Lesson 6 of 6
Signing the converted process
6 min
Everything in this course ends in one act: the process owner signs that the converted process works and the converted data can be trusted. For a conversion, that signature rests on three kinds of evidence: scenario test results for the process, comparison results for the data, and a register of every difference that was accepted rather than fixed.
The standard criteria, applied to a conversion
- All critical end-to-end scenarios for the process passed in user acceptance testing on converted data.
- Every simplification item for the process is closed: response implemented, tested and trained.
- Comparison results for the process's data are complete, within tolerance, and reviewed.
- Field-level validation done, with findings fixed or accepted.
- No open severity 1 or 2 defects without an approved workaround and fix date.
- Every accepted difference recorded with owner and rationale.
The accepted-differences register
Some differences between ECC and SAP S/4HANA are legitimate. Journal entries carry more attributes. Some document numbers change. A retired custom report has no successor by design. A rounding difference may be inherent. Each one must be written down: what the difference is, why it exists, its size, who accepted it and whether anything must happen later. Auditors will ask, and a register answers in minutes what memory cannot.
| Difference | Reason | Size | Accepted by | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open AR in mock 2 lower by 42,000 USD | Partially cleared items lost in mapping; fixed before mock 3 | 0 in mock 3 | Not accepted: fixed | None |
| Stock value difference in valuation area 1720 | Documented rounding on revaluation | 0.04 USD | Dan, within agreed tolerance | None |
| Custom report Z_MARGIN_DAILY retired | Replaced by standard margin analysis app | n/a | Dan | Training for controllers |
| Credit limits for 12 dormant customers not carried over | Customers flagged inactive; limits to be set on reactivation | 12 records | Maria with AR lead | Credit check on first new order |
An extract from Contoso's accepted-differences register. Fixed items stay on the register as history.
Sign-off during cutover
Sign-off happens twice. First, the process owner signs the process at the end of user acceptance testing and the final mock conversion. Second, during the production cutover, the business signs validation checkpoints before the system opens to users. Luis, as cutover manager, builds those checkpoints into the cutover plan with a time, an owner and a pass condition, because the go/no-go call cannot wait for a long investigation.
- ECC period closedFinance closes the period; pre-conversion comparison reports extracted
- Conversion runsTechnical conversion and finance data migration; logs monitored
- Business checkpoint 1Dan signs the trial balance and open item comparison
- Business checkpoint 2Plant controllers sign stock quantity and value comparison
- Business checkpoint 3Maria and AP lead sign open orders and business partner samples
- Go decisionProcess owners confirm; Grace records the go decision; users are let in
Rehearse the checkpoints in the final mock, with the same people, the same reports and the same clock. If the trial balance comparison took Dan's team six hours in the mock, the cutover plan must allow six hours, not two.
What would you do?
During Contoso's production cutover, the stock value comparison for plant 1720 shows a 3,100 USD difference. The cutover plan allows two hours for this checkpoint, and the go decision is due in ninety minutes. What should the plant controller and Dan do?
- Sign the converted process on scenario results, comparison results and an accepted-differences register.
- Every difference is zero, fixed and re-verified, or recorded with owner, reason and follow-up.
- Sign twice: at the end of testing and at cutover business checkpoints.
- Rehearse cutover checkpoints in the final mock with the same people, reports and timing.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What three kinds of evidence support signing a converted process?
2. What must each accepted difference record?
3. Why rehearse cutover checkpoints in the final mock?
4. Who records the go decision at Contoso?