Introduction

Most of you must have already heard about or are already using “My Inbox Fiori App”. For the uninitiated here is the brief introduction.

My Inbox Fiori app is a single go to Inbox for dealing with SAP and non-SAP workflows in an enterprise. It follows Fiori design language for user experience. With My Inbox you can,

1. Make decisions using mobile or desktop devices anywhere and anytime.
2. You can process your standard and custom workflow tasks from multiple sources.
3. You can collaborate in a mini forum for each task, share documents through tasks, share tasks by email, JAM and by explicit forwarding.
4. You can execute tasks in mass.
5. You can manage substitutes.

My Inbox app consists of front-end component for the user interfaces, Task Gateway for OData services. You can use the app with any SAP or non-SAP back-end component that contains tasks/workflows. SAP delivers connectivity to SAP Business Workflow and SAP NetWeaver BPM out of the box, for others custom task providers need to be built.

When users are dealing with workflows they need to access information and/or edit/enter data to execute any workflow. Although My Inbox provides workflow contextual data and actions to execute workflow, there are use cases where a user needs tailor made user interface to deal with a workflow. In such cases users would like to access applications associated with workflow from My Inbox. These applications could vary from being legacy to state of the art Fiori application (SAP shipped or custom built)

From above it is clear that there is a need for My Inbox to provide mechanisms to integrate external (to My Inbox) applications. In the remainder of this blog we will look at different integration options available and suitability of each of these options compared to others.

Integration options

My Inbox provides following integration options

1. Open any application in a new browser tab/window.
2. Embed any SAP Fiori UI5 application within My Inbox as a default detail screen
3. Embed any SAP Fiori UI5 application within My Inbox as a navigation link for user to access when he needs to.
4. Extend My Inbox using extension points/hooks provided by My Inbox

Let’s us examine each of these options in detail to understand suitability of each of these options. (Note: I will not be explaining technical details of how to setup/configure these options in this blog. You can already find these details in official documentation/SAP Notes)

1.      Open any task application in a new browser tab/window.

This is the simplest form of integration. It only needs configuration in the back-end. My Inbox gets a URL from the back-end for each task in the Inbox. When user clicks “Open Task” action it launches a new tab/window with corresponding URL. (Note: There is no communication between application launched in new tab/window and My Inbox. They work independent of each other)

This option is most suitable for,

1. Accessing already existing UI applications (legacy). Typically these applications are not responsive in nature for mobile usage and are best suited for desktop access.
2. Having said that there are no restrictions in accessing SAP UI5 applications or other modern UI technologies also through this mechanism.
3. Such applications need not be deployed on Fiori Frontend server and can exist where they were deployed already.
4. Both SAP Business workflow and NetWeaver BPM support this integration option
5. Custom task providers can choose to support such integration.
6. Available since My Inbox 1.0

2.      Embed any SAP Fiori UI5 application within My Inbox as a default detail screen

This is the most seamless integration option available from end user perspective. Navigation to the embedded app is completely transparent to the end user and happens by default when user selects a task. The detail section of the My Inbox is replaced by the workflow related application.

User always stays within My Inbox application while working on workflow related applications. This integration can be achieved through configuration in back-end as well as Fiori Front end server (Refer to SAP Note 2305401 - Integration of SAPUI5 Fiori Applications into My Inbox 2.0 for configuration details)

This option is most suitable for,

1. Integrating SAP Fiori UI5 applications. Typically SAP Fiori UI5 applications are responsive in nature and can be accessed from any device. Such applications are good candidates for embedding in My Inbox as they will provide seamless user interaction.
2. End users primarily use mobile devices to deal with workflows and need to access workflow applications from mobile devices.  If there are no pre-existing SAP Fiori UI5 applications then perhaps you need to plan to custom build either Fiori applications for this purpose.
3. So far only SAP Business workflow supports this integration option.
4. Custom task providers can choose to support such integration.
5. Available since My Inbox 2.0 SP02

3.      Embed any SAP Fiori UI5 application within My Inbox as a navigation link for user to access when he needs to.

This integration option also provides seamless user experience as above, but only user has to explicitly choose to navigate to workflow related application. With this integration option the detail section of the My Inbox is replaced by the workflow related application. User can use existing “Open Task” action for the navigation or new action can be added for triggering the navigation. This integration can be achieved through configuration in back-end as well as Fiori Front end server (Refer to SAP Note 2305401 - Integration of SAPUI5 Fiori Applications into My Inbox 2.0 for configuration details)

This option is most suitable for,

1. When user does not always uses workflow application to execute the workflows, but executes directly from My Inbox. But once in a while for some tasks user accesses workflow application to execute workflows. This option like previous should be used to integrate SAP Fiori UI5 applications.
2. Available since My Inbox 2.0 SP02

4.      Extend My Inbox using extension points/hooks provided by My Inbox

This integration option needs custom development to extend My Inbox using the extension points/hooks exposed to add or remove UI elements/functionality to My Inbox.

This option is most suitable for,

1. When you want to add new UI/functionality common for all tasks. You can also add new functionality specific to a task type.
2. When you want remove/disable certain standard My Inbox features.
3. Available since My Inbox 1.0

    If your ABAP System is not externally visible, it does not mean that you can not use Web IDE for your development. Of course, you can not directly connect to you system to consume OData and deploy your Fiori Application. In my blog I will explain how to walk-around both these limitations.

    Create EDMX file in Web IDE

    Copy OData Service metadata from ABAP System Gateway Client (trx. IWFND/GW_CLIENT) into clipboard. Create edmx file in Web IDE pasting content of metadata document from clipboard (do not forget to remove collapsing -)

Create Application in Web IDE using EDMX file

In Web IDE generate application from Work List template using edmx file from previous step

Run Application with Web IDE Using Mock Data

Copy Real Data from ABAP Server to Web IDE JSON File

It is also possible to copy real data from ABAP server over to Web IDE and test the application with real data. In Gateway Client (trx. IWFND/GW_CLIENT) display Products entity data in json format ($format=json parameter) and copy it in clipboard. In Web IDE create mockdata folder under localService forlder. Inside mockdata folder create Products.json file and paste content of Products entity set from clipboard.

Run Application in Web IDE with Real Data Copied from ABAP Server

Update manifest.json to with OData Service URI

Copy OData service URI from local ABAP server Gateway Client (trx. IWFND/GW_CLIENT) and paste into manifest.json file mainService uri setting

Export Application from Web IDE

Open zip archive and remane webapp folder to WebContent

Exported file is a ZGW_PRODUCT.zip archive. Create ZGW_PRODUCT directory and copy content of the archive into ZGW_PRODUCT directory. Rename webapp directory into WebContent

Upload the Fiori Application to local ABAP Server using /UI5/UI5_REPOSITORY_LOAD program

Select ZGW_PRODUCT folder and click OK, confirm upload clicking on link, then finally give application a description and confirm upload.

If upload  /UI5/UI5_REPOSITORY_LOAD program dumps like this

apply OSS Note 2287821 - Shortdump in Program /UI5/APP_INDEX_CALCULATE

You might also get following message during application upload due to missing application descriptor attributes

Make sure that following attributes are there in the manifest.json file:

• /sap.ui5/dependencies/components
• /sap.ui5/extends/components
• /sap.app/ach
• /sap.app/embeds
• /sap.app/cdsViews
• /sap.fiori/registrationIds
• /sap.platform.abap/uri

It is important to upload application without error in order to register loaded component. Attached is an example of manifest.json with missing attributes added

Run the application from local ABAP Server

In Service Maintenance (trx. SICF) find ZGW_PRODUCT service and select Test Service from context menu

If application changes are required they can be done in Web IDE and changed application upload to local ABAP Server as described above. Only you need to take care of clearing cache: in BEP (trx. /IWBEP/CACHE_CLEANUP), in FND (trx. /IWFND/CACHE_CLEANUP) and in browser.

This article is part of a series of articles that explain the design rationale behind some of the changes that come with the next evolution of SAP Fiori.

In this article, you will learn about the dynamic page, a new layout that will be used as the basis for most of the standard pages in SAP Fiori. Using the dynamic page will not only bring about some usability improvements, but it will also give a coherent look to the different pages. Due to the increased flexibility of the layout, the dynamic page also allows the application to make better use of the screen real estate on different form factors.

The dynamic page is now available as a first version with the object page layout. The generic layout is currently under development and will be available soon.

From Object View to Dynamic Page

Object view floorplan featuring the object header and the icon tab bar.

One of the first standard page types in SAP Fiori was the object view. This page was designed to display information about a single object or task, such as a product or work item. The most significant parts of that page were the object header, the content area (often containing a tab container with icon tabs), and the footer toolbar.

