SAP Project System Module in My Own Words

Projects are complex and unique in nature therefore when it comes to managing them electronically, an equally detailed system is required and the SAP Project Systems module provides that support.

I am currently doing training to prepare to work on a project for a client that is using SAP. I find SAP Project Systems to be interesting because it is based on Project Management which I have studied in college. It allows organizations to track project activities from start to finish and manage all the details that go into them.

This module is impressive as it integrates with other SAP modules seamlessly to produce an ecosystem of all the elements required to drive the business engine faster and more efficiently. Hence we can observe how SAP adds business value to large enterprises.

In SAP Project Systems, you can create a project in more than one way but Project Builder is the most common way. You can then add levels of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) elements to model and structure the project according to its activities in an hierarchical fashion. You can also add networks that show the flow of tasks within the project. Milestones can also be added to signify events that are important to the project flow.

For comparison purposes, you can also create project versions to show the state of the project at a certain point in time.

You can also create projects in simulation mode to test scenarios before creating a real project when decisions have been made.

The most important aspect of projects is the budget which SAP handles efficiently. You can do cost planning to estimate costs then create and distribute the budget in all WBS elements. The budget can be adjusted throughout the project's life-cycle as you can add to it (supplement), take from it (return), release funds, transfer available funds to another project, or carry the remaining budget forward into the following fiscal year.

Another important aspect is the dates and scheduling of the project. You can define different types of dates in each level of the project and align and calculate them for activities and networks through scheduling.

Of course, there are so many other details in Project Systems that I would like to master. But I hope my overview gives you a basic understanding of what it entails.