SAP Fiori User Experience
SAP Fiori is the user experience for SAP software. SAP Fiori 3 was first released in 2019 with one central motivation: the development of a design that could be adopted across all SAP products and lead to a more consistent and integrated experience across the SAP portfolio.
SAP Fiori is the design language that brings great user experiences to enterprise applications within the SAP portfolio. To do this, SAP has identified three separate dimensions which guide the development of the SAP Fiori interface. These dimensions are as follows:
- SAP Fiori Concept
- SAP Fiori Design
- SAP Fiori Technology
Let's explore each of these dimensions to better understand the Fiori interface and the benefits it brings SAP customers.
Manage Products App
The SAP Fiori concept is fundamentally a simplification of the user experience relying on modern design principles such as role-based, adaptive, simple, coherent, and delightful. It represents a paradigm shift in user experience for SAP applications. SAP Fiori offers a set of applications that cover frequently used SAP software functions, thus enabling users to perform various tasks such as approvals, information lookups, and self-service tasks with ease and efficiency.
Unlike its predecessors, SAP Fiori is guided by these principles, with an emphasis on simplifying the work process for each end-user.
Gone are the dense and monolithic screens of SAP's legacy systems, providing a streamlined interaction with SAP's powerful backend functionalities. The Manage Products app is but one example of this simplification of SAP business functionality.
This design methodology adheres strictly to the Fiori Design Guidelines, which advocate for a user-centered approach with a strong focus on the '5-1-2' screen principle - five user interactions to view important tasks, one primary action per screen, and maximization of the two-second rule for system feedback.
For another example, consider the SAP Fiori 'Approve Purchase Orders' application, which streamlines the approval process by providing purchasers with a swift overview of the most critical information. Where traditional SAP GUI transactions may have required navigation through multiple tabs and fields, Fiori's targeted application facilitates quick, informed decisions with minimal interaction.
For further information on the SAP Fiori Design Guidelines, visit
SAP Design - SAP User Experience Community.
Now, let's explore these principles and see how they influence SAP Fiori Design.
SAP Fiori Design
At its core, SAP Fiori delivers a modern design philosophy that aims to provide a coherent and comprehensive user experience across all SAP products.
SAP Fiori's design philosophy is grounded in the five core principles outlined above: role-based, adaptive, simple, coherent, and delightful. Using these principles, SAP Fiori facilitates the creation of applications that are tailored to the tasks and responsibilities of individual users, thereby enhancing efficiency and ease of use. Now, let's take a look at each principle in more detail.
Role-Based
The principle of role-based access is anchored in the understanding that the relevance and efficiency of a user's interaction with an enterprise system is significantly heightened when tailored to their specific role within an organization.
By adopting a focus on roles, SAP Fiori diverges from the monolithic and transaction-centric interfaces of traditional SAP GUI applications and instead offers a personalized, task-oriented experience that aligns with the unique responsibilities and authorizations of each user.
Watch the following video to learn more about the benefits of role-based access.
You will now examine the SAP Fiori launchpad.
The SAP Fiori Launchpad
Obviously, the implementation of a role-based approach in SAP Fiori necessarily involves the careful design and assignment of Fiori apps to user roles within the enterprise. Each app is conceived to deliver a streamlined workflow, catering to the tasks and data that are pertinent to the user's role.
The Fiori Launchpad is a role-based, personalized, real-time interface that provides contextual access to applications and business information. It is the users' point of entry to SAP Fiori apps on desktop and mobile devices. It provides access to all business apps, features a "search and explore" bar, and can be accessed across devices.
As part of the launchpad configuration, roles are defined within the SAP system, and through the assignment of these roles, users are granted access to a curated set of applications that perform specific business functions. This context-driven availability not only simplifies the user experience but also enhances data security by ensuring that users access only the data and functions necessary for their job functions.
For example, a procurement manager in an organization may have role-based access to Fiori apps such as 'Manage Purchase Orders,' 'Approve Requisitions,' and 'Monitor Supplier Deliveries.' These apps consolidate all relevant information and tasks into a coherent and accessible suite, thus empowering the procurement manager to execute their responsibilities more effectively without the distraction of extraneous system functionality.
Similarly, a maintenance technician within the same organization may encounter a vastly different set of Fiori apps appropriately aligned with their role. This could include 'Report Malfunction,' 'Track Maintenance Requests,' and 'Approve Repair Costs,' each one providing the precise tools and information necessary to resolve maintenance issues promptly and efficiently.
Adaptive
Adaptive designs ensure that SAP Fiori applications can function seamlessly across devices and contexts, embodying a responsive framework that adjusts to varying screen sizes, resolutions, and orientations. As you can see in the previous slide entitled SAP Fiori User Experience, this innate adaptability allows for continuity of user experience, whether an employee is interacting with the application on a desktop, a tablet, or a smartphone.
For example, a field service technician can begin reporting on a maintenance task at the site using their mobile device, then later complete more detailed documentation on a desktop without loss of functionality or efficiency.
Coherent Harmonized Design
Coherency within SAP Fiori enables users to quickly grasp the operation of diverse applications throughout the SAP ecosystem. This principle dictates that common tasks should have consistent interactions and visual design across all applications. By doing so, when a user becomes familiar with one application, they can transfer their understanding efficiently to new applications.
For instance, navigational elements such as the 'SAP Fiori Launchpad' deliver a synchronized user experience, presenting users with tiles representing different applications, all adhering to uniform design language and behavior.
One of the most important considerations was how to provide more information on home pages. SAP studied how aspects of intelligence such as natural language interaction and machine intelligence can become a key part of the overall experience. SAP integrated these into the foundation of the design and provided the following features:
- A new theme for a fresh, modern look and feel
- Intelligent home pages showing everything the user should focus on
- Digital assistant with fully integrated conversational user experience
- Active business situation handling, with explanations, insights, and proposed actions
- Dynamic content to support intelligent apps with embedded artificial intelligence (AI)
- Improved search previews, results pages, and result visualizations
- A central inbox, also integrated with the digital assistant
Simple
In SAP Fiori, simplicity is achieved through an intentional focus on clarity and the reduction of unnecessary complexity within the user interface. SAP Fiori applications are designed to prioritize essential information and frequent tasks, promoting ease of navigation and a reduced cognitive load for users.
This design principle is exemplified in the Fiori "role-based" approach, where a user's interface and the accessible functions are tailored specifically to their job role, displaying only the tools and data required to perform their tasks effectively and avoiding the clutter of irrelevant information.
Delightful
Lastly, the principle of delight is meticulously woven into SAP Fiori through engaging interactions, aesthetically pleasing visual designs, and personalization features that resonate with users. The goal is to transform routine business tasks into engaging experiences that promote user satisfaction and loyalty.
For example, the inclusion of smart insights using machine learning to assist users in making data-driven decisions, or the option to personalize their Fiori experience.
