SAP Fiori Elements is a powerful framework that allows developers to create enterprise-grade SAP Fiori applications rapidly using metadata and annotations rather than extensive UI coding. While the framework emphasizes standardization and reusability through predefined templates (such as List Report, Object Page, and Overview Page), real-world business requirements often demand customizations tailored to specific industries, processes, or organizational needs.
This article explores how to build business-specific custom Fiori Elements applications that maintain the benefits of Fiori Elements (like consistency, maintainability, and upgradeability) while delivering on unique business goals.
Standard Fiori apps provide great starting points, but businesses often need:
Building business-specific applications using Fiori Elements ensures these needs are met without reinventing the wheel or straying from SAP’s best practices.
The foundation of any Fiori Elements app is the data model, typically defined using Core Data Services (CDS) in ABAP or the SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP).
Design the CDS view to reflect the business context (e.g., Sales Orders, Maintenance Tasks, Risk Reports).
Annotate it with UI-specific metadata such as:
@UI.lineItem@UI.selectionField@UI.identificationThis drives the UI automatically without requiring extensive XML or JavaScript code.
SAP Fiori Elements provides multiple app templates:
🔹 Choose the template that aligns with your business process flow.
Use additional annotations to tailor the application for business needs:
@UI.lineItem: { type: #FOR_ACTION }Annotations can be defined directly in CDS or through metadata extension views.
Add custom UI fragments to specific sections of the Object Page using extension points.
manifest.json.Implement business-specific logic such as:
Use ControllerExtension to add methods without modifying the standard Fiori Elements controller.
Create role-specific navigation flows:
A manufacturing company wants a custom app for handling quality inspection reports:
This is a business-specific Fiori Elements app that leverages standard templates but delivers exactly what the client needs.
Building business-specific custom Fiori Elements applications enables organizations to meet their unique operational needs while staying within the structured, maintainable framework of SAP Fiori Elements. By combining metadata-driven design, extensibility options, and SAP best practices, developers can deliver robust, scalable, and user-friendly applications that align with both IT governance and business expectations.