drives effort, risk and the kind of testing needed. A program that migrates everything as is moves its technical debt to a new platform; a program that redesigns everything never finishes.
- Has it had traffic in the last twelve months, and does the business still need it?Yes → next question · No → retire, with the owner's written agreement
- Does SAP now offer standard content, a released API or an event that covers it after the S/4HANA conversion?Yes → redesign onto the standard option · No → next question
- Do several interfaces do nearly the same thing for different partners?Yes → consolidate into one parameterized flow · No → next question
- Is it Ready to migrate or Adjustment required, with no design problem worth fixing?Yes → migrate with tool support · No → redesign
Migrate with tool support
SAP provides a migration tool in the Cloud Integration capability. SAP's course describes it as wizard-based and pattern-based: it creates integration flows from PO design-time artifacts where the scenario matches a supported pattern, with manual changes still possible or needed. At the time of the course, it supported integrated configuration objects only, with communication channels such as HTTP, REST, SOAP, IDoc, FTP, SFTP and XI, and flow content such as message mappings, Java mappings, XSLT mappings and routing. Only integrated configurations rated Ready to migrate or Adjustment required can go through the tool; anything rated Evaluation required, or outside the supported list, is manual work. SAP's course states a goal of saving roughly 60 to 70% of migration time through automation; treat that as SAP's aim, not your estimate.
Two practical consequences. Classical scenarios that are not integrated configurations need converting or rebuilding. And reused Java mappings and adapter modules come across only where supported; custom adapter modules usually need redesign as flow steps or scripts in Integration Suite.
Redesign, consolidate, retire
| Approach | When it fits | Contoso example | Test focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migrate | Supported pattern, sound design | ORDERS IDoc to Lakeside over SFTP | Equivalence with PO output |
| Redesign | Standard content or a released API exists, or the design is fragile | A file-based customer master feed replaced by SAP's released business partner API | Functional testing against new expectations, not PO equivalence |
| Consolidate | Many near-copies for different partners | Five carrier label interfaces merged into one flow with partner parameters | Equivalence per partner, plus routing tests |
| Retire | No traffic, no owner need | Seven interfaces with no messages in twelve months | Confirm no hidden dependency; monitor after switch-off |
Note the testing column. A migrated interface is proven by equivalence: same input, same output as PO. A redesigned interface is not supposed to produce the same output, so it needs a functional test against new, agreed expectations, and usually a receiver-side change too. That difference has to be visible in the plan, because a redesign often costs more testing than building.
What would you do?
Contoso has five PO interfaces that send shipping label requests to five carriers. Each was copied from the first and edited. The assessment marks all five Ready to migrate. Grace asks whether to migrate them as five interfaces to save time. What should Theo recommend?
- Choose per interface: migrate, redesign, consolidate or retire, in that order of questions.
- SAP's migration tool creates flows from supported PO patterns; at course time, integrated configurations only.
- Migrated interfaces are tested for equivalence; redesigned ones against new expectations.
- Retire with evidence and keep the configuration through a year-end cycle.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which PO artifact type did SAP's migration tool support at the time of SAP's course?
2. How is a redesigned interface tested, compared with a migrated one?
3. Which situation best fits consolidation?
4. What should Contoso check before retiring an interface with no traffic?