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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 2 of 5

Running the workshops

9 min

A Fit-to-Standard workshop is a structured show-and-tell. A partner process expert demonstrates a standard process end to end, following the SAP Best Practices test script, using the business roles the customer will actually have. The business watches, asks questions and tells the team where the process does not fit. The output is not a design; it is a list of confirmed fits, configuration values and deltas, each linked to a process.

Who is in the room

FacilitatorPartner process expert: runs the agenda, demonstrates, keeps time
Process ownerAccountable business leader, such as Maria for order to cash: decides fit or delta
Key usersTwo to four people per role who do the work today
ScribeRecords fits, values and deltas in SAP Cloud ALM during the session
Observers with a purposeTest analyst, data migration and integration leads, change management
Roles in a Contoso Fit-to-Standard workshop. Every observer is there to take something specific away.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-201

A workshop agenda

  1. Confirm scopeWhich processes, which variants, which org units, such as sales area 1710 / 10 / 00
  2. Show the process flowWalk the Best Practices flow so everyone sees the whole before the screens
  3. DemonstrateRun the standard test script live with the business role users
  4. Discuss fitFor each step: fits, fits with configuration, or delta
  5. CaptureRecord values and deltas against the solution process in Cloud ALM
  6. Read backSummarize decisions and open points before people leave
The core loop of every Fit-to-Standard session.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-201

The demonstration should use the standard test script, not a slide deck. SAP's guidance is that the expert demonstrates each script from start to finish. That takes time, which is why workshop sizing matters: a long material requirements planning script can fill most of a morning on its own.

Rules that keep workshops productive

  • Show before asking. Business users describe today's process much better once they have seen tomorrow's.
  • Separate fit from design. When a delta appears, record it with its business reason. Do not design the solution in the room; that happens in later design workshops for prioritized items.
  • Ask "why" twice. Many requests are habits from the old system. The second "why" often reveals that standard already meets the real need.
  • Use a parking lot. Questions for other workstreams, such as data or integration, are logged and handed over, not discussed for twenty minutes.
  • Read back. End with the list of decisions and deltas, and confirm them with the process owner.
  1. Can the business run this step in standard as shown?Yes → record as fit · No → next question
  2. Can it be met by configuration values or settings the standard offers?Yes → record the configuration need and values · No → next question
  3. Is the need driven by a real business, legal or customer requirement rather than habit?Yes → record a delta requirement with its business reason · No → record as a change management item and adopt the standard
The three questions a facilitator asks at each process step.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-pmo-201

Capturing in Cloud ALM

SAP Cloud ALM supports this directly. In the project's scope, the team opens the solution process, views its process diagrams, and records requirements against it during the session. Because each requirement is linked to its process from the start, later reports can show for every process how many deltas exist, which are approved and which are tested. Contoso's scribes capture directly in Cloud ALM rather than in a spreadsheet that someone must re-key later.

What would you do?

Midway through the procure-to-pay workshop, a key user insists the purchase order screen must look exactly like the old ECC transaction "because everyone knows it". What should the facilitator do?

Key points
  • Workshops are show-and-tell sessions using standard test scripts with real business roles.
  • Name a facilitator, process owner, key users and a scribe; every observer has a purpose.
  • Record fit, configuration value or delta at each step; do not design solutions in the room.
  • Capture requirements in SAP Cloud ALM against their solution process so traceability starts on day one.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What is the main output of a Fit-to-Standard workshop?

  2. 2. What should be used to demonstrate the standard process?

  3. 3. Who decides whether a step is a fit or a delta?

  4. 4. Why capture requirements in Cloud ALM during the session?