Subject: SAP-Fiori-Design-Guidelines
User research is a critical step in designing effective SAP Fiori applications. It ensures that apps meet real user needs, improve productivity, and deliver a seamless user experience aligned with SAP Fiori Design Guidelines. This article explores how to conduct user research specifically for SAP Fiori projects, highlighting methods, best practices, and key considerations.
SAP Fiori’s success hinges on delivering role-based, simple, and intuitive applications. Conducting thorough user research helps to:
- Understand users’ tasks, pain points, and workflows
- Identify critical features and prioritize functionality
- Validate design concepts before development
- Increase user adoption and satisfaction
- Reduce costly rework by addressing real needs early
Effective user research begins with clear objectives. Typical goals include:
- Defining user roles and personas
- Mapping current workflows and identifying inefficiencies
- Testing prototypes or concepts for usability
- Gathering feedback on visual design and interaction
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Identify Stakeholders and Users
Engage business users, power users, and IT stakeholders to get a comprehensive view. Include end users from different departments, locations, and device preferences.
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Select Research Methods
Choose appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods based on goals, timeline, and resources.
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Prepare Research Materials
Develop interview guides, surveys, and prototypes if needed.
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Schedule Sessions
Arrange interviews, workshops, or usability tests in a way that respects users’ availability.
¶ 1. Contextual Inquiry and Interviews
- Observe users in their actual work environment.
- Ask open-ended questions to uncover workflow challenges and needs.
- Understand how users currently interact with SAP systems and other tools.
¶ 2. Surveys and Questionnaires
- Collect broad quantitative data on user preferences, satisfaction, and pain points.
- Useful for gathering input from large user groups.
- Test SAP Fiori prototypes or early versions with real users.
- Focus on task completion, navigation ease, and error frequency.
- Use think-aloud protocols to understand user thought processes.
¶ 4. Workshops and Co-Design Sessions
- Collaborate with users to brainstorm features and workflows.
- Engage users in sketching and feedback on UI concepts.
¶ 5. Analytics and Usage Data
- Analyze logs from existing SAP systems or Fiori Launchpad to identify usage patterns and problem areas.
- Combine with user feedback for deeper insights.
- Focus on Role-Based Insights: SAP Fiori targets specific user roles, so research must capture the nuances of different job functions.
- Iterate Research: Conduct research at multiple stages—discovery, prototyping, and post-launch—to continuously improve UX.
- Involve Cross-Functional Teams: Include UX designers, developers, business analysts, and end users to foster alignment.
- Maintain User Privacy: Ensure compliance with data protection laws and respect user confidentiality.
- Document Findings Thoroughly: Create personas, user journey maps, and pain point matrices to communicate insights effectively.
- Persona Development: Build detailed personas representing key user groups to guide design decisions.
- Journey Mapping: Visualize the end-to-end experience to identify friction points and opportunities.
- Prioritize Features: Use research data to focus development on high-impact areas.
- Validate Designs: Continuously test UI mockups against user expectations.
- Customize Role-Based Apps: Tailor apps to meet specific workflows identified in research.
- Prototyping Tools: Figma, Adobe XD, SAP Build
- Survey Platforms: SurveyMonkey, Google Forms
- Usability Testing Software: UserTesting, Lookback
- Analytics: SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Launchpad Analytics
Conducting user research is indispensable for designing successful SAP Fiori applications. It helps ensure the resulting solutions are user-centric, efficient, and aligned with SAP Fiori Design Guidelines. By employing a mix of research methods and involving real users throughout the project lifecycle, SAP teams can deliver applications that truly empower users and maximize business value.