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Document Version: Draft–2023-01-30
Change Control Management
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THE BEST RUN 
Content
1 Change Control Management - Overview..........................................6
2 Initial Setup for the SAP Solution Manager System..................................8
2.1 Master Data in SAP Solution Manager.............................................. 9
2.2 Authorizations and Business Roles, Security Concept...................................10
3 Change Control Management User Interfaces......................................12
3.1 Change Management Launchpad Group............................................12
3.2 Change Control Management in the WebClient UI......................................15
Using the Search Function in the WebClient UI..................................... 16
The “My Messages” Widgets..................................................17
Including Custom Fields in the WebClient UI.......................................19
4 Change Request Management..................................................21
4.1 Basic Terms and Concepts..................................................... 23
Roles in Change Request Management.......................................... 23
Transaction Types.........................................................24
Task List................................................................53
4.2 Processing Change Transactions.................................................56
Processing Requests for Change...............................................56
Processing Normal Changes..................................................68
Processing Urgent Changes.................................................. 81
Processing Standard Changes................................................ 89
Processing Defect Corrections................................................92
Processing Administrative Changes.............................................95
Processing General Changes..................................................97
Processing Git-enabled Changes...............................................99
Processing Continual Cycles.................................................102
Processing Phase Cycles................................................... 104
Processing Release Cycles.................................................. 106
Withdrawing Change Documents with Solution Documentation Elements.................108
4.3 Functions in Change Transactions................................................109
Specifying the Processor in Transactions........................................ 110
Assigning Reference Objects (IBase)............................................111
Adding Text and Reusing Text Templates.........................................113
Managing Transport Requests................................................114
Performing Transport-Related Checks..........................................146
Monitoring the System Landscape, Transport Status and Transport Risks.................162
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PPF Actions in Change Request Management.....................................164
Changing the Transaction Status with PPF Actions.................................245
Sending E-Mails..........................................................246
Processing Log.......................................................... 247
Application Log..........................................................247
Warnings and Errors in Change Transactions..................................... 248
Creating Follow-Up Transactions..............................................249
Copying Transactions......................................................250
Time Recording..........................................................251
Solution Documentation Assignment Block......................................252
Test Management Integration................................................258
Assigning SAP Notes......................................................260
Using Checklists..........................................................261
Opening the IT Calendar....................................................262
Project Management Integration..............................................265
Conguration Check for Change Cycles.........................................268
Creating Task Lists........................................................269
Redening a Landscape.................................................... 271
Closing Task Lists.........................................................274
Editing Job Scheduling Change Documents...................................... 274
4.4 Advanced Features of Change Request Management..................................275
Adapting the WebClient UI: Personalization and Conguration.........................276
Rule Policies............................................................ 277
Approval Procedures......................................................278
E-Mail Notications.......................................................282
Multilevel Categorization................................................... 285
Administration Cockpit for Change Request Management............................287
Dual Landscape Synchronization (Retrot)...................................... 334
Downgrade Protection.....................................................356
Cross-Reference Check.................................................... 387
Assigning a Change Document to Transport Requests Created Outside SAP Solution Manager
.....................................................................389
Import Strategies: Standard, Status-Dependent, and Selective........................390
Managing Changes for Non-ABAP Systems......................................393
Change Control Management Using Central CTS.................................. 394
Change Control Management Using SAP Cloud Transport Management ..................442
Conguring Git-enabled CTS.................................................447
Release Planning.........................................................449
Customizing Solution Documentation Integration for Upgrades........................454
Conguring the Notication Framework of SAP CRM for Change Request Management.......463
Linking IMG Projects to Change Cycles......................................... 465
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4.5 Conguring Change Request Management.........................................465
4.6 Reporting in Change Control Management - Change Request Management..................468
5 Quality Gate Management...................................................470
5.1 Change Management Using Quality Gate Management.................................471
Phases in Quality Gate Management...........................................475
Quality Gate Management Prerequisites.........................................476
5.2 QGM Scenario Overview...................................................... 477
Setting Up Quality Gates and Assigning Phases................................... 479
Checking the Quality Gate Conguration........................................484
Change Cycles...........................................................485
Changing the CTS Status Switch..............................................487
Application Log..........................................................489
Change Log.............................................................489
Using the Search Function..................................................490
5.3 QGM Data for a Scenario......................................................491
Calendar View...........................................................492
