SAP Fiori represents the next-generation user experience (UX) for SAP applications, offering a modern, role-based, and responsive design that enhances productivity and user satisfaction. While SAP S/4HANA comes with a rich set of pre-built Fiori apps, organizations often require custom Fiori applications tailored to their unique business needs. This article provides an overview of how to create custom Fiori apps in SAP S/4HANA, highlighting the tools, process, and best practices.
Fiori apps are web-based applications built on SAP’s UI5 framework that provide a simple, personalized, and coherent user experience across devices. They are designed to be intuitive and task-focused, supporting specific business roles with streamlined workflows.
Standard Fiori apps cover many business scenarios, but custom apps help to:
- Address unique or specialized business requirements.
- Simplify complex transactions.
- Integrate legacy or external systems.
- Improve data visualization and interaction.
- Enhance overall user adoption and productivity.
- SAP Business Application Studio (BAS): Cloud-based development environment optimized for SAP Fiori and SAP S/4HANA.
- SAP Web IDE (Legacy): Previously used tool, being replaced by BAS.
- SAP Fiori Elements: A framework for creating apps based on metadata annotations, enabling rapid app development.
- SAP UI5: The front-end development toolkit for building responsive web apps.
- OData Services: Backend services exposing data and business logic, typically built using SAP Gateway or CDS views in S/4HANA.
- ABAP RESTful Programming Model (RAP): For developing backend services in S/4HANA.
¶ 1. Identify Business Requirements and Scope
- Gather detailed requirements from business users.
- Define the scope and functionalities of the custom app.
- Determine the necessary data sources and backend logic.
- Use CDS views or ABAP RAP to model and expose business data.
- Implement OData services to provide data access and transactional capabilities.
- Test OData services using SAP Gateway Client or Postman.
- Use SAP Fiori Elements for apps with standard templates (List Report, Object Page).
- For more complex or custom UIs, develop UI5 applications in SAP Business Application Studio.
- Define UI annotations or custom controls as needed.
- Create a new project in SAP Business Application Studio.
- Develop or customize UI5 components and views.
- Bind the UI to backend OData services for data interaction.
¶ 5. Deploy and Register the App
- Deploy the Fiori app to the SAP Fiori Launchpad or Cloud Platform.
- Register the app in the Fiori Launchpad Designer, assigning it to catalogs and groups.
- Set up role-based access via SAP Gateway and SAP S/4HANA authorization objects.
¶ 6. Test and Optimize
- Conduct functional and performance testing.
- Collect user feedback for refinements.
- Optimize UI performance and backend service response times.
- Leverage Fiori Elements wherever possible to accelerate development.
- Follow SAP Fiori Design Guidelines for consistency.
- Modularize UI5 components for reusability.
- Use CDS views and RAP to exploit S/4HANA’s in-memory capabilities.
- Secure apps with proper role and authorization management.
- Maintain clear documentation and version control.
- Tailored user experience aligned with business processes.
- Improved operational efficiency and user satisfaction.
- Flexibility to extend and adapt to changing requirements.
- Seamless integration with SAP S/4HANA’s data model.
- Future-proof architecture leveraging SAP’s latest technology stack.
Creating custom Fiori apps in SAP S/4HANA empowers organizations to deliver personalized, efficient, and modern user experiences that go beyond standard offerings. By combining SAP’s powerful backend frameworks with flexible UI5 technologies, developers can build robust applications that drive digital transformation and business innovation.