The quickest way in.
Three short reads from this category, none longer than 8 minutes. Then browse by topic or work through the full list below.
Every article in this category.
47 articles, newest first
Partner selectionHow to change your SAP implementation partner mid-project
Changing an SAP implementation partner mid-programme is survivable if you secure the documents, designs, code and access first. The signs it is time, what to lock down, and how to run the handover.
· 10 min read
Partner selectionHow to choose an SAP implementation partner
Choosing an SAP implementation partner takes about 12 weeks. Build the long list from SAP Partner Finder, shortlist at least three, and decide on references, the people proposed and a plan they can explain.
· 9 min read
SAP testingS/4HANA testing strategy: cycles, criteria and roles
What an S/4HANA testing strategy has to decide: the test cycles, who owns each one, the entry and exit criteria between them, and the sections the strategy document needs before Realize starts.
· 10 min read
Partner selectionSAP implementation RFP: what to ask and how to score
An SAP RFP should make partners prove three things: references from similar projects, the quality of the people they will staff, and an architecture and plan they can explain. Here is what to ask for and how to score the answers.
· 10 min read
Partner selectionSAP partner vs independent consultant: when you need which
An SAP partner delivers the programme. An independent consultant checks it from your side of the table. Here is what each one does, when you need which, and how to run both without blurring accountability.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP regression testing: upgrades, releases and scope
SAP regression testing proves that a change, an upgrade or a new release has not broken processes that already worked. How to scope it with impact analysis, keep up with cloud releases and stop project and support changes tripping over each other.
· 9 min read
Partner selectionSAP statement of work: what it must contain
An SAP statement of work protects your budget only if it pins down scope, effort, deliverables, people and change. The section clients often leave thin is the one that decides the bill: assumptions and exclusions.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP test automation: where to start and when it pays
When SAP test automation earns back its cost, where to start, how the frameworks differ, and what SAP Cloud ALM, Solution Manager and SAP Test Automation by Tricentis already give you.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP test data management: masked, production-scale data
SAP test data has to look like production and must not be production. How to get masked data at production scale into your test systems, which copy methods and tools fit, and where privacy law draws the line.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP testing explained: types, phases and owners
What SAP testing is, the six types every S/4HANA programme needs, where each sits in SAP Activate, who should own it and how much of the programme it takes.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP user acceptance testing: who owns it and how to run it
SAP user acceptance testing is where the business proves the system runs its processes before go-live. Who owns it, how long it takes, and how to run scripts, defect triage and sign-off.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP performance testing: load, concurrency and tools
SAP performance testing proves, before go-live, that the system holds up when many users and jobs hit it at once. Concurrency tests on production-level masked data, judged against criteria agreed in advance.
· 11 min read
TechnicalSAP testing tools compared: what each one is for
A plain comparison of the SAP testing tools my teams have used: Tricentis, Worksoft, Panaya, SAP Cloud ALM, SAP Solution Manager, UiPath and OpenText LoadRunner. What each one is for, what your SAP support contract already includes, and how to choose.
· 10 min read
StrategyBest SAP implementation strategies to avoid costly mistakes
SAP implementations rarely fail because of the technology. They fail because the strategy does not fit the business, or the team cannot hold the discipline behind it.
· 13 min read
StrategySAP implementation templates: the SAP Activate set by phase
The SAP Activate templates that matter in each phase, who owns them and when they are signed off, from scoping and fit-gap to the cutover plan and go-live readiness checklist.
· 14 min read
TechnicalSAP change tools: Cloud ALM, ChaRM, Rev-Trac, ActiveControl
Which SAP transport and change management tool fits your landscape: SAP Cloud ALM, Solution Manager ChaRM, Rev-Trac or ActiveControl, the tool once sold as Transport Express.
· 9 min read
Consulting frameworksSeven consulting frameworks for SAP and AI delivery
Most SAP and AI programmes stall for structural reasons: scope never agreed, decision rights never clear, priorities never ranked. Seven simple frameworks make those problems visible early.
· 12 min read
Consulting frameworksWhat consultants actually do: a realistic view
What exactly is a consultant doing that your team cannot? The honest answer: fixing things that should not have broken, asking questions that should already have been asked, and adding capacity when the internal team runs out.
· 9 min read
Modernization & Industry5 best CRM systems for SAP in 2026: a practical comparison
If your CRM and SAP don't share data, sales promises stock you don't have and finance invoices orders that don't match. Here is how the five main CRM options compare for an SAP landscape in 2026, and which integration pattern each needs.
· 10 min read
Planning & SelectionWhy SAP projects go over budget and how to stop it
Most SAP budget overruns start with a low number at the start and a real scope that only appears in the Explore phase. The causes, the warning signs and the controls that stop it.
· 9 min read
StrategyRequirements gathering template: 7 hacks I use on projects
A requirements gathering template only works if it forces the hard conversations early. Here is the outline I use, the five sections I never skip and seven hacks that keep stakeholders honest.
· 11 min read
StrategyHow to avoid scope creep in an SAP implementation
Scope creep is the most common reason SAP projects overrun. The fix is documented exclusions, change control that forces trade-offs, and a scope freeze with executive backing.
· 12 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project planning and control: keep projects on track
Most SAP programmes have a plan, but far fewer have control: weekly tracking, live dependencies, real escalation. Here is what active control looks like, with a weekly cadence that keeps programmes on track.
· 11 min read
Modernization & IndustrySAP implementation in public sector: compliance and risks
In public sector SAP, compliance has to be configured into the system from day one. Retrofitting it after go-live is how audits, overruns and headlines happen.