Landscape View..........................................................495
Changes...............................................................497
Transports..............................................................510
Risks..................................................................518
Transport Analysis........................................................520
Overview of Scheduled Import Jobs............................................522
Transport-Related Checks in QGM.............................................522
Opening the IT Calendar....................................................523
5.4 Closing Scenarios...........................................................526
5.5 Administration Cockpit for Quality Gate Management..................................527
Task Lists Tab for Quality Gate Management......................................529
Landscape Overview...................................................... 533
Dening Critical Objects....................................................535
Creating Cross-System Object Lock Entries......................................539
Cross-Reference Check....................................................540
Transport Analysis Tab for Quality Gate Management............................... 542
Scheduled Import Jobs.................................................... 543
5.6 Dual Landscape Synchronization (Retrot).........................................545
Retrot Categories........................................................546
Retrot Checks..........................................................549
Additional Functions in Retrot...............................................550
Performing the Retrot.....................................................552
Tool-Assisted Retrot......................................................555
Setting Up Retrot........................................................561
Standalone Retrot.......................................................563
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SAP S/4HANA Upgrade Scenario............................................. 565
5.7 Downgrade Protection........................................................567
Cross-System Object Lock..................................................570
Release Check...........................................................579
Reassign Check..........................................................580
Predecessor Check........................................................581
Imminent Check......................................................... 582
Delta Downgrade Protection Check............................................583
Import Groups in Downgrade Protection........................................ 584
Conditions for Ignoring Transport Conicts...................................... 585
Using the CTS Plug-In Management Web UI......................................587
5.8 Managing Changes for Non-ABAP Systems.........................................598
5.9 Change Control Management Using Central CTS.....................................599
Central Change and Transport System..........................................600
5.10 Enhanced Transport Functions with Central CTS.....................................648
6 System Recommendations...................................................649
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1 Change Control Management - Overview
Change Control Management provides a comprehensive workow to control and document changes in system
landscapes. You can request changes, implement, and test them. You can perform change control activities
across technology stacks and application components.
You access the Change Management launchpad group on the SAP Solution Manager launchpad in your web
browser.
Features
In Change Control Management, you use either Change Request Management or Quality Gate Management
(QGM) to manage the change control process and provide the user interfaces. For both options, the Change
and Transport System provides the technical infrastructure.
Change Request Management
Allows you to process your projects universally in SAP Solution Manager: From change management and
project planning, through resource management and cost control, to the physical transport of the changes
from the development environment into the production environment.
Quality Gate Management
Provides a phase-based overview of the status of your software changes. Each of the phases ends with a quality
gate. When a quality gate is released, the import lock is removed and an import into subsequent systems is
possible.
Change and Transport System
Moving developments and changes across a system landscape requires the management of transport. In
response to this need, SAP oers the Change and Transport System (CTS) for ABAP transports and the
Enhanced CTS (CTS+) for non-ABAP as well as non-SAP applications.
The evolution from CTS to the enhanced CTS (CTS+) for non-ABAP and non-SAP content led to the
requirement to manage transports across technology tracks, which is supported by a new central transport
foundation layer known as central CTS (cCTS). The central Change and Transport System provides enhanced
exibility functions in Change Control Management. If you activate central CTS for your change cycle, several
functions in Change Request Management and Quality Gate Management have enhanced features. For each
new change cycle, you can decide whether you want to use CTS or central CTS.
Change Request Management also supports the Git-enabled Change and Transport System (gCTS), with
which you can use Git as version control system for your ABAP system landscape. Note that Git-enabled CTS
does not support central CTS.
SAP Cloud Transport Management
SAP Cloud Transport Management is the lifecycle management tool for SAP Cloud development. It controls the
content transport between dierent tenants.
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Change Control Management - Overview
Related Information
SAP Fiori Launchpad
Change Request Management [page 21]
Quality Gate Management [page 470]
Change Control Management Using Central CTS [page 394]
Change Control Management Using SAP Cloud Transport Management [page 442]
Change Control Management
Change Control Management - Overview
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2 Initial Setup for the SAP Solution
Manager System
After the basic setup for SAP Solution Manager, you need to perform certain steps to enable Change Control
Management.
Prerequisites
• You have the necessary authorizations.
• On the SAP Solution Manager system and the managed systems, the required releases and support
packages are installed.
• On the SAP Solution Manager system, the Transport Management System (TMS) has been congured.
• The managed systems are registered on the System Landscape Directory (SLD).
• The service connection to SAP Support Portal has been set up.
• In SAP Solution Manager Conguration (SOLMAN_SETUP), you have performed the setup procedures
System Preparation, Infrastructure Preparation, Basic Conguration, and Managed Systems Conguration.
• The standard background jobs are scheduled.
Context
In SAP Solution Manager Conguration (SOLMAN_SETUP) scenario Change Control Management, you perform
the following setup procedures:
• To congure Change Request Management, perform the setup procedure Change Request Management for
the SAP Solution Manager system.
• To congure Quality Gate Management, perform the setup procedure Quality Gate Management for the
SAP Solution Manager system.
Regardless of using Change Request Management or Quality Gate Management, perform the setup procedure
Managed Systems Setup for each managed system.
