Are you an Abaper and about to get into an upgrade project?
Are you thinking upgrade is just lots of customizing and basis activity and
where do you fit in? I wonder how many
of us must have thought the same way.
Here are some points that will help to get an insight into an upgrade project from an abaper’s point of view.
Here are some points that will help to get an insight into an upgrade project from an abaper’s point of view.
1. Old and New: You get to know both, the
old system that is very soon going to be phased out and the new upcoming
system. What are the challenges your client is facing that prompted him to go
for an upgrade and how it will benefit the client in future.
2. Module independent: Most of the times (until and unless it a new end-to-end implementation) we work in projects that involve 2 or 3 modules. A technical upgrade includes all modules implemented for a client. At one time you will be working on an object from finance and controlling and other time you will be busy correcting the syntax of an object from HR module. Not only modules a system upgrade usually impacts other dependent and communicating systems enabling you to understand the SAP processes in a better way.
3. All aspects of ABAP: The two old famous transactions ‘SPDD’ and ‘SPAU’ expose you to all aspects of ABAP. Be it the adjusting of data dictionary objects, maintaining translations, implementing OSS notes, adopting modifications to code, user-exits, customer exits, implicit and explicit enhancements. You get to regenerate the ABAP queries, check the workflow settings and sometimes you witness loss of a piece of code that was added to standard code using access key. An upgrade project just introduces you to all abap has to offer in one go.
4. Syntax Master: If you are upgrading from a non-Unicode to a Unicode compatible system all you old custom programs will stop working. J The only option is to go to each and every program and correct the syntax. Although the UCCHECK transaction will help you with the syntax errors and setting the Unicode flag active, still it involves correcting the same error at least hundred times. Thus, by the end of this phase you end up being a syntax master having the syntaxes at your fingertips.
5. Time to learn and unlearn: Upgrade project teaches you that it’s time to unlearn the old and start using the new. New syntaxes, new function modules in place of old (GUI_DOWNLOAD and GUI_UPLOAD instead of WS_DOWNLOAD and WS_UPLOAD), new tables, better programming approaches and techniques. At the end you just end up to be a better programmer. J
6. Boast it out: It gives you an opportunity to boast that you have seen both, the old and the new. Once in a while you will be saying to the newbies “You know how it used to be when we were in old system? “ J.
2. Module independent: Most of the times (until and unless it a new end-to-end implementation) we work in projects that involve 2 or 3 modules. A technical upgrade includes all modules implemented for a client. At one time you will be working on an object from finance and controlling and other time you will be busy correcting the syntax of an object from HR module. Not only modules a system upgrade usually impacts other dependent and communicating systems enabling you to understand the SAP processes in a better way.
3. All aspects of ABAP: The two old famous transactions ‘SPDD’ and ‘SPAU’ expose you to all aspects of ABAP. Be it the adjusting of data dictionary objects, maintaining translations, implementing OSS notes, adopting modifications to code, user-exits, customer exits, implicit and explicit enhancements. You get to regenerate the ABAP queries, check the workflow settings and sometimes you witness loss of a piece of code that was added to standard code using access key. An upgrade project just introduces you to all abap has to offer in one go.
4. Syntax Master: If you are upgrading from a non-Unicode to a Unicode compatible system all you old custom programs will stop working. J The only option is to go to each and every program and correct the syntax. Although the UCCHECK transaction will help you with the syntax errors and setting the Unicode flag active, still it involves correcting the same error at least hundred times. Thus, by the end of this phase you end up being a syntax master having the syntaxes at your fingertips.
5. Time to learn and unlearn: Upgrade project teaches you that it’s time to unlearn the old and start using the new. New syntaxes, new function modules in place of old (GUI_DOWNLOAD and GUI_UPLOAD instead of WS_DOWNLOAD and WS_UPLOAD), new tables, better programming approaches and techniques. At the end you just end up to be a better programmer. J
6. Boast it out: It gives you an opportunity to boast that you have seen both, the old and the new. Once in a while you will be saying to the newbies “You know how it used to be when we were in old system? “ J.