· 11 min read
StrategySAP training strategies: what works and what fails
SAP training works when it is role-based, hands-on, timed four to six weeks before go-live and tied to system access. Here is the plan I use, the failures I have seen, and what SAP folding Enable Now into WalkMe means for your tooling.
· 10 min read
StrategySAP implementation vs rollout: differences and when to pick
A rollout is not a smaller implementation. What separates the two, when each fits, and why rollouts fail on localisation and people rather than technology.
· 8 min read
Consulting frameworksStructured thinking: the consultant's actual advantage
Structured thinking gives you a way in when a client problem is messy and the room expects clarity. Here is the method I use, with a one-page worksheet and what AI has changed about it.
· 10 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP implementation partners in the USA by tier
A partner mismatch has delayed more SAP projects than bad configuration. The tier matters less than the fit: industry depth, team continuity and the people who actually turn up.
· 16 min read
Planning & SelectionHow much does SAP implementation cost? 2026 ranges
What SAP implementation costs by company size, where the money goes, day rates, a budget formula and the costs that appear after the contract is signed.
· 12 min read
StrategyHow to create an SAP implementation project charter
A project charter is the document you point to when someone contests a scope decision in month three. What an SAP charter must cover, a section-by-section outline and the mistakes that cost the most.
· 9 min read
StrategySAP project scope template: what to define and exclude
Most SAP scope disputes come from things nobody wrote down. A nine-section scope template, what to exclude in writing, and the controls that stop scope creep.
· 8 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project risk assessment: the practical version
Most SAP risk assessments sit in a folder after the first steering committee. This is the practical version: a scored matrix, a register template, three public failures as worked examples, and the risks RISE and clean core add in 2026.
· 10 min read
Crisis & RecoveryChange management plan: fix resistance before it starts
Resistance in ERP programmes builds long before training starts. What a change management plan must contain, who owns each part, and how to spot resistance early.
· 7 min read
StrategyCreating an effective SAP project steering committee
I have never seen an SAP project succeed with a weak steering committee. This guide covers what the committee must decide, membership by project size, a go/no-go checklist, and how RISE with SAP and AI change the model.
· 9 min read
StrategyERP implementation KPIs: 30 metrics that actually matter
The 30 ERP implementation KPIs I track, split into delivery and post-go-live, with formulas, thresholds and who reviews them when. A client once added 73 'small' changes and lost five months; scope change KPIs exist to stop that.
· 10 min read
StrategyEssential SAP implementation team roles and responsibilities
Most SAP project failures trace back to team problems, not technology. This guide sets out the eight roles every programme needs, how RISE and AI change them, team sizes by company size, and how to build the CoE before go-live.
· 12 min read
StrategyResource allocation planning for SAP projects
Most SAP resource plans assume a stability that disappears once execution starts. Plan by role and by SAP Activate phase, confirm availability in writing, and revise the plan every week.
· 13 min read
StrategySAP quality gates: how to set them up and where they fail
A quality gate is a checkpoint with the authority to stop a project. How to set gates against SAP Activate phases, write criteria that give yes-or-no answers, and keep them from becoming rubber stamps.
· 10 min read
StrategySAP stakeholder management: stop conflicts before they start
Conflicts on SAP programmes build from unmanaged expectations. Map the roles, write down who decides what, and run a cadence by phase before anyone has a complaint.
· 12 min read
StrategyERP implementation team in 2026: who you need and what they do
The difference between an ERP go-live that works and one that drags on is usually the team, not the software. Here is who you need, what each role does, how to size the team, and the two roles cloud ERP programmes add.
· 9 min read
Planning & SelectionWhat is SAP implementation? Steps, phases and process
SAP implementation explained: the six SAP Activate phases, the planning that has to come first, the team you need and what RISE, GROW and clean core change. SAP will not fix broken processes; it will expose them.
· 12 min read
StrategySAP implementation timeline: phase durations and 5 mistakes
How long an SAP implementation takes on GROW, RISE and ECC paths, how long each SAP Activate phase runs, and the five planning mistakes behind most overruns.
· 11 min read
Planning & SelectionSAP business case template: get approval without delay
SAP business cases stall because of how they are written, not because of the technology. The structure, the costs that must be in it, and how to show ROI a CFO will believe.
· 8 min read
Crisis & RecoveryHow to start your SAP implementation project right
Most SAP implementation problems are visible in month one. What to settle before configuration starts, and the six failure patterns to watch for.
· 9 min read
TechnicalBest SAP documentation tools every team should use in 2026
The tool is rarely why SAP documentation fails: the structure around it is. This guide matches tools to each documentation job in 2026 and shows the combination I recommend for a typical S/4HANA programme.
· 9 min read
StrategySAP project tracking tools in 2026: four that actually work
A tracking tool that cannot see inside the SAP system is a spreadsheet with a better interface. This guide compares the four tools that work on SAP programmes in 2026, with licensing facts and a selection checklist.
· 9 min read
Consulting frameworksSkills engineers need to succeed in consulting
Engineers rarely fail in consulting for technical reasons. The skills that decide who builds a career, how to practise them, and what AI tools have changed for new consultants.
· 8 min read
Written by Noel D'Costa
25 years in ERP delivery across SAP, Oracle and Microsoft, now a chief technology officer. I write from the programmes I have run, for the people making these decisions.
Tell me what you're working on.
A 30-minute call. You describe the programme, the decision or the problem. I'll tell you whether I can help, and if I can't, who might.