Table of Content
What You’ll Learn
- The purpose and functionalities of SAP Change Request Management (ChaRM).
- The strengths and weaknesses of using SAP ChaRM for change management.
- How SAP ChaRM compares to modern ALM solutions.
- The benefits of using a comprehensive ALM tool for true enterprise agility.
- Key differences between SAP ChaRM and Panaya RDx in managing SAP changes.
Let’s talk about SAP ChaRM
Organizations seeking to modernize and standardize by adopting Continuous Delivery methods and capabilities – or in other words become more agile in their response to market demands – may find themselves perplexed by the variety of solutions claiming to provide such capabilities. The choice seems even harder for organizations that are already in possession of SAP Solution Manager (SolMan) of which SAP ChaRM is a component.
Navigating SAP Solution Manager
SAP Solution Manager, is an application lifecycle management (ALM) platform. It helps to implement, maintain, and then integrate SAP systems. In addition, the Solution Manager can deal with issues that come up and maintain operations.
The Solution Manager is considered to be the central administrative solution for SAP users, since it several important tools together with content and direct access to SAP in order to make sure the reliability and stability of the solutions is maintained. The various apps can be divided into several different Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) stages including:
- Service strategy
- Service design
- Service transition
- Service operation
- Continual service improvement
However, if you use charm for Continuous Delivery you are doing it wrong and may need to reconsider. This blog post explains why and provides a comparison between ChaRM and modern ALM solutions such as Panaya Release Dynamix (RDx).
Watch Panaya’s TechTalk: Release Dynamix – Analyzing and mitigating SAP risk, Presented by Matt Angerer, Panaya’s Solutions Architect.
What is SAP ChaRM Used For?
SAP Change Request Management (ChaRM) is used for managing and streamlining the process of implementing changes in SAP environments. Specifically designed for roles involved in SAP Change Management Operations, which are equivalent to DevOps in non-SAP settings, ChaRM helps in various aspects such as:
- Approving Code Changes: ChaRM provides a structured workflow for reviewing and approving requests for code changes or SAP system upgrades.
- Testing: The tool allows the testing team to be thorough as they review the proposed changes to ensure they meet quality and functional requirements before they are moved to production.
- Documentation: ChaRM helps maintain accurate documentation for each change, including approval history, test results, and implementation timelines, thereby ensuring compliance with organizational policies and regulations.
- Version Control: It offers version control features to keep track of the different iterations of code changes, making it easier to roll back in case of issues.
- Risk Mitigation: By offering a controlled environment for implementing changes, ChaRM helps in minimizing risks and preventing potential disruptions to business operations.
- Transport Management: One of its key functionalities is the management of ‘Transports,’ which are the containers holding code changes. ChaRM ensures that these Transports are safely and accurately moved from the development environment to QA and finally to the production stage.
By providing a comprehensive solution for change management in the SAP system, ChaRM aids in improving operational efficiency, enhancing system stability, and ensuring compliance with best practices and regulatory standards.
What is the change request approval procedure (ChaRM)?
SAP Change Request Management (ChaRM) is a specialized tool engineered to serve those in SAP Change Management Operations, a role analogous to DevOps in other IT environments. The primary responsibilities of this role include granting approval for the execution of code modifications, overseeing system upgrades, conducting comprehensive testing of these changes, and maintaining meticulous documentation to substantiate the approvals made.
In the context of SAP environments, ChaRM places a significant emphasis on ‘Transports,’ which are essentially containers that hold the code changes. These Transports facilitate the migration of code from the development stage through to the Quality Assurance (QA) phase, and ultimately into the production environment.
By focusing on Transports, ChaRM ensures a seamless and controlled transition of code alterations, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and reducing risks associated with changes.
ChaRM Doesn’t Show You (And Other Stakeholders) the Full Picture for 100% Release Certainty
Change Request Management is not an end-to-end ALM Solution. It does not offer the standard Release Management, Requirements Management, nor real Requirements Traceability or Test and Defect Management. Most of all, ChaRM is not a solution designed for the business user or business manager.
All ALM capabilities such as Project Management, Quality Gate Control (build or deploy gates), Solution Documentation (Business Processes Blueprints), Testing, Incidents Management and SAP Domain Risk Analysis (Business Process Change Analyzer – BPCA) are in fact additional tools that must be set up, customized and maintained – compatible with ChaRM only via integration with other SolMan components.
A Major Business Process Change Is Around the Corner: Where Is SAP ChaRM Lacking?
Any ALM process starts with a Business Requirement. The ChaRM process is, in fact, insufficient for enabling such business requirements and must be integrated with a CRM Requirements Management tool, set up to the right version (latest one, 7.2).
Moreover, as a Business Application Owner, you will not have real visibility as to whether such request is fulfilled. Nor will you have visibility into the fulfillment progress.
Next, an IT Solution Architect will get the request and open a Change Request to follow up.
Development will then be managed in a different tool, testing in another. Releases cadence will be visible in ChaRM. However, real-time progress and visibility into all business requirements scheduled for a specific release will not be a streamlined process.
Why Compromise on a Legacy ALM Tool? True Agility Requires Modern Enterprise Agile Delivery
Panaya Release Dynamix (RDx) is an Enterprise Agile Delivery platform to manage changes from initial business request through to production. RDx delivers software releases with speed, scope and quality, through a single collaborative platform with lean application delivery.
RDx cloud-based application lifecycle management offers project and portfolio management, requirements and release management, testing and defect management on a singular, collaborative platform for all stakeholders. With built-in collaboration and visibility into the entire application lifecycle, the complexity and bottlenecks inherent to change are removed, allowing enterprises to become agile. To experience risk-free change, contact us to request a live demo.
Still Unconvinced? Consider These Differences:
- With Change Request Management, SAP testing is an after-thought. Panaya RDx testing is fully integrated for effective collaboration and risk visibility
- With Change Request Management, BPCA is difficult and expensive because it requires integration with other components. Panaya RDx Impact Analysis works immediately off-the-shelf, based on all current transports, without any prior set up or maintenance projects.
- Change Request Management offers point-features in siloed solutions. Panaya RDx offers an integrated, collaborative framework that understands the inter-dependencies across business, development and testing stakeholders
- Panaya RDx offers vendor-agnostic development and testing
- ChaRM predictive risk assessment focuses on transport activities. Panaya RDx as opposed to the ChaRM process, offers insights on test scoping, readiness, completeness, system status and ongoing risk assessment, so Business Application Owners have a real sense of release certainty
Key Takeaways
- SAP ChaRM provides a structured workflow for managing code changes and system upgrades in SAP environments.
- ChaRM does not offer comprehensive release management, requirements management, or real-time progress tracking for business application owners.
- Panaya Release Dynamix (RDx) offers an integrated, cloud-based ALM platform for managing changes from initial request to production.
- RDx includes project and portfolio management, requirements and release management, and integrated testing and defect management, enhancing collaboration and visibility.
- RDx provides off-the-shelf impact analysis and a comprehensive framework that understands inter-dependencies across stakeholders.
- Modern solutions like Panaya RDx enable true enterprise agility, removing complexity and bottlenecks inherent in traditional tools like SAP ChaRM.