SAP Screen Personas 3.0
SAP Screen Personas 3.0 Design Handbook
Knowledge Base Article - Updated on July 18, 2017
Purpose and Scope
Increasingly, companies are focusing on the user experience of their enterprise software. SAP Screen Personas provides you a complete control
over how their business users interact with SAP on their desktop. The purpose of this handbook is to provide a “cookbook” to deliver a successful
SAP Screen Personas project.
Target Audience
- Design Professionals
- Project Management
- Developers
- Customers
- Partners
- Consultants
Introduction
SAP Screen Personas allows companies to improve user productivity through personalization of their SAP ERP screens. By providing the right information to the right users in the right context, they can get more done in less time with greater accuracy. With more intuitive SAP screens, organizations can enhance user satisfaction, minimize training time, and spend less money on screen modifications.
Delivering a good user experience does not only rely on technology. You need to:
- Understand the needs of PEOPLE
- Know the BUSINESS value
- Use flexible SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGY
- Follow user-Centric PROCESSES
While SAP is known for its extensive functionality and fast performance, many organizations are placing intuitive user experience at the same level of importance for
evaluating new software purchases. Personas allows SAP to empower its customers with an extensive do-it-yourself tool kit to:
- Improve end user’s productivity and satisfaction
- Save costs on training and technical support by simplifying UIs and business processes
- Provide systems that can be used by all employees and not just business experts
Design thinking methodology allows you to successfully execute a Personas project. The dates that are given are estimates on how you should plan a project.
Depending on the complexity of the transaction and what you are planning to do with it, the whole process can be shorter or longer. Make sure you obtain feedback
early and often to ensure alignment with the business objectives, increasing the probability of success of the project.
Example flow chart
How to use this document
- Start with the Business Users and Qualification Questionnaire
Follow the steps in the Process Overview
Maintain close communication with the customer throughout the project to ensure alignment on the objectives
Qualification
Questionnaire
Before starting the project, you must qualify the business owner and ensure that they have the right people, process, and technology in place to support a
Personas project.
Discuss the following issues with your Business owner BEFORE starting the project.
People
Have you identified the following roles, all of which are important for a successful project:
Executive sponsor
Business process expert
People familiar with SAP transactions that will be modified
Person with design skills, preferably with software user experience skills
Person with skills in using SAP Screen Personas (training can be part of the project)
Basis person to install and configure Personas add-on, update kernel as needed, address security issues
End-users (people that actually use the transactions in their daily work) to participate in interviews and design reviews.
Can you ensure that the personnel responsible for these areas will be readily available to assist during the project? End user involvement is critical to the success of the project because of the knowledge they possess on the business process.
Process
- What metrics will you track before and after to measure the success of the project?
For example: Number of steps it takes to complete a process
Time for the whole process
List the intended application areas and the potential use cases you would like to target during the Personas project.
Which SAP transaction codes are associated with these use cases?
Which specific use cases (transactions) do you have in mind for Personas and what is the planned time frame?
What is the approximate number of users targeted for your transaction?
Technology (IT Environment)
- Do you meet the Software Requirements listed for the service?
- Do you have the necessary know-how in-house to properly install, configure and administer the add-on?
- Do you need help from SAP with Personas or systems administration / tuning / installation?
- Can you provide remote connection to SAP to verify backend prerequisites (via OSS)?
- Do you have a well-defined security structure in your current environment, where existing SAP user roles correctly define the distinct user groups for which Personas customization will be used?
- Are you currently using the WebGUI to access ECC transactions? If yes, are there any performance concerns?
Design
- Do you already have an established theme concept, available branding elements, colors and other resources available to be used in Personas custom views? (e.g. Corporate branding and style guidelines)
- Have you already performed user experience research with your business users?
Timeline
Will the software be installed so it is ready for the start of the project?
Will you be able to make end-users available for user research, design iterations, validation and testing?
If productive deployment is planned, what is the project start and go-live date?
SAP Screen Personas Environment
Make sure you have all the appropriate SAP Screen Personas documentation.
- Installation and configuration guide
- System administration guide
- User guide
- Performance Optimization Guide
Process Overview
The following diagram shows a rough outline of what steps are performed at each phase of the project.
