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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 7 of 7

Capstone: design and present your framework

10 min

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The capstone puts the course together. You will assemble a sign-off framework for a sample program, have it reviewed by a peer against a rubric, and prepare a short presentation for program leadership. Use the Contoso case below, or your own program if you can share it, with confidential details removed.

The case: Contoso Wave 2

Contoso has converted to SAP S/4HANA and is in its first quarter of operation. It has acquired Alternadores del Norte S.A. de C.V. in Monterrey and will bring it onto the converted system as company code 1910 (MXN), plant 1910 Monterrey, sales area 1910/10/00, with data loaded from a non-SAP legacy ERP: 1,946 customers in scope, open AR of MXN 48,615,320.40, stock of 2,300 pieces of ADN-200, and about 2,600 core return agreements in a custom table carried over from ECC. The largest customer is Flotillas Monterrey S.A. de C.V. Go-live must not disrupt Contoso's running US operations in 1710 and 1810.

Wave 2 loads a non-SAP business into the converted production system, so every Wave 2 gate must also protect the running US company codes.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-xpr-401

Deliverables

  1. Principles: the principles you adopt, one line each, with any you add for this case.
  2. RACI and decision rights: accountable owner per acceptance, including Mexican process owners, and a severity table with acceptance rights.
  3. Gate plan: gates for the Wave 2 project and for releases that affect 1710/1810 during the project, with entry and exit criteria and evidence.
  4. Evidence standard: levels and minimum evidence per area, including data migration and local legal requirements such as electronic invoicing, where you state what must be verified rather than how the country solution works.
  5. Risk acceptance rules: content, rules and escalation paths with time limits.
  6. Metrics: five metrics with definitions and targets, and the review cadence.
  7. Leadership summary: one page with the decisions you need leadership to make.
PrinciplesWhy the framework works the way it does
Roles and rightsWho attests, recommends, accepts and decides
GatesWhen decisions are made and on what criteria
EvidenceWhat proof each decision needs
Risk acceptanceHow open issues are decided and escalated
MetricsHow we know the framework works and improve it
The six layers of the framework you assemble. Each layer builds on the one above.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-xpr-401

The review rubric

CriterionMeets the standardExcellent
OwnershipEvery acceptance has one accountable business owner with authorityDeputies named; decision rights tested against two realistic scenarios
GatesGates cover project phases, migration rehearsals and go/no-go with entry and exit criteriaRelease gates protect running operations in 1710/1810 during the project
EvidenceMinimum evidence defined per area with levelsTemplates show a filled example for one critical process
RiskAcceptance content, rights by severity, expiry and escalation times definedAggregate risk view per process at go/no-go is designed in
MeasurementFive metrics defined with sourcesCounterweights and an improvement loop with owners
ConsistencyUses canonical facts (company codes, thresholds, roles) without contradictionTraceable from each principle to a concrete rule
CommunicationOne-page summary for leadershipSummary leads with decisions requested and their consequences

Peer review rubric for the capstone.

Peer review

  1. Self-checkScore your framework against the rubric and note gaps
  2. ExchangeSwap frameworks with a peer
  3. ReviewPeer scores each criterion with one strength and one improvement
  4. Scenario testPeer runs two scenarios through your rules, such as a high-severity defect on cutover day
  5. ReviseUpdate the framework and record what changed
The peer review process. Scenario tests find gaps that reading alone misses.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-xpr-401

Presenting to leadership

Leaders do not need the whole framework; they need to know what it asks of them. Structure the presentation around decisions: approve the principles, confirm accountable owners, agree the severity rules (especially that critical items block), commit to gate dates having the power to move, and sponsor the quarterly review. Show one realistic scenario, for example a high-severity defect found two days before go-live, walked through the framework from discovery to decision. That makes it concrete.

What would you do?

In the peer review, your reviewer runs this scenario: on cutover Sunday, a high-severity defect appears in Mexican electronic invoicing, and the steering committee chair cannot be reached. Your framework has no rule for this. What is the best revision?

The capstone presentation runs from a real problem to a single decision request, so leadership approves the framework rather than just hearing about it.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-xpr-401
Key points
  • The capstone assembles all six layers for a sample program, such as Contoso Wave 2.
  • A rubric covers ownership, gates, evidence, risk, measurement, consistency and communication.
  • Peer reviewers run scenarios through your rules to find gaps.
  • Present to leadership as decisions they must make, with one concrete scenario.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What makes a peer review of the framework more than a reading exercise?

  2. 2. How should the leadership presentation be structured?

  3. 3. Why should the framework itself be formally approved?

  4. 4. What should the leadership presentation end with?