SAP Screen Personas is a user interface (UI) enhancement tool designed to simplify and personalize traditional SAP GUI screens without altering the underlying application logic. To understand how SAP Screen Personas delivers this seamless user experience, it is essential to explore its architecture. This article provides a deep dive into the technical architecture of SAP Screen Personas, explaining its components, communication flow, and how it integrates with SAP systems.
At a high level, SAP Screen Personas acts as a presentation layer on top of the classic SAP GUI screens. It intercepts and modifies the screens dynamically, applying customizations and enhancements defined by users or administrators.
The architecture consists of several key layers and components:
- Client Layer (Web Browser or SAP GUI)
- SAP Screen Personas Engine
- SAP Backend System (ECC, S/4HANA)
- Flavor Repository
- Scripting Engine
SAP Screen Personas primarily works via a web browser or the SAP GUI itself:
- Web Browser: Users can access SAP Screen Personas flavors through modern web browsers (like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge). The UI rendering and interaction happen in the browser.
- SAP GUI: Personas can also work embedded in the SAP GUI for Windows, providing familiar interface access.
The client handles user inputs and sends them to the Personas engine, and renders the personalized screen back to the user.
The Personas Engine is the heart of the architecture, residing on the SAP NetWeaver Application Server (AS ABAP) in the backend.
- It intercepts the classic SAP GUI screen data (SAP Dynpro screens).
- Applies the flavor customizations (layouts, scripts, controls).
- Transforms the standard SAP screen into a simplified, personalized HTML5-based screen.
- It handles user interactions, executing scripts and forwarding user input back to the backend.
This engine is designed to work efficiently within the SAP NetWeaver stack, using standard SAP technologies such as BSP (Business Server Pages) and Web Dynpro for rendering.
The SAP backend system (typically ECC or S/4HANA) contains the standard SAP business logic and data.
- SAP Screen Personas does not modify the backend logic.
- Instead, it relies on standard SAP GUI screen flows and RFC calls.
- Personas acts as a presentation overlay, maintaining full integration with backend transactions.
- All user inputs are ultimately processed by the backend as if entered through the classic GUI.
Flavors are the core personalization units in SAP Screen Personas.
- Each flavor defines how a screen is modified — what elements are shown, hidden, moved, or scripted.
- Flavors are stored in the backend system, typically in the SAP Personas flavor repository.
- They are versioned and assigned per user, role, or client.
- This repository allows easy transport of flavors across systems (DEV, QA, PROD).
One of the powerful features of SAP Screen Personas is its scripting capability.
- The JavaScript-based scripting engine allows automation, conditional UI changes, and dynamic content loading.
- Scripts can be triggered on user actions like button clicks, dropdown changes, or screen load.
- The scripting engine runs in the context of the Personas Engine and client browser, providing tight integration between UI and backend data.
Here’s a typical flow for how SAP Screen Personas processes user interactions:
- User opens a transaction in SAP GUI or browser.
- The standard SAP screen data is fetched from the backend.
- The Screen Personas engine intercepts the screen data.
- The engine applies the active flavor’s modifications (layout changes, element visibility, scripts).
- The modified screen is rendered as HTML5 in the client browser.
- User actions trigger JavaScript events, which are handled locally or forwarded to the backend.
- Any data changes are sent back to the backend via standard SAP GUI protocols.
- The backend processes the changes and sends updated screen data back.
- Personas engine repeats the cycle with updated screen data and flavor modifications.
- Non-Intrusive: No changes to backend code, preserving SAP supportability.
- Flexible Personalization: Flavors can be user-, role-, or scenario-specific.
- Performance Optimized: Only the necessary UI elements are rendered, reducing screen clutter and enhancing speed.
- Cross-Platform: Works with SAP GUI and modern browsers, supporting mobile and desktop.
- Extensible: Powerful scripting supports complex UI logic and integration.
SAP Screen Personas architecture elegantly bridges classic SAP GUI screens and modern user experience needs. By intercepting screen data on the backend, applying customizations in the Personas engine, and rendering user-friendly HTML5 interfaces on the client side, it delivers a flexible, powerful, and maintainable personalization solution. Understanding this architecture is crucial for developers, consultants, and administrators aiming to leverage the full potential of SAP Screen Personas in enhancing SAP usability.