Date
Apr 6, 2015
Roles
Sr. User Expereince Designer, User Research, Interviews, A/B Testing, UX/UI Design, Prototyping, Interaction Design
Team
Goran UX, Michael PM
Industry
Enterprise, B2B ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Nearly 3 years into my tenure as a Sr. UX Designer at SAP, my manager approached me with a unique opportunity. He asked if I was interested in working on a "special" project with Team 'X'. Eager for a fresh challenge and the chance to build something entirely from the ground up, I immediately seized the opportunity. At that time, the project consisted of only four individuals and some preliminary ideas illustrated by a few sketches on whiteboards. The project bore the codename 'Norman', and its details remained confidential until we could demonstrate its viability to our stakeholders.
Interestingly, although we had a clear understanding of the problem we aimed to solve and had validated our hypothesis, I discovered that the company had tried and failed to create this product nearly four times in the past. Another team based in Germany once came close to succeeding, but the product's direction shifted and it evolved into Web IDE (Integrated Development Environment). This tool facilitates users in quickly designing and extending applications for both browsers and mobile devices, streamlining the entire application lifecycle – from prototyping and development to packaging, deployment, and even customer extensions, specifically for SAP Fiori and SAPUI5 applications. This outcome was quite distinct from the original concept of BUILD.
To conclude, I was among the pioneer designers on the team. As the project gained momentum, the team expanded to over 100 members. The indelible impact we achieved as a cohesive unit is immeasurable. I'm immensely proud to have collaborated with such an outstanding team on this initiative.
This project solidified the importance of user-first design in enterprise software. By focusing on simplicity and accessibility, we unlocked new opportunities for non-technical users, making SAP Build an indispensable tool for businesses.