Preliminary Steps | Project Execution | Wrap-Up |
|---|---|---|
Project Setup Scoping the Project Technical Enablement Landscape Check | Installation Configuration Discover Design Develop | User Feedback QA/Testing Final Delivery/Handover |
Preliminary Steps
Scoping the project
- Review agenda, set expectations, discuss logistics
Scoping the project
- Discuss use cases with business owners
- What is the business problem they want to solve with Personas?
- How many scenarios do they want to work on? Which ones?
- Do they want training?
- Feasibility check (today this is a manual check with PSO or Imagineering, it should also include functional experts to validate the business scenario)
- Effort estimation by functional expert and Personas expert / developer.
Technical Enablement
- Do all realization team members have the proper training in SAP Screen Personas?
- Set proper expectations on what can be done with Personas and how easy it is to use
Landscape Check
- Verify that the customer’s IT environment can accommodate Personas. Verify SAP version, kernel level, patch level, and hardware sizing.
Project Execution
Installation and Configuration
- Install and configure Personas
- Validate installation and configuration to ensure ongoing optimal performance. (MANDATORY)
- Make sure that if issues arise, you can provide remote and direct system access to the SAP support team
Discover
- Analyze the business process, the process steps, and the single tasks, which an end user needs to conduct in order to complete a process. This step focuses heavily on interacting with end users of the transactions.
Design
- In the Design Phase create preliminary prototypes of data flow and validate them with business and technical experts. This is a highly iterative process between business process owners and the SAP Screen Personas designer.
Develop
- In the Deliver Phase the actual Personas screen is developed.
Wrap-up
User Feedback
- In this step, we meet with the business users to validate that the Personas transaction that addresses their needs.
QA/Testing
- Prior to the project completion and handoff, we extensively test all the functionality in the prototype to ensure that it works as planned.
Final Delivery/Handover
- This is the final meeting in which we review the project goals, demonstrate the Personas proof-of-concept, and discuss the business value.
Process Steps
This section provides more detail on the individual steps that should be part of the POC, along with an approximate time line.
These are all suggestions on how to run a Personas Project
Task | Activities | Deliverables | |
|---|---|---|---|
Preliminary Steps | Project Setup | Agenda, Overview, Expectations and Logistics | |
Kick off Workshop | Introduce of project team; discuss project approach and timeline | ||
Landscape check | Check technical requirements for backend and frontend; determine necessary actions | Checklist with finding and instructions | |
Installation, Configuration, Enablement | Support add on installation; configure of SAP Screen Personas; Introduce features of SAP Screen Personas | Configuration documentation | |
Project Execution | "Discover" | Analyze use case to optimize using end user interviews; analyze and visualize findings; review with end users | Process flow |
"Design" | Create preliminary prototypes and validate them with customer’s SAP business and technical experts | Validated Wireframes | |
"Deliver" | Implement the new designed screens in the SAP Screen Personas Tool | SAP Screen Personas Prototype | |
Wrap-up | User Feedback | Gather feedback | |
| QA/Testing | Ensure that everything works as expected | SAP Screen Personas Prototype | |
| Final presentation | Present the project results | Project Result Documentation | |
** All the above are suggestions. For simple transactions the whole process could be less, and some more complicated can take longer.
Project Scoping
Define roles and responsibilities
Team Roles The team may include: business users, business analysts, IT professionals. The actual team members may assume multiple roles listed below (e.g. a design resource may perform user research, interaction design and visual design) |
· Project Owner/Manager – Oversees the progress of the research and design phases. Assists with research activities. Helps the team communicate risks with certain design approaches and escalate limitations that effect the User Experience significantly · User Researcher / Design Thinking - Leads any user research and Design Thinking workshop activities collecting data for the team and validates concepts with users. · Interaction Designer – Participates in all user research and design thinking workshops establishing requirements. Communicates interactive versions of the designs so that they can be assessed. Evaluates what is being built throughout the process. · Visual Designer– Creates the actual look and feel and a visual hierarchy that directs users’ attention to what is important. Helps to guide the user through their experience · UX developers / SAP Screen Personas experts · Business process experts
· End users
· UX developers |
What you need to check |
· Obtain SAP Screen Personas software · Provide the IT infrastructure (server) · Provide fixed contact people in the business and IT departments · Complete action list from landscape check · Install the SAP Screen Personas application on the system · Attend enablement workshop · Delegate end users for interview · Review interview findings · Validate prototype design |
Technical Enablement
Responsible: IT
Landscape check
Analyze the prerequisites of the landscape
Check that remote access is available
Check backend and frontend prerequisites
Check designated backend transaction and test data
Ensure the system landscape (including configuration and data) of which the SAP Screen Personas screens will be built upon will be the comparable to the productive environment.
