Preface

15

Who This Book Is For

15

How to Read This Book

15

Acknowledgments

17

1 What Is Clean Core?

21

1.1 Architectural Shift: From Custom Core to Clean Core

22

1.1.1 A Brief History of SAP Implementations

22

1.1.2 New Business Imperatives

25

1.2 Principles and Execution

27

1.2.1 Definition of Clean Core

27

1.2.2 The Five Guiding Principles of the Clean Core

30

1.2.3 The Clean Core in Practice: The TnX Credit Check Reimagined

32

1.2.4 The Inherited Landscape

33

1.3 Clean Core: Common Misconceptions

35

1.3.1 Flexibility and Scope

35

1.3.2 Applicability and Lifecycle

36

1.3.3 Value and Effort

37

1.4 Summary

39

2 Process Dimension

41

2.1 Defining a Clean Process

41

2.2 Balancing Standards and Innovation via Business Process Management

43

2.2.1 Understanding Business Process Management as a Foundation for Transformation

43

2.2.2 The Role of Business Process Management in a Clean Core Strategy

44

2.2.3 Business Process Management in SAP Activate

45

2.3 Fit to Standard as the Anchor

50

2.4 Tools for Fit to Standard and Process Discovery and Design

55

2.4.1 SAP LeanIX

55

2.4.2 SAP Signavio

56

2.4.3 SAP Cloud ALM

59

2.5 Summary

59

3 Extending the Core with Innovation

61

3.1 Why Clean Extensions Promote Innovation

62

3.1.1 Infrastructure Change and Custom Code Risk

62

3.1.2 Clean and Decoupled Extensions

63

3.1.3 Released Application Programming Interfaces

65

3.2 Clean Core Extension Levels

66

3.2.1 Clean Core Levels

67

3.2.2 Classification Decision Flowchart

73

3.2.3 Cloudification Repository

76

3.2.4 Clean Extension Key Performance Indicators

79

3.2.5 Clean Extension Governance

81

3.3 Extension Types

83

3.4 SAP Application Extension Methodology

85

3.5 Summary

87

4 Connecting the Core Through Integrations

89

4.1 Defining Clean Integrations

90

4.2 Path to a Clean Core

91

4.3 SAP Integration Solution Advisory Methodology

96

4.4 Integration Domains, Integration Styles, and Use Case Patterns

99

4.4.1 Integration Domains

100

4.4.2 Integration Styles

101

4.4.3 Use Case Patterns

104

4.5 Tools and Platforms

105

4.6 Integration Governance

110

4.7 Summary

114

5 Data at the Core

115

5.1 Defining Clean Data

116

5.2 Path to Clean Data

118

5.2.1 Data Strategy

118

5.2.2 Data Governance

120

5.2.3 Data Quality

122

5.2.4 Data Volume Management

124

5.2.5 Data Protection

125

5.3 Tools and Technologies

127

5.3.1 SAP Data and Analytics Advisory Methodology

128

5.3.2 SAP Business Data Cloud

130

5.3.3 SAP Master Data Governance

131

5.4 Summary

133

6 Operating the Core

135

6.1 The Foundation That Makes the Clean Core Real

136

6.2 What Clean Operations Encompasses

137

6.2.1 Governance and Operational Practices

139

6.2.2 Enable the Integrated Toolchain

141

6.2.3 Adopt the Latest SAP Autonomous Suite Innovations

143

6.2.4 Ensure Operational Efficiency

145

6.2.5 Establish Secure Operations

147

6.2.6 Implement Agile Delivery and Operational Excellence: DevOps

147

6.2.7 Track and Reduce Technical Debt

149

6.3 Tools and Enablers

150

6.3.1 RISE with SAP Methodology

150

6.3.2 SAP LeanIX

151

6.3.3 SAP Cloud ALM

152

6.3.4 SAP Business Technology Platform

152

6.3.5 Tricentis

152

6.4 Summary

152

7 Extensibility Models

157

7.1 On-Stack Extensions

159

7.1.1 Key User Extensions

160

7.1.2 Developer Extensibility

166

7.1.3 Classic Extensibility

169

7.1.4 The Wrapper Pattern

171

7.1.5 When No Clean Path Exists

176

7.1.6 The Mechanics of the Upgrade Shield

177

7.1.7 Common Pitfalls

178

7.2 Side-by-Side Extensions

179

7.2.1 Placement and Design

179

7.2.2 Prebuild Considerations

182

7.2.3 Lifecycle Independence

185

7.2.4 Governance

185

7.2.5 Common Pitfalls

186

7.3 Hybrid Extensions

187

7.4 Summary

190

8 Extension Patterns and Architecture

193

8.1 The Requirement Triage

194

8.2 Extending Reports

195

8.2.1 Direct Table Access and Why It Fails

197

8.2.2 Custom Analytical Queries

198

8.2.3 Developer Extensibility for Reporting

204

8.3 User Interface Extensions

206

8.3.1 User Interface Adaptations and Personalization

208

8.3.2 Metadata-Driven Extensions

209

8.3.3 Entry Point Optimization: SAP Fiori Launchpad

