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SAP BW/4HANA Migrations/Preparations

Summary

You would like to prepare or analyze your current SAP BW system for the migration to "BW on HANA" or BW/4HANA?
Challenges to be met:

  • Identify entities that are no longer needed to save effort and valuable storage space.
  • Discuss with the functional business department how many of the tens, hundreds, or thousands of queries are still needed and have to be considered for the migration.
  • Reflect new requirements in data models. InfoProviders must be adjusted.
  • While you are talking to your business department, they want to take over (parts/all) of the old Queries so that they can continue their work.
  • You have to rebuild Data Streams and therefore need to understand the complexity within the flows and the actual processes.

Problems

Many of the above tasks have to be done manually because there is no real support through standard SAP tools.
Who likes to copy and paste information into Excel and concentrate on doing this (without errors) for hundreds of elements?

Of course, errors can creep in by making mistakes in the manual steps. Since this is too much effort, you decide on the "supposedly" easiest way by doing nothing, all, or nothing at all.

Solution

Use the products of the Performer Suite.

Example

PhaseActivitiesHow to support with the Performer SuiteTime-saving potential
(with each activity)
Analysis
(System Scout)
  1. Create a basis for discussion with the Functional Department about what is needed in terms of reporting
  2. Identify unneeded objects that can be deleted/cleaned up
  3. Check Data Flows for (also for nested ABAP/AMDP) logic that is not always immediately visible
  4. Understand the overall complexity in mapping, for the whole data flow at once
  5. Identify Queries that have not been used for a long(er) time.
  6. Understand the dependencies from one BW Object to nearly all other elements (including ABAP/AMDP). The usage must also be checked in frontend objects (BO, SAC) to find out which Queries are relevant for the migration as they are used as data sources. 
  7. Understand what is on which system is available. Are all Queries/InfoProviders/etc. transported and available in all Systems? Are all emergency changes from PROD maintained in DEV as well?
  1. Matrix of Usage
  2. There are several System Scout functions for that:
    1. InfoProvider without Data Flow
    2. Data Loads and Usages
    3. Inactive Entities
    4. Unused InfoObjects
    5. Variable Analyzer
  3. Data Flow Analysis
  4. Mapping analysis in the data flow for individual IOBJs:
    Data Lineage Analysis for all IOBJs
  5. Use "Grid View" with "Column Chooser" and the column "Last Used Date": Column Chooser
  6. Usage of BW Entities
  7. Mass comparison: System Comparison.
    Individual comparison: Compare BW Entities
  1. 40%-60%
  2. 20%-50%
  3. 35%-45%
  4. 20%-40%
  5. ~5%
  6. 5%-15%
  7. 50%-80%
Implementation
(Migration Booster & Translation Steward)
  1. You need to take over data models to BW/4HANA or BW on HANA while still adjusting existing naming conventions.
  2. You want to take over Queries to the new and adjusted data model to secure basic processes within functional/reporting departments. Before that, it must be clarified with the business user which Queries should be considered for the new BW/4HANA system.
  3. You need to translate elements in the Data Warehouse to reflect two/several languages using a dictionary instead of doing this manually.
  4. You want to use consistent Naming Conventions.
  5. Go through all DTPs and ensure that they are relevant for loading and are used/implemented in process chains.
  1. Migrate InfoProvider & InfoObjects
    1. Collect & import objects from a data flow
    2. Renaming and remodeling of objects
    3. Export modeled objects to SAP
  2. Copy Reporting Elements and optionally create a backup of a Query, which can be restored at a later point in time in the new BW/4HANA system.
  3. Translate the newly created objects
  4. Check Naming Conventions of BW Entities with System Scout (also possible from transports)
  5. Show DTPs used and not used in process chains: Show DTPs and InfoPackages incl. Filters
  1. 80%-95%
  2. 80%-95%
  3. 50%-70%
  4. 5%-15%
  5. 50%-70%
Deploy
(Docu Performer)
  1. Use existing documentation and specifically added information (comments) for objects to understand additionally required procedures/impacts/etc. (special loading, activation order, etc.).

(info) If you have a good idea, please let us know how we can support you even more and create a feature-request!

  1. BW Commenting + BW Documentation especially: Scenarios
  1. ~5%
Support
(System Scout)
  1. Support general resolutions for data:
    1. You need to understand how mappings are done within Data Flows, to be able to identify errors.
    2. Here it is also important to understand what ABAP/AMDP routines do and...
    3. ...if there are any relevant DTP/IP Filter and selections that influence processing or that have been changed due to singular events (testing, one-time loading, etc.) but have not been reversed.
  1. Data Flow Analysis - here especially:
    1. Mapping Analysis of InfoObjects
    2. Look-Up Analysis
    3. Show DTPs and InfoPackages incl. Filters
  1. 15%-40%
    1. 20%-50%
    2. ~10%
    3. ~10%
Documentation
(Docu Performer)
  1. Preserve knowledge for later use, changes in team structure, etc.
  2. Creating documentation for different target groups (Functional Department, Audits, IT, etc.)
  1. BW Commenting 
  2. BW Documentation especially: Scenarios
  1. at least 15% depending on how well it is used later.
  2. 10%-40%


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