Output: Checklist with finding and instructions
Follow the steps in the SAP Screen Personas Installation and Configuration Guide.
Installation Support & Configuration
Install and customize the Add-On
Support from basis team during installation
Check installation
Provide necessary customizing for SAP Screen Personas Add-On
Output: Configuration guide with screenshots from basic settings in customer system
Follow the steps in the SAP Screen Personas Installation and Configuration Guide.
Gate: Move forward only if installation and configuration are validated and customer infrastructure is sized sufficiently to deliver proper performance.
Discover
**The following are suggestions on how you might approach a SAP Screen Personas Project**
Responsible: Designers/Business Owners
After the SAP Personas system is installed and configured, the “Discover”, “Design”, “Deliver” phases start. These three phases follow the Design Thinking methodology, aiming to deliver designs that optimize the user experiences.
Discover Phase
The goal of the Discover Phase is to analyze the business process, the process steps and the tasks for an end-user to complete a process. Through end-user interviews and observations, the design team gets a complete picture of issues and potential pain points in this process.
Ideal Staffing and End-User Research Conditions:
Two user researchers (one interviewer and one note/artifact taker)
Conducting interviews on-site with end-users in their typical work environment.
Record user sessions through remote conferencing software (e.g. SAP Connect – internet access required on-site)
Alternative Conditions:
Can conduct some initial user interviews with subject matter experts and select end-users remotely with balance of end-user interviews on-site.
Key Tasks:
Scheduling of interviews, 5 end-user interviews are recommended per use case (good sample size)
Conduct user research through individual end user observations or end user interviews
Understand what fields and buttons are needed and not needed. What are primary/secondary focus items for the user?
What is the workflow users are following while performing their tasks? Identify repetitive activities, fields where fixed or easily pre-determined values are entered, navigation steps that can be automated etc.
Analyze and visualize interview findings and review them with the end users
Output: User Journey Map (outline end-user’s task flow and highlighting end-user’s current pain points)
Information Flow (visualize the screen elements used by the end-user currently)
Design
Responsible: Designers/Business Owners
Design Phase
In the Design Phase the design team creates preliminary designs and check technical feasibility with technical experts.
Designers work with business users to determine a preferred design approach from the following:
Target Design Approach – design team will deliver the ideal design for best user experience
Feasible Design Approach – design team will deliver a design based on standard SAP Personas capabilities.
Each design approach has its advantage and should be determined based on the customer’s requirements.
Designers create preliminary designs and check technical feasibility with technical experts
Team and business users iterate on designed solution
If there is custom-code, special attention needs to be paid to it
Sign-off on designs: Ideally, the end-users that participated in the interviews also participate in the design reviews to provide feedback on the designs. Key stakeholders are responsible for the final sign-off.
Output:
Output should be clickable mockups, data flow and other materials that will convey the Screen Personas Screens.
Wireframes, Documentation and Visual Design – A wireframe is a visual guide that represents a skeletal framework of the screens. Visual Design; Make sure to include pixel details in the visual design and placement details of all the UI elements
Deliver
Responsible: Project Team
In the Deliver Phase, the actual Personas screens are developed.
project team implements the agreed design proposal in SAP Screen Personas
business users validates implementation
Instructions on how to build screen in Personas is covered in the SAP Screen Personas User Guide.
To ensure satisfactory performance on the screens you build during the project, follow the guidelines outlined in the SAP Screen Personas Performance Optimization Guide.
The end-user journey map is reviewed with the stakeholders (and ideally the same end-users who participated in the interviews). A demo of the prototype is given to the review participants and a before and after analysis is presented.
Output: SAP Screen Personas project results, technical documentation, design artifacts (journey map, visual designs, before and after comparison).
Gate: Move forward only if there is agreement from Business users and the Personas design will make their life significantly easier by delivering productivity improvements on the defined use cases. (Design validation)
User Feedback
Responsible: SAP Screen Personas Project Team
In the User Feedback phase, the design and project team will conduct usability test with the business end-users, observing how users are using the newly developed solutions, and collect key metrics of user satisfaction.