The object header was designed to provide a simple overview of the most important object information, with the title and some attributes on the left, and an optional key figure and status information on the right. This was also a very consistent repetition of the left-side list view in a master-detail application.

The object header defines a very clear information hierarchy on the page and ensures sufficient white space to create an elegant and simple appearance. This concept works well for certain content and device configurations that we defined in the initial portfolio. On limited screen real estate, the object header provides a robust responsive behavior for contents of different lengths.

However, this layout also exposes some weaknesses. Large screens sometimes produce white spaces in the center. Furthermore, the guidance to keep a certain padding between the lines to ensure safe touch targets sometimes results in extra vertical space being consumed with every additional attribute pushing the content down. Finally, though the rigid structure of the object header ensures consistency and clarity, it also prevents other content, such as information visualization or multiple KPIs, from being shown. We therefore designed a responsive version of the object header that addresses some of these limitations, though some of the structural issues nevertheless persist due to compatibility constraints.

The content area of the object view has two basic structures:

• Tabs
• The flat layout displays all content in vertically-aligned blocks, with all the information visible on one page.

Each of the two structures has advantages as well as disadvantages. While the tab layout allows you to display large information sets on limited screens with little scrolling, it also affects the coherence of the page by chopping up the information into smaller pieces. In this very traditional approach, the user can only see one content block at a time. Also, since the footer toolbar is global and that the toolbar shouldn't change when switching tabs, our experience shows that many designers struggle with which actions should be placed in the footer toolbar.

The flat layout, on the other hand, gives a good overview of all the aspects related to an object at one glance. However, this only works for smaller objects since – as the page doesn’t offer navigation – the user would otherwise need to scroll through the entire page to find the information that he or she was looking for.

In general, the recommendation is to use the tab layout for contents with varying length (especially long tables), while the flat layout should be used for limited content and for editing (meaning that also tabbed objects should be switched to a flat layout when editing).

Finally, we have the footer toolbar, which initially used to be the only place for actions, particularly for simple use cases. This approach followed the common mobile patterns of that time, where actions were placed primarily at the bottom of the screen.

The usability of the footer toolbar is particularly affected by the device type and display size. While the footer toolbar works well on mobile devices, users sometimes experience issues locating it on larger displays and on regular computers. In some usability tests we conducted, the dark tool bar was not always found by the users, particularly on first usage.

To summarize, the object view was one of the first page types that we established for SAP Fiori, and it successfully helped to create a consistent and simple appearance. However, it does come with some limitations. The flexibility of the header content, the empty spaces in the layout, and the question of where to place actions, are some examples of where there is room for improvement.

With the dynamic page, we’ve developed a design that addresses these issues while keeping the advantages of a consistent page layout.

The Structure of the Dynamic Page

The structure of the dynamic page: The header title area  contains global actions, and the header content disappears when the user scrolls down the page.

The dynamic page has three areas:

• Header title: This area clearly identifies the content of the page and remains visible at all times. To the right of that area, a toolbar can be found that contains the global actions. A more detailed explanation of the action concept will follow later on in this series.
• Header content: This area contains secondary header information such as attributes, key facts and figures, charts, and more. As the header content area is very flexible and has no limitations on layout or content types, this area can be used in many ways. When scrolling down the page, the header content area disappears and a short summary appears next to the title. The user can also expand and collapse the header area by clicking on the title.
• Page content: This area can be used freely. However, there are predefined page types such as the object page, which support a specific content model.

Compared to the object view, this layout offers a number of advantages that will give us more flexibility and scalability for future design iterations. With this structure, we first of all provide a stable title that doesn’t scroll away (as was the case for the object view), and that complements the merged header area of the launchpad quite well (see previous article).

Furthermore, we provide a stable place for global actions such as Share,Edit, and so on, without taking away additional screen space (as was the case with the footer toolbar). As the header content area is more flexible and can be collapsed, we’re able provide rich header information without necessarily pushing down the page content.

In the next section, I’ll go into these aspects in more detail.

Header Title

Object page with a bread crumb on the title, status icons, and a summary. On the right side, an Edit action and a Share icon are shown.

The header title provides the necessary information for the user to immediately identify the content of the page. It is consistently positioned at the very top of the page and is always visible. When the header content area is collapsed, a summary of the header content can be displayed next to the title (for example, “Filtered by company code”). The global actions appears on the very right of the title area. The user can click on the title to expand or collapse the header content area independently of the scrolling position (either by pushing in the header content or by overlaying the page contents).

If a page is closely related to another page (for example, if the object on that page is part of another object), an additional breadcrumb can be displayed on top of the title to allow navigation up the hierarchy.

When using the header title, you have to carefully manage the contents in order to avoid truncation. The overflow behavior is defined to avoid unwanted behavior, but it’s still necessary to minimize the number of actions, the content summary, and also to control the title length carefully. With the additional possibilities that offer more flexibility, it is even more important that the contents be well-managed and kept simple during the design process.

Header Content

Object page with a bread crumb on the title, status icons, and a summary. On the right side, an Edit action and a Share icon are shown.

The header content is designed to display the necessary information required to understand of the most important aspects of the object or contents on the screen. In general, this can include:

• Images
• Forms
• Links
• Key figures
• Micro charts

The most flexible way to set this up is to organize the header contents into small entities or facets, and align them in a flow layout. We don’t recommended displaying editable controls such as input fields in the header content, as the header should really be reserved for displaying information only. However, the contents of the header content can be interactive and influence the contents of the page below.

List page with a filter bar. The filter title, variant management, and Analyze action are located in the header title area. The filter fields are located in the header content area.

In order to accommodate the filter bar into the dynamic page layout, we split the filter bar into two components: the title with the variant management that go into the header title, and the filter controls that are displayed in the header content area.

In the dynamic page layout, the visibility of the filter bar can be adjusted by scrolling up and down the page, by selecting the title, or through an additional action that hides or shows the filter bar. For desktop tables that don’t use page scrolling, but which have a scrollbar within the table, clicking the title or the Hide/Show actions is the only option to change the visibility of the toolbar.

Such pages would contain controls like:

• Filter bar
• Facet filter
• Visual filter (labs preview)
• Icon tab bar
• Timeline

Analytical list page (lab preview) with a visual filter in the header content area.

In the analytical list page (lab preview), a visual filter can be placed in the header content area to filter the contents of the page below. The same applies for the filter bar or other charts. Another example would be placing a timeline control in the header content that can be used to switch between versions of the page below.

The overflow behavior of a header content area can differ depending on the type of contents displayed there. Facets would wrap, while a control like the visual filter (lab preview) would require a paging overflow.

When the header content is collapsed – either by clicking the title or by scrolling the page – a very condensed summary of the header content appears in the header title. The summary includes the following information:

• Icon (placed in front of the title)
• Most important attribute
• Status
• Filter criteria
• KPI

It will be important for applications to define a meaningful string to summarize the header content.

Page Content

There are currently a number of predefined floorplans that have been adapted to the dynamic page layout, such as the overview page, list page, initial page, work list, and object page.

All of them make use of the snapping header concept to allow for rich header content that can be hidden when required. In the page content area, there are different concepts for the different floorplans:

• The overview page features cards which, depending on their type, can display different contents and be arranged by the user.
• The page content of the list page usually consists of a table, chart, or combination of both. The same applies for the worklist, which is usually headed by a tab strip.
• In the object page, the content is organized into sections. Each section can be accessed using an anchor bar on top of the page, which doesn’t scroll away. Each section can contain forms, tables, charts or other controls aligned to a grid of up to four columns, depending on the screen size.

Actions and Toolbars

The dynamic page layout features a more powerful concept to offer actions to the user. In general, we intend to bring actions closer to the element that they affect.

Therefore, we have introduced toolbars in tables and forms for their actions. Following the same logic, we introduced a toolbar in the header title for actions that belong to the page to indicate that these actions are global.

Global actions on page level could be:

• Share
• Edit
• Request Access
• Change Status

All these actions affect the whole page and are not meant to finalize a certain state. Instead those actions belong to the object displayed on that page.

Initial page floorplan with a footer toolbar with the determining actions Save and Cancel.

In addition to the actions on the page title, we offer an improved footer toolbar for determining actions, meaning actions that finalize a transient state of the page and which  should therefore be at the end of the page.

Determining actions include:

• Save
• Cancel
• Approve
• Reject
• Postpone

All those actions should be triggered as a result of reviewing the object or to determine the state of the object. Save or Cancel, for instance, end the state of being editable. Approve and Reject determine the pending state of a work item. As finalizing or determining actions, these action should be placed at the end of the screen to follow both the reading flow and flow of action.

