Useful Tips and Guidelines to Make Your Sap Fiori Implementation Successful

The implementation of Fiori is bound to be different from all other long-term implementations in the SAP environment. With the launch of this new UX, SAP altogether addressed the speed, performance and design issues with most SAP apps and projects. Fiori implementation is likely to be quick paced and least disruptive. But obviously, to make this happen, you need to take a few lessons and conform to these effective guidelines and range of tips discussed below.
Useful Guidelines for SAP Fiori Implementation

Be aware of Fiori design focus

Fiori apps are mostly embraced with the objective of going mobile in a workplace environment. Fiori app environment has been designed keeping mobile in mind. Naturally, design is a very important part of Fiori development, especially to adapt to diverse device screen sizes and visibility aspects. Fiori developer guidelines clearly state this focus by explaining the controls and patterns.

Know what the basic Fiori app offers

Before driving into custom Fiori development project, have a look at the standard and basic Fiori apps, what they offer and how they look and feel. Depending on this standard look, feel, and usability, you can consider augmenting the design elements or feature set.

Design the layout first

Have your app design layout in hand before going into functions and other aspects. First of all, figure out what features your app would provide how it would look and feel and make up your mind as to show or hide what elements. Get the design mockups ready to put these aspects into place.

Deciding on accessibility

Set clear authorization roles and rules for different Fiori apps. This would, on the one hand, make accessibility much easier and would be able to create app visibility protocols.

Useful Tips

1. Get customer engaged with Fiori app on a mobile device
Getting your customers engaged with Fiori apps on different mobile devices is a great way to see how they can navigate, give input and assess the app from usability aspects.

To do this as a quick assessment test you can choose some of the common and regular SAP transactions that can be substituted easily by Fiori apps. Now you can set the new Fiori app for the use of some of your customers and start gathering their feedbacks. Soon you would be having your requirements clear.

2. Assess the architecture and infrastructure you need
In most organizations the addressing the following architecture and infrastructure-related aspects are important.

• Security
• Networks types like Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, LTE etc.
• Hardware
• Hardware warranty
• Software licensing
• Desktop browser compatibility
• Mobile device management 

Ultimately the deployed Fiori app should offer the same useful look and feel of the Window desktop and mobile device. Naturally, you have to put things in the right place to ensure that.

3. Ease of access to SAP transactions

Fiori Launchpad offers a great mobile friendly entry point to access SAP transactions from mobile devices.  Often to go to the Fiori Launchpad one needs to go through various types of entry points like SAP portal, Netweaver Business Client (NWBC) and Business Objects Launchpad for reporting.  You can consolidate all these entry points by implementing SAP Fiori Launchpad accordingly. For instance you can develop a custom UI5 wrapper application that makes other entry point transactions available over SAP Fiori Launchpad itself.

4. Responding to user feedback

By taking user feedback positively often you can incorporate rapid changes to Fiori apps and can satisfy them. Besides settling issues and enhancing usability, it shows how your business value customer opinion and address any issue without delay. This helps building trust in your customers regarding the app. You can make this happen by offering them new SAP transactions as Fiori app and get feedback on improvement and performance glitches.

5. Use latest Fiori version and patch often

Going with the latest Sap Fiori version is always recommended as it is likely to have addressed issues that previous versions failed to do. Obviously, latest version is more likely to have bugs compared to the older and tested ones. But, for that matter, no version or build can absolutely be free of bugs or issues and developers are already used to them. Developers who are concerned about bugs in the latest version can take a different approach to the problem. They can use the latest version and by updating throughout the early days of the project cycle they can get more time to develop or find solutions to these issues or they can raise these issues with SAP. Patching often and patching throughout the project cycle can actually give relief from bug concern in the latest version.

6. Ensure the right tools, skills, and environment

Fiori is a great move of SAP to adapt to mobile and web technologies. This will also allow it to get benefits of an array of open tools. But to leverage the advantages of web-based tools you need to be prepared with the following things.

• A text editing tool: Getting ready with a licensed editing tool is important. Get WebIDE setup long before the project begins so that the user licensing does not cause any delay. You can also check other advanced text editing tools, but WebIDE is the most common and most developers need not learn to use this.
• Have a Git code repository: You need to have a Git code repository in place irrespective of the development team size.
• Upgrading skills to use new tools: Make sure your developer team is skilled enough in mastering these new tools.

7. Avail General Availability Care Program from SAP to address issues

To resolve the specific issues that are having a negative impact on your project the General Availability Care Program from SAP can be a great help. The program taking note of many such issues from various development projects can actually offer the quicker solution to project issues than other means.

Author Bio

Atul Gupta is a Director of SmartPhone Biz Apps Ltd, a UK based company that provides business solutions and services in enterprise mobility area.