Every last Thursday of the month, we hold our INNOV8iON Days at INNOV8iON. The INNOV8iON Days are entirely planned and organized by our experts and focus on the latest technologies within the SAP landscape. For each INNOV8iON Day, a new technology is selected. These technologies are explored and presented by colleagues to colleagues. Here is a small selection of the topics for 2023:
- Best Practices for Clean SAPUI5 Code
- Cloud Application Programming
- SAP Build
- Process automation
- Workzone
- SAP Business Technology Platform
The goal of the INNOV8iON Days is to stay as up-to-date as possible with the latest technologies within the SAP landscape and to share this information with colleagues in an interesting and enjoyable way. During these events, everyone contributes their own knowledge on the topic at hand, allowing us to collectively explore the practical applications of that technology.
And it’s not just about sharing knowledge and theory. During those days, we actually dive into the technology hands-on. And that combination of theory and practice was also used at the most recent INNOV8iON Day: SAP Fiori My Inbox.
SAP Fiori My Inbox
On Thursday, February 23, the most recent INNOV8iON Day took place, focusing on SAP Fiori My Inbox, and was organized by Jan-Willem Bos, Julian Kuipers, and Jens Lambeck (the 3 J’s of INNOV8iON).
What is the My Inbox app?
The Fiori My Inbox app is an application where all of an employee’s workflow tasks are delivered. If you have multiple back-end systems, tasks from all of them can also be delivered to the My Inbox app—provided you configure the Inbox app correctly.
You can think of the My Inbox app as the Fiori version of the SWBP (Workflow Inbox) GUI transaction. The main difference between the GUI transaction and the Fiori app is that the Fiori app is much more user-friendly and looks better, allowing you to work faster and more efficiently.
Whereas there used to be a separate Fiori app for each different workflow task (My Inbox 1.0), the introduction of My Inbox 2.0 has consolidated everything into a single, clear overview. Within this app, you can perform all the standard actions that are also possible with the SWBP transaction. A new feature in Inbox 2.0 is the ability to use “Mass Actions,” which allows you to quickly and easily arrange for a replacement in the event of an absence. Think of approving a large batch of similar workflow tasks at once, such as vacation requests. In this context, absences can be categorized as planned absences (vacations) and unplanned absences (sick leave). With the addition of Mass Actions in My Inbox 2.0, you can easily specify who your workflow tasks should be forwarded to for both types of absences.
The My Inbox app can also be further customized using a set of parameters. This can be done in the app’s URL, as well as in the app’s own settings. This allows the app to be tailored to each user’s needs so that it works as efficiently as possible in every situation.
Extensibility
The Inbox app is designed to allow for extensions. For example, using a number of BADIs, various aspects of the app can be customized within the SAP system. This includes changing the list and detail views. It also allows for the provision of user details, task information, and the completion of additional attributes. Thanks to these extensibility features, you can personalize the Inbox app to function as effectively as possible in various business scenarios.
You can implement these extensions using BADIs, as mentioned above, or through UI controller hooks. The extensions can affect the header data, the content to be displayed in the detail view, and also include extensions for specifying replacements. In short, even though Fiori My Inbox is a standard SAP application, there is still plenty of room for customization. For an overview of all extensibility options, visit this page.
Hands-On with SAP Fiori My Inbox
After a break and a delicious Indian dinner, it was time for the hands-on portion of INNOV8iON Day. This time, the organizers had selected a number of assignments that drew on the knowledge participants had gained about the My Inbox application.
The first assignment involved customizing the application based on the parameters covered in the theoretical section. To this end, three different user stories had been prepared, from which you could determine which parameters you needed to configure the app as desired. The goal of these stories was to provide a concrete example of what the My Inbox app can do on a personal level. For example, one of the scenarios involved a supermarket manager who wanted to review all overdue invoices at once. In this way, it also served as a small exercise for the technical consultants in the functional domain.
For the second and third assignments, we took a deep dive into the technology. The second assignment focused on the application’s extensibility. Three different extensions had been prepared, which we had to implement in pairs. In each scenario, we were expected to implement a BADI. In the final assignment, we delved a bit deeper into the tasks in the My Inbox app. The assignment involved linking applications to inbox tasks. These two assignments resulted in custom functionality for the My Inbox app. By completing these assignments, we gained a good understanding of what the app can do on an individual level.
An INNOV8iON Day isn’t just about covering new topics. Each session ends with drinks so everyone can unwind. This is a chance to discuss the day’s topic one more time or ask any remaining questions.
Want to learn more about Fiori My Inbox? Contact us or check out the inbox documentation. On this page, you can read more about extensions!