In order to make the footer toolbar easier to find, we’ve introduced a padding around the toolbar to set it apart from the window frame. We therefore called it the floating toolbar. In addition to the padding, we introduced an animation when the toolbar appears so that the user’s attention is immediately drawn to it.

Take Aways

The new dynamic page layout is the basis for new floorplans in SAP Fiori going forward, as it offers a number of powerful advantages over other page layouts:

• A fixed header title area gives a clear indication of the page content and provides access to page’s global actions any time.
• The flexible header content minimizes when scrolling to provide the possibility to display rich header information, as well as powerful filtering controls without permanently blocking screen real estate.
• The new floating footer toolbar overcomes some of the usability issues of the older version of the footer toolbar, providing direct and intuitive access to determining actions.

Standardizing most of the SAP Fiori floorplans on this dynamic page layout will not only improve this usability of the individual pages, but it will also lead to more consistency and coherence across the different pages, also when used side-by-side.

First of all: relax. No, I'm not going to just share some slides here. But I spoke at #SITSP last week about SAP Fiori, and instead of just sharing my slides with the local participants (like I usually do), this time I decided to write a blog post and publish it here.

But SAP Fiori isn't breaking news anymore, specially here. So why do I feel like it's a good idea to send these KB of HTML to your computer mobile device right now? Well, when someone wants to learn SAP Fiori (and I say this from my own experience as well), they usually start by googling it, then they end up here, then buy a book and even take some classes either in OpenSAP or Learning Hub. But once they do that, they usually enter this strange "Limbo" zone, where you feel like you already got the joke, but not enough to go ahead and start implementing it.

I believe that a lot of you who's already experienced been there as well at some point. That's usually the part where documentation doesn't help that much anymore. You have to learn from experience. Experience that you don't have yet. Oh, if at least you could get some tips from someone who's just stepping out of this Limbo...

Thats what my talk focused on. I wanted to start this discussion and share advice while learning from other's experiences as well. So, if you're in the Limbo right now, sit back and enjoy the reading. If you already passed through it, please help us here . Also, share it with your friends in the Limbo as well.

Well, my talk focused on four tips on implementing standard SAP Fiori apps, plus one on designing new ones. Here they are:

#1 Choose your apps wisely

As experienced SAP professionals, we are used to large and complex projects. Every new module or solution required months of project effort to implement it. SAP Fiori isn't. I know that we advertise it a lot with it's more than 800 apps. But I know it can be overwhelming. So, spend time learning using the SAP Fiori App Library. Learn to use the filters, to read the app documentation, and to showcase it to your potential (either internal or external clients) whenever possible. Use SAP Fiori Demo Cloud for it whenever possible.

For instance, if you're using ERP 6.0 EHP7 with ORA/ASE/etc, you can filter the apps that work with Any DB. The number goes down from 800+ to about 160. If you filter by your backend and specific modules, you'll end up with about a dozen apps to evaluate. Also, do realize that you must focus on the apps that will provide instant-value to the company. That's why a lot of people start with approval workflows, HCM or sales apps.

Once you mix what your company needs, what SAP solutions it currently uses, and what apps are available, you'll have about a handful of apps to choose from. I personally recommend up to 3 apps to begin with. It will help you keep your project schedule and costs short.

#2 On-premise / Cloud

Now that you know what apps you'll want, it's time to decide the way to go: on-premise or cloud? This choice is more subjective, since it relies on each company's current scenario. Usually, if you already have enough free hardware and no problem securing your landscape to enable external access to it, then on-premise is usually the way to go for these first projects (at least here in Brazil). On the other hand, if you're short on hardware, or your company has it's datacenter and/or IT staff offshored, then the Fiori Cloud Edition can be simpler to get started with. One thing that you'll need to keep in mind while choosing the apps in tip #1 is that SAP Fiori Cloud Edition doesn't provide the 800+ apps. So, do check if the app is available.

#3 Pay attention to the pre-requisites

Now that you're sure about the apps, it's time to go deep. Learn everything you can about these apps. It usually means:

• Read the App Documentation in SAP Fiori App Library
• Read all the SAP Notes related to it
• Read marketplace documentation about it
• Search SCN for topics about it

Thats how you'll learn that Approve Requisitions rely on SBWP workflows, not ME54 items. This useful info will prevent you from extending the project from 5 weeks to 8. Thats how you'll know that you'll need ESS configured in order to use most HCM apps. This could make your project even longer, which is not a good thing, specially if you're working in a "fixed-price" project, or the simplest POC.

#4 Focus on the "quick-wins"

Specially if it's the very first SAP Fiori project. Remember: this project will set the tone for SAP Fiori at your company. If you did a good job implementing the right apps (meaning, useful apps with a solid productive process), the users will ask for more and more from SAP Fiori. However, if you choose an app that isn't important to your company, people will associate that to SAP Fiori. The same will happen if you face issues during the implementation phase, even if they're not directly related to SAP Fiori. For instance, if you're trying to make the users adopt SAP Fiori for PO approval, try to keep the same release strategies. Changing company policy at the same time may cause the "it was good before this went live" effect. This is not good. You want to make it as smooth and nice as possible.

Developing your own apps

Finally, it might be that the solution you're looking for isn't available in the 800+ apps. Then you'll need to develop your own. If that's the case, consider the UX principles for SAP Fiori:

It means that, instead of thinking about the solution as we always did (complex and multiple-screen-featured transactions or reports), realize that you almost always split it into several SAP Fiori apps. One way of doing it is to start with the process diagram.

Then, when designing the software solution, consider the steps and roles involved. Try to think what's the simplest way to complete each step, from that role's perspective. This will eventually bring you to several apps, broken down by roles, like this.

And, of course, map those back into the process flow, so that we can make sure everything is covered.

Please note that you can create very good mock-ups and prototype a lot using tools like SAP Build and Axure as well. This is important, as these new concepts are even harder for a key user to understand before he or she goes through a couple of projects like this one. I mean, it's very different from simply writing down "lets make an ALV" to the spec.

And that's all I had for my talk. Now, I am excited about your feedback.

In this blog, we first try to define the aspect of the need for accessibility feature to be incorporated into the user interface design. We try to identify the whitespace in the Fiori design w.r.t accessibility for people with disabilities. In the end, we try to propose a solution to address the whitespace or the needs of the users with disabilities.

SAP Fiori is the path which defines the path towards a better UX - User Experience. The pillars of SAP Fiori paradigm are its five core principles. The principles cover the aspects necessary to ensure a good, if not better UX. The principles set the benchmark in terms of the solution adhering to the end user's usage experience. However, in spite of having finally focused the attention to its actual users, we seem to have ignored a set of end users. The users who are differently abled are ignored and in many cases not at all accounted for. I hope to bring the attention also towards this set of users with this blog.

Accessibility refers to the design aspect of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. According to the definition, the design of the application should ensure that interface also supports users with disabilities. Ideally, if there is a common denominator in terms of simplistic design, we need to set the bar at the stage which caters to users who experience disabilities w.r.t machine interface. Even though, with the simplistic design we set the bar for a user with little or no knowledge of the machine/computer/mobile; we tend to ignore the aspect the accessibility.

The principles of Fiori UX are; simple, responsive, coherent, delightful, adaptive and role-based. All the principles ensure that the interface is prepared for changing device and expectations of the user. The principles ensure that users are not forced on a platform or device. They also ensure a better experience for the users, mainly in terms of the performance( predominantly, screen rendering speed ) and look & feel. The design aspect of the interface has to be deeper than just the look and feel. The actual design of the application is about how it works and it should consider all types of users. In the world of construction, each construction has defined parameters to ensure that the building is compatible for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, in the software world and esp. w.r.t user's interface, it is more a nice to have feature. In fact, it's nowadays not even talked about as a feature.

In the actual design phase, where we scratch out the wireframes, we need to start by identifying the users. We need to categorise the audience in terms of functional knowledge based users and physically challenged users. By identifying them at the early stage, we can use the opportunity to include some basic components into the interface design which will facilitate the users with disabilities. Some of the design options could be: To consider short-cuts for all buttons; Settings option on the application interface which will allow configuration to screen in terms of contrast/sizes or button etc..

As always, technology is available at our disposal but it's the stakeholders who need to push for it. If the client does not push for it, then the architect has to push for it. If the architect does not do it, then the technical lead should do it. And if everyone ignores it then the developer need to fight for its inclusion. It's not to patronize the actual task but to fulfill the actual purpose for which the solution is implemented. The motto should be : Maximum adoption and minimum interruption.

Please feel free to share your opinions and views on the article.

