This blog post is applicable to both SAP S/4HANA on-premise and SAP S/4HANA, private cloud edition.
Creating your own custom business roles is an essential skill for any team deploying SAP S/4HANA or just looking to drive more value from your existing SAP S/4HANA system.
Latest Updates:
SAP delivers more than 500 business roles based on real-world jobs, with all relevant SAP Fiori apps and classic UIs available as SAP Fiori launchpad content. Most organizations will want to tailor the delivered business roles to your own needs. For example:
The good news is SAP Fiori implementation tools and accelerators for SAP S/4HANA keep getting better and better. The latest improvements in SAP S/4HANA 2020 FPS01 and higher make crafting your custom business roles easy.
You can now access an end-to-end video playlist showing you how to craft your own custom business roles using the latest tools and accelerators at openSAP microlearning. Keep reading to find a summary of the process, the related videos and what they cover.
So now the hardest part of crafting your own business roles is just deciding what you want to use!
There are 2 approaches:
You will find an overview diagram for each scenario and the related videos.
Overview of the Basic Scenario:
In Refining Business Roles with SAP Fiori Launchpad Content Manager [11:47]
You will learn:
In Activating SAP Fiori Content in Custom Business Roles [11:59]
You will learn:
New option: Alternatively you can activate business catalogs en masse. Business catalogs are the sub-level of a role. This is useful where you need to segregate duties or you want to grow a business role over time, i.e. add a new business catalog with the new apps you are introducing. Refer to SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA – Activating Apps by Business Catalog
In Creating SAP Fiori launchpad layouts for custom business roles [12:00]
You will learn:
The Advanced Scenario extends the Basic Scenario with one additional pre-step.
For example, you can create new launchpad content by:
In addition to the Basic Scenario, the following microlearnings are recommended.
Creating Launchpad Content with the SAP Fiori Launchpad App Manager [12:00]
You will learn:
IMPORTANT: From SAP S/4HANA 2022, the Launchpad App Manager now has an Adaptation Mode so that simple title/icon/keyword etc. changes can be made directly on SAP delivered technical catalogs. This significantly reduces the need to copy tiles/target mappings to custom technical catalogs, which in turn reduces the overall effort of creating custom business roles. Refer to: SAP Fiori Launchpad: New Fast and Easy Option to Adapt SAP-delivered Launchpad Content (for On-Premi...
Adapting the UI of List Report Apps [10:59]
You will learn:
You might also like to look at these videos.
Personalizing SAP Fiori Launchpad Basics
How to Search for a SAP GUI Transaction in SAP Fiori
Using Enterprise Search for Reporting in SAP Fiori
Using Default Values and Variants in SAP Fiori Apps
Creating Bookmarks in SAP Fiori Launchpad
In Finding Available SAP Fiori Apps you learn how to find available SAP Business Roles and their apps for your SAP S/4HANA release.
You will also find microlearnings on SAP S/4HANA line of business areas including Finance, Manufacturing, Service, Sourcing & Procurement, and Supply Chain
Activating Fiori Apps Via Rapid Activation shows how to rapidly activate SAP Business Roles for exploration using the Rapid Activation task list SAP_FIORI_CONTENT_ACTIVATION
How to Patch SAP Fiori (SAPUI5) and Why helps you avoid rediscovering known and already resolved issues by patching your SAPUI5 version to the latest releases
You will also find microlearnings on SAP S/4HANA for Technology Topics and Cross Topics (such as Predictive Scenarios).
You can find more microlearnings in the SAP S/4HANA User Experience Playlist.
If you have ideas for more microlearnings you would like to see – please let us know!
If you want to delve deeper into business roles, you might like to refer to the blog series: Understanding SAP Business Roles.
You can find more announcements about the latest SAP Fiori features in SAP S/4HANA 2020 SP01 in Check out the improvements in SAP Fiori launchpad content administration and operations with SP01 of...
