In 2004, Hasso Plattner, one of SAP’s founders, introduced Design Thinking at SAP and rolled it out globally at the annual SAP Sapphire conference.
Since then, a lot has happened in the software industry in the area of user experience (UX) and design. Design Thinking is a creative process that aims to develop innovative solutions to complex problems through empathic observation, prototyping, and iterative testing. Design Thinking thus enables a user-centered, interactive approach to problem solving. Since its foundation in 2013, the SAP AppHaus team has implemented innovation projects with companies in this area. The experience gained from more than 1,000 projects has been incorporated into the Human-Centered Approach to Innovation (HCAI), which is based on Design Thinking and places people as users of a software solution in the focus of the innovation approach. The stated goal of SAP AppHaus is to put innovation into the hands of people who will then use it successfully and efficiently.
There are now 3 SAP AppHaus locations and around 20 partner-operated AppHaus branches worldwide. All members of this SAP AppHaus Network follow the model “Make Innovation Real.” All teams approach customer projects with the same mentality and have profound SAP technology and SAP process knowledge. The focus of the global SAP AppHaus Network is to create SAP solutions that fully leverage the capabilities of SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). All teams worldwide pursue the goal of helping companies integrate and enhance their SAP systems and obtain the maximum value from their SAP investments.
The SAP AppHaus Network not only provides the creative space for this but also the team that works according to the appropriate Design Thinking and innovation methodology to best support companies in designing and developing software. Working with end users and other stakeholders, innovation experts focus on collaboration, experimentation, and rapid prototyping to help organizations create user-friendly, intuitive, and efficient software. The AppHaus approach involves a team of designers, developers, and subject matter experts collaborating to understand customer needs, identify vulnerabilities, and develop solutions that address the needs of end users.
Achieving sustainable innovation requires a structured approach that focuses on people’s needs and supports the full cycle of a project, from generating new business ideas to developing and delivering high-quality applications, processes, and solutions. A sustainable culture of innovation requires a mindset driven by employees and leaders, an environment of collaboration and empowerment, and a process focused on creating value by identifying real business and human challenges. SAP AppHaus has therefore developed a framework to foster the creation of a culture of innovation that takes into account five interrelated factors: people, processes, environment, leadership, and technology.
Human-Centered Approach to Innovation
The Human-Centered Approach to Innovation (HCAI) of SAP AppHaus focuses on the needs and requirements of people when it comes to developing new solutions with SAP BTP in collaboration with SAP customers. This means taking into account the perspectives and experiences of all stakeholders when developing innovations and ensuring that solutions are user-friendly, practical and useful. SAP’s HCAI consists of five iterative phases to support each phase of your project, as shown in this figure.
The five phases of the HCAI process are defined here:
- Explore: The company’s needs and requirements are researched and identified.
- Discover: You take on the role of the user and conduct user research to develop and evaluate suitable solutions.
- Design: The selected solutions are actually designed and prototypically implemented.
- Deliver: The solutions are finally developed and deployed.
- Run: The solutions provided are operated and continuously developed to ensure that they meet the needs of companies.
These phases provide the framework for an iterative development process that constantly incorporates feedback from companies and stakeholders to ensure solutions are user-friendly and valuable.
Design Thinking und Architecture Thinking
Design Thinking uses insights from psychological, cognitive, social, and anthropological research to solve the right problems for the end user and deliver real business value. Architecture Thinking, on the other hand, uses data, processes, and system components to assess how a solution can scale from a technical and business perspective. Through this method, business goals can be aligned with the IT architecture in a complex business environment. The combined method is also used to identify new use cases and involve the right people, stakeholders, and end users. The result is, for example, new missions for SAP Discovery Center.
The interplay between Design Thinking and Architecture Thinking makes it possible to find the trade-off between an optimal UX and a high business value. In addition, this interaction prioritizes scalability to future-proof the technologies used. The strength of the combined methodology is that the storyboard defined by Design Thinking, that is, what the user does and when defined as a scene outline, is combined with the backend systems supporting processes and data to make the solution scalable and futureproof and to bring in the entire technology and process experience. This is implemented as a use case blueprint diagram and is part of the Lean Architecture Toolkit, which you can download from the SAP AppHaus website. The combination of Design Thinking, UX design, and Architecture Thinking enables efficient innovation for end users.
SAP AppHaus Toolkit: You can find more information about SAP AppHaus, research the different methods, and download all toolkits for free at https://apphaus.sap.com. The Innovation Toolkit provides free resources to help organizations practice innovation every day. Whether you’re just starting an innovation project or want to install a culture of innovation in your organization, these methods and learning materials will guide you through your innovation journey.
SAP AppHaus also offers a co-innovation space where innovation can be implemented together with companies, end users, and partners. This is a creative environment to unleash the creative potential that lies within each person. End users and companies are involved from the beginning in an iterative way to quickly respond to changing needs in the business world. It’s about empowering employees to come up with their own ideas. After all, it takes the creativity of each individual to actually be able to implement innovation. Through like-minded partners who are experienced with SAP BTP and have deep technical knowledge, the approach is scaling, and now more than 15,000 people are using it.
In summary, SAP AppHaus can be described as a global network of innovation spaces and a unified methodology based on Design Thinking; it’s a place where teams can come together to create innovation with SAP experts and SAP customers. The physical locations are designed to foster creativity and collaboration and to experiment with new technologies, methods, and tools.
The SAP AppHaus approach is based on four important pillars:
- Human-centered design: The focus is on understanding companies and their needs and developing solutions that are easy to use, intuitive, and efficient.
- Collaboration: SAP AppHaus brings together teams from different departments and functions, such as design, development, and subject matter experts, to work together toward a common goal.
- Experimentation: SAP AppHaus encourages teams to try out new technologies, methods, and tools to find the best solutions for companies.
- Rapid prototyping: Teams can quickly prototype and test their solutions in SAP AppHaus, which helps them validate their ideas and make iterative improvements.
SAP AppHaus also provides coaching, training, and workshops to help teams adopt the SAP AppHaus approach and develop the skills needed to succeed. Not only are new use cases discovered for SAP Discovery Center, but companies are also helped to realize SAP Discovery Center missions. Just give it a try and contact SAP AppHaus via apphaus@sap.com.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Migrating to SAP S/4HANA: Operating Models, Migration Scenarios, Tools, and Implementation by Frank Densborn, Frank Finkbohner, Martina Höft, Boris Rubarth, Petra Klöß, and Kim Mathäß.
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