1. Goto tcode SE24 and create a new class and a provide an  interface IF_HTTP_EXTENSION.
2. Copy and paste the following code in the method IF_HTTP_EXTENSION~HANDLE_REQUEST (without error handling).

data lv_url type string value 'http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssfeeds/-2128936835.cms'.
data lo_http type ref to if_http_client.    call method cl_http_client=>create_by_url      exporting        url                = lv_url      importing        client             = lo_http      exceptions        argument_not_found = 1        plugin_not_active  = 2        internal_error     = 3        others             = 4.    if sy-subrc = 0.      call method lo_http->send        exceptions          http_communication_failure = 1          http_invalid_state         = 2          http_processing_failed     = 3          http_invalid_timeout       = 4          others                     = 5.      if sy-subrc <> 0.
* Implement suitable error handling here      endif.      call method lo_http->receive        exceptions          http_communication_failure = 1          http_invalid_state         = 2          http_processing_failed     = 3          others                     = 4.      if sy-subrc = 0.
* set response status        server->response->set_status(        code = 200        reason = 'OK').
* set content type        server->response->set_content_type(        content_type = 'application/xml; charset=utf-8').
* set response data        server->response->set_data(        lo_http->response->get_data( ) ).      endif.    endif.

   3. Change the url if you have any other.

   4. Check and activate the class.

   5. Goto tcode SICF, create a node for eg. news.

  6. Open the node and give the class in the handler tab.

    7. Activate the node.

    8. Check the URL in the browser http://:<host>:<port>/news.

   9. Goto Fiori admin and select catalog /UI2/SAPNewsTile

  10. Provide the URL in the tile.

  11. Create a group and assign this app .

  12. Now run the Fiori Launchpad.

For more fiori related topics visithttp://sap.mathewsdavis.com

The HANA Cloud Platform 3^rd Party Integration Framework helps customers enhance SAP Fiori mobile apps with even more services from leading technology vendors. There are two types of plugins - admins plugins and app plugins - the first are plugins that are added to the mobile service console to add features after apps are built, the second are plugins that are embedded into the hybrid SAP Fiori mobile app at build time. The following vendors have announced their participation for this framework.

Microsoft - SAP customers can build custom hybrid mobile SAP Fiori apps that embed a Microsoft Cordova plugin of the Intune SDK, allowing apps to be secured and managed with Microsoft Intune. Today Microsoft announced  the technology enabling these integrated scenarios is in public preview at the conference and will GA in early Q3 2016.

• Read the Microsoft press release
• Read more in the joint blogs from Brad Anderson of Microsoft and from Senthil Krishnapillai on SCN

• Watch a demo of the joint solution
• Watch the short video from Sapphire

AppDome – SAP Customers can build custom SAP Fiori mobile apps that enhance the security of the mobile app with app wrapping capabilities.

• Read the App Dome press release
• Read the solution brief

Zimperium – SAP customers can build custom SAP Fiori mobile apps that leverage Zimperium’s Mobile Threat Management solution, protecting apps from threats such as malware, network attacks, phishing/spoofing attacks, etc.

• Read the solution brief
• Watch the demo video

Keynote – Keynote Mobile Testing enables SAP users to run functional tests of mobile apps on real, cloud-based mobile smartphones and tablets directly from SAP mobile services running on HCP.

• Read more on the Keynote website.

Additionaldetails, demo videos and more will be available here.

Dear SAP Fiori Community Family Members,

I am addressing you as Family, since your collaboration here in the SAP Fiori community space is much more like a family.

Surprisingly enough, the inspirational idea for this celebratory blog actually came to me as I was watching the All Things SAP Fiori page count rising towards 100k views in early February 2014, when the page only had 146 bookmarks, and 230 likes.  Fast forward to July 29th, 2016 and 1161 of you have bookmarked the page, 559 of you have 'Liked' it, and 144 of you have taken the time to give it a collective 4.7361 / 5.0 star rating.

The number watching for some reason put an old Flintstones Vitamin TV commercial jingle into my head, so please enjoy this 15 second clip:

Little did I know way back then, that I would be working for SAP, and that Bayer, who manufactures Flintstones Vitamins, would be one of the many customers I have had the honor to meet in person during my SAP Fiori related efforts over the past couple of years.  Of course there are some of you reading this who were born long after the commercial was being run on national TV...

We know there are more SAP Fiori success stories out there, so please share them in a blog and we will gladly add it to the collection found here:  Share your SAP Fiori Implementation Experience with the Community! 

If you've gotten anything out of this short blog, you should know that there will be many SAP Fiori Family members watching around the world and will be happy to celebrate your success story with you and your company.  I would also offer that in the spirit of celebration now that the All Things SAP Fiori page has crossed over the 1/2 million mark, we consider that we are all 'Fiori' kids, 500000 views strong...And growing!

Best Regards,

Jeremy Good

SAP Technology RIG & SAP Fiori Family Evangelist

SAP Smart Business is a framework for exposing strategic (key) and operational performance indicators (KPIs, OPIs) as Fiori applications without the need to write any code. It can be used by customers, partners and SAP’s development teams for making highly aggregated analytical data accessible via Fiori Launchpad tiles.

Smart Business is released in various flavors depending on the underlying technology platform. Specifically there are the following separate Smart Business shipments:

• Smart Business for Suite on Hana (SoH) delivery
• Smart Business for S/4Hana delivery
• SAP Smart Business in HANA Cloud Platform as a service (Beta Release)

Important documents and notes:

Help document on SAP Smart Business in Suite on HANA (SoH):

http://help.sap.com/ssb

Overview of SAP Smart Business Cockpit for Suite on HANA (SoH)

How to create KPI, Evaluations and Tiles

Smart Business Transport Tool:

http://scn.sap.com/community/fiori/blog/2016/07/27/smart-business-transport-tool

Smart Business – Redeploy HDBTI files:

Smart Business - Redeploying HDBTI files

Release notes:

2018360

2183947

In this article, I will discuss about the error “Cannot load Tile” for the KPI modeler applications.

Error: KPI Modeler – Cannot Load Tile

How to resolve the error:

Before going any further, make sure that the following requirements are met:

1.   SAP ANALYTICS FOUNDATION 1.0 is installed.(see note 2183947).

2.   Smart Business recommended roles are added to your ABAP front end , HANA user.

Frontend User Roles:

      /UI2/SAP_KPIFRW5_TC_R (Runtime role)

/UI2/SAP_KPIMOD_TC_R (Modeler role)

HANA User Roles:

                     sap.hba.r.sb.core.roles::SAP_SMART_BUSINESS_MODELER (Modeler Role)

sap.hba.r.sb.core.roles::SAP_SMART_BUSINESS_RUNTIME (Runtime Role)

3.   If you are using Smart Business with other content components like SFin, ECC, TM, EM, etc., kindly make sure to first install Smart Business HANA DU and then install the other components. This is because of the dependency of the other components on the Smart Business content.

Follow note #2158380 for further details.

Resolving this error:

1. Open the Console window of your browser (Preferably in Chrome). To open the console, either click F12 while on your Home Screen or go to Customize and Control Google Chrome Tab. 

        In Internet Explorer, go to Tools -> Developer Tools.

    2.Go to Network tab of console window.

     3.  In filter bar of network tab search for “Chips?$filter”.

4.  Check the response of the call: /sap/hba/r/sb/core/odata/runtime/SMART_BUSINESS.xsodata.

If its status code is 404, you need to check weather /sap/hba/r/sb/core/odata/runtime/SMART_BUSINESS.xsodata call is getting redirected properly to HANA system where you have installed SAP ANALYTICS FOUNDATION 1.0.

The above mentioned odata call is supposed to return the data for the KPI modeler tiles from the back end.

To check whether the call is getting redirected properly to HANA, call the URL:

https://<hana_host_id>:43<instance_no>/sap/hba/r/sb/core/odata/modeler/SMART_BUSINESS.xsodata

Steps to find HANA XS Host:

• Go to HANA studio.
• In your backend system, right click and go to properties --> XS properties.
• Take the URL /sap/hba/r/sb/core/odata/runtime/SMART_BUSINESS.xsodata  and add  <<HANA XS host>> to the link, and then launch it in new tab.

5.  If the call returns proper data in the form of an XML file, it means your HANA database is working fine and the issue is with the configuration of web dispatcher since the web dispatcher was not able to re-direct the call properly to the back end.

You can follow the Help Document of Smart Business to configure the web dispatcher:

http://help.sap.com/fiori_bs2013/helpdata/en/5e/9d0c52bcc19b33e10000000a44538d/content.htm?frameset=/en/f3/8f4552c474b610e10000000a44176d/frameset.htm&current_toc=/en/2d/740c5260e57b38e10000000a445394/plain.htm&node_id=15

Kindly contact the web dispatcher team for any further assistance.

