SAP Fiori Elements provides a rapid development framework for building SAP Fiori applications with standardized templates and metadata-driven UIs. While this accelerates delivery and ensures consistency, performance optimization remains crucial to deliver a smooth and responsive user experience, especially in enterprise environments with large data volumes and complex business logic.
This article explores key strategies and best practices for optimizing performance in SAP Fiori Elements applications, focusing on both frontend and backend aspects.
Performance in SAP Fiori Elements apps depends on multiple layers:
- Backend Data Service Performance
- Frontend Rendering and Data Binding
- Network Latency and Payload Sizes
- User Interaction Responsiveness
Optimizing each layer ensures an overall efficient app experience.
The OData service is the backbone of data retrieval for Fiori Elements. To optimize:
- Use Pagination: Implement server-side paging to limit data transfer. Avoid fetching large datasets in a single request.
- Filter Early: Push filters and search criteria down to the database level through OData query options (
$filter, $search).
- Select Only Needed Fields: Use
$select to retrieve only required fields, reducing payload size.
- Optimize CDS Views: In SAP S/4HANA and RAP, design efficient CDS views by minimizing expensive joins and calculations.
- Cache Static Data: Use backend caching mechanisms where appropriate.
- Batch Requests: Enable OData batch processing to reduce HTTP overhead.
- Use Annotations Wisely: For example, annotations like
@Consumption.valueHelp should be optimized to avoid unnecessary backend calls.
- The Smart Table and Smart Filter Bar support features like paging, sorting, and filtering — leverage these capabilities instead of custom implementations.
- Configure
p13nMode (personalization) thoughtfully; excessive personalization options may impact performance.
¶ 2. Lazy Loading and Fragmentation
- Avoid loading all UI components at once. Use lazy loading and fragments to load views and controls only when needed.
- For complex Object Pages, consider tab-level lazy loading.
- Use one-way binding where applicable to reduce update overhead.
- Avoid redundant bindings and large model refreshes.
- Minimize the number of visible controls on the screen.
- Use grouping and aggregation in tables to reduce row counts.
- Limit complex UI elements like charts or nested tables on initial load.
- Compress OData payloads with gzip.
- Use HTTP/2 if supported by your infrastructure to improve parallel request handling.
- Reduce the number of round trips by combining requests and using batch operations.
- Use SAP Fiori Tools to analyze UI performance.
- Chrome DevTools help identify rendering bottlenecks, network delays, and memory leaks.
¶ 2. Backend Traces and Logs
- Use SAP Gateway trace (transaction
/IWFND/TRACES) to monitor OData performance.
- Analyze backend ABAP dumps or slow-running SQL queries.
- For ABAP-based backends, use ST12 or SAT tools to trace and optimize database and code performance.
- Pre-fetching: For predictable workflows, pre-fetch critical data to minimize wait times.
- Offline Mode: For mobile apps, leverage offline capabilities to reduce backend dependency.
- Asynchronous Processing: Use async calls and promises in UI5 to keep UI responsive.
Optimizing performance in SAP Fiori Elements apps requires a holistic approach spanning backend service design, frontend UI management, and network efficiency. By adhering to SAP best practices—such as leveraging CDS view optimizations, efficient OData usage, smart control configurations, and rigorous monitoring—developers can ensure their Fiori Elements apps deliver fast, responsive, and scalable user experiences.