Utilizing the SAP SuccessFactors Configuration Transport Center

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Intended Audience:

This blog is relevant for consultants during the project phase and administrators during the sustenance phase post-go-live who are implementing/live on SuccessFactors.  This blog serves as a quick guide to help you understand and learn how to use the Configuration Transport Center effectively.  As part of the SAP legacy, we have been accustomed to using a transport mechanism to move configuration from one system to another. This same transport mechanism was introduced in SuccessFactors a couple of years ago.

 

Use Case:

During a global rollout of SuccessFactors, where multiple teams are involved in configuring different modules of the project, there is a need to move these configuration changes to the Quality environment for detailed testing in alignment with business requirements. To ensure this process is seamless and effective, a robust transport mechanism is essential. This mechanism should track all changes accurately and facilitate their correct implementation in the target Quality environment.

When managing configuration changes for a live environment, the process becomes critically important. Business requirement changes are first implemented in the development instance and then propagated to a QA environment. After thorough testing and approval from both the business and technical teams, changes can then be promoted to the Production instance. These changes can range from simple RBP role adjustments to complex business rule modifications or MDF object alterations. To efficiently manage such changes, a robust transportation mechanism is required to move changes seamlessly from Development to QA, and ultimately to the Production instance.

Transport management:

Please refer to the help documentation link for prerequisites, supported configuration types, and known issues related to using the tool.

Once the administrator has all the required roles and permissions to access the Configuration Transport Center (CTC), the first step is to design the transport routes. In a large, complex implementation, there may be more than three SF instances. Therefore, it is advisable to create a flowchart illustrating how the configuration will move from the development instance to various other target instances.

Below is an example from an implementation where seven SF instances were used during the project phase. The Golden/Master instance only contains the configuration; no data is loaded into this instance. This setup is beneficial when the customer wants to test data load or cut-over simulations multiple times during the project phase. They can simply request a refresh from the Golden/Master instance to any test instance and run their cut-over simulation.

Once the project team has established the transport routes between systems, the next step is to utilize the CTC tool to manage all configuration changes and bundle them into transports.

This blog will explain a simple example of how to move an RBP change from a source instance to a target instance. The first step is to search for the RBP configuration change that was made in the source instance, such as the Dev instance, and then move it to your target instance, for example, the Test instance.

Steps to Transport Configuration Changes Using the CTC Tool in the Admin Center

1. Open the CTC Tool in Admin Center:

Access the Admin Center.

Navigate to the Configuration Transport Controller (CTC) tool.

2. Navigate to the Transport Routes Section:

Within the CTC tool, locate and open the "Transport Routes" section.

3. Pair the Instances:

Follow the pairing process, which is detailed in the help documentation, to link the source and target instances.

After pairing, the target instance will be listed in the "Transport Route."

4. Make Configuration Changes to RBP Configuration:

Modify the RBP configuration as required.

5. Search for Configuration Changes:

In the CTC tool, go to the "Configuration Activities" section.

Search for the configuration changes you have made.

6. Attach Configuration Changes to a Bundle:

Navigate to the "Bundle Management" section.

Create a new configuration bundle.

Attach the desired configuration changes to this bundle.

7. Export the Configuration Bundle:

Select the target instance.

Export the configuration bundle to the selected target instance.

8. Login to the Target Instance:

Access the target instance where the configuration changes need to be imported.

9. Import the Configuration Changes:

In the target instance, locate the exported configuration bundle.

Import the changes into the target instance system.

By following these steps, you can effectively transport configuration changes from one instance to another using the CTC tool in the Admin Center.