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Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Developing & Maintaining Your SAP BI
Support Team and Their Skills
- A Roadmap for Organizing, Recruiting, Training
and Motivating Your BI Staff
Dr. Bjarne Berg
Associate Prof., SAP University Alliance
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
What I'll Cover...
What I’ll Cover
…
Introduction
& Overview
The Support Organization
The Support Activities
Training and Motivating Your Support Team
Writing SLAs with the Business Community
Key Points to Take Home
Questions
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
2
BI Support Organization — Big Picture
You need to separate the operations of BI systems from the project work
If there is no support organization, the BI system quickly becomes an
orphan when the project ends
Without a
support org. there
is a risk that
future BI projects
are delayed since
the project team
has to support
previous
projects
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
An Example of a Small Support Team
Note: These are Support
models and does not
include any resources for
new content development.
This is assumed to be
staffed separately.
Support leader
System description
Load issues
1
Executive users
5
Environments
4
Casual users
40
Part time (50%)
Power User
Part time (25%)
Helpdesk &
data loads
SAP BI Basis
Full-time/part-time
Full-time
This small group is typically folded in under an existing manager,
who devotes only part-time efforts to BI support
The power user is normally also situated in a different organization
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
4
An Example of a Medium Support Team
Support leader
Part time (65%)
Query & Web
Full-time
Help desk, training,
user support
System description
Load issues
2
Executive users
10
Environments
4
Casual users
200
SAP BI Basis
Data loads & fixes
Full-time
Full-time
Full-time
This medium sized team is typically folded in under an existing
manager, who devotes only part-time efforts to BI support
The group sometimes also undertakes portal support, security,
development standards, and feature enhancements such as
broadcasting and cockpit consolidations; but is normally not extensively
involved in new content development
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
5
An Example of a Large Support Team
Note: Job areas are meant for
illustrations, and will vary
depending on the BI
applications supported
Query & cockpits
i.e. SEM
Full-time
Query & cockpits
i.e. APO, CRM
Full-time
System description
Load issues
2
Executive users
15
Environments
4
Casual users
1000
Support leader
Full time
Helpdesk,
user support
SAP BI Basis
Data loads & fixes
Full-time
Full-time
Data quality &
data resource mgmt.
Data loads & fixes
Full-time
Training,
user support
Full-time
Full-time
Full-time
Portal, collaboration,
KM security
Full-time
This large team can support complex applications, cockpits, BI
portals, and broadcasting while providing training and help desk
support as well as on-going SAP NetWeaver BW production support.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
6
Sizing the Team — Benchmarking 7 Best-of-Breed Companies
By examining 7 companies from various industries that have
implemented NetWeaver, we found that consistencies have emerged
within 'best-of-breed' organizations.
The companies used for benchmarks can be summarized as:
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
7
The Need for Non-Basis Support People
First, we looked at factors we could remove since they were not
correlated with the need for non-basis support people.
We found 4 factors:
a. Number of power users has little impact on the number of non Basis
support people you will need. (p=0.97)**
b. Complexity of security has little impact on the number of non Basis
support people you will need. (p=0.85)**
c.
Number of process chains has little impact on the number of non Basis
support people you will need. (p=0.82)**
d. Number of data stores has little impact on the number of non Basis
support people you will need. (p=0.81)**
**P is the possibility that a factor is simply due to randomness in the sample.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
8
How Many Non Basis Support People Do You Need?
Number of non Basis support people needed =
0.4 + 0.065 (number of executive users)
+ 0.0069 (# of casual users)
+ 0.31 (system load issues) (Note: F-Stat=13.59; P of F = 0.03**)
Other ways to put it:
a.
You need 0.4 people regardless of any size of you system.
b.
Each non Basis support person can support 15.3
executives, or 144 casual users, or 3.2 load issues.
When planning development and help desk support staff, you need to look at
number for executives, casual users, and the level of load issues you have.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
9
How Many Basis Support People Do You Need?
Number of Basis support people needed =
0.49 + 0.15 (number of BI environments) Note: F-Stat=11.32; P of F = 0.02**
Other ways to put it:
a.
You need 0.49 people regardless of any number of BI systems
b.
Each Basis support person can support 3.18 environments.
c.
With 1.5 positions you can support 6.3 environments, and with 2 fulltime basis support people, you can support 9.5 BI environments
Note: Basis tasks include: Notes research, testing and application,
support packs/upgrades/transports/installs/backup /disaster recovery/
hardware management and other related tasks
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
10
How Many Support Managers Do You Need?