6.  If the call using HANA XS port gives some error or it returns an empty array, then the problem is with the HANA database.

You need to check weather all entities are properly activated in HANA and that there are no broken HDBTI files in your HANA system.

7.  To check this, run the below query in your HANA database :

select * from "_SYS_REPO"."ACTIVE_OBJECT" where object_suffix = 'hdbti' and object_status > 0;

This query returns the list of all broken or inactive HDBTI files in your HANA system.

8.  If the above query returns an empty result, kindly contact Smart Business for further analysis.

9.  If the above query returns a list of HDBTI files, it means some files in your HANA database are not activated properly.

10.  To overcome this issue, you need to re-deploy all the HDBTI files contained in various packages installed in your HANA database simultaneously.

11. Steps to follow while re-deploying the HDBTI files are mentioned in

Smart Business - Redeploying HDBTI files

12. If you face an error like “Overlapping key issue”, it means you have left out some HDBTI files while re-deploying. Kindly deploy again.

13.While re-deploying the HDBTI files if you see an error as “23 22 column mismatch”, it means that there is some issue with the compatibility of the installed Smart Business components. Kindly follow note #2125939 for further details.

14. In case there is some issue with compatibility, kindly correct the installation of the packages and go back to step 7. If the query now returns an empty result, check if the KPI modeler tiles return data on your Launchpad screen. If yes, the issue is resolved. If no, go to step 11.

15. While re-deploying the HDBTI files if you see an error as “overlapping key issue”, it means that you have left out some HDBTI files while re-deployment. Re-deploy again making sure that all the HDBTI files contained in all the packages installed by you are re-deployed together.

Once the web dispatcher is properly configured, the components are compatible and all the HDBTI files are active in your HANA database, you will be able to resolve the issue. If you still face some issue, contact the Smart Business Application Team for further assistance.

I hope the above solutions works for you

SAP Smart Business is a framework for exposing strategic (key) and operational performance indicators (KPIs, OPIs) as Fiori applications without the need to write any code. It can be used by customers, partners and SAP’s development teams for making highly aggregated analytical data accessible via Fiori Launchpad tiles.

Smart Business is released in various flavors depending on the underlying technology platform. Specifically there are the following separate Smart Business shipments:

• Smart Business for Suite on Hana (SoH) delivery
• Smart Business for S/4Hana delivery
• SAP Smart Business in HANA Cloud Platform as a service (Beta Release)

Important documents and notes:

Help document on SAP Smart Business in Suite on HANA (SoH):

http://help.sap.com/ssb

Overview of SAP Smart Business Cockpit for Suite on HANA (SoH)

How to create KPI, Evaluations and Tiles

Release notes:

2018360

2183947

Smart Business Transport Tool:

http://scn.sap.com/community/fiori/blog/2016/07/27/smart-business-transport-tool

Smart Business KPI Modeler – "Cannot Load Tile" Error

In this article, I will discuss about the steps that need to be followed while re-deploying HDBTI objects.

To re-deploy the HDBTI files, follow the below mentioned steps:

1.      Go to your HANA database.

2.      Select your system and select the SQL option on top.

3.   Now run the following query in the SQL window :

select * from "_SYS_REPO"."ACTIVE_OBJECT" where object_suffix = 'hdbti' and object_status > 0;

This query returns the result of broken HDBTI objects in your system, if any.

In this example, the query returns some results. Go to step 4.

If the query does not return any result, it means all the HDBTI files are properly activated in your HANA database. If you are still facing the “Cannot Load Tile” issue with the KPI modeler tiles, go to Smart Business KPI Modeler – "Cannot Load Tile" Error

4.   If the above query returns some result, run another query to find out which packages have you installed in your system that contain the HDBTI files.

select distinct(package_id) from "_SYS_REPO"."ACTIVE_OBJECT" where package_id like 'sap.hba.%' and object_suffix = 'hdbti'

5. To re-deploy the HDBTI files, you need to re-deploy all the HDBTI files together (even if they are present in different packages in your HANA system.)

In this example, we will select the HDBTI files contained in both the packages (sap.hba.r.sb.core.db and sap.hba.apps.sofm.s.db) and deploy them together.

NOTE: It is important to re-deploy all the HDBTI files and not just the broken HDBTI files. This is because of the dependencies of the components on one another. If even one of the HDBTI files is left out, the re-deployment will fail and you will keep getting “Overlapping key” error.

6.  Open the HANA system in HANA modeler View.

Go to Window -> Open Perspective -> SAP HANA MODELER (might be present in the “Other” option).

This will open the HANA modeler View for you where you can perform actions on the database files.

7. Go to the “Systems” tab of the HANA Modeler View and open the path to the HDBTI files contained in the packages.

In this example, we have opened the path to the HDBTI files contained in the packages sap.hba.r.sb.core.db and sap.hba.apps.sofm.s.db.

8.  Now, go to the “Redeploy” option contained HANA Modeler View in the Quick View Panel.

  Select the system and then select the path to all the HDBTI files contained in various packages till you are able see the HDBTI folder in each of these paths.

In this example, we have opened the path to the HDBTI files contained in the packages sap.hba.r.sb.core.db and sap.hba.apps.sofm.s.db.

10. Once all the HDBTI files are chosen, click on “Add”.

11. Confirm that all the HDBTI files have been selected.

12. Click “Next” and then “Redeploy”.

13.  Wait for the re-deployment to finish.

14. If the re-deployment is successful for all the files, all the HDBTI files will be get activated in your system.

15.  If you face an error like “Overlapping key issue”, it means you have left out some HDBTI files while re-deploying. Kindly deploy again.

16. If you face an error like “23 22 column mismatch” or “22 23 column mismatch”, it means that there is some issue with the compatibility of the installed Smart Business components. Kindly follow note #2125939 for further details.

I hope this article is able to solve the issue of broken HDBTI files for you

Well Hello again!

Just like attachment issue in Fiori Procurement Apps, there is another problem in Fiori MM apps that GOS Notes and Private notes (saved to external respository) are not displayed by default. So what to do? Wait! There is a working solution to that.

So, let's get to know how we can display GOS Notes and Private notes in SAP MM Fiori apps. We just have to follow a few quick and simple steps and Notes would be visible in Fiori Approve Purchase Order, Approve Purchase Requisition and Service Entry Sheet apps.

Without wasting any time we are going for a how to!

I will demonstrate with Fiori SES App, please follow the same procedure for Approve Purchase Order and Approve Purchase Requisition app.

I am assuming that you must have implemented respective SES BADI, if yes then follow me!

If most of you are not aware of what Notes I am talking about then see the screenshot below with highlighted boxes:

Go to your BADI and Method is IF_EX_BADI_MMSRV_APPROVAL_APP~CHANGE_NOTES, shown below:

Now double click method CHANGE_NOTES, shown below:

Here you have to write your own code for Notes and Private Notes. First part is the data declaration! But wait? Which BAPI, Method or FM would be used? Genius! Here you go! We will use couple of them

We will use Class:

1. cl_binary_relation to links of the saved notes in Purchase Order or Purchase Requisition or Service Entry Sheet. Method:  cl_binary_relation=>read_links will be used.

2. Then we will use FM: SO_OBJECT_READ to read the document content.

Moving ahead with the necesarry data declaration for the above method and FM:

Now we are done with the data declaration, we will tell  cl_binary_relation=>read_links what notes we are going to read, for that see below:

We just asked to give us Notes and Private Notes.

Now we will read links for Notes and Privates Notes, gs_lpor contain Object info, in this case it's SES! see below:

We will now fill necessary variables to fetch notes content!

Now we will call our FM to fetch document content!

Finally after moving vairables to our local Notes strcture, we will fill CT_NOTES of this method!

We are done with adding Notes and Private Notes to Fiori Procurement apps.

For Approve Purchase Order Fiori App - write your code in Method: IF_GBAPP_EX_APV_PO_RDP~CHANGE_NOTES_API

For Approve Purchase Requisition Fiori App - write your code in Method: IF_GBAPP_EX_APV_PR_RDP~CHANGE_NOTES_API

In Fiori Notes would look something like this:

More detailed view:

Please let me know in your comments, how you feel about this one!

Goodbye till my next post!

Hello again!

This post is more of a discussion about the latest bug fixes provided by SAP regarding FIORI.

Recently SAP has given fixes for many common issues. Yes there are notes available for each bug and there is a fix as well and quite logically so. You know the best part about following SAP Notes? These are released just couple of days back!

