Performance Optimization for Fiori Applications
Subject: SAP Business Application Studio (BAS)
SAP Fiori applications provide modern, user-friendly interfaces to enterprise data and processes. However, delivering a smooth and responsive user experience requires careful performance optimization. As developers build Fiori apps in SAP Business Application Studio (BAS), they must apply best practices and leverage available tools to ensure their apps run efficiently across devices and networks.
This article explores essential techniques for performance optimization of Fiori applications developed in BAS, helping developers build fast, scalable, and responsive user experiences.
End users expect near-instant response times when interacting with applications. Slow loading or laggy apps can lead to poor adoption and productivity losses. Optimized Fiori apps enhance:
- User satisfaction
- Business process efficiency
- Reduced data consumption (important for mobile users)
- Lower infrastructure costs
¶ 1. Minimize Network Calls and Payload Size
- Use OData Batch Requests: Combine multiple OData calls into a single HTTP request to reduce network overhead.
- Enable Pagination and Filtering: Fetch only the required data subset rather than large datasets.
- Leverage Select and Expand: Use OData
$select to retrieve only necessary fields, and $expand to include related entities efficiently.
- Compress Data: Enable HTTP compression on backend services to reduce payload sizes.
¶ 2. Optimize UI5 Controls and Rendering
- Lazy Loading: Load UI components and fragments only when needed, reducing initial load time.
- Use Binding Modes Wisely: Prefer one-way binding for read-only data to avoid unnecessary two-way binding overhead.
- Avoid Heavy Controls: Choose lightweight controls over heavy or complex ones when possible.
- Fragment Reuse: Reuse UI fragments instead of duplicating code for similar UI parts.
- Model Lifecycle: Instantiate OData models at appropriate scopes (component-level or view-level) to avoid redundant data fetches.
- Use JSON Models for Local Data: For static or computed data, use JSON models to prevent frequent backend calls.
- Two-Way Data Binding Considerations: Limit two-way binding to necessary scenarios to reduce model update costs.
¶ 4. Cache and Local Storage
- Browser Caching: Leverage browser cache for static resources like JavaScript, CSS, and images by proper HTTP headers.
- Data Caching: Cache OData responses where possible to reduce repeated backend requests.
- IndexedDB and LocalStorage: Use client-side storage for offline scenarios or frequently accessed data.
¶ 5. Asynchronous and Parallel Processing
- Use asynchronous calls to backend services to prevent UI blocking.
- Parallelize independent data requests to speed up data fetching.
¶ 6. Optimize Application Bundling and Delivery
- UI5 Component Preloading: Enable component preload to reduce the number of server requests.
- Minification and Bundling: Use BAS build tools to minify and bundle JavaScript and CSS files for faster downloads.
- CDN Usage: Serve UI5 libraries and resources via Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for global performance improvements.
- UI5 Diagnostics Tool: Analyze rendering and data binding performance.
- Network Tab in Browser DevTools: Monitor backend calls, payload sizes, and latency.
- Lighthouse Audits: Evaluate performance metrics, accessibility, and best practices.
- Application Logging: Identify slow operations or errors impacting performance.
| Area |
Best Practice |
| Network Calls |
Batch requests, filtering, pagination |
| UI Controls |
Lazy loading, lightweight controls |
| Models |
Appropriate scope, JSON for static data |
| Caching |
Browser cache, data caching, local storage |
| Asynchronous Calls |
Use async calls and parallelization |
| Bundling & Delivery |
Minify, bundle, use preload, CDN |
Performance optimization is critical for delivering exceptional SAP Fiori applications. By applying these techniques within SAP Business Application Studio, developers can build apps that load quickly, respond smoothly, and provide a great user experience across devices and network conditions. Continuous monitoring and optimization should be integral to the development lifecycle to keep apps performant as they evolve.