To help clients get full value from implementing SAP Fiori, we will be dropping a series of guides full of useful insights and handy tips...
Kicking off, here are six important general overarching considerations which, in our experience, will smooth the implementation process for you:
1. If you are implementing Fiori – or planning to implement it – as the user interface for an S/4HANA solution, there are two scenarios you will need to avoid:
- Overwhelming your project work streams with a huge volume of apps covering similar use cases.
- Creating a disjointed process with a poorly integrated suite of apps mixing up old graphic user interface- (GUI-) based transactions with Fiori’s modern user experience.
2. For effective implementation, ensure you have a comprehensive user experience transformation strategy in place (which your Change or Comms team can manage).
3. Consider the unique needs of users who will require different approaches, depending on their experience:
- Users who are very comfortable with their legacy GUI interface and may require encouragement to transition to the new Fiori UX Apps.
- Users who are already familiar with SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP).
- Users who come fresh to SAP S/4HANA, and are unencumbered by legacy SAP ERP GUI experience – but for whom the move from their legacy solution(s) to SAP is itself a major change programme.
4. With Fiori, clients can look forward to greater functionality:
- embedded analytics
- fresh ‘modern’ feel
- advancing new business processes, and
- allowing dynamic transition between apps that also incorporate machine learning and robotic process automation.
5. Whilst the implementation guide (IMG) is still an essential feature, Fiori facilitates creating in-app extensions, enhancing the user experience with richer features. Users can do this themselves or instruct a developer.
6. Beyond S/4, to add-on complementary apps from cloud solutions (such as Ariba), requires transitioning directly to Fiori UX. There are no GUI apps for them so your transformation strategy needs to understand how to balance the messaging and training to potentially incorporate transition to between app types.