User Experience, a 2023 SAP IT Initiative

Its no secret, SAP users don’t enjoy the experience of using SAP. I’ve never been able to pinpoint exactly why users don’t enjoy it, but it seems to be more to with the complexity of configured processes than the software itself. SAP has been working on the UI experience for some time and so what can an IT team do?

SAP User Experience

According to the Gartner 2023 CIO Agenda Report, improving customer/citizen experience and improving employee experience are among the top expected outcomes of digital transformation. It’s no wonder then that user experience makes its way up the initiative priority list.

One way the IT team can support the initiative is by improving the user support experience.

Why SAP user support is often a bad experience?

There are a number of attributable factors to a bad support experience but it pretty much all boils down to the quality of the ITSM ticket.

Organisations spend hours in workshops to design the perfect support ticket, then days training users on how to complete them, why the fields are important and why it's necessary to complete them. Unfortunately, users seldom do.

Ticket quality is poor, as is the user experience.

Here is a common scenario:

• A user starts transaction FB50 to post a G/L account document. However, the system reports that the current posting period is closed, so they get an error message.
• The user contacts the ServiceDesk either by phone, email or by raising a ServiceDesk ticket.
• The ServiceDesk user then interprets the error reported to create a ServiceNow ITSM ticket.
• Being unfamiliar with the SAP system details the ticket is incorrectly completed and routed to the wrong SAP analyst team.
• The ITSM ticket bounces around for a while until the correct FICO analyst is identified.
• The analyst opens the ticket, but can’t quite understand what is going on, The description of the error is vague and there are no other details.
• A phone or email conversation begins between the analyst, service desk, and user until enough information is gained.
• Finally, the analyst works on a solution and the issue is resolved and the user can complete the posting.

This process could take several hours or several days, during which time the user error sits unresolved and the user cannot complete their task.

Improving user experience through automation.

Implementing the ITSM Connector for SAP Applications to automate ServiceNow ITSM ticketing eliminates such poor experiences.

And it's simple.

• The user opens the Create a Support Message pop-up from the SAP UI Help Menu, completes a couple of fields, and hits Submit.
• In the background, the Connector collects all the information an analyst might need to resolve the issue including system details, running programs, user authorisations, and a screenshot.
• An ITSM ticket is then automatically created, bypassing the ServiceDesk. The ticket has all its fields completed and is categorised and routed to the correct analyst.

Firstly, the user experience in submitting a ticket is much better, and secondly, the resolution is much faster. Additionally, ServiceDesk traffic is reduced and analyst time is not wasted. Altogether, a great experience for everyone involved.

For a full description of the automation process see this article