Community Updates
We are glad to be back after the summer break with a new season of events and blog posts.
In August, there was a special event called “Offer of the Dream” held by Dmitry Rusak (PO and Lead BA with 10+ years of industry experience) and Vitaly Botvich (Head of Product with 9+ years of work experience) from theinterviewplan.com
Key topics:
How to present yourself as a specialist so that your experience and skills impress any employer.
Key steps in preparing for an interview.
Best practices to help you stand out among other candidates.
How to behave during an interview.
In September, we organized a meet-up titled "What's in the box?" Four speakers, OrgTeam members Stepan Sazanovets, Ilya Zakharau, Mikita Bobchanka, and special guest Dzmitry Murauka, discussed their experience of implementing Box solutions.
Key topics:
Definitions of a Box solution, the meaning of "out-of-the-box," vendors and partners.
Differences between a Box and Custom-built solutions.
Comparison of proprietary and open-source Boxes.
Composable solutions as an alternative to Box solutions.
How SaaS is different from Box.
Business Analyst's checklist for implementing a Box.
Four stories from the speakers covering different aspects of vendor implementation.
Panel discussion on whether Box is a better start to a BA career, whether there is a line between BA and Consultant, and whether SaaS will extinct Custom-built solutions.
Last but not least, we introduced topics in our Telegram chat. Now, we have separate sub-chats for posting vacancies, announcements + materials, and general discussions.
Featured article: Insights into SAP Implementation
There is an experimental format of a Blitz interview with Ruslan Lyzunov, extending the topic of our September event.
1. Is there any development from scratch during SAP product implementation, or is it just customization?
As far as I know, there is no greenfield development. Most SAP solutions are boxed products like SAP S/4HANA or SAP Customer Experience (CX)—both on-prem and cloud. The customer buys licenses, which provide the fundamental processes and functionality. There are also industry-specific solutions. Then, we try to match the requirements to the standard as much as possible. In our case, customization is adjusting existing system functions to meet unique business requirements. This may include adapting interfaces, customizing reports, integrations, and other tasks.
There may be some development involved, but it is usually an extension of standard functionality (e.g., creating custom applications in SAP Fiori or developing integrations through SAP BTP)
In theory, development from scratch can be done for specific scenarios, but again, it is based on an already purchased box. In general, in practice, I do not know of such cases where implementers develop a new module. This is done by SAP itself.
2. What career paths can an SAP consultant follow?
There are many options here. For example, you can move into consulting from a business where a person is an ordinary or key user, knows how the system works, and understands specific business processes. It is possible to get into consulting through courses.
Initially, it is a functional or technical consultant for a specific SAP module (e.g., Sales (SD), CRM, Finance (FI), Logistics (MM), Human Resources (HCM), etc.). There are a vast number of different modules.
Then, you can move into SAP project management (e.g., becoming an SAP Project Manager or Solution Architect). As a rule, a good project manager is a former cons.
You can go deeper into integration solutions. You can also develop in the direction of cloud solutions or work with IoT, AI, and machine learning within SAP solutions. You can work for the business in an internal team, you can work in a consulting firm, or you can work in SAP itself.
After gaining enough experience, you can go freelance or even start a consulting company.
3. What certifications are valuable for SAP consultants?
There are a huge number of certificates. I know people with massive experience in implementation and development but who don't have a single certificate. Usually, they are requested by the customer; they look beautiful in the resume. If there is no actual work experience with the product or implementation, I think they are useless, except for the above reasons. I will mention the main directions:
SAP Certified Application Associate - entry-level certification on specific modules (FI, MM, SD, etc.).
SAP Certified Technology Associate - for consultants specializing in the technical part, such as administration, development, and integration.
SAP Certified Development Associate - for those who do development on ABAP, SAP Fiori, or SAP BTP.
SAP Certified Solution Architect - for those who want to become a solution architect.
4. What are the critical factors to avoid a failed SAP implementation?
I can't single out anything special here. Like everywhere else, it is precise business requirements, a strong team, adequate planning, testing, and support after implementation. I have heard stories of some companies going bankrupt because of SAP implementation. I think the same stories can be heard from other companies that misjudged their budgets and resources and wanted to automate something they don't understand and don't understand why.
Useful Materials
System Design Interview: Design WhatsApp - here’s a great example of system design applied to a real-world product: WhatsApp. This article explores the architecture behind it, focusing on key elements like messaging queues, sharding, scalability, and redundancy. It’s an excellent resource for understanding how functional requirements (like real-time messaging and media sharing) translate into technical architecture. Whether you’re working on similar projects or just want to broaden your system design knowledge, this is a must-read! A great learning source to strengthen your business-IT alignment skills.
How to Use the RICE Framework for Better Prioritization - I (Stepan) was unaware of this method until product managers on my project began using it. I found it to be an excellent and applicable approach, especially when dealing with numerous complex Epics in the backlog.
PM Onboarding - Same Organization, New Area - a guide for a Product Manager/Owner on dealing with horizontal growth in an organization when given a new business domain.
About the GIST framework - GIST is a method for structuring and prioritizing tasks and goals to streamline decision-making and execution. It helps prioritize work, maintain flexibility, and focus on achieving strategic goals through iterative processes.
The blog edition contributors:
Thank you for being with us,
See you in October!
