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Technical Evaluation Framework: Vetting SAP ABAP Engineering Partners

SAP ABAP powers enterprise business workflows, transactional systems, and ERP integrations. Evaluating ABAP specialists requires assessing modern ABAP on HANA and clean core strategies.

1. Modern ABAP Architecture & SAP Ecosystem

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  ABAP on HANA & Modern Syntax: Utilizing Core Data Services (CDS) views, AMDP (ABAP Managed Database Procedures), and modern ABAP 7.5+ expressions.
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  SAP S/4HANA Clean Core Principles: Adhering to the clean core paradigm, using released APIs (BAPIs, OData), and avoiding modifications to standard SAP code.
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  Integration & OData Services: Developing enterprise OData services, SAP Gateway integration, and SAP Fiori/UI5 frontend communication.

2. Buyer Diligence & Vetting Criteria

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   Code Governance & ATC: Rigorous execution of the ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC) and Code Inspector to ensure performance and HANA readiness.
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   Enterprise Release Management: Seamless transport management (TMS), ChaRM, and Git-enabled ABAP (abapGit) workflows.
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   Business Process Understanding: Deep domain knowledge across core SAP modules (SD, MM, FI/CO) to translate business needs into technical designs.

3. Red Flags to Watch For

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  Direct Modifications to Standard SAP Tables: Modifying standard SAP tables or code directly, creating severe upgrade roadblocks during S/4HANA migrations.
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  Ignoring HANA Optimization: Running unoptimized SELECT * queries inside nested loops, bypassing the computational power of the in-memory HANA database.
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  Outdated Procedural ABAP Practices: Writing legacy procedural reports without modular object-oriented ABAP (ABAP OO) design.