Procedure
1. Check the prerequisites and results of the basic setup.
a. Check the activation of the piece list.
b. Set the client for Change Request Management or Quality Gate Management.
c. Maintain number ranges.
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Initial Setup for the SAP Solution Manager System
2. Implement the Collective Note.
3. Optional: Congure Downgrade Protection and Retrot.
4. For Change Request Management, execute the following steps:
a. Copy and adjust transaction types.
b. Activate the categorization schema.
c. Congure the Webclient UI and master data:
• Business roles and business partners
• Installed Base (iBase) components
• Number ranges
d. Set up reporting.
5. Congure the search infrastructure.
6. Optional: For Change Request Management, you can integrate additional functions and use cases, such as
the following:
• Solution Documentation
• SAP Portfolio and Project Management (SAP PPM)
• Job Management
• My Inbox SAP Fiori app
Related Information
Conguring Change Request Management [page 465]
Downgrade Protection [page 356]
Dual Landscape Synchronization (Retrot) [page 334]
Multilevel Categorization [page 285]
Assigning Reference Objects (IBase) [page 111]
The “My Messages” Widgets [page 17]
2.1 Master Data in SAP Solution Manager
Before you can start using Change Control Management, you must set up master data such as business
partners, IBase components, and number ranges.
Business Partner
Business partners identify persons, groups, and organizations. Each business partner can have one or more
roles assigned. During the change process, only certain business partner functions, such as “developer” or
“tester”, are authorized to perform dened activities.
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Initial Setup for the SAP Solution Manager System
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Installed Base (IBase)
IBase components identify objects for which a service is oered, for example, the production system and
client into which the transport request of a normal change must be imported, but also devices, machines,
and software. In total, the IBase describes the system landscape. You can assign business partners to IBase
components to enable the automatic determination of partner functions.
Number Ranges
The number range interval determines the sequential numbers assigned to newly created transactions. Before
you can use specic transaction types, a number range must be dened for these transaction types.
Related Information
Conguring Business Partners
Authorizations and Business Roles, Security Concept [page 10]
Roles in Change Request Management [page 23]
Assigning Reference Objects (IBase) [page 111]
2.2 Authorizations and Business Roles, Security Concept
Business roles and authorizations dene which user can see certain UI elements or execute dened activities.
Each user in a business scenario has specied tasks to execute. These business user denitions are mapped to
use case IDs, and authorization roles are dened for the dened tasks. You can use the delivered standard user
roles as templates for your own authorization concepts.
Respecting the principle of segregation of duty, each user in a system gets exactly the authorizations they need
for the tasks they are to execute.
SAP Solution Manager dierentiates between users who perform the following actions:
• Congure the SAP Solution Manager scenario
• Administer an SAP Solution Manager system
• Use SAP Solution Manager to manage other systems.
For more information about the user and roles concept, see User and Roles Concept in SAP Solution Manager.
Authorizations for many functionalities and for the WebClient UI are based on CRM business roles. For more
information about the authorization concept and authorization objects, see CRM Authorization Concept in SAP
Solution Manager.
Business roles such as SOLMANPRO determine how the WebClient UI looks like for the user. Authorization
roles (also called PFCG roles) such as SAP_SOCM_DEVELOPER are used to implement a comprehensive
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security concept and protect the SAP system against unauthorized access at database, network, and front-end
level.
Recommendation
To ensure that changes aren't overwritten during an upgrade, copy the standard business roles and the
authorization roles into the customer namespace.
Learn more about the security concept in the Help Portal for SAP Solution Manager on https://help.sap.com/
viewer/p/SAP_Solution_Manager under Implement Security .
Related Information
Roles in Change Request Management [page 23]
Including Custom Fields in the WebClient UI [page 19]
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Initial Setup for the SAP Solution Manager System
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3 Change Control Management User
Interfaces
The main user interfaces for Change Control Management are the the Launchpad and the WebClient UI.
The SAP Solution Manager Launchpad ist the common entry point for SAP Solution Manager. In the the
WebClient UI, you perform and document the change process.
For some conguration and for customizing activities, you use the classical SAP GUI to access transactions
such as SPRO (SAP Reference IMG).
Related Information
Change Management Launchpad Group [page 12]
Change Control Management in the WebClient UI [page 15]
3.1 Change Management Launchpad Group
This Launchpad group is the central access point for all the information and functions you need to control
changes in system landscapes in a comprehensive workow.
Use
The launchpad group comprises dierent tiles, in which you create requests for change, edit them if necessary,
and implement changes. You can perform the change request management activities across technology stacks
and application components.
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Change Control Management User Interfaces
Features
By default, the launchpad group consists of the following tiles:
Tile Description
Change and Release Management You can access the WebClient UI for Change Request Management.
