SAP Data Scoping

Control the scope of data included in SAP workflows by selecting master data, transactional data, or complete datasets.

Overview

SAP data can be categorized into two main types:

  • Master Data - Reference data that changes infrequently (materials, vendors, customers)

  • Transactional Data - Operational data created by business processes (documents, postings)

The platform allows you to choose which data types to include based on your testing needs.

Scope Options

Master Data Only

Includes: Reference tables only Excludes: All transactional/document tables

MM Module Tables Included

Table Description

MARA

Material Master - General Data

MAKT

Material Descriptions

MARC

Material Master - Plant Data

MARD

Material Master - Storage Location Stock

MBEW

Material Valuation Data

MARM

Material Units of Measure

MVKE

Material Sales Data

When to Use

  • Development environments - Testing basic application functionality

  • Reference data refresh - Updating master data without transactions

  • Smaller test datasets - Faster provisioning for CI/CD pipelines

  • Integration testing - Validating master data lookups

Configuration

# Generated for Master Data scope
tables:
  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MARA"
    transformations:
      # Master data transformations
  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MAKT"
    transformations:
      # Description transformations
  # ... other master tables only

Transactional + Master Data

Includes: Both master and transactional tables Behavior: Automatically includes master data referenced by transactions

MM Module Tables Included

Table Description Type

MARA

Material Master - General Data

Master

MAKT

Material Descriptions

Master

MARC

Material Master - Plant Data

Master

MARD

Material Master - Storage Location Stock

Master

MBEW

Material Valuation Data

Master

MARM

Material Units of Measure

Master

MVKE

Material Sales Data

Master

MKPF

Material Document Header

Transactional

MSEG

Material Document Item

Transactional

Automatic Master Data Inclusion

When selecting transactional data, the platform ensures referential integrity:

Transactional Record (MSEG)
    ↓ References MATNR
Master Record (MARA)
    ↓ Automatically included even if created before time period

Example: A material document from last month references a material created 2 years ago. The material master record is included to maintain data consistency.

When to Use

  • Realistic test data - Complete business scenarios with documents

  • Process testing - Testing workflows that create/modify documents

  • UAT environments - User acceptance testing with real transactions

  • Performance testing - Testing with realistic data volumes

Configuration

# Generated for Transactional scope with 3-month filter
tables:
  # Master data - filtered by creation date
  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MARA"
    filter: "ERSDA >= ADD_MONTHS(CURRENT_DATE, -3)"
    transformations:
      # ...

  # Transactional data - filtered by posting date
  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MKPF"
    filter: "BUDAT >= ADD_MONTHS(CURRENT_DATE, -3)"
    transformations:
      # ...

  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MSEG"
    transformations:
      # Linked to MKPF, inherits filter

Full Copy

Includes: All master data and transactional tables Use case: Complete dataset replication for environments requiring full data history

Characteristics

  • Includes all historical records

  • Can be combined with time slicing when date-based filtering is needed

  • Table truncation mode typically set to DO_NOT_TRUNCATE for additive loads

  • Largest data volume

When to Use

  • Complete test environments - Exact replica of production

  • Historical analysis - Testing with full data history

  • Migration testing - Validating data migration processes

  • Performance baselines - Measuring against full data volume

Configuration

# Generated for Full Copy scope
table_truncation_mode: DO_NOT_TRUNCATE

tables:
  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MARA"
    # No filter - all records included
    transformations:
      # ...

  - table_name_with_schema: "SCHEMA.MKPF"
    # No filter - all documents included
    transformations:
      # ...

Scope Comparison

Aspect Master Only Transactional Full Copy

Master Tables

Yes

Yes

Yes

Transaction Tables

No

Yes

Yes

Time Slicing

Optional

Available

Available

Relative Size

Small

Medium

Large

Use Case

Development

Testing

Production Clone

Data Volume Considerations

Estimating Data Volume

Use these queries to estimate row counts before running workflows:

-- Master data count
SELECT 'MARA' AS table_name, COUNT(*) AS row_count FROM SCHEMA.MARA
UNION ALL
SELECT 'MAKT', COUNT(*) FROM SCHEMA.MAKT
UNION ALL
SELECT 'MARC', COUNT(*) FROM SCHEMA.MARC;

-- Transactional data by date range
SELECT
    'MKPF' AS table_name,
    COUNT(*) AS total_rows,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN BUDAT >= ADD_MONTHS(CURRENT_DATE, -3) THEN 1 END) AS last_3_months
FROM SCHEMA.MKPF;

Performance Impact

Scope Typical Duration Memory Usage

Master Only

Minutes

Low

Transactional (3 months)

10-30 minutes

Medium

Full Copy

Hours

High

Combining Scope with Time Slicing

The scope selection interacts with time slicing:

Scope Time Slicing Behavior

Master Only

Available

Filters master data by creation date (ERSDA)

Transactional

Available

Filters transactions by posting date (BUDAT)

Full Copy

Available

Filters by date when configured; includes all records when not specified

Learn more about Time Slicing →

Best Practices

Start Small, Expand Later

  1. Begin with Master Data Only to validate setup

  2. Add Transactional + 3 months for realistic testing

  3. Use Full Copy only when complete data is required

Match Scope to Environment

Environment Recommended Scope

Development

Master Only

System Testing

Transactional (3-6 months)

UAT

Transactional (6-12 months)

Performance Testing

Full Copy or Transactional (12 months)

Production Clone

Full Copy

Consider Storage Requirements

Full Copy can require significant storage. Plan target database sizing accordingly:

-- Estimate storage for MM tables
SELECT
    TABLE_NAME,
    ROUND(TABLE_SIZE / 1024 / 1024, 2) AS SIZE_MB
FROM M_TABLES
WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = 'SCHEMA'
    AND TABLE_NAME IN ('MARA', 'MAKT', 'MARC', 'MARD', 'MKPF', 'MSEG')
ORDER BY TABLE_SIZE DESC;

See Also