SAP users urged to take part in new product improvement scheme

Continuous Improvement Initiative will replace the Development Request Process

The UK and Ireland SAP User Group is urging all SAP customers to take part in the Continuous Improvement Initiative, a scheme designed to make it easier for firms to request changes to the company's products.

The user group has been trialling the scheme since February. The initiative will replace the Development Request Process, which Craig Dale, chief executive of the user group, described as "lacking transparency" and being "like a black hole for requests".

The old system saw users generate development requests on an ad-hoc basis. These were subseqently circulated to the user group's members and then sent to the development team in Germany.

The new system will see focus topics agreed between the user group and SAP that will be updated every three months.

Once the topic has been agreed, it will be uploaded onto the Ideas Place web page on the SAP Community Network, and then for the next six to eight weeks customers will be asked to upload enhancement requests related to the topic.

There will be a subsequent four-week voting phase when SAP will prioritise these requests and a further six months development phase during which time the enhancements will take place.