SAP Recommended Practices
SAP's official methodology and tooling for implementing clean core — from initial assessment through governance, including SAP Activate phases, Cloud ALM integration, and the Clean Core Assessment tool.
SAP Activate + Clean Core Operating Model
SAP Activate provides the project phasing. The Clean Core Assessment tool, ATC, and Cloud ALM plug into specific phases as mandatory quality gates. Together these form the SAP "Clean Core Operating Model."
Executive Summary
SAP Clean Core Assessment Tool
- Deployment model
- SaaS on SAP BTP (no on-premise install)
- Analyses
- Modifications, deprecated APIs, unreleased extension points
- Output format
- Heat map by package + severity classification
- Severity levels
- Blocker / Critical / Major / Minor
- Integration
- SAP Cloud ALM (remediation tracking)
- Recommended cadence
- Initial + pre-upgrade + quarterly review
SAP Activate Clean Core Phase Gates
Each SAP Activate phase has specific clean core activities. Skipping any phase means missing a quality gate, which increases the cost of finding violations later.
Run Fit-to-Standard workshops. Map current custom processes to SAP Best Practices. Identify unavoidable extensions before any build decisions are made.
Run Clean Core Assessment. Build extensibility inventory (list every custom object with target tier). Define ATC rule profile for the project.
Fit-gap: for each gap, decide Tier 2 (in-system BAdI/custom field) or Tier 3 (BTP CAP/Build). Document extension decisions in Cloud ALM.
Build extensions. ATC enforced on every transport. Code review gate for clean core violations. CAP extensions deployed to BTP.
Run full regression test (ABAP Unit + Fiori OPA5). Verify ATC clean in all custom packages. Go-live readiness assessment.
Quarterly clean core health check. ATC integrated into continuous delivery pipeline. Upgrade readiness report before each S/4HANA release.
SAP Cloud ALM Integration
Tracks all extension decisions (Tier 2 vs Tier 3) as work items with owner, due date, and rationale.
Connects to TMS for change tracking — all transports linked to Cloud ALM change items.
Delegates ATC checks to pipeline gates — pipeline status feeds back into Cloud ALM defects.
Clean core violations tracked as defects with owner, due date, and remediation history.
ATC Rule Profile Configuration
The recommended ATC profile for clean core enforcement — configure this in transaction ATC and activate it as the default profile for all custom ABAP packages.
" ATC Configuration — Clean Core profile
" Transaction: ATC → ATC System Configuration → Profiles
" Recommended checks for clean core compliance:
" - SLIN_UMETH: Usage of unreleased methods
" - SLIN_UATTR: Usage of unreleased attributes
" - SLIN_UCLAS: Usage of unreleased classes
" - SLIN_UPCKAGE: Usage of unreleased packages
" - SLIN_UOPER: Usage of deprecated operations
" - FIND_HIGHER_RELEASE_USAGES: Detect usage of higher release APIs
" Profile: ZCLEANCORE_STRICT
" Priority threshold: Block transport if severity >= BLOCKER
" Activate in ABAP development tools (ADT):
" Window → Preferences → ABAP Development →
" ABAP Test Cockpit → Automatic ATC Check
" Level: Before every activation (not just transport)Enterprise Example: DEWA Clean Core Operating Model
- Reporting cadence
- Monthly Clean Core Health Report
- Report source
- ATC + Cloud ALM combined dashboard
- Governance council
- 3 members: Basis Lead, Head of ABAP Dev, Solution Architect
- CI/CD gate
- Jenkins — transport rejected on any BLOCKER finding
- Target (end of 2025)
- Zero BLOCKER findings
- Secondary target
- Less than 50 MAJOR findings in production
- External review
- SAP partner reviews Clean Core Assessment output quarterly
Best Practices
Run ATC on every ABAP activation — not just before transports. Catching violations early is 10x cheaper than fixing them before go-live.
Use SAP Cloud ALM for all extension decisions, change tracking, and defect management related to clean core compliance.
Classify each custom object in the extensibility inventory (Tier 1 clean / Tier 2 / Tier 3 candidate) before starting migration work.
Run Fit-to-Standard workshops before the Realise phase — avoid building unnecessary extensions by leveraging SAP standard first.
Create a Clean Core quality gate owner role — this person is not the same developer who writes the code being reviewed.