Just in time for TechEd 2010, SAP Guidelines for Best-Built Applications has hit another important milestone. The Fall 2010 edition, which includes the recently-released chapters on Information Management and Business Intelligence Tools, will be distributed to every TechEd attendee on the same memory stick that holds all the presentations (look in the root directory Best_Built_Applications_Book). Or if you're not coming to TechEd (but whyever not?!), you can download the PDF, as always. The Fall 2010 edition is also available printed and bound, for those who prefer to keep their SAP architectural guidance on the bookshelf. It's already up on Amazon.com (even though the cover image mistakenly still shows the Spring 2010 edition; that should be fixed soon, probably during TechEd Berlin).
It has now been a year since the first edition of Best-Built Applications appeared at TechEd 2009. During the last 12 months, over 125 SAP subject matter experts have engaged with the BBA team to help produce this book, and we really appreciate their dedication, their contributions, and their willingness to give guidance to SAP's partners and customers. Also, some of the SAP Mentors have been reviewing every draft chapter before public release, and their questions and comments are always superb, and sometimes pretty challenging. While Best-Built Apps is a statement from SAP of what SAP recommends, producing it has become a community project.
Many of the sessions at TechEd will demonstrate how BBA guidelines can be applied - I know of 6 but there may be even more. Here are the 6 you should certainly check out:
- ALM101 How To Optimize Your Application Lifecycle Management Processes
- CD103 Choosing the Right UI Technology for the Right Project
- CD301 Advanced Composite Patterns in SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment
- PMC113 Worldwide Ways of Workflow (ASUG session)
- PMC160 BPM for Beginners: Building Process Centric Composite Applications with SAP NetWeaver CE
- PMC360 Architecture Guidelines for Composite Applications in Practice: Loose Coupling with Events
There is no TechEd presentation dedicated to Best-Built Apps, since we would rather interact with you than present to you. The folks at the PartnerEdge pod are looking forward to answering your BBA questions, and there will be a BBA expert session in the Networking Lounge at both Berlin - on Wednesday October 13th at 14:00 - and Las Vegas - on Wednesday October 20th at 4:30pm. Please come by to talk with the core BBA team and tell us how you are using Best-Built Apps.
Speaking of how people are using Best-Built Apps, we have recently heard from a couple of customers who think that BBA is just what the doctor ordered for their large internal teams of developers of custom applications. The original target audience for BBA was ISV partners building packaged applications that extend or complement the SAP Business Suite, so we were a little surprised by the strong positive reaction from these customers. But of course customers building their own applications often have the same questions as ISVs building packaged apps. I'd love to tell you the names of these two customers - you would recognize them both instantly - but we don't have their permission (yet?).
We have already started working on the next chapters, and started planning for Best-Built Apps 2011. Can't say too much, because we're only mid-way through the planning, but you can be sure that a chapter on mobility will appear in 2011.
In short, the Best-Built Apps project is cruising at speed! Thanks for your support, because we know we couldn't do this without the support of SAP's customers, partners and community members.