1. If your Fiori Client is crashing at connection change then following SAP note is for you.

Note: 2349576 - Fiori Client crashes when the connection changes

Released on: 01.08.2016

2. You are not able to open PDF documents in Fiori Client then following SAP note is mandatory.

Note: 2351082 - Opening PDF Documents in Custom Fiori Client using third party apps

Released on: 04.08.2016

3. I don't know if you have faced the following issue or not, but if your Fiori screen moves to left when keyboard is opened then follow the following SAP Note.

Note: 2350476 - Fiori screen moves to the left when open keyboard

Released on: 02.08.2016

4. If your custom Fiori app crashes with Custom icon and Splash then follow this Note:

Note: 2349211 - Customizing Mobile Fiori application with custom icon and splash screen fails

Released on: 02.08.2016

5. How about a Submit button is not working in Fiori Apps? Following note fixed this

Note: 2348714 - Submit Button not working in Fiori applications

Released on: 20.07.2016

Updated on: 08.08.2016

6. 2348193 - Launchpad URL integration opens new window tab

7. 2347312 - Fiori Login in non Unicode system

Although these are not all the issues but few common ones! I hope you guys like these in one place!

Cheers!

Warning

This is written for those who live and breathe Workflow & Inboxes plus are implementing Fiori My Inbox. It's a quick post just to put my thoughts on a solution when moving from POWL based Inbox to Fiori My Inbox; very open to debate!

From Inbox to Fiori My Inbox - The hurdle

As part of an implementation of My Inbox at a customer who already has the POWL based Universal Inbox (Let's Crowd Source a POWL Based Universal Worklist Design for ERP) I quickly discovered how many out-of-the-box task approvals were based on an out-of-the-box visualisation that for unknown reasons, relied on more than just the Work Item and Task Id's (I'm looking at you EH&S & T&M). Now this was fine in the POWL based Inbox as it allowed additional work item container parameters to be dynamically inserted via the Action configuration, but Fiori My Inbox moves back to transaction SWFVISU for visualisation, but without the XML config that the Portal supported which allowed you to map these parameters. This is problem #1.

Problem #2, which is more annoying than a problem, is that the use of Object Based Navigation is not an option. e.g. Since the Fiori Launchpad moves to Intents as opposed to Portal/NWBC OBN's; I'm assuming a decision was made to not allow OBN's to be processed in the Fiori Launchpad for older transactions (very non S/4 requirement I know).

So with that knowledge, I've been toying with the approach today, and just wanted to run it by the community (mainly because it works, but I really wish SAP had done this, so I didn't have to request an implicit enhancement).

Solving Problem #2 is easy, as all we need to do is remove the OBN layer and point directly at the Web Dynpro application (or similar). Of course, this is not simple to do since the OBN is hidden in menu roles (ignoring Portals and focusing on NWBC). Luckily, there is a simple program to find navigation targets (OBN.02 Failed to Resolve Object-Based Navigation - SAP NetWeaver Business Client - SAP Library) but you still need to search around a little to find the menu item in question.

So with that, we just move the underlying menu item and the configuration from the POWL Actions configuration into transaction SWFVISU for the task in question. Now we are just left with Problem #1 in cases where additional workflow container data is required to launch the visualisation.

So my main issue is to do with Web Dynpro ABAP visualisations.  I looked into the code which does the visualisation, and it's quite clear that it will only convert across 2 hard-coded dynamic parameters. Looking through SCN, SMP, Google and talking to others; it was clear that for Fiori My Inbox - There is no hidden functionality to address this, so I then resorted to....A post-method implicit enhancement!

Post Method Implicit Enhancement

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I think this is the same as a modification, and you really need a strong business case if you are doing to do an implicit enhancement, but I have a sexy new Inbox with 50+ tasks to get up and running; and just no way to achieve all of these as UI5 based approvals in the near future; so I think I have a temporary business case if there is no other way.

Anyway, the code is pretty straightforward (and below is my first cut at just seeing this will work for first level Work Item Container data) In short, it's just quickly scanning the returned parameters, and if it detects a ${ITEM.SOMETHING}; then it will get all work item container variables then replace them in the returning parameters table:

METHOD IPO_ZENH_BADI_MYINBOX_EXECPAR~GET_WD_PARAMETERS.
*"------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*" Declaration of POST-method, do not insert any comments here please!
*"
*"methods GET_WD_PARAMETERS
*"  changing
*"    value(RE_PARAMETERS) type TIHTTPNVP . "#EC CI_VALPAR
*"------------------------------------------------------------------------*  data:    lt_parameters type IBO_T_WF_CFG_INBOX_TS_ATTR.  loop at re_parameters ASSIGNING FIELD-SYMBOL(<ls_parameter>).    IF <ls_parameter>-value cs '${'.      " Get parameter to replace      append <ls_parameter>-value to lt_parameters.    endif.  endloop.  if lines( lt_parameters ) > 0.    try.    data(lt_dynamic_task_attributes) = cl_ibo_wf_inbox_facade=>get_task_container_params(      iv_workitem_id     = me->core_object->m_wiid->*      it_attribute_names = lt_parameters      ).      LOOP AT lt_dynamic_task_attributes ASSIGNING FIELD-SYMBOL(<lv_attribute>).        CONCATENATE '${ITEM.' <lv_attribute>-name '}' INTO DATA(lv_name).          LOOP AT re_parameters ASSIGNING <ls_parameter>.            IF <ls_parameter>-VALUE = lv_name.              REPLACE ALL OCCURRENCES OF lv_name IN <ls_parameter>-value with <lv_attribute>-value.            ENDIF.          ENDLOOP.      ENDLOOP.    catch cx_ibo_wf_error cx_ibo_wf_abort.    endtry.  endif.
ENDMETHOD.

Is there a better way?

So that's it - But is there a less drastic way to do this? Will SAP release a backwards compatible note with better code than above to help us out (or have they already)? Whatever the outcome, I hope this helps you if you also go down this path in the near future! Thanks for reading.

I have completed creating the hands-on script for the INT260 Adapt and Extend My Inbox for Your Own Workflows.

Join the TechEd hands-on session if you would like to learn how to extend My Inbox for your custom workflows.

Please add "I like, I wish" comments after or before the hands-on session.

SAP TechEd Las Vegas | September 19&amp;#8211;23, 2016 | Home

SAP TechEd Bangalore | October 05&amp;#8211;07, 2016 | Home

SAP TechEd Barcelona | November 08&amp;#8211;10, 2016 | Home

There are more session for My Inbox & Workflow related one.

• INT260      2H Hands-on     Adapt and Extend My Inbox for Your Own Workflows                                                      
• INT200      1H Lecture        Innovations for Business Workflow in SAP S/4HANA    
• UX128      1H Lecture         What Have You Done for Me Lately? Workflow in SAP solutions and SAP S/4HANA    
• INT600     1H CodeJam      Process Insights on Business Workflows in SAP S/4HANA
• INT264      2H Hands-on     Build User Interfaces Based on SAP Fiori UX for Processes with SAP BPM

INT260 Adapt and Extend My Inbox for Your Own Workflows

Type: 2H Hands-on

Level: Intermediate (There is no programming in this session)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1       Admin role - Check system setup.

     1.1         SAP Fiori apps reference library.

     1.2         Check the installed components.

     1.3         Check user settings.

2       User role – Run My Inbox.

     2.1         Approve a Notification of Absence.

3       Consultant role – Configure My Inbox scenario.

     3.1         Capture workflow template information.

     3.2         Display business data by configuring dynamic column.

     3.3         Define action buttons.

     3.4         Update business data by implementing a Business Add In (BAdI)

4       Developer role – Develop a custom Fiori app.

     4.1         Look at developed sample app.

5       Consultant role – Configure visualization.

     5.1         Create a task specific tile. Part 1 - Define Scenarios.

     5.2         Create a task specific tile. Part 2 – Create a catalog and a tile.

     5.3         Call the custom app from My Inbox. Part 1 - SWFVISU configuration.

     5.4         Call the custom app from My Inbox. Part 2 - Define target mapping.

6       User role – Test the workflow.

     6.1         Test End-to-End flow.

7       Consultant role – Other extensibility options.

     7.1         Search info in SAP Community Network.

     7.2         I Like, I Wish.

Here are some of screenshots. You will implement those.

Display the dynamic column data.

Add action buttons and implement update logic.

Replace the view with custom app.

10. SAP Fiori Manage Source lists app

     SAP Fiori ‘Manage Source lists’ app enables users to create, edit, delete, or manage source lists from their mobile devices. Instantly search and view source lists based on various criteria, such as plant, material, or supplier details. You can also use purchase info records to define the sources of supply for a purchase requisition or purchase orders.