212

8.3.4 UI5 Adaptation Projects

213

8.4 Extending the Data Model

214

8.4.1 Data Model Extension Triage

215

8.4.2 Custom Fields

216

8.4.3 Custom Business Objects

220

8.4.4 Custom Business Configurations

223

8.5 Business Logic Extensions

225

8.5.1 Custom Logic Using Key User Extensibility

226

8.5.2 Complex Logic Extensions Using Developer Extensibility

227

8.6 Extending Outputs

234

8.7 Extending Process Flows

238

8.7.1 Agent Determination

239

8.7.2 Classic Workflow

241

8.8 Building Custom Applications

242

8.9 Summary

243

9 Programming Methodologies

245

9.1 SAP Application Extension Methodology

246

9.1.1 Phase 1: Assess Extension Use Case

247

9.1.2 Phase 2: Assess Extension Technology

251

9.1.3 Phase 3: Define Extension Target Solution

256

9.1.4 Assessment for Less Complex Extensions

259

9.2 SAP Cloud Application Programming Model

260

9.2.1 Domain Modeling Using Core Data Services

262

9.2.2 The Service Layer

265

9.2.3 Authorization and Trust Management

267

9.2.4 Events and Event Handlers

269

9.2.5 Metadata-Driven User Interface

272

9.3 ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model

274

9.3.1 Architecture

275

9.3.2 Data Model

278

9.3.3 Business Objects

281

9.3.4 Query

286

9.3.5 Business Service

286

9.3.6 ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model Extensibility

289

9.3.7 Choosing a Programming Model

296

9.4 ABAP Cloud

297

9.4.1 The API Contract

299

9.4.2 ABAP Cloud Language Scope

302

9.4.3 Transitioning from Classic ABAP to ABAP Cloud

303

9.4.4 SAP Joule for Developers and ABAP AI Capabilities

313

9.4.5 Enforcing ABAP Cloud Compliance at Scale

316

9.5 Summary

316

10 Development Tools

319

10.1 The Landscape: SAP Build and Joule

320

10.2 Joule Studio

324

10.3 Intent-Driven Development

327

10.3.1 The Pipeline

328

10.3.2 Paths from Intent to Production

331

10.3.3 Clean Core Relevance

333

10.4 Powering Intent with Business Context

333

10.5 Trusted Governance and the Managed Runtime

334

10.6 Side-by-Side Extensibility as the Default

335

10.7 Availability, Adoption, and the Commercial Model

336

10.8 Summary

338

11 ABAP Test Cockpit

339

11.1 ABAP Test Cockpit as a Governance Control

341

11.2 ABAP Test Cockpit in the SAP BTP ABAP Environment

344

11.3 ABAP Test Cockpit in SAP S/4HANA

347

11.3.1 Getting the Checks Right

347

11.3.2 How the Wrong Check Reveals Itself

348

11.3.3 Configuring the Transport Gate

349

11.4 Custom ABAP Test Cockpit Checks

351

11.4.1 Building a Custom Variant

351

11.4.2 Separating Governance from Quality

353

11.5 Summary

354

12 Mindset

359

12.1 Guidelines

359

12.2 Extending the Mindset to Implementation Partners

363

12.3 Summary

364

13 Clean Core in a Greenfield vs. Brownfield Implementation

365

13.1 Greenfield

366

13.2 Brownfield and Bluefield

367

13.3 Technical Debt

371

13.3.1 Make Technical Debt Visible

371

13.3.2 Categorize What to Retain, Refactor, Retire, and Rethink

372

13.3.3 Clean as You Go

374

13.3.4 Adopt a Strangler Pattern

375

13.3.5 Decouple Customizations from the Core

376

13.4 From Principles to Practice

376

13.5 Summary

379

14 RISE with SAP

381

14.1 RISE with SAP Methodology

381

14.2 Solution Standardization Board

387

14.3 Governance in Operation

391

14.3.1 Solution Standardization Board: Operating Model

391

14.3.2 Key Design Decision Process

392

14.3.3 Governance Artifacts

394

14.3.4 The Clean Core Runbook

396

14.3.5 Roles and Responsibilities

397

14.4 Summary

398

15 Clean Core Governance and Maturity Framework

399

15.1 Clean Core Governance and Maturity Framework

399

15.1.1 Process Dimension

400

15.1.2 Extensibility Dimension

402

15.1.3 Data Dimension

404

15.1.4 Integration Dimension

406

15.1.5 Operations Dimension

408

15.1.6 Conducting the Assessment and Acting on Results

410

15.1.7 The Clean Core Health Score

410

15.2 TnX Manufacturing: Practical Example

411

15.2.1 Stage One - Mid-Implementation: Establishing the Baseline

411

15.2.2 Stage Two - Go-Live: The First Formal Assessment

413

15.2.3 Stage Three - Twelve Months Post Go-Live: Measuring Progress

415

15.2.4 Stage Zero: Pretransformation

418

15.3 Summary

419