ESS and WebDynpro

ESS & WebDynpro
Ralf Halbedel
Development Architect ESS, SAP AG
Dr. Christian Wiele

Principle Consultant NW Foundation, SAP AG
Agenda
ESS Employee Self Services
Reasons for a new UI
Project scope and design paradigms
Development process
Recognizing floorplans and interaction patterns
Using WebDynpro and JDI
Basic Architecture of ESS
Integration in SAP Enterprise Portal
Demo
Demo of an ESS service: Leave Request
ESS / WebDynpro Stabilization Project
2 SAP AG 2004, Java Dev Day, ESS & WebDynpro, Ralf Halbedel
Why ESS got a new UI

Current status of ESS out in the market
High volume product (number of users in the millions) designed and

developed 1996 - 98
Considerable productivity gains with a transparent ROI
More user groups
Typical ESS-user used to be the educated computer-savvy white collar

employee in the service industry
ESS moves to every desktop and even into blue collar area (Kiosk-systems)
A new paradigm
the key to a high ROI is acceptance and usability

Priority: Usability beats functionality
Technology: a new generation
Replacement of the ITS by WebDynpro

Simplification of the system landscape by the Web Application Server
New standard in portal integration
A new face not a facelift
Replacement of a proven but aging product
Project Scope
ESS design Outside-in approach
customer visits, analyst and customer workshops

UI First: extensive usability tests on UI prototypes with endusers
ESS reimplementation
Most popular services according to usage

Typically most user volume and highest frequency of usage
Coverage of all US and DE specific functionality
ESS Scenarios
Time recording (CATS)

Leave request
Benefits
Skills profile
Personal information: address, bank, family, previous employers ...
localized for up to 30 country versions
Remuneration statement, time statement
Travel expenses, travel planning
...
General design paradigms to improve usability

A casual ESS user knows how to use popular consumer
web-services like online banking, Amazon, Ebay, etc.
But not how to use R/3, Siebel, or PeopleSoft !
Design Rules
Intuition and trust instead of efficiency

Lead the user, confirmation of user action
Summary of all consequences (changes, cost, order etc...) on a
confirmation screen after save, send, enroll, order etc...
Minimalism:
only the relevant use-cases
dont mess up the UI with 10% cases
only the relevant information but the right context information on demand
only few controls and simplified versions of controls
Consistency: use of the same user interaction pattern

Use of real life metaphors (e.g. business card, calendar, )
No toolbar, buttons within the screens close to the relevant fields
Short instruction texts
Header
Roadmap
Context Information
Formular
Header
Roadmap
Review
Header
Roadmap
Message Area
Confirmation
ESS Floorplan / Pattern

Header Pattern
Roadmap Pattern
Message Area
Header Pattern
Context Assistant Pattern
Roadmap Pattern
Message Area
Header Pattern
Review
Roadmap Pattern
Message Area
Object Manipulation Pattern
Confirmation
ESS Pattern / Floorplan conclusions
There is a well defined Floorplan for the Self Service

Applications
There are some well defined Patterns that can be

implemented centrally and configured for the different Self
Service Applications. e.g. Roadmap Pattern, Header
Pattern,...
It is not possible to implement all patterns as central

configurable components due to the complexity of the
requirements, e.g. Object manipulation pattern
No decoupled backend layer according to the Enterprise

Service Architecture.
Floorplan Manager
Floorplan Manager is the central WebDynpro Component
providing the framework for an application
Implementing different floorplans using configuration components
Initializing the application components
Dynamically building the view assembly
Provide an interface for building visual components and enable

reuse of the visual components.
Handling the event loop
Self service
application
Floorplan Manager
Component
Configuration
Component
Window
Screens
Configuration
Events
Floorplan Manager Configuration for Self Services