9. SAP Fiori Approve Purchase Contracts app

     SAP Fiori Approve Purchase Contracts App empowers end users to search for specific contracts, display details against each contract, approve contracts or forward it internally for further processing.

8. SAP Fiori Service Entry Sheets app

     SAP Fiori ‘Service Entry Sheets’ app provides the ability to navigate to other fact sheets such as supplier, service master data or Purchase order in order to gather information about its related key facts i.e. total value, unplanned costs and status of the service entry sheets.

7. SAP Fiori Schedule Purchasing jobs app

     SAP Fiori Schedule Purchasing Jobs app enables end users to schedule and monitor recurring, purchase-related activities, automatically create of Purchase Orders from Requisitions and schedule agreement releases.

6. SAP Fiori Order from Requisition app

     SAP Fiori Order from requisition app enables end users to match purchase requisitions from a list of appropriate suppliers, thereby allowing users to create a purchase document with reference to the requisition in turn to issue them back to supplier.

5. SAP Fiori Manage Purchase Requisition app

     SAP Fiori “Manage Purchase Requisition” app helps you optimize internal procurement process, displays the details about the supplier, thereby allowing users to create PR. Allows users to make changes, manage suppliers, edit PR details at user’s convenience.

4. SAP Fiori Approve Requisitions app

     SAP Fiori Approve Requisition Approvals app allows managers and decision makers to view pending purchase requisitions and approve them. Alternatively, you may forward approvals to a different employee for further processing.

3. SAP Fiori Track Purchase Order app

     SAP Fiori Track Purchase Order Overview app empowers users to track order fulfillment status, quantities, PO quantity and value, also provides a graphical view of purchase order flow while allowing managers to take more informed procurement decisions while on the move.

2. SAP Fiori Manage Purchase Order app

     SAP Fiori Manage Purchase Order app provides comprehensive purchase order details and insights for procurement managers and decision makers to take instant procurement decisions – Enter time, date and location, search and release unreleased PO documents, review, manage, and add relevant documents pertaining to PO.

1. SAP Fiori Approve Purchase Order app

     SAP Fiori “Approve Purchase Order” app empowers managers and decision makers to easily track, approve or reject purchase orders instantly. Additionally, it allows employees to forward purchase orders and requisitions within the organization if needed.

I participated in the free OpenSAP course  "Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition".

You can check some statistics from the last course  Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition

For my Design and Build Challenge I chose to use some functionality from transaction SU01 and create Fiori app from it for unlocking users and resetting passwords.

Here is my story...

Story

My target is people working on Service desk that need to unlock and/or set new initial password for SAP users outside working hours.

Service support team can perform unlocking of SAP users directly from their smartphone without need to connect via laptops to perform task.

Persona

User Experience Journey

POV (Point of View)

Emily the Service desk specialist needs a way to quickly unlock user and set new initial password so their users can continue to work in SAP without spending too much time while waiting this task to complete.

Mockup

Study

https://standard.experiencesplash.com/home/projects/e552de8d3ec343cd0ba222e5/research/participant/0ff050fb0a2848cb0ba85e…

Video

Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition - YouTube

Application description:

Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition.pdf - Google Drive

SAP WEB IDE export:

ZUNLOCKUSER.zip - Google Drive

All feedbacks , comments and suggestions are welcome

Greetings from SAP User Experience & Design (UXD) team!

SAP continues to make significant investments in bringing consumer grade and mobile experiences to enterprise software. Looking into the future, we would like to get your inputs and understand how your user experience needs are evolving and where we can support you. Your experience and perspective via this quick survey, will help SAP shape its User Experience Strategy to better support your needs .

SAP values your relationship and we hope the SCN community continues to grow and thrive

Please take the Survey

Thanks and regards,

SAP UXD – Customer Office

In the past, applications focused on very large transactions covering many functions for a single business object. Multiple users would have to work in one of these large transactions, and each user had to identify the parts that were relevant to his or her task.

SAP Fiori marks a paradigm shift in the way we design and develop applications. With SAP Fiori, apps began to concentrate on specific use cases for specific role. Design and development now revolves around roles and the tasks that users needed to accomplish, with the ultimate goal of providing an app that’s optimized for a specific task.

With this change, we were forced to rethink the way we deliver, manage, and navigate apps in a more modular and flexible environment.

First Assumption: We Need to Manage a Larger Set of Applications

Designing and developing specialized apps that perfectly suit the requirements of a specific role leads to a larger number of apps. This, at least, is the assumption we made based on our experience offering the original transactions in addition to the new SAP Fiori apps.

However, we don’t know if this assumption holds true over the time. There are also factors that might counter that trend by reducing the fragmentation of scenarios over multiple transactions. For example:

• By being more targeted, these apps might combine the functionality that was previously covered by a number of individual transactions.
• The modular nature of SAP Fiori apps caters to the fact that the same app can be used in different user flows.
• Some transactions that are available in existing systems might become obsolete and might then not be distributed via new apps.

Even if there were a larger number of individual apps available in the system, the number of apps used by the individual user doesn’t necessarily increase. If anything, the use of role-specific apps will see this number actually decrease for users. Therefore, any additional complexity will mainly be on the side of the administrator,who will have to ensure that a larger number of apps are configured, managed, and distributed.

Figure 1: The home page of the SAP Fiori Launchpad with the personalized set of tiles representing the applications the user accesses frequently.

From a user experience perspective, it is crucial that this additional complexity is not exposed to the user. Administrations should therefore:

• Avoid placing every app on a user’s homepage by default. Instead, let users add apps themselves if something is missing.
• Focus on selecting an appropriate minimal set of apps.
• Avoid showing apps to the user that are not designed for his or her role.
• Invest in optimizing catalogs to better match the business roles of the company.
• Make sure the user can personalize the home page to his or her needs. This point is crucial and can’t be emphasized often enough. The home page is the place for the user and should be as personal as possible. Administrators give away control here, but it should pay off, at least for most users.
• Make sure app search works.

When you are migrating an existing system into SAP Fiori you should consider the following:

1. Make use of your knowledge about users’ favorites: you can take the user favorites from the user menu or the portal favorites as candidates for the user’s home page.
2. Don’t overwhelm the user: avoid pushing all role contents (or even only subsets) to the home page. This will render the home page difficult to use. Keep the role contents in the catalogues and allow the user to discover these through the AppFinder.
3. Keep the user in control of the home page: keep all personalization features for the home page enabled. The home page should be the place the user designs.

With SAP Fiori 2.0, we plan to introduce a number of enhancements that will help users to manage a larger offering of apps:

• The home page will be able to display more apps with improved navigation, smaller tile sizes, and a link area that only displays the app name as a link, which uses less space.
• The navigation menu will offer a set of enhanced navigation options, such as hierarchical navigation to step upwards in the information hierarchy of the app, cross-navigation to related apps, and a full structured hierarchy of all assigned apps.
• Personalized navigation lists in the Me Area will offer access to recent apps and frequently-used apps.

All of these options should help the user to navigate within a larger set of applications without creating a large, fixed structure navigation on the screen that would force the user into static hierarchical menus and side navigation panels of an L-shape navigation.

Second Assumption: We Have to Ensure That We Assign the Right Apps to the Right Users

Figure 2: AppFinder target design offering the possibility for the user to discover required apps or apps that are suitable for his role. For IT this offers a way to control and manage access and roll-out to apps for specific user groups.

Since apps are designed to fit a specific user role, care has to be taken to assign the correct apps.

In enterprise environments, administrators assign applications to user roles. In general, roles are used as a vehicle to manage authorizations and content at the same time. These roles are primarily administrative, if not entirely technical. In many cases, these roles are broadly configured, containing more apps than needed in order to avoid too many roles and secondary work to assign additional access rights.

Either through a portal or another client, these applications are offered to users in a predefined, often hierarchical structure. If roles are configured in such a way that they contain many applications, the structure can become comprehensive containing applications that the user doesn’t need.

With SAP Fiori, SAP delivers apps in catalogs that are based on business roles. These are the roles that are defined as part of the initial design process in the discovery phase. Catalogs are primarily used by users to select applications that they need and to place them on the home page in case they need the applications on a regular basis. With SAP Fiori 2.0, we plan to introduce an option to structure and organize larger sets of applications (navigation menu); however, this should remain a secondary and complementary option to the home page.

This approach is designed to cater to the role-based paradigm that we follow with SAP Fiori. The administrator assigns catalogs based on a user’s business roles. Users refine this assignment by selecting those apps that they actually use by placing them on the home page. The user can also organize the apps in groups that are meaningful. This way, we can ensure that the apps really fit the user.

