Time Travel

Purpose: This article directs users on how to utilize the Time Travel feature in Skyline.

Time Travel enables users to check changes on landscape which are contractually already agreed like adding new solutions/tiers in different phases or changing a server size. Users can travel forward and backward through the contract duration.

The user must have Landscape Viewer (for view-only access) or Landscape Owner role authorization assigned. 

1. Logon to SAP for Me: https://me.sap.com/home ​
2. Click on: “Portfolio Products”, and later “My Product Portfolio” ​
3. Choose tile: “Landscape Hub”​
4. Landscape Hub will open in a new window 

5.  Go to Landscape Hub > Skyline

Step 1: Clicking on the clock symbol would immediately show up or hide a timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Navigating event groups:

Selecting a group of events taking place on different dates:

• Clicking on a Group of Events (white circle) taking place on different dates, zooms in to the timeframe of the Events
• If you reached the lowest timeframe (blue circle), clicking on it updates the Landscape to the state related to the Event Date.

Step 3: After the user selects a date:

Several visual changes occur in the landscape when the user selects a specific date in Time travel:

• Detail sidebar appears in upper left with selected date, landscape element, status (Added /Decommissioned), phase dates,
• Timeline zooms to show the selected date and current date for context
• Blue border around the screen indicates you're viewing a non-current date
• "Back to Current Date" button in upper right for instant return to present
• Selected/affected items are highlighted in the 3D landscape (green/yellow/red highlighting)

All these visual cues prevent confusion between time-traveled state and current state.

Step 4: The user is able to click/select each of the dates showing on the timeline

• Click on a landscape element.

The details of the element are displayed at the details card. Changes of the selected element are displayed at the change card in the upper left corner.

Selecting a group of events taking place on the same day:

1. Click the event dot on the timeline bar. This will open a popup window on the left side of the screen with a list of solutions that those changes / events are taking place in.
2. Select a date. This will change the landscape accordingly to show the landscape configuration for that day.
3. Click one of the solution items to expand its details and show Tiers assigned to this solution. At the same time, select this solution on the landscape and zoom in the timeline to the timeframe of the events taking place within that solution.

Step 5: The user is able select any date using the Calendar button.

The user can click any date — even dates without specific events — to see the landscape state on that day. Once a date is selected — for example, April 3, 2024 — the landscape updates to show the configuration as of that date. The screen border changes to blue to indicate you're in Time Travel mode, and the 'Back to Current Date' button appears in the upper right corner. The timeline also adjusts to show the selected date in context.

Step 6: Click on the timeline elements

• Pressing the “Play button” will play an animation (like a short video) and show all the planned changes
• The start will be done from current date
• The “Play button” will change to the “Pause” symbol

• Click "1x" to open the speed option for the animation. The animation playback (1x) on the timeline bar controls how fast the timeline animation runs during the time travel playback. Speed control is available by clicking on the 1x indicator, which opens speed options:
  • 0.5x for half speed,
  • 1x for normal speed, and
  • 2x for double speed.
• This allows the users to slow down the animation to carefully observe changes, or speed it up for a quick overview.
• The green checkmark in the upper right of this slide indicates that this feature is fully implemented and available. This animation feature is excellent for customer demos — it provides a compelling visual of how their landscape will evolve over time, making abstract contract timelines tangible and understandable.
• A progress indicator on the timeline bar indicates the date of the shown landscape. This progress indicator can also be moved to the beginning of the timeline to start the animation from there.

Here is a practical example:

 If a production system refresh is planned for September:

1. Set Time Travel to today and review the current landscape.
2. Change the date to September.
3. Skyline will show the planned future topology after the refresh is completed.
4. Review dependencies and affected systems before the change window.