Global Template

[Former Member]

Hi Experts

I have to make use of global template functionality of solution manager . Basically we have to use the global template for a rollout project . Appriciate if anybody can give a process overview of using global template on rollout project . What are the prerequiste and do we need functional consultants any where in between while designing the global template . please provide me links and appriciate if general steps are also provided .

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Rocky,

I am experienced in this subject area and can guide you through with various stages.

This being a topic detailed enough, I wouldn't immediately know where to start.

We can interact for a few times in this thread and I'll strive to solve as many of you queries as I can.

To start with, I would like you to point you to a few sources and also ask you a few questions.

Please visit http://service.sap.com/rkt-solman website and within Solution Manager 4.0 please get into the list of PDF and Tutor files available on Global Template Project.

From your question, it seems like you are the technical/BASIS consultant on the team. If so, my brief answer is - yes, you do need a senior level Functional Consultant to be on board the team who has (among other responsibilities), the power to decide on certain high level aspects on usage of Template Project.

I will try to top up with a few more posts today.

Best regards,

Srini

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Srinivasan

Thanks for the quick reply . I already have all the Sim files and PDF from sap market place . I just want some quick overview and technical help for the creation of global template from technical point of view .

Waiting for the reply from an expert like you .

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Rocky,

Here are the basic steps:

(1) Having decided to opt for Global Template approach, you have to create a Project of 'Template' type - with a name that makes it clear as to what it's meant to represent

(2) Template Projects either can have a very long gestation time or can be updated perpetually; please choose the end date accordingly

(3) Apart from regular Tabs involved, go to the specific tab called 'Template' and create a few Templates, representing either Functional split or some other kind of grouping (ZFI Template or ZSCM) etc. By default, the visibility will be private (red); so be it, for now

(4) You have to decide whether to activate 'CTS' for this Template project or not. Typically, if you have a need to 'transport' part of your project content to a subsidiary in other geographies, from time to time, you may want to use this functionality. This will enable you to store all changes made to a Template Project into transports, which can later to imported into any other SolMan instance

If, on the other hand, you have just one SolMan instance and that seems to suffice your needs, you do not have to activate CTS and save all changes to Local Object.

Other Tabs are just like a normal Implementation Project, though wih Project Standards, try to define Document Types that have 'Global' indicator active (so that the same Doc. Types also become available for choosing, in Implementation Project)

(5) Check 'Global Rollout Functionality is Active' box. This would ensure that your Template Project contents can be controlled in terms of what are invoilable for Implementations and what can be played around with.

Please let me know if the above has been easy to follow or not.

To be continued...

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Good Help my friend

Let me complete the complete cycle then I only i will feel confident .

I am getting this error when I am trying to change the visibility of a template 'First' in a template project .

Error : No scenarios/configuration structures assigned to the template first .

please suggest how to add scenarios/Configuration , please give overview also if possible .

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Srini

I got the solution . I assigned business scenarios to the templates through solar01 transaction.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Rocky,

Good to hear that. You asked me for an overview first.

Here you go:

(1) Global Template type projects are essential to define Blueprint and other contents, with a view to keep that definition as pristine source for future projects

(2) You can allocate a given Business Scenario (& all content underneath) to a given Template or more than one Template. For simplicity and ease of use, I would recommend you to assign only one Template to a scenario and not more

(3) After a set of Business Scenarios are assigned to respective Template(s), you can change the visibility of the Template to Public.

(4) All 'Public' Templates are visible for Implementation Proejcts to choose Scenarios from (by checking those Business Scenarios listed under Templates) - this will set a background job in motion, and copy all contents into the Implementation Project

(5) After this gets done, any future updates to Template Project can be fed into the Implementation project by a specific procedure [running the transaction SA_PROJECT_UPGRADE in foreground or background AND followed by conducting a 'Compare & Adjust' exercise in the nodes highlighted within the Implementation Project]

(6) Version controls using Template is a tricky business and I would like you to keep things extremely simple. Please read the SAP Note 603336 without fail. This is really important and spells out the limitations one must know before proceeding much

More to come.

Regards,

Srini

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Shrini

thanks for putting your efforts . Full marks rewarded to you .

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

If possible could you also provide me an idea about Charm and appriciated if you could send me the docs on that .

Email is in the business card ...

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Srinivasan,

First, Thank you for your thread on the global template functionality in Solman. It is really helpful to a lot of folks to understand the functionality.

We are in the prep phase of using Solman for a global rollout. I have a few queries.