For more information, see Change Control Management in the WebClient UI [page 15].
Administration Cockpit - Change
Control Management
You can access all administrative activities for Change Control Management.
For more information, see Administration Cockpit for Change Request Management
[page 287] and Administration Cockpit for Quality Gate Management [page 527].
Change Control Management -
Analytics
You can view and analyze the status of requests for change and change documents in
the Change Request Management application area.
For more information, see Reporting in Change Control Management - Change Request
Management [page 468].
Quality Gate Management You can monitor all software change processes, distribute software across systems and
technology stacks, and gain an integrated and consistent overview of the implementa
tion of changes to your SAP software solution.
For more information, see Quality Gate Management [page 470]
Approve Q-Gates and Urgent
Changes
You can pass, not pass, and reset Q-Gates or approve or reject urgent changes.
For more information, see Approve Q-gates and Urgent Changes.
License Management - System
Overview
You can access the distribution of licenses and maintenance certicates maintained in
your system landscape.
System Recommendations You can manage the SAP Notes and support package patches that are not yet imple
mented and installed on your managed systems.
For more information, see System Recommendations.
SAP Readiness Check
You get a pre-conversion overview, useful for identifying current system landscape
preparation steps, well in advance of your SAP S/4HANA system conversion project
start date.
For more information, see SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com and search for “User
Guide - SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA” .
Scope and Eort Analyzer -
Upgrade Planning
You can analyze the scope of activities and eort before you start the physical deploy
ment of Enhancement Packages (EHP) and support packages stacks (SPS).
For more information, see Scope and Eort Analyzer.
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Tile Description
Maintenance Planner - SAP
Support Portal
You can plan and maintain systems in your landscape. You can plan complex activities
like installing a new system or updating existing systems. All changes can be scheduled
to be deployed at a convenient time to minimize downtime.
For more information, see SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com and search for “Main
tenance Planner - User Guide” .
Download Service - Maintenance
Planner
You can directly fetch the installation archives that you have calculated with the mainte
nance planner to update, upgrade, or newly install software in your system landscape.
The following tiles are not displayed by default:
Tile Description
IT Service and Change
Management - Dashboard
You can view the corresponding status of incidents, problems, and changes, so you can
display and analyze the behavior of incidents, problems, and changes in one panel.
For more information, see Reporting in Change Control Management - Change Request
Management [page 468].
Conguration - Change
Management
You can perform mandatory and cross-scenario conguration, which are implemented
as guided procedures. A scenario consists of several steps. Each step groups a number
of activities to be performed together. While some activities run automatically, other
manual activities require you to execute them.
For more information, see Conguration
Conguration - Dashboard Builder
You can display large amounts of information in a concise form. The Dashboard Builder
is a browser-based tool that enables you to quickly create tile-based dashboards in
order to visualize data for analysis.
For more information, see Dashboard Builder
Related Information
SAP Fiori Launchpad
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Change Control Management User Interfaces
3.2 Change Control Management in the WebClient UI
The WebClient UI provides general and specic functions for Change Control Management. Your user role
determines what you can access in the navigation bar.
Use
You can start the WebClient UI in the following ways:
• Call transaction SM_CRM
• On the SAP Solution Manager launchpad, in the Change Management launchpad group, select tile Change
and Release Management or Quality Gate Management.
Prerequisites
You have the required authorizations.
Features
You can use the following general WebClient UI functions:
• My saved searches
• Search function
• Start page
• Worklist
• Calendar
• Inbox
• Master data
The following functions are available specically for Change Request Management:
• Search for change transactions (change documents, requests for change, templates for requests for
change, and change cycles)
You can use various search criteria, for example, the creator, status, document type, or installation.
• Create change transactions (change documents, requests for change, change cycles, and templates for
requests for change)
You can create new transactions and templates directly from the search screen.
• Edit change transactions
• Congure and personalize the WebClient UI
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Note
Archived objects are not visible in the WebClient UI. For more information about archiving, see the Overview
table in Archiving of Objects.
Related Information
CRM WebClient UI
Functions in Change Transactions [page 109]
Adapting the WebClient UI: Personalization and Conguration [page 276]
Change Management Launchpad Group [page 12]
Getting Started with the WebClient UI
3.2.1Using the Search Function in the WebClient UI
Use
You can search for messages, change transactions, and requirements on the Search screen of the WebClient
UI. The result of your search is displayed in the result list. A series of search operators is available for the
search. Input help or search help in certain elds also assists you in your search.
You can nd general information about the search function on SAP Help Portal at http://
help.sap.com/crm <release> Application Help Getting Started with the WebClient UI Searches .
Features
• Search for All Objects (SAP Netweaver Enterprise Search)
Use this option to search for any kind of transaction type (and its attachments) that is used on the