Week 1 of 12
Where you really are
Welcome to The Sign-Off Table. For the next 12 weeks you will get one practical move a week for testing an ECC to S/4HANA transformation, in the order you will need them. After that, a weekly roundup of new research, guides and templates.
We start with the dates, because they set the back end of every test plan. SAP ECC mainstream maintenance ends at the end of 2027. Extended maintenance to 2030 costs a two-point premium. The 2033 transition option is non-mandatory and only for qualifying customers moving into Private Edition under RISE.
This week: write down your real date and work backwards
- Decide which date you are actually planning to: end of 2027, or end of 2030 with extended maintenance. Get it in writing from your program sponsor.
- Subtract at least one month-end close of hypercare, then two or three mock cutovers and a dress rehearsal, then SIT and UAT.
- What is left is your build window. If it looks too short, raise it now, not in Realize.
- Run the S/4HANA readiness checklist against your program and mark every item red, amber or green.
Number of the week
8%
of S/4HANA projects in a 200-company study finished on time; the average ran 30% long.
Source: Horváth study, via CIO.com (2025)Use this week
- S/4HANA Migration Readiness Checklist →
46 testing-readiness items by SAP Activate phase, filterable by brownfield, greenfield or selective.
- Guide: ECC end of maintenance, 2027, 2030 and 2033 →
Who qualifies for what, and how to plan backwards from your date.
Next week: RISE moves a lot to SAP. Testing is not one of those things. We look at exactly who owns what.
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