Introduction
Clean core is achieved when process standardization guides every design and delivery decision.
Clean core is not only a technical initiative. It is a process discipline that links business design to system execution. Many SAP teams define clean core as reducing custom code, but that only addresses the symptom. The real driver of a clean core is process standardization, where business teams model their operations against standard SAP capabilities and make informed decisions about when to extend and when to adopt.
When organizations design around standard processes and use side-by-side innovation on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), they preserve the integrity of the core system. This approach delivers faster upgrades, greater agility, and a sustainable foundation for change.
Clean core is achieved when process standardization guides every design and delivery decision.
Why Process Optimization Protects the Clean Core
When you understand how processes run, you avoid changes that break what already works.
Clean core begins with clarity and with understanding how processes truly work across SAP and connected applications. Without that visibility, even well-intentioned projects can create new complexity. Teams often:
- Rebuild standard SAP functionality unnecessarily.
- Add custom objects that increase technical debt.
- Test too late and discover process breaks during deployment.
Leading organizations prevent this by integrating business design and technical delivery from the start.
When you understand how processes run, you avoid changes that break what already works.
From Process Design to Governed Execution
Design the right processes, then connect governance and delivery so the system stays clean.
Achieving clean core is not a one-time mission. You need governance and an ongoing delivery process to maintain clean core once achieve.
1. Model and optimize with SAP Signavio. Process modeling is the first safeguard of clean core. Using SAP Signavio’s reference content for S/4HANA, teams can visualize standard process flows, identify where adoption is possible, and flag true gaps for innovation.
2. Govern with SAP Cloud ALM. When Signavio process models flow into SAP Cloud ALM as scope items, it’s possible to ensure that every process improvement is traceable. Requirements, tests, and KPIs are connected in one system, ensuring governance and alignment across teams.
3. Deliver with CoreALM’s integrations. CoreALM provides pre-built integrations that connect agile planning and SAP delivery into a single governed process.
- The Jira Connector for SAP Cloud ALM and Azure DevOps Connector for SAP Cloud ALM synchronize requirements and user stories so planning and delivery stay in sync.
- The SAP Transport Management for Jira and SAP Transport Management for Azure DevOps solutions extend integration from Jira and Azure DevOps into SAP’s Transport Management System (STMS), allowing teams to create, approve, and track transports directly from their agile tools.
This creates an end-to-end digital thread from process design to SAP transport execution that aligns business intent, governance, and technical delivery.
Design the right processes, then connect governance and delivery so the system stays clean.
Design with Testing in Mind
The best safeguard for clean core is validation built into every process step.
Test-driven design is essential for sustaining a clean core. When SAP Signavio, Cloud ALM, and CoreALM’s connectors are linked, testing becomes an integrated part of process optimization. Test cases can be tied directly to process steps and executed through SAP Cloud ALM, validating that side-by-side BTP extensions function correctly without impacting the SAP core.
This ensures that every improvement strengthens the system rather than introducing new risk.
The best safeguard for clean core is validation built into every process step.
Conclusion: Process First, Clean Core Always
Clean core is sustained when process design, governance, and delivery operate as one continuous system.
Clean core success depends on aligning process design, governance, and delivery. By combining SAP Signavio for process modeling, SAP Cloud ALM for orchestration, and CoreALM’s connectors for Jira and Azure DevOps along with integrated SAP Transport Management solutions, organizations achieve a fully connected lifecycle from design to deployment.
This process-driven approach delivers measurable benefits:
- Reduced technical debt and faster SAP upgrades.
- Seamless alignment across business, IT, and DevOps teams.
- Complete traceability from requirement to transport across hybrid SAP landscapes.
With CoreALM’s SAP transport management for Jira and SAP Transport Management for Azure DevOps, clean core becomes an operational reality where every improvement flows safely from process design to delivery.
