Archive - Edition 7: Composite Applications

back To Overview of Composite Applications Edition

Introduction

Leading and General Articles

Theoretical Foundations

Designing xApps, Examples of SAP xApps

 

SAP xApp Knowledge Network – From the Idea to the Product

By Dagmar Brozio, SAP AG & Jörg Beringer, Head of xApps Design, SAP AG – October 20, 2003

German Version

The Vision

"Nothing is as frightening as not knowing, but acting anyway" (Johann Wolfgang Goethe)

This quotation of Johann Wolfgang Goethe can also be applied to the business world. When a decision-maker's knowledge is inadequate, wrong business decisions are often the result. Although it seems hard to imagine in today's digital world where a mass of information is available within seconds, the poor transfer of knowledge is one of the biggest weakness in a company.

The lion's share of business and general knowledge is kept safely hidden away in employees' heads. Imagine this common situation: You need to work on a subject, and have to decide if you can access enough information and find enough sources to complete your task. You know that the information exists, but how do you find it? It may be buried in the depths of a data storage system, or even worse, in the minds of a few select colleagues. Now what do you do?

And so, an idea sprung to life. We wanted to implement an application that would:

Composite applications were the natural choice for the basis of the solution, because we wanted to develop and application that sits on top of existing data stores and that uses new ways of integrating information from the complete spectrum of sources. Using this framework, we can supply generic, unified services for all types of information storage. These services allow for efficient, standardized access to the information.

 

The Approach

To gain a better understanding of the users' true requirements, we studied which information they need and identified the key points for locating and administering information. With the help of our central design group, we held contextual interviews that left us with these findings:

Our vision and brainstorming sessions then led to several design concepts:

First design sketch

Figure 1: First design sketch

Our first goal was to create a prototype that would clarify the concepts and design of the application, thereby showing whether the product truly helps customers to solve their knowledge management problems. Such early prototypes bear enormous importance, as they show us whether or not the products fulfill the requirements of the organizations and their users.

Wireframe prototype of Knowledge Network

Figure 2: Wireframe prototype of Knowledge Network

The prototype was presented at the HR/FI convention in Karlsruhe, Germany, and received very positive customer feedback. Internal usability experts tested its various aspects. This provided our developers with valuable feedback and suggestions for improvements and additional features. Using this information, we began to write the specification for our new application. Meanwhile, the prototype was revised and subsequently presented at the ASUG 2003 in New Orleans, where we monitored its acceptance and user experiences. All of these results contributed to the application's design.

 

The Product

Using our new Knowledge Network product, you can systematically store, search for, and retrieve your company's information and knowledge. Furthermore, you can shape any selection of Knowledge Resources to fit your company's needs. How the information is managed depends primarily on the content and structure of the Knowledge Resources. For example, the meta data model allows a company to specify one of its employees as a Knowledge Resource.

The Knowledge Network is made up of these components:

Knowledge Resource Finder:
Using the Knowledge Resource Finder, the user can specify search criteria to find a particular resource. Knowledge Resources can be profiles of internal or external experts, documents, or Knowledge Collections that are centrally generated and maintained. The information can be extracted from anywhere in the company and from a multitude of systems.

Knowledge Collection Manager:
The Knowledge Collection Manager enables users to administer and publicize Knowledge Collections. Knowledge Collections are personalized groupings of Knowledge Resources that are accessed using a central, company-wide folder.

Knowledge Collection Manager

Figure 3: Example screen of the Knowledge Collection Manager (click image for larger version)

Targeted Info Exchange:
Users can distribute information about Knowledge Resources to specific groups. Sharing information is quick and easy, as the users search for and find the target groups using the Knowledge Resource Finder. The recipients can start working with the Knowledge Resource immediately, for example by updating it, forwarding it to team members, or assigning it to a Knowledge Collection.

Example scenario with a Knowledge Network

The following example illustrates how users can employ a Knowledge Network to find an expert with certain qualifications.

Example scenario with a Knowledge Network

Figure 4: Example scenario with a Knowledge Network

 

Review

Many of today's companies face the problem that they own a vast range of information, but nobody knows how or where to find it. Much of this information is stored in the employee's memories, so that other colleagues cannot benefit from it. Therefore, Knowledge Network aims to make the company's information available to all employees, regardless of which medium it is stored in. The company benefits, as the employees are given easier access to the information that they need to complete their tasks.

 

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