Thought Leadership
Mobile devices enable faster reactions and more straightforward processes in everyday work life – regardless of where work is being done. To work with SAP applications on tablets or smartphones while mobile, SAP Fiori Apps can be developed and utilized.
Customizing these apps according to user needs can be achieved with the help of Data Analytics tools. These tools collect all relevant data to visualize and analyze it in a dashboard, allowing new applications to be developed based on user experience and existing apps to be optimized.
Tracking online orders via app or checking on your mobile phone if the electric car is already charged – these private habits of easily obtaining technical information via mobile devices are now leading to user expectations in a professional context as well. If data can be easily accessed via tablet or smartphone in private life, employees desire similar convenience during their work. Complex structures and tasks – such as those in an SAP environment – should therefore be prepared in a user-friendly manner, transferred into simple and clear apps for operation, and the user experience should be brought into focus. If companies offer their staff less comfortable working conditions, this is often reflected in lower productivity. This is especially true when tasks in SAP should be processed directly on mobile devices at the point of use – but in reality can only be completed much later on a desktop computer with an SAP interface.
SAP Fiori was created, among other reasons, due to this demand for comfortable and customer-specific apps in the SAP environment. It is a design system that allows for the creation of UX-friendly business applications. With it, companies have the opportunity – either on their own or through service providers – to develop individual applications tailored to their use cases and needs. Furthermore, SAP Fiori is optimized for various mobile devices and platforms (smartphones, tablets, laptops), thus enabling access to SAP applications from anywhere and at any time. As an additional benefit, users can then customize their work interface in the launchpad to suit their individual needs and working methods. The provision of information can be controlled through role-based concepts.
Understanding User Behavior with an Analytics Tool
Companies may want to understand the habits of their end-users and how well the already developed applications match these habits. Or they might want to get an overview of the performance and reliability of their in-house developments to optimize them or to generate knowledge for future developments and avoid potential errors. In such cases, an analytics tool like QUANTO Analytics from the SAP consulting company QUANTO Solutions is recommended. With it, the usage of SAP Fiori Apps in the SAP Fiori Launchpad can be analyzed.
Usage data is collected, analyzed, and visualized to detect anomalies and relevant patterns in usage. The insights gained from this process form the data foundation for adjustments that optimize the usability of current and future apps. For instance, it can reveal which themes or languages are most frequently used or which services are preferred. The metrics also show how often these services are chosen and how long they are used. The knowledge obtained helps make statements about the acceptance, business value, or potential usability hurdles of previous apps.
For example, if users frequently switch between different language versions, this could indicate inconsistent translations or insufficient language support. If an error reporting tool is used excessively, it suggests a high number of occurring errors, which could signify an unstable system. Main features might be rarely used because they are hard to find or too complicated to operate. An unusually long session duration might indicate that users are having difficulty completing their tasks efficiently, suggesting a potential usability problem. High abandonment rates in certain processes signal that users are experiencing difficulties or frustrations that need to be addressed. Frequent browser switching points to compatibility issues or preferred user experiences.
These examples illustrate how a data analytics tool can become a valuable asset for a company to better understand the user behavior of its personnel. It answers questions about usage duration, frequency, and location, browser choice, utilized features, themes, services, and languages, providing insights that enable companies to best support their app users.
Increase app performance and stability
In addition, an analytics tool also allows for monitoring error sources and response times of services, providing critical information and insights for improving the stability and performance of an app. If the app generates an error message, the analytics software documents it and displays all the errors in a consolidated overview, significantly speeding up the troubleshooting and resolution process. For example, long loading or waiting times can cause a user to abandon the app or close it prematurely. This delay might be due to retrieving large amounts of data from a server. But is that really necessary? Do we really need to fetch such large data sets from the server for an application, or would fewer data suffice? To answer this, monitoring, analyzing, and summarizing all relevant data is very helpful. If a data analytics tool also provides this information in a user-friendly and accessible format within the used launchpad, it results in improvements that can optimize existing apps and guide future developments. Ultimately, this enables more stable and performance-oriented app development.
Simple integration
To take advantage of all these benefits, the data analytics software must first be integrated into the company’s existing SAP landscape. In the case of QUANTO Analytics, this is achieved by installing the monitoring and analysis program on the SAP Gateway (as a Gateway Hub or integrated as part of an SAP Backend System). The frontend of the analytics software is operated on the SAP Fiori Frontend Server (FES) of the SAP Gateway (On Premises) or alternatively provided on the SAP Cloud (Cloud Foundry). Once the integration is complete, all functions can be accessed and used via the SAP Fiori Launchpad. This means that users have minimal additional effort with the new tool. They can quickly deploy the technology and leverage its value for, for example, the development of further apps.
Conclusion
With an analysis and monitoring tool, companies can maintain an overview of their SAP Fiori apps—across various levels and for different types of inquiries. This provides not only transparency but also a valuable tool for enabling future UX-friendly, more stable, and performance-oriented app developments. The software analyzes and visualizes user behavior, allowing companies to support their SAP users in the best possible way.
Author: Natalie Weirich, IT journalist for Wordfinder