Support for the Self Service specific Floorplan
Header
Menu and Area Pages
Roadmap
Message Area
Context Assistants
Handle different environments
Portal
Life and Work Events / Guided Procedures
ESS in Manager Self Service
User and Person Management
Handle Connections to the Backend
Roles and Authorizations
Later: Personalization
Application Components
Perspectives
Edit
Header
Visual
Application
Components
Review
Header
Confirmation
Header
Roadmap
Roadmap
Roadmap
VcLeaveEdit
VcLeaveReview
VcLeaveConfirm
Business Logic
Components
RFC-Models
Backend
system
FcLeaveRequest
LeaveModel
Function modules
Application development
Application Configuration
Perspectives: visual app components
Navigation: events changing the perspective
Roadmap, Central Assistant configuration
Visual Application Components
Visual parts of the application
Reusable in different Self Service Applications
Business Logic Components
Provide efficient access to the business logic
Implementation with RFC-Models
Later switch to ESA-technology possible
Highlevel UML model of Self Service applications

Floor Plan Manager
FPMComponent
Component
Controller
<uses>
FcEmployeeServices
FcNavigation
class FPM
Utility Components
Component
Interfaces
class ApplicationContext
<implements>
class MessageManager
FPMComponentWindow
Interface
IFPM
<implements>
<launch>
XSSApp
VcXSSApp1
Component
Interface
Controller
Application
Properties
Utility Classes
<supplies>
<uses>
<uses>
Component Architecture
Self Service applications make use of software
components from 3 layers
TECHDEV: Basis functionality of J2EE, WebDynpro

etc.
PCUI_GP: Floorplan Manager, Utilities,
ESS: all Employee Self Services
Integration of components
Dependencies between SCs are set at design-time

and are evaluated both at build- and at run-time
Development components expose their interfaces

via public parts
Reuse of functionality is made on DC-level by

declarative usage of public parts
Granularity
1 DC normally reflects 1 self service
Software and development components for Self Services
Software Components
ESS - Employee Self Services

~150 Development Components
~180 Self Service Applications
~780 WebDynpro components
PCUI_GP - Reusable parts for all self

service applications
8 Development Components
~40 WebDynpro Components
MSS Manager Self Services

Development has started!
Java Development Infrastructure during development
Component
Build Service
Design Time
Repository
Component
Model
Name Server
Local Test Server
Change Management Service
Developer Studio
Central
Test
Server
Integration in SAP Enterprise Portal 6.0

ESS Applications
Are integrated with the iView creator wizard into the portal
Have no additional portal-specific code, but use the WebDynpro

APIs to run there
Runtime integration handled by Floorplan Manager
No additional code on application side necessary
Portal-specific WebDynpro APIs are implemented centrally in the

Floorplan Manager
Generic portal-specific UI processes handled centrally

confirm
use
loss-of-data vs. work-protect mode
menu navigation vs. toplevel navigation
display
own header vs. usage of portal header
Creating ESS WebDynpro iViews using the iView wizard
ESS & WebDynpro

Stabilization Process
Dr. Christian Wiele
Principle Consultant NW Foundation, SAP AG
Stabilization Process for ESS / Web Dynpro
Optimization
Development
Functional
Stabilization
MTBF
Increasing
Complexity
Scalability
more
scenarios
include
portal
KPIs: Stability/Scalability/Performance/Resources
1 Hour no fail
Platform only
50 concurrent users
Any response
June 1st
2 Hr no fail
Application
50 concurrent users
<6 sec response
8 Hr no fail
Platform without App
200 concurrent users
<6 sec response
12 Hrs no fail
Full system with App
<3 sec response
24 Hrs no fail
Full system w/App
<3 sec response
Sep 1st
Nov 1s
Jan 1st
Feb 15th
Test Results
Number of simulated active ESS users
# active users
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Oct-03
Nov-03
Dec-03
Jan-04
Feb-04
1000 active users ~23.000 ESS scenarios / hour
Test Configuration
Load generation
10 sec think time
SLD (Engine)
1 AppServer
HTTP
SAP Web
Dispatcher
HTTP
J2EE
Database
HTTP
pwdf2092
(2 x 2,4GHz, 4GB)
pwdf2090
ESS
(2 x 2,4GHz,
4GB)
Benefits
pwdf2089
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
SLD
J2EE
Engine 6.40
ESS Backend (R/3)

