What’s on the Agenda for Designers:

TechEd had a really exciting lineup this year but I am interested in design!

I wanted to cut through all the noise and find out what is on offer from a design perspective in SAP.

What I discovered was a very interesting two prong approach that tackled sustainability in tech and also innovation.

Okay, so here’s my take on what went down at TechEd for Designers!

Key design concepts at TechEd:

1. Clean Core Principles with Governance and Management strategies
2. Generative AI and how it is transforming User Experience
3. Design for Security
4. The Process Automation Journey with a seamless Customer User Experience
5. SAPUI5 applications with the Pro-Code tool and the latest UX innovations

I think what was on display at TechEd gave all Designers reassurance that AI is being handled from a design perspective in a responsible and perhaps even sensitive way.  I mean sensitive in that designs take into consideration the end-user of course but also their choice.  Users can choose AI or not.  I was totally blown away by the design features that allowed users to be fully in control of their experience.  Here are some highlights that really do exhibit how good design, is now responsible design!

1. Watch On-Demand (so videos can be accessed even now, post-TechEd) ‘Discover How Generative AI is Transforming the User Experience’.  In particular look at the example of the 3 steps, Transparency, Progressive Disclosure, and Explanability.
2. The live session, ‘Deliver Smooth User Experiences with SAP Solutions’ was very interesting and the demos of future UX interfaces were incredible.  Check out the SAP Fiori design system – Guidelines with AI for a rigorous approach to tackling AI interfaces with real humans in mind.
3. Security was prevalent at TechEd and of course, is a high priority for all Customers, this presentation SAP BTP Security: Building Secure Applications, Innovating for the Future covered all the bases of BTP Security, it is highly engaging and worth viewing. Look out for TOMs (Technical and organizational measures) and also The SAP Trust Center.

Along with Customer empowerment at TechEd, there was an end-to-end solution provided to Customers for every aspect of their journey.  At SAP there is an emphasis on accountability in AI, showing its value in the transparency of its use in products, the progressive disclosure of metadata over time, and also the explainability of AI results with regards to their relationship to your business or requirements. It is a holistic business approach.

This rhetoric is backed up with really practical tools to support the Customer’s innovation journey with AI.  SAP is working with draw.io to provide BTP (Business Technology Platform) solution Open Source diagrams and icons, which, is a really useful way to ensure accountability and traceability of your processes involving AI.  These design flow diagrams are increasingly valuable and in some cases, a requirement to show that AI expansion within a build has been considered and that humans remain in control within the AI loop.  If you would like to learn more check out the blog post here on SAP Business Technology Platform Solution Diagrams.

Although AI with responsible design was the main act at TechEd other key takeaways were the focus on seamless user experience with easy entry points along with data completeness.

• Take a look at ‘Accelerate Your Process Automation Journey’, it is Watch On-Demand.  Here you can experience SAP Start and SAP Task Center in action, I highly recommend it.
• Data is a big concern for anyone running an IT project.  SAP has tackled data issues with consideration, developing an approach that looks at technical debt versus data quality.  A traffic light system is an effective tool for developing reusable process building blocks that can be repeated in different projects, implementations, and approaches to ensure a standardized solution to a very difficult problem.  Dive into ‘Governing and Managing a Solution Landscape Based on Clean Core Principles’, to understand this highly complex yet vital topic.  Also, innovative AI processes with minimum human intervention are being used to shore up data once a solution is in use, so effectively, over time historical data can be corrected, leading to data stability in the long run. Fiori AI design guidelines can be referenced again for ideas on this.

If all of this is not your cup of tea and you want flashy, high-impact, glossy designs TechEd did not disappoint. TechEd delivered on creativity, innovation, and high-end solutions, no question.

• Check out Stefan Beck’s presentation on ‘Discover New Capabilities of SAPUI5 with SAP Build Code‘ and you can put some of his offerings into effect by completing the tutorial Develop SAPUI5 Applications with Pro-Code Tools and Best Practices from SAP

Next year has a lot to live up to, I am excited to experience all the design implementations promised for 2024!