Discovering Personas

Personas are fictional representations of different user types, such as Category Managers, Procurement Specialists, Suppliers, and Internal Customers, each with unique responsibilities, goals, and needs. These personas help in understanding stakeholder behaviors and tailoring procurement strategies accordingly. Roles, on the other hand, define specific responsibilities and permissions within the system, ensuring that users have access to the appropriate functionalities and data necessary for their tasks. The purpose of personas is to enhance user experience, improve decision-making, and increase stakeholder satisfaction, while roles aim to improve efficiency, resource allocation, and compliance. For Category Managers, understanding personas aids in strategic planning and stakeholder engagement, while clearly defined roles facilitate role assignment and performance monitoring. Overall, personas and roles in SAP Ariba enable a more personalized, efficient, and effective procurement process.

This video will use the fictional company, ZZZ, inc. to demonstrate how personas and their roles can be used to manage a procurement strategy:

Use the following table to discover the responsibilities and capabilities of the roles in SAP Ariba Category Management:

Role	Responsibilities	Capabilities
Category Manager	Develop and implement category strategies Manage supplier relationships Oversee procurement activities within a specific category	Access to category strategy development tools View and analyze supplier performance data Use analytics dashboards Create and manage strategy and planning documents Set goals and identify opportunities Monitor initiatives and spending channels
Category Viewer	View category-related information Monitor category performance	Access to view category strategies, plans, and performance metrics Read-only access to category documents and reports
Category Management Administrator	Configure the SAP Ariba Category Management solution Create and publish purchasing categories and taxonomies Assign roles and permissions	Full administrative access to configure the system Create and manage purchasing categories and taxonomies Assign roles and permissions to users Integrate with SAP Master Data Integration services
Category Management Workflow Administrator	Manage and configure workflows Ensure smooth operation of category management processes	Access to workflow configuration tools Manage approval workflows and process automation Monitor workflow performance and troubleshoot issues