PS 202 · CONTROL
How do planning, budgeting, and status differ?
Keep cost and revenue planning, approved budget, availability control, forecast, versions, and lifecycle status conceptually separate.
READ THE CAPABILITY
Keep plan, authority, forecast, and status distinct
Planning describes expected cost, revenue, dates, quantities, and resources. Budget is the approved spending authority; availability control tests consumption against that authority. Forecast explains where the project is now expected to finish, while status governs which actions are allowed.
These controls work together but answer different questions. A project can be within budget and still be late, released but underplanned, or forecast to overrun while current actuals remain low.
WORKING FLOW
From business decision to controlled evidence
Follow the capability through the records and decisions that make the result explainable.
Build the plan
Estimate work, cost, revenue, dates, resources, commitments, and risks against the project structure.
Approve authority
Set budget, releases, tolerances, funding conditions, and the owner accountable for exceptions.
Control consumption
Compare commitments and actuals with available budget and block or escalate according to status and tolerance.
Reforecast and close
Update expected completion, explain variance, reconcile residuals, and close only when control evidence agrees.
DIAGNOSTIC EVIDENCE
What should be traceable?
When the result looks wrong, start with the last trusted record and follow the owning boundary.
Version, dates, planned cost or revenue, quantities, assumptions, and responsible planning owner.
Approved budget, release, availability result, tolerance, status, funding condition, and decision history.
Commitments, actuals, remaining work, forecast at completion, variance reason, and approved response.
SCENARIO
A project is on budget but forecast to miss the commissioning date
The control view keeps the favorable cost variance separate from the schedule risk. The owner updates remaining work and forecast, records the decision needed, and preserves budget authority rather than treating a low actual-cost balance as proof of healthy delivery.
- Business rule and accountable owner are explicit
- SAP object and source evidence remain connected
- Exception or outcome is reconciled before closure
CORE MODEL
Three questions to resolve
A sound design makes ownership, control, and evidence explicit before configuration.
Plan versus budget
Define the rule, responsible object, required master data, resulting document or posting, and proof.
Compare patterns02Availability control and releases
Define the rule, responsible object, required master data, resulting document or posting, and proof.
Compare patterns03System and user status
Define the rule, responsible object, required master data, resulting document or posting, and proof.
Compare patternsSee how this capability changes across valid integration models.