Unit 1: Implementation Guide and Customizing Projects
Every configuration change you make in materials management is carried out through the Implementation Guide (IMG). This unit explains what the IMG is, why projects and project views are used to tame its size, which attributes each activity carries, and how Business Configuration Sets and Business Functions fit into the picture.
Lesson 1 · Defining Customizing Projects
After this lesson you can
- Explain the purpose of Customizing and the Implementation Guide (IMG)
- Distinguish the SAP Reference IMG from a project IMG and from project views
- Describe how a Customizing project is defined (scope, team, status values) and how views are built
- Name the attributes attached to IMG activities and explain BC Sets and Business Functions (SFW5)
Key concepts
Customizing is the umbrella term for adapting the delivered, company-neutral SAP S/4HANA functionality to a specific enterprise. Customizing never creates business transactions (you cannot post a purchase order in the IMG) — it only maintains control tables that decide how the application behaves when users later work in the SAP Easy Access menu or in SAP Fiori apps. The tool used for this is the Implementation Guide, reached with SPRO.
The IMG is arranged as a tree that mirrors the application component hierarchy (Enterprise Structure, Cross-Application Components, Logistics – General, Materials Management, Financial Accounting, and so on). Because the tree already reflects the dependencies between the underlying database tables, the system can validate your entries against related tables and warn you about inconsistent combinations. The IMG also helps a project focus on what is truly required: activities can be flagged as mandatory, optional or not required, so a team does not waste time on irrelevant settings.
Typical things you do with the IMG:
- Plan, run and analyse implementation, rollout or upgrade projects.
- Configure S/4HANA functions safely and quickly, adapting standard behaviour to company rules.
- Read the activity documentation and release notes, and record your own project notes and status per activity.
- Record settings in transport requests so they move from the development client via quality assurance into production — guaranteeing identical settings in all systems and avoiding double maintenance.
| Object | What it contains | Can you create views on it? |
|---|---|---|
| SAP Reference IMG | Every Customizing activity for every country and every application component — the complete delivered catalogue. | No |
| Project IMG | A subset of the Reference IMG, generated from the countries, components or nodes chosen for one Customizing project. | Yes |
| Project view | A further filtered view of a project IMG — either by attributes (e.g. only mandatory activities) or by manual selection of nodes/activities. | — (it is itself the view) |
Why separate Customizing projects?
The Reference IMG is enormous. Splitting the work into projects keeps each project's IMG small and relevant. You might define one project for the initial implementation, another for a release upgrade or the installation of new functionality, and another for a country rollout — a rollout to a new country is the classic example of a project large enough to deserve its own IMG, because many country-specific activities are involved. Small, isolated tasks (for example creating one new MRP area) do not justify a separate project.
Project administration
In project administration (SPRO_ADMIN) you record the master data of a project:
- Project name / ID
- Project team members
- Scope — selected countries and application components, or manually selected IMG nodes and activities
- The status values the team will use (e.g. "in process", "completed")
From the project you call the activities, maintain project documentation (notes) and set status information. Projects you use frequently can be added to your worklist in SPRO for quick access.
Project views: attributes versus manual selection
A project view is always derived from the project IMG, never from the Reference IMG. Two ways exist to build one:
| Method | How it works | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Selection by attributes | The project IMG is reduced to the activities that carry certain attribute values (e.g. "mandatory", "critical"). Attributes can be designated as mandatory activities. | A view of all mandatory activities for go-live checks |
| Manual selection | You pick individual structure nodes or single activities yourself. | A view per team member or key user, e.g. only the activities for the release strategy of purchase requisitions and purchase orders |
Attributes of IMG activities
Each activity carries descriptive information that helps the team plan and control the work (visible via Additional Information in the IMG menu):
| Attribute | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Status information | Status, keywords, assigned employees |
| Necessity | Whether the activity is mandatory, optional or not required |
| Critical / non-critical | Whether a mistake has wide-reaching consequences |
| Roadmap assignment | Link to the phase of the implementation methodology (historically ASAP) |
| Country assignment | Generic or country-specific activity |
| Application component | The component the activity belongs to |
| BAdIs | Indicates where SAP allows customer-specific enhancements |
| BC Sets | Whether Business Configuration Sets exist for the activity |
| Technical data | Client-dependent or client-independent, language dependency, transport type (Customizing vs. Workbench request) |
Business Configuration Sets (BC Sets)
A BC Set is a snapshot of Customizing table entries bundled under one name. Activating it writes those values into the target client. BC Sets make global rollouts and industry templates easier, allow Customizing to be handled more at business level, speed up and secure change management, and simplify upgrades. Use SCPR3 to display/maintain BC Sets and SCPR20 to activate them.
