As a UX specialist in the SAP S/4HANA Regional Implementation Group, I’m privileged to work with many of our SAP S/4HANA customers. Many of these customers are looking to leverage the business benefits of SAP S/4HANA by implementing SAP Fiori at scale.
This means that there will be times on your projects when you are doing a fit-evaluation exercise and come across SAP Fiori apps and classic UIs that are very similar from a functional perspective. This similarity can be dependent on the detail of your business processes.
NOTE: By classic UIs, we mean SAP GUI for HTML transactions, Web Dynpro ABAP applications or Web Client UIs.
Classic UIs typically cover multiple use-cases in one go, whereas SAP Fiori apps are precisely fitted to roles and tasks, providing a simpler and cleaner approach.
In these cases, Feature Comparison documents can provide invaluable information on differences in capabilities. It could be that you are migrating from an SAP Business Suite to SAP S/4HANA or indeed are considering potential new SAP Fiori apps from the SAP Roadmap (e.g. Extensions for provider contracts in contract accounting – entry page, tile, pricing, CDS views, and profitability), in either case Feature Comparison Documents provide an invaluable aid to Fit-evaluation where SAP Fiori apps and UIs cover similar functionality.
What is a Feature Comparison Document?
Feature Comparison Documents provide comparisons between related / overlapping classic UIs and SAP Fiori apps in a tabular format, this enables you as to get a clear and simple understanding of what features are available in classic UIs and their successor SAP Fiori apps.
Refer to Feature Comparison for Confirming Warehouse Tasks
How does the SAP Fiori paradigm relate to SAP GUI Transactions?
Before we look at Feature Comparison Documents further, it is important to understand that SAP Fiori apps focus on a specific task for a specific business role, they are NOT a 1-1 replacement for SAP GUI for HTML transactions as shown below:
The two key takeaways from the above screenshot are:
- 1 SAP GUI Transaction maybe decomposed to n x SAP Fiori apps
- Related features of n x SAP GUI Transactions maybe recomposed to 1 x SAP Fiori app
In both cases, new innovations maybe introduced. Refer to the following:
- Recommendations for transitioning users from SAP GUI to SAP Fiori
- Transitioning from GUI to SAP Fiori: A friendly user guide
With this in mind, it is important that you have a clear understanding of what features are available for the SAP Fiori apps you are thinking of implementing and how these SAP Fiori apps compare with related classic UIs.
Is there an example of a Feature Comparison Document I can look at?
Example 1: In SD, which SAP Fiori app ‘Process Sales Orders’ or ‘Create Sales Order’ is most suitable for your business process?
Using the SAP Fiori app Process Sales Orders – F3983 , in the SAP Fiori apps library, Product Features section – if a Feature Comparison Document exists, then it will be displayed as shown below at the bottom of the page:
The Feature Comparison Document for these SAP Fiori SD apps is here Feature Comparison for Creating, Changing, and Displaying Sales Orders. Below is a screenshot of this Feature Comparison Document:
In this example, you can see that ‘’Create Sales Orders – VA01’’ has the functionality for ‘’Create sales order with reference’’, whereas “Process Sales Orders F3893’’ does not have this functionality.
Example 2: In SD, which SAP Fiori app – ‘Change Billing Documents’ or ‘Manage Billing Documents’ is most suitable for your business process?
Using the SAP Fiori app Manage Billing Documents F0797 in the SAP Fiori apps library, Product Features section – if a Feature Comparison Document exists, then it will be displayed as shown below at the bottom of the page:
The Feature Comparison Document from the above screenshot is here Feature Comparison for Managing Billing Documents. Below is a screenshot of this Feature Comparison Document:
In this example, you can see that “Manage Billing Documents F0797’’ has the functionality to “Display, sort, group, and filter all billing documents in the system” whereas the other SAP Fiori apps and SAP GUI for HTML transactions in the table do not have this functionality.
Example 3: In PM, which SAP Fiori app ‘Request Maintenance’ or ‘Create Maintenance’ is most suitable for your business process?
Using the SAP Fiori app Request Maintenance F1511, in the SAP Fiori apps library, Product Features section – if a Feature Comparison Document exists, then it will be displayed as shown below at the bottom of the page:
The Feature Comparison Document for these SAP Fiori PM apps is here Feature Comparison – Request Maintenance and Create Maintenance Request. Below is a screen shot of this Feature Comparison Document:
In this example, you can see that “Create Maintenance Request F1511A’’ has the functionality for ‘’Draft maintenance requests are available’’ whereas the other SAP Fiori app ‘’Request Maintenance F1511’’ in the table does not have this functionality.
If I cannot find a Feature Comparison Document for the SAP Fiori app I am working with, what are my options?
There will only be a feature comparison doc if there is a possibility of related functionality in classic UIs and SAP Fiori apps.
A lot of new apps provide new innovations so there is no overlap – hence no confusion. E.g., the following areas provide new innovations, as such there is no possibility of overlapping or similar functionality with classic UIs or existing SAP Fiori apps:
- Group Reporting
- Central Procurement
- Predictive MRP
- SAP Fiori apps that are part of intelligent use cases such as Advanced Compliance Reporting e.g., F2131, F1515, F5218
Of course, given there are 2,500+ SAP Fiori apps in the Fiori Apps Library, it may well be possible that there are situations where Feature Comparison Documents do not exist and there is overlapping / similar functionality.
In these cases, please ask us in the comments of this blog and we will pass onto our Product Development colleagues who will decide whether a Feature Comparison Document should be created and released to customers.
Please provide the following information in your blog comment:
- App IDs (e.g., F1234)
- Classic UI details (e.g. SAP GUI for HTML Transaction Code)
- Explain where the confusion / overlap is
Conclusion: With these guidelines you will be able to ensure the best possible implementation for your SAP Fiori landscape & thereby ensure you ensure your business can leverage the latest SAP Fiori innovations as soon as they are available – increasing productivity, user satisfaction, customer loyalty & solution adoption.
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