Co-authors: kattia.jordan-philipp and Kerstin Groll.
SAP introduced spaces and pages in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition in Q2/2020 as the go-to approach for visualization and layout in the SAP Fiori launchpad, accompanied by the announcement to deprecate the group-based visualization. If you're late to the journey, now is the time to embark and get the best possible user experience!
This blog post covers the following topics:
https://sapvideoa35699dc5.hana.ondemand.com/?entry_id=1_5phrht35
Switching to spaces and pages offers a wide range of benefits for both business users and (content) administrators.
Business users will profit from a well-structured distribution of apps in a predefined sequence within a stable layout: Compared to groups on the classic homepage, spaces and pages structure the access to apps following work processes in an intuitive and efficient way. By displaying only relevant apps and automatically sorting spaces from most to least frequently used, this setup makes it easy for business users to explore and identify apps they require.
Additionally, spaces and pages enable business users to access the My Home in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, which serves as the their individual entry page and offers different sections for To Dos, favorite Pages and Apps, and Insights. This recently introduced My Home space will replace the former MyHome in the future. The Personalization option on the pages themselves helps users to adapt them to their own personal needs (such as changing the sequence of apps, hiding, or adding apps as well as entire sections).
Content administrators get powerful options to assign predefined or custom spaces to business roles. With the ‘Manage Launchpad Spaces’ app, they can copy, adapt, and create own spaces. This app offers a WYSIWYG editor to easily create and fill the structure of single pages with sections and apps.
Figure 1: View of spaces and pages and My Home in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.
Figure 2: View of 'Purchase Order Processing' with Groups.
Figure 3: View of 'Purchase Order Processing' with spaces and pages.
For most standard business role templates, SAP provides a predefined space in the system. Here, SAP follows a lean approach along work processes. Typically, only the most used and most relevant apps are displayed on the pages. The structure of the predefined spaces is based on best practices of user work processes contained in the standard business roles. The predefined spaces can either be copied and adjusted or be used directly out-of-the box.
With each shipment, SAP is increasing the portfolio of predefined spaces.
With SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition 2302, SAP introduced the option to use predefined spaces and pages out-of-the-box. The benefits here are clear:
The closer a custom business role is to an SAP business role template, the better the match with the corresponding predefined space will be.
As of today, a predefined space can only contain predefined pages while a custom space can only contain custom pages. However, you can assign a predefined space and a custom space to one and the same business role at the same time.
Please note that applications that are part of a predefined page which the business user is not authorized for will neither be visible nor accessible to this business user.
Predefined spaces can be assigned on an individual basis when creating a business role from an SAP business role template or when editing a business role.
In addition, for business roles created from SAP business role templates it is possible to use the mass assignment to automatically assign the corresponding predefined spaces.
The mass assignment function can also be used to assign custom spaces to business roles created from a business role template, highly adjusted business roles, or business roles created from scratch.
Figures 4 and 5: Mass Change Wizard to assign spaces to multiple business roles.
Figure 6: SAP predefined space assigned to business role after Mass change wizard was performed.
There are some steps to be taken in order to choose the best way to proceed with spaces and pages: Get familiar with your business roles – understand to what degree your business roles match with or differ from business role templates delivered by SAP. Subsequently, get acquainted with the predefined spaces and pages to evaluate how they match your needs.
There is a vast choice of options here:
SAP does not offer a mass tool to migrate group-based launchpad content into spaces and pages. The reason is that the group-based launchpad is created individually at runtime based on the assigned business roles per user. It is therefore not possible to generate a “lean” and meaningful structure of spaces and pages at design time.
Although there is a function to migrate the group-based content for one individual business role into sections of a page, it should only be used in exceptional cases. For example, if the group-based content for a business role is extensive, the result will be one page with plenty of sections and apps and may require subsequent effort of adaptation. Please note that this is by no means the recommended or the preferred option to move to spaces and pages. For details, please refer to this documentation.
If you have any questions, check out the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition topic page and the SAP Fiori topic page on SAP Community and feel free to ask your questions here.
Follow the SAP S/4HANA Cloud tag and the PSCC_Enablement tag to stay up to date with the latest blog posts.
Follow us on @SAP and #S4HANA, and myself on maria.silipo, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Subscribe to our podcast “Inside SAP S/4HANA”. This podcast leverages the unique knowledge and expertise of SAP S/4HANA product experts, partners and customers to address objects of interest by sharing product insights and project best practice. There is no customer success without product success and project success; we share all ingredients with you to get to the next level and make your SAP S/4HANA project a success. Subscribe now and benefit from the shared knowledge.
