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Author's profile photo Former Member
Former Member
August 12, 2013 Less than a 1 minute read

Strategies for Filling Whitespace: Process First or Data First?

I posted this article today on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danwoods/2013/08/12/why-data-first-development-rapidly-fills-application-whitespace/

I argue that we should build on what users do to solve their own problems, that is use spreadsheets as a start and build from there. This data first approach is very natural, although at scale it leads to a mess.

In the article I compare it to the process first approach that was advocated by the BPX community. This approach requires a talented designer.

I would love to get some ideas about ways that large SAP shops are filling whitespace with application development techniques that are data first.

One other question: What parts of the BOBJ portfolio could play a role?

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      Author's profile photo Fred Verheul
      Fred Verheul

      Hi Dan,

      First: thanks for linking to your interesting article, since with Forbes becoming more and more of a marketing channel for SAP (Advoice) I really don't follow it anymore.

      I will have to think about it some more (and maybe I should've done that before chiming in here 🙂 ), but on a first reading I want to make 2 observations:

      1. Where you advocate an agile approach, as a way to close the gap between Business and IT, I'd say: start even earlier with the joint (Business & IT) approach by applying Design Thinking (which is at its heart a multidisciplinary problem solving approach). Sounds like an ideal fit to me.

      3. ... I compare it to the process first approach that was advocated by the BPX community. This approach requires a talented designer

      I do hope you don't want to suggest that a data-driven approach is somehow simpler, easier to do well than a process first approach?? It's for a reason the new profession/job title of "data scientist" is very hot at the moment, and though I don't really like the term (these people certainly are not scientists), the implication that this is hard stuff is right on IMHO.

      So far for now. I hope to follow up later.

      Cheers, Fred

      Author's profile photo Former Member
      Former Member

      Thanks for the link to the article, for me as a SAP Beginner this was very interesting to read