SAP S/4HANA Readiness Checklist
A readiness checklist for migrating SAP ECC to S/4HANA. It covers conversion approach, readiness analysis, data cleansing, custom ABAP remediation, integration mapping, and test conversion cycles.
When to Use This Checklist
Use this checklist when planning a move from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, the next-generation ERP suite. With ECC mainstream maintenance approaching its deadline, many organizations must convert. S/4HANA changes the data model, simplifies many modules, and pushes a new user experience, so readiness work is essential before any conversion.
How to Use This Checklist
First pick the conversion approach. A greenfield build starts clean, a brownfield system conversion preserves history and customizations, and a selective data transition moves chosen data. The choice shapes scope, cost, and risk, so decide it before detailed planning.
Data and custom code drive most of the effort. Run a readiness analysis to flag incompatible functionality, then cleanse and archive data so the conversion is faster and safer. Inventory custom ABAP code, check it against the simplification items, and adapt what S/4HANA no longer supports.
De-risk the cutover. Map every integration, plan the data and business partner conversion, and run multiple test conversion cycles in a sandbox so the production run holds no surprises. Define a downtime-optimized cutover with a clear fallback, and capture compliance and segregation-of-duties requirements early.
What Good Looks Like
The conversion approach is chosen and justified, a readiness analysis is complete, and data is cleansed and archived. Custom code is inventoried and adapted to simplification items, integrations are mapped, and several test conversions have run successfully in a sandbox. A downtime-optimized cutover with a fallback and a change-management plan are in place.
Common Pitfalls
The biggest pitfall is converting dirty data, which inflates downtime and causes failures mid-run. Underestimating custom ABAP remediation is common, since simplification items can touch large amounts of code. Teams also skip enough test conversion cycles and discover problems only in the production cutover, when recovery is hardest.
Related Resources
Use the cloud-migration 7 Rs strategy and continuous-modernization playbook, plus data-quality management and data governance for the data work. The strangler-fig pattern helps phase integration changes.