1) Do we at all use Solar02 transaction for a template project. Is it that template projects are used only for blueprinting. Meaning - template projects are never used for config management (Solar02)

2) What is the significance of the the column ' global attributes' when building the project structure in Solar01 for a template project. Are the values ' global' ' standard' etc configurable settings.

Appreciate your help.

Mani

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Mani,

If you open a seperate thread, you will be able to reward points to people who answer you )

best regds,

Alagammai.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Mani,

As Azhagammai rightly pointed out, it may have helped have different thread(s) - who do not want points ;-).

Nevertheless, sometimes an unbroken thought trail is equally helpful.

So, here are my responses:

(1) SOLAR02 is very much a part of a Template Project remit with the following utilities:

a) Listing common IMG Objects/ BC Sets that are meant for all rollouts - in Config Tab

b) Including references to global reports and other developments - in Development Tab

c) Training Materials, if they are centrally administered (in Project language)

(2) The column Global Attributes certainly has a major significance. But I can't perhaps do complete justice in a few sentences - I would like you to look at the detailed Matrix that SAP has provided in online help/ other sources. In a simplistic sense, it is this attribute which decides whether the project that copies the content can alter the same or not. On the strictest side (Global) no change is allowed in rollout project; on the most liberal side (Local), great deal of flexibility is allowed. All other values belong in between and offer trade offs.

I would seriously recommend you to kindly have a look at Global Template Roadmap in RMMAIN transaction (choose to go with 'No Project' and get the generic Roadmap). It clearly lists the scope of such Template projects with varying phase names, work packages etc.

It should guide you as to what are the expected deliverables and milestones in this, as a precursor to the Implementation project(s) for subsequent Rollouts.

Trust this helps.

Regards,

Srini

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Mani,

Forgot to say this:

In SA_PROJECT_UPGRADE transaction, you'll find that almost all tabs can be compared between the Implementation Project and the Template (Source) project.

The only exception being 'Graphics' Tab.

For whatever reasons, SAP hasn't thought it fit to keep this tab in synch between Template and Imp. projects.

Therefore, if you plan to carry out any 'custom' efforts in enriching your Template project graphics wtih Business Partners and other Free components, it will not be propagated to Imp. project.

If you do spend time in constructing good Graphics in Temp. project, please save it to a local file (JPG) and perhaps load that file itself as an attachment in General Documentation folder against the same node. It is this document that will get replicated into Imp. projects and can always be kept in synch., following the 'Compare and Adjust' functionality.

Best regards,

Srini

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

I really appriciate shini's effort . Thanks for giving good tips .

Marks rewarded again .

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks Srinivasan for your inputs. This will definitely help us in putting our template project together in SolMan.

Mani

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Srini,

I have a question about the following that you wrote above:

(4) You have to decide whether to activate 'CTS' for this Template project or not. Typically, if you have a need to 'transport' part of your project content to a subsidiary in other geographies, from time to time, you may want to use this functionality. This will enable you to store all changes made to a Template Project into transports, which can later to imported into any other SolMan instance

How do you activate it? Or maybe the question is, how do you not activate it? When I create a project (just adding language and project name) and click save, I am immediately asked for a package to save my change. I would prefer the template to work like an implementation project (no transports). If I want to move changes from a global template to an implementation project, I'll just use the compare and adjust feature after the two are linked.

I think I would prefer to create the initial business process structure in an implementation project and then copy it to a template. Unfortunately, that involves copying documents from the project documentation tab to the general documentation tab.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

regards,

Jason

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Dear Jason,

When you create a Template Project afresh, while saving the project, please save it as a 'Local Object' and not assign any 'Package' to which it belongs. That should take care of the simplicity you want.

From that point on, the Template Project you keep building on will be a 'resident' of that SolMan instance only. You can keep sharing its contents with any number of Implementation or other projects within the same instance (using that 'Compare and Adjust' functionality). Moving contents to any other SolMan instance will have to be done via mechanisms like Project Transport, Client Copy etc - suited only for first time copy and not for drip-feeding later.

As regards the other point you have raised - creating contents in Implementation Project and later moving them into Template, I would strongly advise against that. It's a huge pain to do that. Also, any subsequent Project copy you create in future, as part of the properties - the radio button choice - will have to be exercised correctly.

"Desired behaviour at later version comparison"

- Adjust target project to source project

- Adjust target project to original of the source project

By default, the radio button is set to the latter. You would have to move it to the first option.

These pains are reduced if Template Project is constructed as the 'mother of all' rather than have 'clouded' origins

I picked this message by chance visit today. In future, if there's any new thread you create, seeking my views, kindly drop a mail to my ID and I'd not miss.

Regards to all friends.

Srini