QA and Testing
Responsible: SAP Screen Personas Project Team
- Ensure all test cases are captured during the design/development phase. Ask the functional subject matter experts to define / prepare these test scenarios and to provide suitable data to run them.
Ensure all possible test cases are tested by the customer and approved. These should first be tested by subject matter experts and as a follow-up, by end users to make sure they cover typical use scenarios and possible error situations.
If there were defects encountered, ensure the defect resolution is captured and the test cases are retested. Follow up that test iteration results are sufficiently documented (for instance in a spreadsheet or similar). This should contain for instance: the test case description, expected and actual results, test date/time, indication of pass or fail, any experienced issues and the recommended resolution.
Designate individual test users representing any distinct user groups to make sure that customized transactions will work correctly with the planned security concept and authorization settings.
Gate: move forward only if everything on the screen consistently works as expected. Performance should meet customer expectations. (Implementation validation)
Final Delivery and Handover
Responsible: SAP Screen Personas Project Team
Ensure all agreed upon deliverables are complete and handed over to the customer, along with any necessary documentation
Conduct knowledge transfer to the appropriate customer resources regarding the completed test cases and the solution
Ensure the customer has reviewed and approved the deliverables
Get sign-off from responsible subject matter experts indicating that each test case is complete and executed without errors
.Journey map
Visual designs
Before and after scenario comparison
Testimonial/reference from select end-users and/or key stakeholders
Final sign-off by key stakeholders
Appendix
Here is an example of a potential document that you could use to document the process:
Requirements Document for a Flavor
1 Overivew
People Involved
- Project responsible owner:
- Process Expert User deparmtment:
- Development:
2 Business use case for the flavor
- Transaction Code:
- SAP System:
3 Screen Elements that will be kept on all the screens ( marked yellow)
4 Mock up the desired screen element structure
5 Actual/Target situation
In the column “In SAP ERP System” with key notes and screenshots the process of the user. Use column “In Screen Personas” to describe the process, how it should be in Personas.
| Pos | SAP ERP System | In Peronas |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call Transaction | Press Button |
| 2 | Select Notification Type
System reneders the initial screen and user fills in the notification type The user clicks on the button to reach the next screen | Hide Screen for Notification Selection
Preseelct Notification Type, and press automatically enter on keyboard to go to the data entry screen |
| 3 | Enter Report Date
| You will only have one Tab:
Hide all the other tabs |
| 3 | Detail Scripting Buttons | Describe all the scripting buttons on the screen
Save Notification - Saves the Notification Save Notification + Create&Release PM Order - Creates a Notification, it takes care off all the dialog box and pre-fills all the data
|
| 4 | Detail other changes on the screen | describe all the changes on the screen |
6 New Screen Element
Insert all new screen elements, which have to be created. These elements are not available in the original transaction.
| Pos | Screen Element Type | Name | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Button | Create Report | on SMEN screen |
| 2 | Button | Save Notification | |
| 3 | Button | Save + Create & Release PM Order | |
| 4 | Button | Save + CreateRelease & Print PM Order |
7 Rename Existing screen elements
Insert all screen elements which should be re-named in the following table. Please do not insert any screen elements which are not available in SAP Standard. New screen elements have to be insert in table „New Screen Elements“
| Pos | Screen Element | SAP Standard | Screen Personas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Button: Cancel | No Name | Cancel +icon |
8 Predefined values
Insert all input fields, radio buttons or checkboxes, which should have a default value(s) in the following table.
| Pos | Screen Element | Default Value (s) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Input Field: Type | M2 | This is a preset value |
9 Use Case Scenario
Create a Model of the current user process(es). It is also possible to make the models on paper, in excel or visio.
10 Scripting
Use the models to pick out the parts, which should be automated in Screen Personas and insert them in the column “SAP Standard” of the following table. Use the column “Screen Personas ” to visualize the improved process in Screen Personas. Help to describe the changes in the process with short key points.
| Pos | SAP Standard behavior | Screen personas behavior |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Input field User behavoir SAP behavioru | User Input Script behavior
|
| POS | SAP Standard Behavior | Screen Personas Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
User starts IW21 System renders the intital screen and fills the notification type User has to click on button notification to reach the next screen |  |