You can also find out more about SAP User Experience and Design in 3 Tips to Stay Informed About User Experience & Design Topics at SAP
Creating your own custom business roles is an essential skill for any team deploying SAP S/4HANA or just looking to drive more value from your existing SAP S/4HANA system.
Latest Updates:
- November 2023 - It is now possible to activate business catalogs en masse. Business catalogs are the sub-level of a role. This is useful where you need to segregate duties or you want to grow a business role over time, i.e. add a new business catalog with the new apps you are introducing. Available for releases SAP S/4HANA 1909 and higher. Refer to SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA – Activating Apps by Business Catalog
- January 2022 - From SAP S/4HANA 2022, the Launchpad App Manager now has an Adaptation Mode so that simple title/icon/keyword etc. changes can be made directly on SAP delivered technical catalogs. This significantly reduces the need to copy tiles/target mappings to custom technical catalogs, which in turn reduces the overall effort of creating custom business roles. Refer to: SAP Fiori Launchpad: New Fast and Easy Option to Adapt SAP-delivered Launchpad Content (for On-Premi...
SAP delivers more than 500 business roles based on real-world jobs, with all relevant SAP Fiori apps and classic UIs available as SAP Fiori launchpad content. Most organizations will want to tailor the delivered business roles to your own needs. For example:
- To focus attention on your preferred apps/UIs that best suit your processes
- To pace the change from older classic UIs to new SAP Fiori apps over time
- To reduce the content to something more manageable for your users
- Some SAP Business Roles such as General Ledger Accountant and Purchaser already deliver a choice of over 150 apps and UIs!
- To add your own custom content, such as new custom apps, navigation to Cloud apps, or custom classic UIs inherited during system conversion from SAP Business Suite
The good news is SAP Fiori implementation tools and accelerators for SAP S/4HANA keep getting better and better. The latest improvements in SAP S/4HANA 2020 FPS01 and higher make crafting your custom business roles easy.
You can now access an end-to-end video playlist showing you how to craft your own custom business roles using the latest tools and accelerators at openSAP microlearning. Keep reading to find a summary of the process, the related videos and what they cover.
So now the hardest part of crafting your own business roles is just deciding what you want to use!
The Process for Creating Custom Business Roles
There are 2 approaches:
- Basic Scenario – Use SAP content as delivered
- You want to refine your custom business role from the SAP delivered launchpad content
- Advanced Scenario – Adapt SAP Template content and add your own content
- You want to add your own custom content (or override existing SAP content) into your custom business role, alongside the content delivered from SAP
- The advanced scenario extends the basic scenario
You will find an overview diagram for each scenario and the related videos.
Basic Scenario: Use SAP delivered content only to create your custom business roles
Overview of the Basic Scenario:
- Gather content into reusable business catalogs
- This includes activating your desired content, if needed
- Define the basic layout structure for the role
- Assign business catalogs to roles
- Organize content into your desired layout
Basic Scenario for creating a custom business role and the related tools
In Refining Business Roles with SAP Fiori Launchpad Content Manager [11:47]
You will learn:
- Prerequisites for using the SAP Fiori launchpad content manager
- How to copy a SAP Business Role to your own custom business role
- How to remove unwanted content and layouts from your custom business role
- How to test your role using a test user
In Activating SAP Fiori Content in Custom Business Roles [11:59]
You will learn:
- How to recognize activation issues in the launchpad
- How to check if your custom business roles need to be activated
- How to mass activate the content in your custom business role using the task list SAP_FIORI_FCM_CONTENT_ACTIVATION
New option: Alternatively you can activate business catalogs en masse. Business catalogs are the sub-level of a role. This is useful where you need to segregate duties or you want to grow a business role over time, i.e. add a new business catalog with the new apps you are introducing. Refer to SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA – Activating Apps by Business Catalog
In Creating SAP Fiori launchpad layouts for custom business roles [12:00]
You will learn:
- Understanding launchpad content vs layouts
- Prerequisites for spaces and pages
- How to create layouts using SAP Fiori apps Manage Launchpad Spaces and Manage Launchpad Pages
- How to assign the layout to your custom busines role
- How to adjust layouts
Advanced scenario: Add your own launchpad content and/or override SAP delivered content with your adaptations or extensions
The Advanced Scenario extends the Basic Scenario with one additional pre-step.
