Lesson 3 of 5
Scoping with SAP upgrade tools
10 min
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The hardest question in upgrade testing is not how to test but what to test. Test everything, and the window closes before you finish. Test too little, and the one changed function you skipped breaks month-end. SAP provides several tools whose output, read correctly, turns into test scope. This lesson walks through them and shows how Priya converts their findings into a scoped test plan, building on the change impact techniques in sap-tst-303.
The tools and what they tell you
| Tool | What it tells you | When |
|---|---|---|
| SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA upgrades | Relevant simplification items, custom code overview, add-on compatibility, recommended Fiori apps, integration analysis | Early in a release upgrade project |
| Simplification Item Check (/SDF/RC_START_CHECK) | Relevance and consistency per simplification item; mandatory; called by SUM | Early, then repeatedly until the downtime |
| Simplification Item Catalog | Details per item: what changed and the required action | While analysing relevant items |
| Custom Code Migration app or ATC | Custom code findings against the target release | Preparation, before the update |
| Release information and notes | Feature pack stack equivalences, known issues, follow-up activities | Throughout |
One distinction matters for planning. The 2025 upgrade guide says SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA upgrades is relevant for release upgrades, for example from 2023 to 2025, but not for updates from one feature pack or support pack stack to the next, for example from 2023 FPS02 to FPS03. The Simplification Item Check, by contrast, is mandatory for upgrades to a higher release or feature pack stack, and SUM runs it and stops if mandatory preparation is missing. The guide describes Readiness Check as mainly a planning tool run early, and the SI-Check as the operational tool used during cleanup, with the option to re-run single items.
From findings to test scope
- Collect findingsRelevant simplification items, custom code findings, changed or replaced apps, add-on and integration notes.
- Map to objectsEach finding points to transactions, apps, tables, interfaces or custom objects.
- Map to processesUse the process model in SAP Cloud ALM and usage data to find which business processes use them.
- Rate riskCriticality of the process times the depth of change.
- Select testsPick existing test cases; write new ones for gaps; record why each is in scope.
Readiness Check also offers an availability check for SAP Fiori apps and classic transactions based on the user interfaces actually used. The upgrade guide notes that it only evaluates used interfaces, which is good for scoping: if a transaction your users run every day is no longer available or has a successor app, that is a direct test and training item.
Feature pack stacks: different inputs
For a feature pack stack update, scope comes from the SI-Check, release information for the stack, notes listed for it, custom code checks and your own transport history since the last update. New features are usually opt-in: list the ones the business wants to adopt and treat them as small projects with their own tests, separate from regression.
- Is this a release upgrade?Yes → run Readiness Check early and the SI-Check · No → use the SI-Check, release information and notes
- Does a finding affect a process Contoso uses?Yes → map to processes and rate risk · No → record as not relevant, with reason
- Is there an existing test for the affected process?Yes → include it, noting the changed area · No → design a new test
- Is the change in custom code that is no longer used?Yes → consider retiring the code instead · No → adapt and test
What would you do?
For a feature pack stack update, a project manager asks Priya to wait for SAP Readiness Check results before scoping tests. What should Priya say?
- Readiness Check is a planning tool for release upgrades, not for FPS-to-FPS or SPS-to-SPS updates.
- The Simplification Item Check is mandatory, called by SUM, and can re-run single items.
- Map findings to objects, then to processes, rate risk and select or design tests.
- Readiness Check evaluates used UIs, which helps find changed or replaced apps users rely on.
- Record a test decision for every relevant finding and link findings, requirements and tests.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. According to SAP's 2025 upgrade guide, SAP Readiness Check for upgrades is primarily relevant to:
2. Which check is mandatory and called by the Software Update Manager?
3. What is the next step after mapping a simplification item to the objects it affects?