Integrating business workflows with SAP Fiori Elements enhances the user experience by enabling seamless interaction with business processes such as approvals, task management, and notifications. Whether you're building apps that require user decisions, triggering backend processes, or managing workflow tasks, SAP Fiori Elements provides tools and extensions to support workflow integration with minimal custom code.
This article outlines the key concepts, steps, and best practices for implementing workflow integration with SAP Fiori Elements.
Workflow integration allows SAP Fiori Elements apps to interact with SAP Business Workflow or SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) Workflow services. These workflows coordinate tasks across users and systems to automate business processes such as:
SAP Fiori Elements apps can be used to display, approve, reject, or trigger workflows, improving end-user efficiency and aligning business logic with user interfaces.
SAP Fiori My Inbox
A standard Fiori application used to display and manage workflow tasks. It can be extended or customized to interact with Fiori Elements apps.
SAP Business Workflow / BTP Workflow
The backend process engine that defines and manages workflows and user tasks.
OData Services (Task Processing Service / Custom Services)
OData services provide the interface between the workflow engine and Fiori Elements apps.
Annotations and Metadata
Define how the Fiori Elements app presents task data and handles user actions such as “Approve” or “Reject.”
Create the workflow in SAP Business Workflow (on-premise) or SAP BTP Workflow Management. Define:
Use services such as:
/sap/opu/odata/IWPGW/TASKPROCESSING;v=2/ (for My Inbox)Ensure the service includes task context data such as status, user decisions, and key fields.
Configure Intent-Based Navigation in SAP Fiori Launchpad using Semantic Object and Action mappings so that clicking a task in My Inbox opens your Fiori Elements app.
In the app’s manifest.json:
"semanticObject": "PurchaseOrder",
"action": "approve"
Define UI annotations to expose task-specific actions such as “Approve” or “Reject.”
<Annotation Term="UI.DataFieldForAction">
<Record Type="UI.DataFieldForAction">
<PropertyValue Property="Action" String="Namespace.ApproveOrder" />
<PropertyValue Property="Label" String="Approve" />
<PropertyValue Property="RequiresContext" Bool="true" />
</Record>
</Annotation>
Ensure these actions are linked to backend logic that updates the workflow status.
In the backend, implement logic in the ABAP handler or service extension to update the workflow state when a user takes action in the app.
Example:
COMPLETEDYou can display workflow metadata such as current step, approver, and decision history by extending the Object Page or creating a custom section using annotations or controller extensions.
Integrating workflows with SAP Fiori Elements bridges the gap between user interfaces and automated business processes. Whether you're approving purchase orders or triggering complex approval chains, SAP Fiori Elements provides the tools needed to implement workflow integration with minimal custom development. With annotations, OData services, and integration with My Inbox, you can streamline your business processes and deliver a user-friendly, task-focused experience.