- Add your own content and/or override SAP content settings
- Gather content into reusable business catalogs
- This includes activating your desired content, if needed
- Define the basic layout structure for the role
- Assign business catalogs to roles
- Organize content into your desired layout
Advanced Scenario for creating custom business roles and related tools
For example, you can create new launchpad content by:
- creating App Variants of existing apps using Adapt UI
- creating new KPIs using SAP Fiori apps Manage KPIs and Reports
- add SAP Screen Personas flavors to classic GUI transactions and WebDynpro ABAP applications
- adding your own custom Fiori apps
- adding your inherited custom classic UIs, such as Z transactions
- adding URL tiles and links
- overriding texts and icons of SAP delivered content
In addition to the Basic Scenario, the following microlearnings are recommended.
Creating Launchpad Content with the SAP Fiori Launchpad App Manager [12:00]
You will learn:
- Understand how launchpad content is added to a business role
- Prerequisites for launchpad app manager
- How to create a custom technical catalog
- How to add content to your technical catalog
- How to copy content from other technical catalogs
- How to reference technical catalog content to your custom business catalog which is assigned to your custom business role
IMPORTANT: From SAP S/4HANA 2022, the Launchpad App Manager now has an Adaptation Mode so that simple title/icon/keyword etc. changes can be made directly on SAP delivered technical catalogs. This significantly reduces the need to copy tiles/target mappings to custom technical catalogs, which in turn reduces the overall effort of creating custom business roles. Refer to: SAP Fiori Launchpad: New Fast and Easy Option to Adapt SAP-delivered Launchpad Content (for On-Premi...
Adapting the UI of List Report Apps [10:59]
You will learn:
- How to use Adapt UI to adjust SAP delivered content
- How to save your adaptations as an App Variant
- You can assign this content as new launchpad content in your custom business role
Even more useful microlearnings available now for SAP S/4HANA
You might also like to look at these videos.
For your business users
Personalizing SAP Fiori Launchpad Basics
How to Search for a SAP GUI Transaction in SAP Fiori
Using Enterprise Search for Reporting in SAP Fiori
Using Default Values and Variants in SAP Fiori Apps
Creating Bookmarks in SAP Fiori Launchpad
For your functional team
In Finding Available SAP Fiori Apps you learn how to find available SAP Business Roles and their apps for your SAP S/4HANA release.
You will also find microlearnings on SAP S/4HANA line of business areas including Finance, Manufacturing, Service, Sourcing & Procurement, and Supply Chain
For your technical team
Activating Fiori Apps Via Rapid Activation shows how to rapidly activate SAP Business Roles for exploration using the Rapid Activation task list SAP_FIORI_CONTENT_ACTIVATION
How to Patch SAP Fiori (SAPUI5) and Why helps you avoid rediscovering known and already resolved issues by patching your SAPUI5 version to the latest releases
You will also find microlearnings on SAP S/4HANA for Technology Topics and Cross Topics (such as Predictive Scenarios).
Becoming a SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA guru
You can find more microlearnings in the SAP S/4HANA User Experience Playlist.
If you have ideas for more microlearnings you would like to see – please let us know!
If you want to delve deeper into business roles, you might like to refer to the blog series: Understanding SAP Business Roles.
You can find more announcements about the latest SAP Fiori features in SAP S/4HANA 2020 SP01 in Check out the improvements in SAP Fiori launchpad content administration and operations with SP01 of...
You can also find out more about SAP User Experience and Design in 3 Tips to Stay Informed About User Experience & Design Topics at SAP
You’ll find much more on the community topic page for SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA
Other helpful links in the SAP Community:
- Follow our tag SAP S/4HANA RIG for more from the SAP S/4HANA Customer Care and RIG
- See all questions and answers about SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA
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