In SAP Fiori, we ensure an optimal fit between user and apps by combining catalogs that are based on business roles and the personalization of the most relevant apps on the home page.

For users, this means that they can define a personal set of apps and arrange them according to their individual needs. For administrators, this means that they should make sure that catalogs are defined in a way that they provide a reasonable selection for the user, but, for fine-tuning, administrators can rely on personalization of the home page. In general, administrators should make sure that:

• Catalogs represent the needs of the business roles in your organization. Ideally, you can work together with the business areas to define them.
• Users can benefit from the personalization capabilities of the home page and avoid unnecessary restrictions (e.g. locked groups).
• Users can leverage the “save as tile” functionality to even further optimize the usage of the homepage by creating personalized worklists and sets of navigation targets.

Finally, with Fiori 2.0, we will also start offering a tool that helps to further improve a targeted delivery of the right apps to the right users. The AppFinder relies on the established concepts of an app store to make apps discoverable to the user. Even though users will not download apps, they will be able to learn more about apps that are available to them and start apps from there (for single usage) or put them on the home page (for frequent usage). Today, the AppFinder still is in an early stage and offers basic catalog functionality. But, for the future, it holds the potential to serve as a vehicle for IT to do targeted rollout to specific user groups, provide recommendations and features, capture and share best practices, as well as gather user feedback.

The AppFinder might become the tool that can help administrators optimize the management of user roles driven by users and their needs that get captured in usage statistics, recommendations, and ratings.

Assumption 3: A flexible navigation structure is more powerful and content-driven than a fixed menu

Figure 3: The declarative navigation structure will be exposed in the navigation menu. This complements the personalized navigation paths through the home page, overview pages, or search that avoid complex navigation structures in favor of task-driven navigation (product design might vary from this visualization).

In a typical enterprise environment, users have access to many transactions, reports, and apps, usually, way more than they need. To structure the huge amount of apps, apps are organized in categories and subcategories. These categories are in most cases determined by the roles and the system landscape that usually is hidden by portal installations.

Since the 2000s, the navigation structure of SAP systems is organized around roles and work centers (see an explanation of roles and work centers or the design evolution of work centers in SAP Business ByDesign). A role is used as a folder to bundle content (e.g. applications, reports, tasks) that can then be assigned to people. Within a role, several work centers can be included, each of which represents a specific area of responsibility. For example, the role of a C-level manager might contain work centers for corporate performance, area management, fixed assets, and so on.

Work centers usually have a fix set of possible content elements such as an overview, worklist, references to apps and reports that are arranged in a consistent way. The navigation structure of the user’s environment therefore is constructed out of a hierarchy of roles, work centers, and content within the work centers, and it is visualized in comprehensive navigation menus either on the top and / or on the left side on the screen.

This structure is extremely logical and predictable and allows the user to form a mental model of the complex environment. So, why have we decided to not follow this model with Fiori anymore?

• Complexity– the work center navigation concept makes the entire complexity of the environment part of the experience. To get access to required functionality, the user has to find his way through a lot of information that is not needed in that situation.
• Segmentation– work centers might split scenarios that belong together and place them into two different silos. In many scenarios users cut across multiple work centers without users even knowing.
• Rigidity– work centers have a very rigid structure in order to achieve consistency. This structure sometimes leads to the situations where functionality is offered because of consistency and not because of the user needing it. Also, this structure is superimposed on the user without being able to alter it much.
• Space– the entire fix navigation is available on the screen either permanently or on demand, but, due to its complexity, these hierarchical structure require space, which is rarely available on mobile devices or could be used differently.

In SAP Fiori, every navigation is rooted in the user’s personal home page. On this home page, the users can place apps that they use on a regular basis. They also get an immediate overview of specific KPIs that alert users to action when needed. According to the research that we did with a number of our customers and the usage statistics in their portals, most users don’t actively use more than 30-50 apps on a regular basis. With the enhanced features of the SAP Fiori 2.0 home page, it will be even easier to accommodate and scan 100 apps in an easy way. The home page is a simple and content-driven entry page to the user’s work environment; it is simple, responsive, and fully personalized. Apps from any role, area, or system can be combined in groups, overcoming the classic segmentation into work centers.

However, in some cases, users need structure and content that is richer than the launch tiles on the home page. To provide users with such a place where they can get an overview of all information about a specific bundle of tasks or a domain, we have designed the overview page.

The overview page is very similar to a work center but way more flexible in the types of content it can support. As with every aspect of SAP Fiori, the overview page contents are driven by the user’s role and the tasks he or she has to accomplish. Therefore, the overview page can contain different information from different apps that supports users in their specific tasks. This might include parts of reports, work lists, links to apps or contents, analytical visualizations and KPIs freely arranged and defined by the user. Each overview page can focus on a specific context so that all content is restricted to that context. From the overview page content, users can directly navigate to individual items or full reports or even take immediate action in place.

Users can have as many overview pages as they need, and there is no structural implication of these. This means that in order to reduce the number of tiles on their home page, users can place the tiles on the overview page and then navigate to the individual apps from there. If they don’t need the overview page, they can place the relevant tiles for the apps on the home page and directly navigate to them from there. There is no hierarchical relationship or structure superimposed on these apps. In the same way, users can create variants of the overview page and store them individually on the home page.

Figure 4: Typical navigation path from the home page into an overview page and further to the applications. An overview page can bundle the access of multiple apps into one context.

In addition to that, some roles might have specific apps that serve as an entry point or dashboard for specific bundles of tasks, such as work lists or dashboard applications that combine information and action into a powerful tool for that specific user.

The combination of a personalized home page and role-specific overview pages, work lists, or other optimized overview applications provides a personal and content-driven navigation structure that is simple, coherent, flexible and responsive.

With Fiori 2.0, not only will we offer additional content types and layouts for the overview page, but we will also offer additional, structural navigation possibilities like the navigation menu and the AppFinder that will provide the user with the option to browse and discover specific apps in a larger portfolio of apps.

Take Aways

With SAP Fiori, we have not only changed a design or technology, but we have fundamentally changed the way how users work with business software.

Instead of excessive navigation menus and content structures, SAP Fiori gives users the freedom to select only the contents and the structure they need while avoiding unnecessary complexity and rigid structures (or at least leave them optional).

This also requires more attention to the way content is predefined, packaged, and assigned to different user roles. The more individual apps are tailored to specific roles and use cases, the more critical the assignment of the apps to the right people becomes. This is more crucial than with the generic, multi-purpose transactions in classic environments.

Although we are introducing slightly more structure with some of the new features of Fiori 2.0, such as the navigation menu, the Me Area, and the AppFinder, we are maintaining the philosophy of simplicity and responsiveness that makes SAP Fiori so appealing to our new generation of business users.

Hi All

In this blog, I have tried to cover the data flow process in Fiori system landscape when user makes a request via Fiori Launchpad. Also about run time data flow in Front-End server and Back-End server.

Above architecture by SAP.

Front-end server− Web server and OData Proxy.

Back End server− OData provider.

Fiori Data flow in Front End server

SAP ABAP Front-End server contains all the UI components of Fiori system and NetWeaver gateway. These UI components consist of central UI add on, SAP UI5 control library and SAP Fiori Launchpad. When Launchpad is called, the app reads Launchpad definition via OData service call.

• It contains all the OData services, UI and Launchpad objects.
• Users are defined and required roles are assigned in Front End server.
• It interacts with Back End server using trusted RFC connection and system alias to communicate with Back End.
• Fiori apps gets data by calling OData service. The data from Back End is pulled in the apps through the Front End gateway system.

Fiori Data flow in Back End server

SAP ABAP Back-End Server contains the SAP business suite which provides business logic and the back-end data.

• The back-end server is based on SAP NetWeaver.
• It contains users, roles and authorizations.
• Users should have an authorization S_RFCACL that performs Authorization check for RFC users, particularly for trusted systems.

Want to check data flow in SAP Fiori Launchpad ?

Go to Launchpad, right click on Tile → Inspect Element.

  For example: My Leave Request

It opens into developer options screen. Click the Network tab, initially you will not find anything as below.

Refresh the Launchpad browser link, you can see the call to different services as below.

Open the OData service URL in new tab.

You can now search for the My Leave Request in OData service details.

Thanks & Regards

Sabina Paskuraj

Friends,

Earlier I posted a query Re: Fiori launchpad not accepting email id for log in

After posting, I investigated this further and found solution my self.

Solution is, We need to change authentication method of service /default_host/sap/bc/ui2/flp from Standard SAP User to Internet User. Screen shot below for reference.

I hope this helps some one else.