Upgrade Change Impact Analysis (UCIA) in SAP Solution Manager

Based on my experience setting up UCIA in SAP Solution Manager for a customer who had performed their ECC SP upgrade recently I have written this blog. It will explain the steps to setup UCIA in detail with screenshots.

Run transaction CNV_CDMC in Solution Manager system. There are set of steps that needs to be  executed to get the UCIA report. Let’s divide the steps into two parts, Project settings and Analysis.

Part 1 – Project Settings

Step 1: Define Project Landscape

In this step, we define the system landscape for the analysis project. There are two options available as how we are going to run this UCIA project,

1. We can choose either a reference system (if a test upgraded system is available)  OR
2. We can use Reference Information base content

So what these options mean to us?? How to decide which option to be followed for our customer?

Well we can go with option 1, if we have any Test System which has the planned changes implemented already in it, thereby this Test system will have the necessary SAP objects. We can use this Test system as reference while running the UCIA report.

The other option available is using SAP given Reference information Base content. To know about option 2, please refer SAP Note 1321095

Let us continue how UCIA is setup with option 1 as we followed this approach.

Before we define the Project Landscape, let us know about below terminologies.

• Control System (C):

We create, access, and work with UCIA projects in the control system. We trigger the activities that execute in the other systems from the control system, and we view the analysis results here.

Note: The system to which we are currently logged on is automatically defined as the default control system with RFC destination NONE which will be the Solution Manager system itself.

• Analysis System (A):

We use this system to determine the potential consequences that a change to SAP objects can have on custom developments.

Typically, we use the quality assurance system (not the production system) as the analysis system.

• Reference System (R):

The Impact Analysis phase of UCIA involves comparing SAP object versions before and after a planned change. In the analysis system, the SAP objects are unchanged. We use the reference system to implement the planned change, so that we have versions of the SAP objects after the change. The system can then compare these versions with the versions in the analysis system.

We can use the test system for the upgrade as the reference system.

• Statistics System (S):

Workload statistics are collected from this system. The workload statistics are taken from the workload collectors activated in transaction ST03n.

Note:

• If we use the Reference system option, define a control system (C), an analysis system (A) and a reference system (R).
• If we want to perform usage analysis then define a statistics system (S).
• We need exactly one instance of a control system, analysis system and reference system respectively. However, this does not necessarily mean that we need three separate SAP systems. For example, a single SAP system can take the roles of control system and analysis system. Addition of Statistics system is optional and can be added only if we want to perform Usage Analysis as part of UCIA project.

We had assigned QA system as Analysis system, Dev system as reference system and PRD system as Statistics system as shown below

Step 1: Define System Landscape

Step 2: Get Copied Program List

In this step, we identify the list of custom objects copied from SAP objects which are present in the Analysis system.

In the activity Maintain Copied Program List the ALV display will show user the customer object and it’s related SAP object along with the column ‘% of similarity’.

Execute this activity which will collect the copied SAP programs and corresponding customer programs in the Analysis system and stores it in the CNVCDMCUCIA_INLD table.

Step 2: Get Copied Program List

Step 3:  Maintain Copied Program List

In this activity, we identify the custom objects copied from SAP objects.

CDMC returns a list of all customer programs copied from the SAP programs from the ANALYSIS system. We can then add an object to the list and, delete, change or save any object in this list

Step 3: Maintain Copied Program List

Step 4: Display SAP Notes

In this activity, we can view the SAP Notes that may be relevant for the Analysis project.

Step 4: Display SAP Notes

Step 5: Maintain Adjustment Times

In this activity, we can maintain (based on your experience) the estimated effort (in hours) for adjusting a custom objects affected by an upgrade or support package application. This duration is basically the time taken by ABAP team to rectify the affected custom objects, and it’s not mandatory to give the exact time, so we can give a tentative time duration in hours as shown below

Step 5: Maintain Adjustment Times

Part 2 – Analysis

Step 1:Exclude Customer Objects from the Analysis

In this activity, we can exclude customer objects from the Upgrade/Change Impact Analysis.

These customer objects are removed from the objects list in the next activity Find Referred SAP Objects, and will therefore not participate in any analysis activities

Step 2: Find Referred SAP Objects

In this activity a list of all the SAP objects that are referred in custom developments in the analysis system is prepared. The customer objects list can include either all objects in the customer namespace or only objects of the specified development classes (packages) or piece lists or Solution Manager projects or SAP Solution Manager solutions.

Note: The option for SAP Solution Manager projects or, SAP Solution Manager solutions are only available when the control system is an SAP Solution Manager system.

This activity runs in the analysis system and updates two internal CDMC database tables with the following information:

• The list of custom objects
• The SAP objects that are referenced by these custom objects

Step 2: Find Referred SAP Objects

Step 3: Import Statistics

In this activity, we import the collected statistics information from the Statistics system to the central system.

Step 4: Perform Usage Analysis

This activity determines and maps the usage information for the customer objects obtained as a result of ‘Find Referred SAP Objects’ activity, using the imported statistics data

During the execution of this activity, the program, table and web dynpro statistics is collected from the imported statistics data in the Control system and the analysis is carried out in the Analysis system.

The activity analyzes the environment of these collected program, table and web dynpro objects and compiles a list of all the objects that they use. The application then analyzes these objects to determine the list of all the objects that they use, and so on.

Step 4: Perform Usage Analysis

Step 5: Find Changed SAP Objects

In this activity we determine the intersection of the SAP objects that are referred by custom objects and the SAP objects that are affected by an Upgrade or Service Pack application.

This activity runs in the reference system provided the user has chosen a reference system instead of a Reference Information Base while defining the UCIA project landscape.

• In case of a Support Package application the activity determines the above mentioned intersection by comparing the objects of the piece lists of the Support Package against the SAP objects referred by custom objects.
• In case of an Upgrade the activity determines the intersection by comparing the objects in the list of changed SAP objects (as provided by SAP) against the SAP objects referred by custom objects (obtained by ‘Find referred SAP Objects’ activity).
• In case the reference system is a fresh installation of the target release and not an upgraded system we choose the option ‘Compare all referred SAP objects’, wherein all referred SAP objects will be considered as changed objects.

Step 5: Find Changed SAP Objects

Step 6: Perform Remote Comparison

In this activity, CDMC compares the relevant objects in the reference system / reference information base against their counterparts in the analysis system. For each custom object, the program determines if it is affected by the planned upgrade or change.

The comparison covers objects of the following types:

• Domain
• Data element
• Search help
• Lock object
• Table
• Function module
• Program

Step 6: Perform Remote Comparison

Step 7: Calculate Adjustment Times

After specifying the estimated time necessary for adjusting different types of customer objects in activity ‘Maintain Adjustment Times’, this activity calculates the adjustment times for each of the customer objects based on the adjustment times of the SAP objects referred within these objects. We take these values to calculate the average total amount of required efforts for adjusting each of the customer objects.

Step 8: Customer Batch Input Analysis

This activity which runs in the analysis system returns a list of all customer batch input programs affected by an upgrade or Support Package implementation.

Step 9: Analyze External Subroutine Calls

In this activity which runs in the analysis system CDMC determines a list of all the custom programs containing external subroutine calls to standard SAP programs that are changed by an upgrade or a support package application.

Below is the snippet of how the final UCIA report looks like,

Final UCIA report snippet

Useful SAP Notes:

1244713 – Configuration of Custom Development Management Cockpit – SAP ONE Support Launchpad

1321095 – CDMC UCIA : Information on Reference Info Base scenario – SAP ONE Support Launchpad