Number of Leadership support people needed =
0.32 + 0.012(# of executive users)
+ 0.09 (System data load issues) Note: F-Stat=2.211
Other ways to put it:
a. The number of executive using the system drives the need
for user support leadership, but you need at least 0.32
leaders regardless of the number of users or the data load issues
b. A leader can handle up to 56 executive users, or 7.3 load issues
(scale 1-10)
When organizing the support leadership team, you need to look at the number
of executive users and the level of load issues. The more load issues & sr.
managers using your system, the more support team leads you will need.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
11
Testing the Sizing Models
To test the staffing models, we ran the original companies used. We found that
the government organization was overstaffed by two and the high-tech company
was understaffed by one. For all others we found 80%-100% accuracy.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Small BI Project Team for Single Subject Area
•
Example: Billing, Inventory, or Accounts Payable
Project sponsor
Note: These are roles, not
positions (sometimes one
team member can fill more
than one role)
Project Manager
Business team
Technical team
Business analyst
BI Architect
Presentation developer
ETL developer
Basis and functional R/3 support
4-5 team members and normally 3-6 months
duration, depending on scope
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
13
Mid-Sized BI Project Team, Single Complex Subject Area
•
Example: Cost and Profitability, Internal Billing
Note: These are roles, not
positions (sometimes one
team member can fill more
than one role)
Project sponsor/
Steering
Committee
Project Manager
BI
Architect
Business
Analyst(s)
Extract,
Transforms
and Loads
Data Management
(InfoCubes, MP &
DSO)
Presentation
Developer(s)
Sr. Business analyst
Sr. ETL developer
Sr. BI developer
Sr. Presentation
developer
Business analyst
ETL developer
BI developer
Presentation
developer
Basis and functional ECC support
8-10 team members & normally 3-4 months duration, depending on scope
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
14
Large SAP BI Project Team for Multiple Subject Areas
•
Example: Sales, Finance, and Material Management
Project sponsor/
Steering Committee
Project Manager
Note: These are roles, not
positions (sometimes one
team member can fill more
than one role)
BI Architect
Portal developer(s)
Sales Team
Finance Team
Business analyst/(sub-team lead)
BI developer
Presentation developer(s)
ETL developer
Business analyst/(sub-team lead)
BI developer
Presentation developer(s)
ETL developer
Material Mgmt. Team
Business analyst/(sub-team lead)
BI developer
Presentation developer(s)
ETL developer
Basis and functional ECC support
15-25 team members & normally 6-18 months duration, depending on scope
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
15
What I'll Cover...
What I’ll Cover
…
Introduction
& Overview
The Support Organization
The Support Activities
Training and Motivating Your Support Team
Writing SLAs with the Business Community
Key Points to Take Home
Questions
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
16
The BI Help Desk — Level 1 Support
The first level support
should be done by Power
Users in the organization
You will have to train these
resources, empower them
to make changes, and
leverage them as much as
possible, even when it is
easy to “jump to solutions”
Query related support tickets from a central
location/Web site should be routed to the
power users in each department.
The power user can escalate the ticket to Level
2 support if he/she is unable to resolve it.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
The BI Help Desk — Level 2 Support
The second level support is
used for issues that are not
related to queries,
presentations, reports, and
formatting
This include data loads,
performance, security,
availability, training
schedules, etc.
This is addressed by the
central support team
Some support ticket types are always routed
to Level 2 support.
It is important to have a generic email
address for Level 2 support that is not
related to an individual. Emails to this
address should not be deleted.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Maintaining Data Loads
•
A typical BI system of a mid-sized organization may have 50-100
different jobs running that are dependent on lookups, referential
integrity, calculations, data quality, and source system availability
•
Since most BI system are asynchronously (batch) updated, the number
one complaint of a BI system is the lack of timely data
•
Mature BI organizations may operate at 99% load efficiency, but that still
means that 15-30 jobs (out of 1,500-3,000) have issues each month
You cannot plan for the unknown, but you can set aside resources to
deal with it. Dedicated resources for process chains in the production
environment is paramount to a BI program’s success.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Break-Fix - Splitting Projects & Support Environments
Break fix and Production stack
BWB
Project Stack
BWD
BWS
BWQ
BWP
The Break-Fix and
production stack as well
as the training
environment is owned
by the support team.
Training
BWT
The project teams own
the development and
Sandbox environments
(BWS and BWD).
By Introducing a Break-Fix (BWB) environment, the support team can correct
break-fixes and move code into the Testing environment (BWQ) and
Production environment (BWP) without impacting the project team
Transports can be captured in the buffer and moved to the Development
environment (BWD) on a periodic basis
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
On-Line Help Systems (a real example)
Online Help Systems
The use of an online help
system is a must for
successful BI systems
You can make your own
system, by simply saving your
Microsoft Word docs as .htm
files and then pick them up in
a Web page
Plan to publish how-to, step-by-step
docs for even the simplest tasks.
