Generic MiniApps (iViews)
by Udo Arend,Usability Engineering Center, SAP AG – 05/21/2001
Disclaimer: Please note that this edition was written in 2001. Therefore, statements in the articles, particularly those regarding SAP's products, product strategy, branding strategy, and organizational structure, may no longer be valid.
Role-specific portal solutions bring task-specific content to a certain user. Usually, this content fits only a few roles. But roles on the other hand have a lot in common - think at real people working in real environments. For example, there are a lot of people who want to be informed about the world news, want to know how the stocks are going, or want to know what the weather forecast says. This article examines applications that can be used by a lot of people. First, we provide a definition of the term "generic MiniApps" (which already has become obsolete and will be replaced by the term iView). Then we give a taxonomy of generic MiniApps, we show how the development process looks like, and we demonstrate some examples in the form of screenshots. The future for MiniApps looks bright - we will have hundreds of highly specialized MiniApps with very different content and meaning. Why am I so sure? MiniApps essentially are user-centered components, very easy to use. But they are hard to design because the users' needs must be known precisely. However, if we do it right, our users will like them - much more than those old fashioned and functionally complex applications.
Definition of "Generic MiniApp"
A "generic MiniApp" is a small snippet which
- is not limited to just one or a small number of roles but can be used in multiple roles
- provides an added, and easy to be described value for the user
- shows up as content on the portal screen
- consumes less screen space, thus many MiniApps can appear in parallel
- can be a starting point for a more deep and longer session
- can be instantiated and positioned in a portal page by the user
- can be personalized and adapted by the user
- belongs to a certain category, e.g. collaboration, communication, information, helper apps, etc.
"MiniApps" are accessed by the user whenever he/she needs a certain information. So they are only of interest for a short period of time but may be accessed quite often to monitor a process, for example the Mail inbox. The content of a MiniApp can be pushed or pulled, or is quite stable - whatever seems appropriate from a user's point of view.
Value of a "Miniapp"
What makes a Miniapp so valuable? Many users struggle with being overwhelmed by information they do not need, that applications provide functionality which is never been used, that users do not find information when they need it, that they forget things they want to do or should do - and want to be reminded by the system, etc. A Miniapp is just there, reduced to a minimum in content, functionality, and size. You do not have to learn how to use it, there are no curious menus neither numerous functions in it. You look at it and you know what it is for, read the information, perform a simple action, and that's it, simple and straightforward - and it can help you a lot in performing your daily work.
Categories
From our Greenfield project (autumn 2000) as well as from our recent portal projects we got plentiful ideas of what could be mimicked in a MiniApp. From that source of information, from literature and from studies, which have been performed by our external consultants, we built a simple taxonomy of MiniApps. We believe that this taxonomy covers all the fields where generic MiniApps make sense. In the following list, we name each category and provide some examples of what can be found there.
Collaborative MiniApps (Teamroom, Chat)
- Publish&Subscribe Services
- Collaboration Scenarios, Team Rooms
- Chat and Shared Applications
- Forum and Discussion Boards
- Instant Messenger
- Workflow Inbox
Figure 1: Workflow inbox
Commerce MiniApps (Internet Store)
- Shopping tools
- Auctioning, bidding
- Internet store
- Internet procurement
- Personal classification
Communicative MiniApps (Groupware)
- Lotus mail inbox, calendar, address book, contacts etc.
- Outlook mail inbox, calendar, address book, contacts (no desktop installation necessary)
- E-mail: Yahoo, Hotmail, ...
- Bulletin Board
- Telephone book
- SMS, support of mobile devices
Helper MiniApps
- Calculators (specific calculators)
- Files (my documents, virtual storage in Internet)
- Information (Notifications, Web content tracker, package locator)
- Language (Orthography check, translation)
- Tools (Display graphics from clipboard)
- Navigation (Launch collection)
- System Control (Macro recorder, frequently used apps)
- Tasks (My tasks, my projects, Outlook/Lotus tasks)
- Text (Post It's)
- Time (Timer clock)
- Universal calendar
Figure 2 and 3: Measurement converter and universal calendar
News Content (External News, External Information)
- Analyst news, market news
- Competitors news, company news, enterprise information
- Stock charts, stock portfolio
- Access to specific external information (FASB and GAAP information, accounting standards, international trade, ...)
- Industry news, general news
Figure 4: News MiniApp
Private MiniApps (Fun, Games)
- Greeting card MiniApp
- Networking game
- Game
- Photo
- Tamagochie-like animal in a MiniApp
- Calvin&Hobbes
- Dilbert
- TVToday
- Religious texts
- Horoscopes
Search MiniApps
- Federated search (different sources)
- Specialized search engines
- Address search, ZIP code search
- Company information search
Figure 5: A search MiniApp
Self Service MiniApps (Who's who)
- Create leave request
- Open trips
- Record today's working times
- Vacation leave overview
- Who's who
- Time balances
- Clock in/clock out
- Recording working times
- Get trips
Tool MiniApps (Graphics)
- Album
- Macro editor
- Survey
- Icon/symbol editor
- Draw editor
- Graphics
- Thesaurus
- Glossary (R/3)
- Sound recorder
- Quick links favorites
- Office integration MiniApp
- Demand forecast / planning
- Formula editor
- Text editor
- Notebook with alerting functionality
- eLearning
Travel MiniApps
- Route planner
- Travel planning: flight, hotel, car
- Traffic information
- Weather
- Regional information, city information
Figure 6: Driving directions MiniApp
MiniApps Accessing Other ERP Systems (Siebel, Oracle)
- Miniapps which access information and content of other ERP systems
Partner Program MiniApps
- Miniapps which come from third parties and provide added value to the portfolio
Generic MiniApps Development Process
We work on establishing a systematic and user-centered development process to identify new Miniapps, to specify them, to build and to test them, and finally to deliver them. The following steps may illustrate how this process looks like:
Step 1: Collection of MiniApps Ideas
- Send your ideas to human.factors@sap.com
- Interviews will be conducted with idea providers
- rough specification (features, functionality, data processed, ...)
Step 2: Prioritization and Decision
- Coordination team consolidates ideas
- Decision if Miniapp will be implemented
Step 3: Detailed Specification
- Portal content projects, central coordination team
- Detailed MiniApp attributes
Step 4: Dispatch development task
- Internal or external development
- Define development team
Step 5: Development Process
- Project management
- Early reviews and user testing (UEC, others)
- Final beta tests (specification fulfilled, usability checks, documentation available)
Step 6: Rollout Process
- Miniapp community pages (downloadable Miniapps)
Step 7: Maintenance
About the Future of Generic Miniapps
SAP Portals is the new company which will provide generic Miniapps (iViews). The people of SAP Portals are excited to have the opportunity to design these little components, which really put the end user in the center of concerns (and not the functionality, technology…). So, the future of generic Miniapps really looks bright, and will make you enjoy your daily work in the future much more than with the systems of the past.