Our openSAP microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA offer an exciting new learning opportunity. What began with a small batch of 20 videos, has now become a channel with more than 50 microlearnings that have generated over 20,000 views since then. Today we cover multiple lines of business such as finance, manufacturing, and supply chain, and key technology topics like Master Data Management, extensibility, SAP User Experience, and upgrade management. We are continuously adding new microlearnings to the SAP S/4HANA channel, so make sure you check them out.
If you want to learn more and actively engage with SAP subject matter experts on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, join our SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Community–now fully integrated with SAP Community. The community brings together customers, partners, and SAP experts and has a clear mission: deliver an interactive community to engage with one another about best practices and product solutions. We invite you to explore the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Community ‘one-stop shop’ as the central place for all resources, tools, content questions, answers and connect with experts to guide you through your journey to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.
SAP introduced spaces and pages in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition in Q2/2020 as the go-to approach for visualization and layout in the SAP Fiori launchpad, accompanied by the announcement to deprecate the group-based visualization. If you're late to the journey, now is the time to embark and get the best possible user experience!
This blog post covers the following topics:
- Major Benefits for Business Users and (Content) Administrators
- Spaces and Pages Layout Compared to Groups Layout
- Predefined Spaces per Business Role
- Out-of-the-Box Usage of Predefined Spaces
- How to Assign Predefined Spaces
- How to Switch from Groups to Spaces and Pages
https://sapvideoa35699dc5.hana.ondemand.com/?entry_id=1_5phrht35
Major Benefits for Business Users and (Content) Administrators
Switching to spaces and pages offers a wide range of benefits for both business users and (content) administrators.
Business users will profit from a well-structured distribution of apps in a predefined sequence within a stable layout: Compared to groups on the classic homepage, spaces and pages structure the access to apps following work processes in an intuitive and efficient way. By displaying only relevant apps and automatically sorting spaces from most to least frequently used, this setup makes it easy for business users to explore and identify apps they require.
Additionally, spaces and pages enable business users to access the My Home in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, which serves as the their individual entry page and offers different sections for To Dos, favorite Pages and Apps, and Insights. This recently introduced My Home space will replace the former MyHome in the future. The Personalization option on the pages themselves helps users to adapt them to their own personal needs (such as changing the sequence of apps, hiding, or adding apps as well as entire sections).
Content administrators get powerful options to assign predefined or custom spaces to business roles. With the ‘Manage Launchpad Spaces’ app, they can copy, adapt, and create own spaces. This app offers a WYSIWYG editor to easily create and fill the structure of single pages with sections and apps.
Figure 1: View of spaces and pages and My Home in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.
Spaces and Pages Layout Compared to Groups Layout
| Classic Layout with Groups | Layout with Spaces and Pages |
| Plenty of apps | Lean approach – only relevant and most used apps |
| Generated structure (based on number of business roles) | Dedicated space(s) and page(s) per business role along the work area |
| Random sequence of groups | Stable layout and predefined sequence of pages and sections |
| Plain My Home area | Powerful My Home space with tasks, cards, and app favorites |
| Personalization | Personalization |
| No layout option for (content) administrators | Layout maintenance apps for (content) administrators |
Figure 2: View of 'Purchase Order Processing' with Groups.
Figure 3: View of 'Purchase Order Processing' with spaces and pages.
Predefined Spaces per Business Role
For most standard business role templates, SAP provides a predefined space in the system. Here, SAP follows a lean approach along work processes. Typically, only the most used and most relevant apps are displayed on the pages. The structure of the predefined spaces is based on best practices of user work processes contained in the standard business roles. The predefined spaces can either be copied and adjusted or be used directly out-of-the box.
With each shipment, SAP is increasing the portfolio of predefined spaces.
Out-of-the-Box Usage of Predefined Spaces
With SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition 2302, SAP introduced the option to use predefined spaces and pages out-of-the-box. The benefits here are clear:
- Fast implementation without the need of investing time and resources in designing own spaces and pages
- Direct consumption of SAP enhancements to predefined spaces and pages with an upgrade
The closer a custom business role is to an SAP business role template, the better the match with the corresponding predefined space will be.
As of today, a predefined space can only contain predefined pages while a custom space can only contain custom pages. However, you can assign a predefined space and a custom space to one and the same business role at the same time.
Please note that applications that are part of a predefined page which the business user is not authorized for will neither be visible nor accessible to this business user.
How to Assign Predefined Spaces
Predefined spaces can be assigned on an individual basis when creating a business role from an SAP business role template or when editing a business role.
