Database Reference
In-Depth Information
13.1.1 Why Are SAP Implementation Programs So Complex?
The prime reason for the apparently longer duration of SAP implementation projects is due to the
peculiar complexity of the product and, hence, its implementation. Let me explain. The contradic-
tory demands of comprehensibility and flexibility are satisfactorily addressable in SAP because of its
repository-oriented architecture (in this chapter, we will mainly focus on the functionality aspects
of this repository rather than the technical ones, which are also substantial). Fundamentally, this
was not much different from the trend of parameterized packages that had been gaining ground
among application software packages since the 1980s. The main difference is the extent or degree
of parameterization: SAP is parameterized to a much larger extent. It is this property that enables
it to be flexible enough to be configurable to the requirements of several industries.
The difficulty in implementing SAP arises from the fact that the success of the implementa-
tion project depended on correctly mapping all of the company's customer-facing business process
into the SAP system. This entails correct configuration of all the required processes right at the
beginning or at the initial stages of the project. As we have seen earlier, SAP addressed the problem
of providing usable application software systems by effectively short-circuiting the problematic
requirements analysis phase, which is the bane of the traditional software development life cycle
(SDLC). Because of the demand for correct configuration right at the beginning, we were back to
confronting essentially the same problem.
The majority of the risks for the ultimate success of the project are also dependent on this ini-
tial mapping being completed correctly, consistently, and completely. Unlike in the SDLC, where
the end users are expected to know only their requirements thoroughly, in the new dispensation,
they have the additional burden of having to become quite familiar with the functionality pro-
vided by SAP. Thus, SAP is very flexible, but in order to configure it correctly to use its power, not
only is one required to know the business process requirements of the company, but one must also
be well acquainted with the SAP functionality even before starting on the configuration. In typi-
cal SAP projects, this is right at the initial stages of the project. This is the root cause for the large
amount of effort and time required for completing the mapping and configuration of the base SAP
system in all SAP projects. Although all the required functionality is already available in SAP, it
takes some time to discover and use it correctly.
13.1.1.1 Configuration through Implementation Guide (IMG)
Like in SAP's older implementation methodology called Procedure Model, all configuration in
SAP is also done through an environment called Implementation Guide (IMG). IMG is not unlike
the initialization modules of the traditional computerized systems, except that it is very large by
comparison. SAP has more than 8000 configuration tables. All business processes of the company
could be mapped onto the SAP system functionality by configuring the parameters in IMG. For
implementing any process, one had to identify the parameters that may have to be defined before
this process could become operational into the system. For example, for creation of an invoice
document, it was important to identify tax parameters and define them first through the IMG.
The whole process of specifying the parameters suitable of the specific requirements of a company
is also known as customization, which is accomplished using IMG. However, the essential prob-
lem was for an integrated system like SAP, there was no systematic way in the earlier methodology
to identify all the relevant parameters quickly and completely for implementing these processes.
As noted in the earlier section “Implementation Guide (IMG),” IMG is structured in a
manner that does reflect to a certain extent the sequence in which these parameters have to be
