Preface

SAP Fiori is a user experience (UX) for SAP software. It applies modern design principles to SAP software and provides a personalized, responsive, and easy-to-use UX. SAP Fiori is a set of applications (HR apps, customer relationship apps, financial apps, and more) that run on SAP ERP and fall into one of three categories based on their general purpose: transactional apps, fact sheet apps, or analytical apps. These apps provide a user interface (UI) from which to use functionality already present in an SAP system.

There are several things a company can do with SAP Fiori applications:

• Implement them
• Customize them
• Create them from scratch

Regardless of what a company does with these apps, any form of implementation or development requires SAP Gateway (the integration technology that connects a front-end SAP Fiori app to the back-end SAP system). In addition, knowledge of SAPUI5 (the programming language on which the UI for SAP Fiori apps is based) is needed to customize or create apps.

It’s time to take the first step in your SAP Fiori journey! In this introduction, we’ll discuss the book’s target audience, lay out its purpose, and provide a structural overview of the topics that lie ahead.

Target Audience

SAP Fiori has a broad appeal, given its wide use in SAP systems and the many apps it offers across industries. However, because of the technical details involved in implementing and developing SAP Fiori apps, this book is primarily focused on the following two audiences:

• Developers and administrators at companies that run SAP ERP
• Consultants hired to implement SAP Fiori for a company running SAP ERP

Again, this casts a wide net in terms of readers for this book. However, each chapter will lay out the general knowledge and prerequisites required for implementing and developing each SAP Fiori app type.

Objective

This book is meant to be a complete guide to implementing and developing SAP Fiori apps; its purpose therefore is to teach you how to implement, customize, and create SAP Fiori applications. You will walk away with a complete understanding of how to accomplish all these tasks thanks to step-by-step instructions, screenshots, and example applications.

Structure of the Book

This book is divided into three parts. Part I, Getting Started, explains the first steps in SAP Fiori: a basic explanation of what it is and instructions on installation and configuration.

Part I includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 1: Introduction to SAP Fiori
  To begin your journey, we will look at SAP Fiori’s architecture and integration, with a focus on reverse proxy (with SAP Web Dispatcher) and channels of communication. We will then discuss the three SAP Fiori app types and related technologies, such as SAP Gateway, SAPUI5, and SAP HANA.
• Chapter 2: Installation and Configuration
  Before any implementation or development can begin, you will need to install and configure your SAP system so that it is ready to deploy SAP Fiori apps. Chapter 2 begins by looking at the three SAP Fiori system landscapes used for implementing the apps: the ABAP environment, the SAP HANA database, and SAP HANA XS. We then move on to the two compatible deployment options: central hub and embedded. The final two sections walk through the installation and configuration processes.

Part II, Implementation, is devoted to the implementation of SAP Fiori apps. It starts by introducing the security measures that should be in place to ensure that the apps are safe. It then explains the step-by-step process for implementing the three different types of SAP Fiori apps: transactional, fact sheet, and analytical. Next, it devotes a chapter to creating OData services in SAP Gateway, which is required in all implementations for the front-end of SAP Fiori to communicate with the back-end of SAP.

Part II includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 3: SAP Fiori Security
  It’s important to understand the various security mechanisms that can be put in place to prevent the unauthorized and unauthenticated use of SAP Fiori apps. In this chapter, we look at securing the app communication channels and security measures for encryption. We then delve into single sign-on and authenticating app users. Finally, we provide an overview of how to manage users and authorize access.
• Chapter 4: Implementing Transactional Apps
  In this first app implementation chapter, we begin by looking at how to implement transactional apps, including activating the SAPUI5 component and OData services. Next, we dive into the ABAP front-end and back-end roles before running the app. We end the chapter with a discussion of creating custom business catalogs and roles.
• Chapter 5: Implementing Fact Sheet Apps
  Many ABAP front-end tasks are shared between transactional and fact sheet apps. Chapter 5 focuses on the specific fact sheet app implementation steps that must be completed, including creating search connectors manually and automatically and indexing the search connectors.
• Chapter 6: Implementing Analytical Apps
  There are two types of analytical apps: typical analytical apps and analytical apps enabled via the SAP Smart Business modeler. Chapter 6 begins by spelling out the necessary implementation prerequisites before diving deep into the tasks necessary to implement both analytical app types.
• Chapter 7: Creating OData Services with SAP Gateway
  SAP Gateway OData services are required to connect SAP Fiori to the SAP back-end system. Chapter 7 offers instructions for how to create OData services. You will use the steps presented here to create OData services when creating SAP Fiori apps in Part III.

Part III, Custom Development and Extension, is devoted to the development tasks related to SAP Fiori, which fall into two categories: new app creation and customization (extension). Both tasks are discussed for each of the three types of SAP Fiori apps. Then, we move on to other important topics that fall under a developer’s purview: workflow and integration with other SAP products.

Part III includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 8: Introduction to SAP Web IDE
  SAP Web IDE is the environment used to create and extend transactional, fact sheet, and analytical apps. Chapter 8 begins with an overview of the SAP Web IDE environment, including its architecture and advantages, then transitions to the steps for setting up the SAP Web IDE with SAP Cloud Platform. We conclude the chapter by walking through the development process itself, from creation to deployment.
• Chapter 9: Creating and Extending Transactional Apps
  SAP Fiori apps can be created from scratch, or you can extend existing apps. In Chapter 9, we look at how to create and extend transactional apps—from creating a new project using a template to extending the UI layer.
• Chapter 10: Creating and Extending Fact Sheet Apps
  In Chapter 10, we discuss how to enable the SAP Web IDE fact sheet editor app, which is necessary for the creation and extension process. We will then look at everything from creating the UI layer to extending an existing search model.
• Chapter 11: Creating and Extending Analytical Apps
  Analytical apps are developed on query views from SAP HANA Live. Chapter 11 presents an overview of SAP HANA Live, then moves on to the steps to create and extend our example analytical app.
• Chapter 12: Workflow and SAP Fiori
  The most common modifications to SAP Fiori apps involve modifying their workflow. Accordingly, Chapter 12 provides an overview of SAP Business Workflow. In addition, we discuss how and when to create a custom workflow, with an example based on the My Inbox app.
• Chapter 13: Integration with Other SAP Products
  SAP Fiori apps can be integrated with other SAP products. In Chapter 13, we look at how these apps can be integrated with SAP Jam, SAP BusinessObjects Lumira, and SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio.
• Chapter 14: Introduction to SAP Screen Personas
  Chapter 14 introduces the SAP Screen Personas solution. We’ll also explain how SAP Screen Personas allows you to transform classic SAP screens into SAP Fiori-inspired designs.

The book then concludes with two appendices on SAP Fiori Client and customizing SAP Fiori launchpad:

• Appendix A: SAP Fiori Client
  Appendix A provides a brief introduction to SAP Fiori Client, a native SAP Fiori app for iOS and Android. Information found here includes download and login steps, as well as an overview of SAP Fiori Client functions.
• Appendix B: Customizing SAP Fiori Launchpad
  SAP Fiori launchpad provides a platform for accessing all SAP Fiori apps. Using the UI Theme Designer, you can customize SAP Fiori launchpad to your liking. In Appendix B, we walk through how to do so, as well as how to create a custom SAP Fiori launchpad theme.

Our hope is that this book will provide an understanding of the steps involved in installing, implementing, developing, and integrating SAP Fiori apps based on your business requirements.