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SAP Program Management – How to ensure success
- SAP
What are the biggest challenges and unspoken rules for SAP S/4HANA program managers? That was the central question at an interactive knowledge event hosted by Eswelt in Amsterdam. Program managers René Stevens and Hans Nijdeken shared their experiences with complex transformations.
SHARING EXPERIENCES
What draws fifty professionals to the eleventh floor of the ITO tower on a Thursday evening? A freelance project manager sums it up: “It’s fifty percent professional, fifty percent social. You learn from each other—and see a lot of familiar faces.”
Speakers René Stevens and Hans Nijdeken opened the floor with a key question: how do you maintain control over SAP programs? Throughout their interactive talk, attendees were encouraged to contribute their own experiences.
Ten success factors for SAP programs
According to Hans, success in SAP programs hinges on ten key factors that must be addressed in the first 100 days. One of these is the definition, steering, and balancing of deliverables. But how does that align with an Agile approach, where flexibility is key? Opinions in the room varied—and that was exactly the point: to learn from each other.
René: “There’s no single right or wrong way. You grow by sharing.”
What the experts say
“We keep things practical and interactive—you don’t stand in front of a room full of experts just to explain their daily routines.”
— René Stevens, ERP/SAP Program Manager
“You know what needs to be done—but do you ever stop to check whether you're actually doing it? If that’s what you take away from this session, I’m happy.”
– Hans Nijdeken, ERP/SAP Program Manager
Leadership and clear communication
After a short break, Hans zoomed in on what it takes to deliver successful large-scale SAP programs. The role of a program manager goes far beyond project management—it includes leadership, building trust, and managing stakeholder interests.
Hans: “If you can’t explain to the business how they’ll work today and tomorrow, your program will fail.” Clear and simple communication is essential to keeping people engaged.
Scope, budget, and change requests
The relaxed setting also made room for a bit of professional humour. One speaker quipped, “Change Requests never trigger debates about what’s ‘done’ or ‘good enough’,” sparking knowing laughter from the audience. That irony kicked off a series of suggestions to avoid such familiar discussions.
A program manager must guard the balance between scope and budget—one can only grow if the other follows. External program managers typically share this responsibility with internal counterparts, which requires mutual trust and solid collaboration.
The crucial first 100 days of Program Management
Hans and René emphasised the crucial nature of the first 100 days in program management. Solid planning and clear expectation-setting determine the outcome.
One takeaway stood out during the networking drinks: those first 100 days can make or break a program. The room—full of program managers, change managers, CIOs and other experts—continued exchanging thoughts on strategy, leadership and collaboration long after the sessions had ended.
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