In addition, for business roles created from SAP business role templates it is possible to use the mass assignment to automatically assign the corresponding predefined spaces.
The mass assignment function can also be used to assign custom spaces to business roles created from a business role template, highly adjusted business roles, or business roles created from scratch.
Figures 4 and 5: Mass Change Wizard to assign spaces to multiple business roles.
Figure 6: SAP predefined space assigned to business role after Mass change wizard was performed.
How to Switch from Groups to Spaces and Pages
There are some steps to be taken in order to choose the best way to proceed with spaces and pages: Get familiar with your business roles – understand to what degree your business roles match with or differ from business role templates delivered by SAP. Subsequently, get acquainted with the predefined spaces and pages to evaluate how they match your needs.
There is a vast choice of options here:
- The decision should be taken per required business role: As said, the closer a custom business role is to an SAP business role template, the better the match with the corresponding predefined space will be. For those business roles with a high degree of matching, you may consider to directly assign predefined spaces (out-of-the-box usage). Enhancements by SAP on predefined spaces and pages will automatically be reflected after upgrade.
- For business roles close to but still differing from a standard business role, you can copy the predefined space and adjust it. Enhancements by SAP will not be reflected in these custom spaces.
- For individual business roles that do not match an SAP business role template at all, you can create custom spaces from scratch. You will have to make sure that these custom spaces be always up to date.
SAP does not offer a mass tool to migrate group-based launchpad content into spaces and pages. The reason is that the group-based launchpad is created individually at runtime based on the assigned business roles per user. It is therefore not possible to generate a “lean” and meaningful structure of spaces and pages at design time.
Although there is a function to migrate the group-based content for one individual business role into sections of a page, it should only be used in exceptional cases. For example, if the group-based content for a business role is extensive, the result will be one page with plenty of sections and apps and may require subsequent effort of adaptation. Please note that this is by no means the recommended or the preferred option to move to spaces and pages. For details, please refer to this documentation.
If you have any questions, check out the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition topic page and the SAP Fiori topic page on SAP Community and feel free to ask your questions here.
Follow the SAP S/4HANA Cloud tag and the PSCC_Enablement tag to stay up to date with the latest blog posts.
Follow us on @SAP and #S4HANA, and myself on maria.silipo, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Further Information:
- SAP User Experience in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition 2302
- Highlights of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition 2302 Release
- Naming and Tracking Your Business Roles, Spaces and Pages in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 3-System Landscap...
- Transport Your Spaces and Pages Configurations in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 3-System Landscape Systems
- Managing Launchpad Spaces and Pages
- Best Practices for Managing Launchpad Spaces and Pages
- How to Use Spaces and Pages in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition
- My Home in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition
- 2970113 - SAP S/4HANA Cloud: Replacement of SAP Fiori launchpad Home Page by Spaces and Pages / Prov...
- Design at SAP Webpage
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Release Info
- Blog Posts by Cloud ERP PSCC Enablement
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP S/4HANA YouTube Playlist
- Cloud ERP PSCC Digital Enablement Wheel
- Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast
- openSAP Microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA
- SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition
- SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Community
- Feature Scope Description
- What’s New
- Help Portal Product Page
Inside SAP S/4HANA Podcast
Subscribe to our podcast “Inside SAP S/4HANA”. This podcast leverages the unique knowledge and expertise of SAP S/4HANA product experts, partners and customers to address objects of interest by sharing product insights and project best practice. There is no customer success without product success and project success; we share all ingredients with you to get to the next level and make your SAP S/4HANA project a success. Subscribe now and benefit from the shared knowledge.
openSAP microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA
Our openSAP microlearnings for SAP S/4HANA offer an exciting new learning opportunity. What began with a small batch of 20 videos, has now become a channel with more than 50 microlearnings that have generated over 20,000 views since then. Today we cover multiple lines of business such as finance, manufacturing, and supply chain, and key technology topics like Master Data Management, extensibility, SAP User Experience, and upgrade management. We are continuously adding new microlearnings to the SAP S/4HANA channel, so make sure you check them out.
Your Voice Matters!
If you want to learn more and actively engage with SAP subject matter experts on SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, join our SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Community–now fully integrated with SAP Community. The community brings together customers, partners, and SAP experts and has a clear mission: deliver an interactive community to engage with one another about best practices and product solutions. We invite you to explore the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition Community ‘one-stop shop’ as the central place for all resources, tools, content questions, answers and connect with experts to guide you through your journey to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.
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