Adding internal links makes it
easy to use
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
On-Line Help Systems (a real example)
Online Help Systems — Animations
You can also buy
cheap software
like Snag-it and
Camtasia and
create demos that
show how to
accomplish more
complex tasks
The development & maintenance of the online help system
belongs in the support organization.
This is not a one-time task, but a “living” system that is updated
based on user feedback, issues, and new development.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Computer Based Online Training (another real example)
On-line training can be
delivered on-demand
There are many companies
that can develop customized,
cost-effective, interactive
training for your end users
(starting around $8K to about
$20K)
The trick to being successful here is to provide
interactivity and common tasks scenarios.
Over time, this is probably the
best way of delivering casual
user training
Hint: Use a storyboard to develop your training.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
What I'll Cover...
What I’ll Cover
…
Introduction
& Overview
The Support Organization
The Support Activities
Training and Motivating Your Support Team
Writing SLAs with the Business Community
Key Points to Take Home
Questions
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
24
Turnover and Team Rotations
24% of IT application developers leave
their jobs every year
4 years, 2 months is the average time
spent in an IT job in the US and
slightly longer in industrial Asian
countries.
Source: NobScot, Sept 2009
The top reason for leaving
an IT support job is the
lack of personal growth
opportunities
However, the IT support staff lasts
only 25 months!
SOLUTION: Create a formal plan for
rotating each support role every 6 months.
Provide a formal mentoring and training
program that is communicated in writing
to each employee annually.
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Employee Turnovers - Keeping your employees
Rank
1
4
23
24
25
Job Area
Network systems & data communications analysts
Computer software engineers, applications
Computer systems analysts
Database administrators
Computer software engineers, systems software
% growth New Positions
Education
53.4%
140,000 Bachelor's degree
44.6%
226,000 Bachelor's degree
29.0%
146,000 Bachelor's degree
28.6%
34,000 Bachelor's degree
28.2%
99,000 Bachelor's degree
36.8%
645,000
By 2016, the IT job market will grow by 38.6% in USA.
-US Dept. of Labor statistics, Sept. 2009.
In Europe, of the 1,031 job types tracked, five IT jobs ranked in the top 25 by growth.
-EU Commission Report, June 2009.
In Australia, "helpdesk and IT support candidates are hotspots of demand...SAP and
Oracle functional and technical resources are required for new ERP implementations
and upgrades... organizations have expressed their intention to expand their
workforce in the new financial year, some by up to 25 percent." - Hays, Australia April, 2009.
How many of these jobs will be filled by your current employees?
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Training for Your Support Staff — Core Classes
Ref
BW-310
BW-305
BW-350
BW-360
BW-361
BW-365
SAP-330
Course
Intro to SAP BI
BI Reporting & Analysis
BI Data Acquisition
BW Performance & Admin
BW Accelerator
BW Authorizations
BW Modeling
Who should take the training
All
End user support and Training
Data loads and Fixes
System admin
System admin
Information risk mgmt
System admin
If you are going to create a support team that is on equal
level with your developers, they have to have adequate
training to make enhancements
system
Title
Referenceand manage the
BW -310
Intro to SAP BI
and Analysis
Reporting
-305 only BI
Failure to train properlyBW
would
place
the real
support
BI Data Acquisition
BW -350
work back on the developers
and the
cost of the support
BW Performance & Admin
BW -360
team is wasted!
BW -361
BW Accelerator
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Internal and External Rewards
While the compensation can vary by regions, and salaries have been revised
downwards in 2008-2009, the typical support costs in Industrial Asian Countries are:
(based on a review of 7 Asian support centers in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and 1 center in Bangalore India).
Support Role
BI Administrator
BI Trainer
BI User support
SAP Web support
SAP Security support
BI Basis support
SAP ETL Support
Low Pay
$ 48,000
$ 33,600
$ 23,200
$ 37,600
$ 35,200
$ 34,400
$ 28,000
Median Pay
$
45,000
$
47,000
$
34,000
$
52,000
$
49,000
$
44,000
$
40,000
High Pay
$ 124,100
$ 63,750
$ 44,800
$ 66,400
$ 72,800
$ 132,000
$ 81,000
* Industry pay (non-consultants)
•
However, money is not the only compensation. Other popular rewards include:
 Extra week vacation for people in support roles
 One week SAP training of choice each year
 Clearly defined promotion path (given in writing)
 Reduced work hours (7 hr workday)
 Remote support from home 1-2 days per week
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Career Paths and Promotions
There are many career path in the BI support organization and titles
may vary. Common career paths include:
1.
