Scoping is the technical foundation of every SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud implementation. Compress it into a 2-day workshop and you inherit a project with undefined boundaries, underestimated effort, and a business case that collapses under scrutiny. Here is the framework that prevents that.

Start with the Landscape Assessment

Scoping begins with a structured technical inventory of your current SAP environment. Run SAP Readiness Check, available directly in your ECC or S/4HANA system to generate an automated assessment of custom ABAP code volume, deprecated API usage, and simplification items. This output is the technical baseline for every scope decision that follows.

Simultaneously, build a complete integration inventory: catalogue every RFC, BAPI, IDoc, and middleware connection in your landscape. Classify each by direction, business criticality, and owning team. In most enterprise environments, this step uncovers 20 to 30 percent more interfaces than IT teams initially estimate.

The Four Scope Dimensions

  • Custom Code Scope – Classify every custom ABAP object: Retire, Replace with standard, Rebuild as BTP extension, or Redesign via process change. This classification drives your BTP development estimate typically the largest project budget variable.
  • Integration Scope – For each interface, determine whether a pre-built SAP Integration Suite package exists or custom development is required. All production integrations must target OAuth 2.0 authentication, not basic auth.
  • Data Migration Scope – Define which master data objects and open item types will be loaded via SAP Migration Cockpit. Run a source data quality assessment first. Data quality findings directly extend project timelines.
  • Process Scope – Define which SAP modules are in scope for the initial go-live. Phased rollouts by process area are technically sound and control sprint complexity per Realize cycle.

The Scoping Output

A complete scoping exercise produces four deliverables: a Custom Code Migration Roadmap, an Integration Migration Plan, a Data Migration Strategy, and a Phased Implementation Roadmap. Without all four, your project is not scoped, it is estimated.