7 AppServers / 1 DBServer
limit ~ 1000 concurrent users
pwdf2030
(2 x 2,4GHz, 4GB)
pwdf2029
(2 x 2,4GHz, 4GB)
pwdf0257
(4 x 550 MHz, 4GB)
LoadRunner
7.8
ESS Frontend (Engine)

6 AppServer
limit ~ 1000 concurrent users
pwdf2088
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2087
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2086
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
ESS
J2EE
Benefits
Engine 6.40
J2EE
Engine 6.40
J2EE
Database
pwdf2091
ESS
(2 x 2,4GHz,
4GB)
Benefits
jRFC
pwdf2041
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2040
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2113
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2112
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
4GB)
Benefits
Engine
6.40
pwdf2111
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
Benefits
Engine4GB)
6.40
pwdf2048
ESS
J2EE
(2 x 2,4GHz,
4GB)
Benefits
Engine 6.40
Central
J2EE
Instance
Engine 6.40
R/3
Database
Conclusion
ESS / Web Dynpro
Web Dynpro is a robust technology for large scale ESS
deployments with very good performance
Project management (projects with lots of customer code)
Stabilization takes time !
plan the stabilization process in an early stage of the project
start with single-user tests, increase complexity over time
Copyright 2003 SAP AG. All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without
the express permission of SAP AG. The information contained herein may be changed without
prior notice.
Some software products marketed by SAP AG and its distributors contain proprietary software
components of other software vendors.
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trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
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AS/400, OS/390, OS/400, iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, zSeries, z/OS, AFP, Intelligent Miner,
WebSphere, Netfinity, Tivoli, Informix and Informix Dynamic ServerTM are trademarks of IBM
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ESS and WebDynpro

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ESS & WebDynpro

Dr. Christian Wiele

ESS Employee Self Services

Reasons for a new UI

Project scope and design paradigms

Recognizing floorplans and interaction patterns

Using WebDynpro and JDI

Basic Architecture of ESS

Integration in SAP Enterprise Portal

Demo of an ESS service: Leave Request

ESS / WebDynpro Stabilization Project

Why ESS got a new UI

High volume product (number of users in the millions) designed and

More user groups

Typical ESS-user used to be the educated computer-savvy white collar

the key to a high ROI is acceptance and usability

Technology: a new generation

Replacement of the ITS by WebDynpro

A new face not a facelift

Replacement of a proven but aging product

customer visits, analyst and customer workshops

Most popular services according to usage

Time recording (CATS)

General design paradigms to improve usability

Intuition and trust instead of efficiency

Consistency: use of the same user interaction pattern

ESS Floorplan / Pattern

Context Assistant Pattern

Object Manipulation Pattern

ESS Pattern / Floorplan conclusions

There is a well defined Floorplan for the Self Service

There are some well defined Patterns that can be

It is not possible to implement all patterns as central

No decoupled backend layer according to the Enterprise

Implementing different floorplans using configuration components

Initializing the application components

Dynamically building the view assembly

Provide an interface for building visual components and enable

Handling the event loop

Floorplan Manager Configuration for Self Services

Menu and Area Pages

Handle different environments

Life and Work Events / Guided Procedures

ESS in Manager Self Service

User and Person Management

Handle Connections to the Backend

Roles and Authorizations

Perspectives: visual app components

Navigation: events changing the perspective

Roadmap, Central Assistant configuration

Visual Application Components

Visual parts of the application

Reusable in different Self Service Applications

Business Logic Components

Provide efficient access to the business logic

Implementation with RFC-Models

Later switch to ESA-technology possible

Highlevel UML model of Self Service applications

TECHDEV: Basis functionality of J2EE, WebDynpro

PCUI_GP: Floorplan Manager, Utilities,

ESS: all Employee Self Services

Dependencies between SCs are set at design-time

Development components expose their interfaces

Reuse of functionality is made on DC-level by