Your SAP UI Is from 1998. Your Users Are Not.
For millions of enterprise users, the experience of using SAP has been defined by the clunky, unintuitive, and data-dense screens of the SAP GUI. It is a powerful but deeply frustrating experience that is completely out of step with modern user expectations. SAP Fiori is SAP's answer to this problem. It is not just a technology; it is a design language and a user experience philosophy aimed at creating simple, role-based, and responsive applications that work on any device. The technology that powers Fiori is SAPUI5, a comprehensive JavaScript framework for building enterprise-grade web applications.
But building a great Fiori application requires more than just knowing how to use a UI5 control. It requires a developer who can think like a user, who understands the Fiori design principles, and who knows how to connect a modern frontend to a complex SAP backend via OData services. When this function is staffed by traditional ABAP developers with no frontend experience, or by web developers with no understanding of the SAP ecosystem, the result is a "Fiori-in-name-only" application that is just as confusing as the old GUI, only now it's in a web browser.
This playbook explains how Axiom Cortex finds the developers who can bridge this gap and deliver on the promise of a modern, intuitive user experience for SAP.
Traditional Vetting and Vendor Limitations
A nearshore vendor sees "Fiori" or "UI5" on a résumé and assumes proficiency. The interview might involve asking the candidate to name a few UI5 controls. This superficial approach completely fails to test for the critical skills of UX design, data integration, and performance optimization in an SAP context.
The predictable and painful results of this flawed vetting are common:
- The "GUI in a Browser" Anti-Pattern: The developer simply rebuilds a cluttered SAP GUI screen in UI5, with hundreds of fields on a single page. The application is not role-based, not simple, and not responsive. It violates every Fiori design principle.
- Chatty OData Calls: The application makes dozens of separate, inefficient OData calls to the backend to load data for a single screen, resulting in a slow and frustrating user experience.
- Ignoring the Component Model: The application is built as a single, monolithic view with no separation of concerns, making it impossible to maintain, test, or reuse any part of the UI.
- Security Blind Spots: The developer fails to correctly configure the authorization checks in the underlying OData service, potentially exposing sensitive data to unauthorized users.
How Axiom Cortex Evaluates Fiori/UI5 Developers
Axiom Cortex is designed to find engineers who are true full-stack developers in the SAP ecosystem, with a deep appreciation for user experience. We evaluate candidates across four critical dimensions.
Dimension 1: Fiori Design Principles and UX
This dimension tests whether a candidate understands that Fiori is a design philosophy first and a technology second.
We provide a business scenario and evaluate their ability to:
- Design a Role-Based Application: Can they design an application that is tailored to the specific tasks and needs of a single user role (e.g., a "Purchase Order Approver")?
- Apply Fiori Design Principles: Do they design an application that is simple, coherent, and responsive, following the official Fiori design guidelines?
Dimension 2: SAPUI5 and Modern Web Development
This dimension tests a candidate's technical proficiency in the UI5 framework and modern JavaScript development.
We present a complex UI requirement and evaluate if they can:
- Build a Component-Based UI: Can they build a well-structured application using a component-based architecture? Do they understand data binding and the XML view/JavaScript controller paradigm?
- Work with OData Services: Can they correctly bind UI controls to an OData model? Do they know how to use OData features like `$expand` and `$batch` to make efficient data requests?
- Use the Fiori Launchpad: Are they familiar with configuring the Fiori Launchpad to host their custom applications?
Dimension 3: OData Service Development (Gateway and CDS)
A great Fiori application needs a great backend. This dimension tests a candidate's ability to build the OData services that power the UI.
We evaluate their knowledge of:
- SAP Gateway (SEGW): Can they use the SAP Gateway Service Builder to create an OData service based on an existing BAPI or RFC?
- Core Data Services (CDS) Views: In a modern S/4HANA environment, a high-scoring candidate will be able to build a data model and expose it as an OData service using ABAP CDS views, the preferred modern approach.
From a Clunky GUI to a Modern User Experience
When you staff your team with Fiori developers who have passed the Axiom Cortex assessment, you are investing in a team that can transform your user's experience with SAP. They will build applications that are not just functional, but also intuitive, efficient, and a pleasure to use, dramatically increasing user adoption and productivity and maximizing the return on your SAP investment.