A first: non-technical hands-on workshops at SAP TechEd && d-code

[fred_verheul]

Intro && location

In November I'll attend my umpteenth sapteched conference in Berlin. And I consider myself lucky that I've always been able to go, as saptd (as the right hashtag is nowadays) is the best way to learn new stuff and connect with other developers.

New at SAP TechEd && d-code

This year, as maria.squicciarini has already pointed out, there are lots of cool new elements to the conference. One particularity that has so far undeservedly not gotten much attention, is the fact that for the first time in sapteched history there will be non-technical hands-on workshops. Yes, that's correct, there will be hands-on workshops that won't use the laptops!

So how can that be, at a technical conference? Well, I'm sure by now you will have heard of this new focus of SAP on end user experience: creating solutions that help the end user in his/her work. Of course that's something we (as developers in the SAP ecosystem) should always have been doing, but somehow for the last 20 odd years features seemed more important.

But recently SAP has embraced a more design oriented approach to software development, as can be seen from the focus on designthinking, the new Fiori UX apps, and the formation of a dedicated SAP Design Services team.

And it's from that last team, that these non-technical hands-on workshops are coming.

Drumroll please... UXP160 and UXP260

If you're a developer who cares about the end users of your software and who looks beyond the technical challenges that software development in the SAP ecosystem brings with it, and if you want to design truly beautiful applications, these 2 sessions will definitely add value for you! From the Agenda Builder:

UXP160

UXP160 Building New Applications with Great User Experience Using Design Thinking

Following the design thinking methodology, learn how to build better software for your users. Understand what your users really need, brainstorm on possible solutions, and create concrete first prototypes. The moderators guide you through the complete process and share a lot of best practices and lessons learned.

UXP260

UXP260 How to Create a Roadmap Leading to Delightful User Experience Design

This session conveys tools and activities to put the SAP user experience (UX) strategy into action. Participants learn the different elements of design and why an end-user engagement strategy is important to creating an engaging user experience. Leave this session with a set of action items to start creating a UX road map for your enterprise IT.

I'm very happy to be a sidekick for the second session. Though the presenters, heike.vangeel and marion.froehlich have not yet disclosed the content of the session to me they absolutely know what they're talking about, so I'm sure it's gonna be a great session!

My plan for SAP TechEd && d-code

Apart from these less technical sessions I've decided to focus on SAP NetWeaver Gateway sessions this year. As a backend developer I'm naturally interested in everything related to ABAP 7.40, ABAP on HANA, ABAP Development Tools, SAP NetWeaver Gateway, HANA XS, Decision Service Management, and a lot more. However, thanks to the free trials on offer via the Cloud Appliance Library and the different SAPCodeJam events that take place nowadays saptd no longer offers the only opportunity to get hands on experience with the shiny new stuff.

Actually this week (Thu Oct 23rd) I have attended an SAPCodeJam event focused on ABAP on HANA, which means I don't have to reserve time/sessions for it at saptd. So in general my plan for saptd is to focus on the stuff that I can't access otherwise.

Of course, as an sapmentor there are other things to attend. New this year are the lunch tables featuring interesting themes for informal discussion and of course lunch, most of them hosted by sapmentors. Furthermore, at the end of each day we'll have Birds of a Feather sessions, again for informal discussion. These are from 17.30 till 18.30. I'll host one on Wednesday about MOOCs in general and about openSAP in particular. Everyone is invited!

Advice for first-timers (and everyone else)

There is so much to do in these 3 days: you can't do it all even if you'd be able to clone yourself (which apart from tammy.powlas nobody has ever succeeded in doing). So don't even try! Select a few must-attend sessions, and be prepared to just go with the flow. Remember: afterwards you'll have the chance to do the hands-on exercises with the Virtual Hands On Workshop days. And a lot of lectures will be recorded for easy consumption once you're back home.

What you can't do back home however is meet other participants,  and engage with your peers. saptd is the real life equivalent of the online SCN community. It's the one place (and time of the year) where you can meet the people you see all year around on SCN. Make sure you have time in your schedule for it!

Hope to see and meet all of you in Berlin!

P.S. Between the writing and the publication of this blog post jochen.guertler from the Design Services Team has invited us all to Berlin with a more complete overview of what his team has to offer. Be sure to check it out!