Business Functions and the Switch Framework
Some features are dormant until a Business Function is switched on with SFW5 (an example from MM is down payment processing). Each business function ships with documentation and test cases. In ECC 6.0 business functions came with enhancement packages; in S/4HANA they are delivered with the annual releases and feature packs, and some ECC business functions are flagged as obsolete in SFW5. Activation of most business functions is irreversible, so it must be planned. To learn what changed in a release, consult the release documentation, the Simplification List and the conversion/upgrade guides on the SAP Help Portal.
Process flow
System steps
- Open project administration with SPRO_ADMIN and create a project: enter name, team members, status profile and documentation types.
- On the Scope tab, select countries and application components (or choose nodes manually), then generate the project IMG.
- On the Views tab, create additional views — by attributes (e.g. mandatory activities) or by manual selection for an individual key user.
- In SPRO, add the project to your worklist and execute activities from the project IMG, maintaining status and notes as you go.
- Save settings into a Customizing transport request so they can be released and imported into the follow-on systems.
Configuration (IMG)
SPRO › SAP Reference IMG (or project IMG from the worklist)
SPRO › Activate Business Functions (SFW5)
Use the Additional Information menu to display the technical data of an activity before changing it. If it says "client-independent", your change affects all clients of the system at once — this also applies, for example, to calendars and units of measurement (Unit 2).
In current SAP S/4HANA projects the implementation methodology is SAP Activate rather than ASAP, and project/roadmap management is often handled in SAP Cloud ALM or SAP Solution Manager instead of IMG project administration. The IMG itself (SPRO) remains the tool for on-premise and private cloud configuration; SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition uses SAP Central Business Configuration instead of direct IMG access.
- The IMG lets you read documentation, see release notes and check/maintain activity status — it does not create business documents.
- Views can only be created for the project IMG, never for the SAP Reference IMG.
- Two ways to create a project view: by attributes or by manual selection.
- Frequently used projects go to the worklist.
- A country rollout is the typical case for a dedicated Customizing project.
- Business functions are activated with SFW5; BC Sets group Customizing settings for reuse.
Unit summary & exam focus
The IMG is the single entry point for configuration. Projects and project views reduce it to what a team actually needs; activity attributes support planning and control; BC Sets package settings for reuse; Business Functions (SFW5) switch on optional functionality. Settings travel through the landscape via transport requests.
T-codes in this unit
| T-code | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SPRO | Customizing – Implementation Guide (Reference IMG, project IMGs, worklist) |
| SPRO_ADMIN | Customizing project administration |
| SFW5 | Switch Framework – activate Business Functions |
| SCPR3 | Display and maintain BC Sets |
| SCPR20 | Activate BC Sets |
Self-check questions
- Can you create a purchase order using the IMG?
Answer
No. The IMG maintains control settings, reads documentation, shows release notes and tracks activity status. Business documents are created in the application (SAP Easy Access or Fiori). - On which IMG can additional views be defined?
Answer
Only on a project IMG. The SAP Reference IMG cannot have views. - Name the two ways to build a project view.
Answer
Selection by attributes (e.g. all mandatory or critical activities) and manual selection of individual nodes/activities. - Where do you put a Customizing project you use daily?
Answer
In your worklist in SPRO. - Which of these merits its own Customizing project: a new MRP area, testing support packages, or a rollout to a new country?
Answer
The country rollout — it involves many country-specific activities across components. - Which transaction activates a Business Function such as down payment processing in MM?
Answer
SFW5 (Switch Framework). Activation is generally irreversible.