Lesson 4 of 5
Turning results into workstream plans
11 min
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A dashboard is not a plan. The value of Readiness Check comes from turning each finding into owned work with a phase and a date. SAP connects the two: the SAP Activate roadmaps for transitions include Readiness Check activities, and in SAP Cloud ALM findings can be linked to the project as follow-ups.
From finding to task
- FindingSimplification item, add-on, business function, custom code group, interface, data quality issue
- Owner readsWorkstream lead reads the note or Learn More panel
- DecisionAction, phase (before, during, after conversion), effort
- Follow-upTask created or linked in SAP Cloud ALM
- Test linkTest case or scenario that will prove the result
- Re-runNext Readiness Check confirms progress
SAP's Key Feature Overview describes an integration with SAP Cloud ALM project and task management: you can set up references between Readiness Check findings and your Cloud ALM project, create new follow-ups or assign existing ones to findings, and manage them in the project. Grace's PMO uses it so each finding has a visible owner and status, and so a re-run shows which findings remain.
- In SAP Cloud ALM, open the EP1 analysis in the Readiness Check app and connect it to the project "S/4HANA conversion".
- Filter the findings, for example simplification items ranked high, and select the ones that need work.
- Create a follow-up for each, or assign an existing one; the follow-ups appear in the project as tasks.
- Set owner, due date and the phase from the activity class (before, during or after conversion).
- Link the test case or requirement that will prove the result, so the trace exists from day one.
- After the next collection, compare the new analysis with the baseline and close follow-ups only on evidence.
Mapping findings to workstreams
| Readiness Check area | Workstream at Contoso | Typical plan items |
|---|---|---|
| Simplification items, compatibility scope | Each functional workstream | Read notes, decide, configure, change process |
| Add-ons, business functions, sizing, downtime | Basis and technical (Sam) | Replace or uninstall add-ons, size the target, plan the cutover window |
| Custom code | Development (Kenji) | Delete unused code, adapt affected code, retest |
| Integration | Integration and Basis | Remediate or rebuild impacted interfaces; interface tests |
| Customer Vendor Integration | Master data and data migration | CVI pre-project: cleansing, customizing, synchronization |
| Financial Data Quality | Finance (Dan) | Correct inconsistencies before conversion; reconciliation plan |
| App availability, Fiori apps | Change management and UX | Successor apps, roles, training |
| Business process discovery | Process owners, cutover (Luis) | Clear old open documents; harmonize order types |
Who picks up which part of the Readiness Check results at Contoso.
Some findings start pre-projects that should run before the conversion project proper. Customer-vendor integration is the classic one: synchronization must be complete in ERP before the technical conversion, and data cleansing takes time. Financial data inconsistencies are another; SAP recommends analyzing and resolving them before converting. Old open documents from the Business Process Discovery backlog are a third: clearing them shrinks data volume and cutover risk.
- Month 1Analysis and decisionsFirst Readiness Check; owners assigned; blockers escalated
- Months 2–5Pre-projectsCVI, financial data cleanup, archiving, unused code deletion
- Month 4Re-runProgress check; plan adjusted
- Months 5–8Conversion projectMock conversions, adaptation, testing
- Q3Go-liveConverted production on SAP S/4HANA Private Edition
Keep the plan honest about dependencies. Some findings must be closed before others can start: business partner synchronization before the technical conversion, add-on decisions before the Maintenance Planner can produce a stack file, financial inconsistencies before the finance data conversion runs. Grace marks these as gates in the plan, with the Readiness Check finding as the evidence that opens or closes each gate, so the steering committee sees why a date depends on a data cleanup.
Use the numbers carefully
Effort rankings, sizing and downtime figures are estimates based on reference values and past projects. They are good for sorting and early budgeting, not for commitments. The Planned Downtime Calculator, for example, applies only to a standard conversion through SUM in a single data center. Contoso's 60-hour cutover window from Friday 18:00 to Monday 06:00 is validated in the dress rehearsal, not by the calculator.
| Finding | Owner | Phase | Gate it opens |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVI not started (4,850 customers) | Master data team with Maria and Dan | Before conversion | Technical conversion of CMQ |
| Unknown add-on status | Sam | Before conversion | Maintenance Planner stack file |
| Storage Location MRP relevant in plant 1710 | Manufacturing lead | Before Mock 1 | MRP tests in CMQ |
| Financial inconsistencies, category C | Dan with SAP Support | Before conversion | Finance data migration |
| 4,300 unused custom objects | Kenji | Before CMD conversion | Smaller ATC scope |
| Open documents older than 365 days | Process owners with Luis | Before Mock 2 | Cutover data volume |
Contoso's first planning table from the analysis: owner, phase and the gate each finding opens.
What would you do?
The PMO wants to put every one of the 118 relevant simplification items into the project plan as a separate task with a two-day estimate. What would you advise?
- Every finding gets an owner, a decision, a phase and a link to a test.
- SAP Cloud ALM can link findings to follow-ups in the project.
- CVI, financial data cleanup and backlog clearing often become pre-projects.
- Use estimates for sorting and early budgets; validate with mocks and rehearsals.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What does the SAP Cloud ALM integration let Contoso do with findings?
2. Which finding most often becomes a pre-project before the conversion?
3. For what is the Planned Downtime Calculator result valid?
4. Who at Contoso owns the financial data quality findings?
5. When may Contoso close a Readiness Check follow-up in SAP Cloud ALM?