Make F.I.T. Your Purpose is the book behind FIT 4 SAP. I wrote it in 2016, after almost twenty years inside SAP projects. Long enough to see the same mistakes made with great confidence, many times over.
Still relevant, ten years on? More than ever. SAP programmes rarely fail on technology. They fail on unclear scope, late decisions and customisation nobody owns. AI now writes test scripts and documentation in minutes, and I use it daily. It does not decide what your business should prove before it signs. Faster build without that decision just gets you to the wrong place sooner.
What the book says
F.I.T. stands for Fast Implementation Track®, and FAST stands for Focus And Simplify Transformation.
Not speed for its own sake, but a method to prevent postponing your go-live date.
It rests on five pillars:
- Focus on what matters most. Find the business processes that carry the value. Leave the rest for later.
- Communicate in plain language. Jargon hides disagreement until it becomes expensive. Say it so nobody can misread it.
- Keep it simple. Every customisation is a promise to maintain it. Make fewer promises.
- Make the hard calls early, then stick to them. A difficult decision in week one costs a meeting. The same decision in month nine costs a programme.
- Educate as you go. Share what breaks while it is still cheap to fix, and teach the team so the knowledge stays when the consultants leave.
From book to proof of concept
In 2016, Fast Implementation Track was the compass I used to steer implementations.
Today I use it to test them, in 30 days, before you sign the Statement of Work.
| Pillar | Why it matters | In FIT 4 SAP |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | If everything is important, nothing gets proven. | One critical business scenario, agreed up front. |
| Communicate | Ambiguity is how S/4 projects die. | A plain-language Scope Agreement, including what is out of scope. |
| Simplify | Complexity eventually kills your business. | Clean core S/4HANA. Find where standard breaks before you customise. |
| Commit | The 30-day deadline is on purpose. | Scope locked before day one. No extensions. |
| Educate | If we don’t learn now, you will pay for it later. | Every gap in the Scar Log becomes leverage for your Statement of Work. |
The five pillars in the book are the five rules on the Read Me page.
The method hasn’t changed.
The point at which I apply it has.
How I work
I aim to make myself unnecessary.
You get the evidence, the Scar Log and the Board Pack.
Then I step back.
If you never need me again, the proof of concept has done its job.
I’m an independent ally.
No integrator behind me, no bench of consultants to keep busy, no change orders to sell.
My only interest is that your decision is the right one.
Who the book is for
- CIOs, CFOs and programme sponsors about to commit to S/4HANA.
- Programme leads who have to deliver what the board signed.
- Anyone who has lived through an SAP programme and would rather not repeat it.
Next step
Read the book at makefityourpurpose.com, or order it on Amazon.
See the method applied: the 30-day FIT 4 SAP proof of concept and the White Paper.
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