¶ Creating and Managing Custom Analytics in SAP Fiori Elements
SAP Fiori Elements provides a powerful framework for building enterprise applications with consistent UI and minimal coding by leveraging metadata-driven templates. Among its many capabilities, analytics stands out as a crucial feature, enabling users to derive meaningful insights directly within Fiori apps.
While SAP delivers several standard analytical templates like Analytical List Pages (ALP), real-world business scenarios often require custom analytics tailored to specific needs. This article explores how to create and manage custom analytics in SAP Fiori Elements, focusing on key concepts, tools, and best practices to empower SAP developers and analysts.
¶ Understanding Analytics in SAP Fiori Elements
Analytics in SAP Fiori Elements is typically based on:
- Analytical List Page (ALP) template: Combines filter capabilities, charts, and tables to present data visually and interactively.
- OData Analytical Services: Backend services exposing analytical data with measures and dimensions.
- Annotations: CDS or OData annotations that describe how data should be visualized, including charts, KPIs, and aggregations.
Custom analytics means going beyond standard offerings to create dashboards, KPI tiles, or complex charts tailored to business needs.
- Use CDS views with analytical annotations to expose required measures (quantitative data) and dimensions (qualitative data).
- Apply annotations like
@Analytics.query: true to mark views as analytical queries.
- Define calculated measures and aggregations in CDS.
Example snippet in CDS:
@Analytics.query: true
@Analytics.dataCategory: #CUBE
define view Z_AnalyticalSales as select from sales_data {
key sales_region,
key product_category,
sum(sales_amount) as total_sales,
count(distinct customer_id) as customer_count
}
- Use
@UI.chart to specify chart types (bar, line, pie) and groupings.
- Define presentation variants and default chart types.
Example:
@UI.chart: [{
chartType: #BAR,
title: 'Sales by Region',
dimensions: ['sales_region'],
measures: ['total_sales']
}]
- Use SAP Fiori Elements Analytical List Page template in your app manifest.
- Link the app to the CDS analytical query exposed as an OData service.
- The ALP automatically renders filters, charts, and tables based on annotations.
¶ 4. Customize and Extend Analytics
- Add custom filters or parameters in the Smart Filter Bar.
- Extend chart types or layouts using UI5 extension points.
- Implement custom drilldowns or navigation actions.
¶ Data Refresh and Real-Time Updates
- Use OData bindings with automatic refresh or manual refresh buttons to keep analytics data current.
- Integrate with SAP Gateway for real-time backend data.
- Optimize CDS views with proper indexing and aggregation.
- Use analytical query projections to reduce payload.
- Limit filter fields and chart complexity.
¶ Security and Authorizations
- Implement authorization checks at the CDS view or OData service level to control data visibility.
- Use role-based filters to restrict analytics data based on user roles.
¶ Monitoring and Maintenance
- Use SAP Fiori Launchpad analytics tools to track usage and performance.
- Regularly update annotations and CDS views to adapt to changing business needs.
- Use CDS Views for Data Modeling: CDS provides a rich annotation framework ideal for analytical scenarios.
- Leverage Standard Annotations: Follow SAP’s annotation guidelines to ensure compatibility and upgrade safety.
- Modularize Analytics: Break complex analytics into reusable CDS views or app components.
- Enable User Personalization: Support filter variants and chart preferences.
- Test Extensively: Validate data accuracy, performance, and UI responsiveness on multiple devices.
Creating and managing custom analytics in SAP Fiori Elements unlocks the power of enterprise data, offering users intuitive and interactive insights directly within their workflows. By combining analytical CDS views, smart UI annotations, and the Analytical List Page template, developers can build tailored analytics apps that meet specific business needs efficiently.
Understanding these processes equips SAP professionals to deliver high-value analytical solutions that enhance decision-making and drive business success.