End user support  web support
 security support
 training
 Support manager
 Support manager
 Support manager
2.
ETL support
BI Architect
 System administrator
3.
BI Basis support BI Architect
 System administrator
4.
Support Manager Project manager
 BI Program Director
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
What I'll Cover...
What I’ll Cover
…
Introduction
& Overview
The Support Organization
The Support Activities
Training and Motivating Your Support Team
Writing SLAs with the Business Community
Key Points to Take Home
Questions
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
30
What to Include in a BI SLA between IT support & the Business
1.
2.
3.
4.
When must data stores be loaded by (time)
 What will happened if a persistent problem occurs (“swat” teams)?
 Who is responsible for fixing process chains and who pays?
 Do you get a discount for each DataStore that is not loaded in time?
How should software fixes be applied
 When will service packs, SAP Notes, and fixes be applied?
 Who pays for it?
 Who is responsible for testing them?
When will the system be upgraded
 When will upgrades occur, how is the pricing determined?
 Who pays for it and who is responsible for testing?
 How long can the system be off-line?
Minimum uptime and target uptime
 What is uptime defined as (data store loaded vs. queries available vs.
security fixes applied vs. portal uptime vs. third-party reporting tool uptime
vs. network uptime, etc.)?
 What are the penalties (money) for missing the uptime requirements?
31
What to Include in a BI SLA (cont.)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Issues log
 What issues must be logged?
 Who owns the log? Do you have access?
 Can entries be updated, or must an audit trail be preserved?
Backup and disaster recovery
 What is included in the backup and when is it taken?
 When will restore abilities be tested?
 How fast must restore occur, and what data stores and users will first have
access (priority list)?
Who owns the data
 If you switch vendors, who owns the data?
 How will you get access to the data? Do you get full insights to all?
 Who, of the vendor’s employees, gets access to your data? Can they share
it with your competitor?
Service tickets
 When will service tickets be monitored?
 What are the categories and who will resolve them?
 What are the resolution process and timelines?
 How are customer and support satisfaction measured?
32
What to Include in a BI SLA (cont.)
9.
Escalation process
 What will happened if an issue cannot be resolved by the Internal IT
department/vendor and your Business SLA manager?
 What are the steps needed to terminate the SLA contract and are there any
payments/fault payments or budget recourse (i.e., move money from cost
centers)?
The more details you put into the contract up front, the easier it will be to measure
and the more likely you are to have a successful IT-Business relationship
33
Measuring SLA Performance and the Blame Game
Unless you have quantifiable, objective measures,
the SLA is meaningless
Try a few measures to start with (less than 5) and
add as issues arise
Create an objective log and schedule periodic status reports & standing
meetings (typically monthly)
Avoid finger pointing and the blame game
Instead look at commonalities of issues & address causes instead of symptoms
If you spend more than 15 minutes discussing an issue in this meeting,
you are on the wrong track
The trick is to address long-term problems, not the load job that failed
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
Reasonable SLA Performance
Some examples of reasonable performance include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
90% of all queries run under 20 seconds
System is available 98% of the time
Data loads are available at 8am — 99% of the time
User support tickets are answered within 30 minutes
(first response)
5. User support tickets are closed within 48 hours — 95% of the time.
6. System is never unavailable for more than 72 hrs — including
upgrades, service packs, and disaster recovery
7. Delta backups are done each 24 cycle and system backups are
done every weekend
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
What I'll Cover...
What I’ll Cover
…
Introduction
& Overview
The Support Organization
The Support Activities
Training and Motivating Your Support Team
Writing SLAs with the Business Community
Key Points to Take Home
Questions
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
36
7 Key Points to Take Home
•
Separate your support and your project organization
•
Size your support team according to best practice benchmarks
•
Compensate (money and benefits) the team to assure stability
•
Leverage online training and online help systems to reduce
support costs
•
Create a formal SLA process with the business community with
realistic performance targets
•
Make sure you have identified environment owners – consider a
break-fix environment
•
Create career tracks for the support staff
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
37
Resources
•
Boris Otto and Jörg Wolter, Implementing SAP Customer
Competence Center, SAP PRESS, 1st edition; 1st edition
(December 1, 2008)
•
Michael Missbach, Ralf Sosnitzka, Josef Stelzel, and Matthias
Wilhelm, SAP System Operations, SAP Press (February 10, 2004)
•
30 critical lessons for global SAP NetWeaver® Business Intelligence
project teams
• http://www.comeritinc.com/UserFiles/file/30%20Critical%20Lesson
s%20BI%20Portals%202009.ppt
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
38
Questions
How to contact me:
Dr. Bjarne Berg
bberg@ComeritInc.com
Mastering Business Intelligence with SAP 2009
39