Energy Supplier badenova Transforms Work Order Coordination with SAP Fiori Makers Bootcamp

How a highly user-centered approach improves daily work routines for work order coordinators and saves costs

In September 2024, SAP customer and German energy supplier badenova embarked on a transformative journey to streamline its work order coordination processes. To better manage the persistent operational challenges around customer requests, its subsidiary badenovaNETZE partnered with the SAP Fiori Makers team for an intensive, hands-on bootcamp in Freiburg, Germany. This initiative focused on addressing and analyzing the real pain points faced by the company’s work order coordinators and jointly optimize their daily work experience and routines.

The Challenge: A Fragmented, Manual Process

Before the bootcamp, the work order coordination of badenovaNETZE saw a fragmented mix of tools and processes. Coordinators were juggling SAP software, custom programs from SmartService Solutions, and basic applications like Word and Excel to complete their tasks. The status quo resulted in a couple of challenges the bootcamp members wanted to jointly address and optimize:

• Improve User Experience: The existing interface was difficult to navigate, leading to user frustration and reduced productivity.
• Avoid Manual Processes: Coordinators had to both transfer information across multiple systems and update data manually, making routine tasks time-consuming and prone to errors.
• Reduce Error Rate: The repetitive manual tasks increased the risk of data entry errors, causing delays and additional workload.
• Increase Transparency: With limited visibility into work order statuses, coordinators spent excessive time tracking down information and monitoring progress.

The SAP Fiori Makers Solution: A Hands-On Transformation

The company participated in a four-day SAP Fiori Makers bootcamp, bringing together customer end users, IT teams, and their partners. The focus of the bootcamp was to improve the usability of the work order cockpit, transitioning from manual tasks and workarounds to an SAP app prototype as a tangible starting point, and aimed at process automation, incorporating dashboards, enhancing the user experience, and reducing error rates.

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The bootcamp provided badenovaNETZE with the tools and an open, agile workshop format needed to jointly tackle these challenges head-on. Based on this close collaboration with the company’s coordinators, the SAP team developed customized solutions that streamlined processes and the final outcome.

“The beauty of our bootcamps is that we get to know and truly understand the challenges and pain points of our end users”, SAP UX Designer Christina Salwitzek summarizes. “Together with the end user and from the beginning we design and develop a more efficient solution for this complex workflow.”

The Bootcamp Objectives

badenovaNETZE faces its operational challenges when managing their numerous customer requests in metering, including meter replacement, installation, and removal. Together, the teams set ambitious yet achievable objectives to ensure long-term success. Operational readiness by 2025 was the top priority, with a clear goal of transitioning to an optimized, future-proof system in the first half of the new year.

To support this transition, the bootcamp helped increase SAP technology knowledge and development skills within the badenovaNETZE team. The team is now prepared to maintain, adapt, and expand the new solution as their needs evolve.

“What surprised me the most is that we actually made such good progress together and that everybody was able to contribute something,” says Paulina Deren, Order Coordination Advisor at badenovaNETZE, about the bootcamp.

Finally, the team established a prioritized roadmap—a clear, phased approach designed to guide the customer through each stage of the transformation, ensuring a smooth journey from concept to realization. The SAP Fiori Makers team included three UX designers, a SAP Fiori elements front-end developer brought the visual designs to life, while a backend developer specializing in SAP Cloud Application Programming (CAP) ensured robust, scalable functionality. The team was guided by Andreas Spahn, Principal Technology & Innovation Manager from SAP’s Services team, who moderated the bootcamp and facilitated collaboration.

“What makes the SAP Fiori Makers so special is that we have one problem statement, and we have one team to analyze today’s problem with the end user and solve it,” Andreas says. “This involves experts from technology, design, and development.”

The Bootcamp Experience

A core element was the creation of a user-centric and future-focused design for a new work order cockpit. The team used Design Thinking techniques in combination with the capabilities of SAP Fiori, SAP Fiori elements, and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to get started. Being one of Germany’s largest regional suppliers of electricity, natural gas, heat energy, and water, badenova uses SAP BTP for integration scenarios already for some years and started using it for application development with this project now, too.

For its intuitive, streamlined interface, the team conducted a thorough feasibility assessment to validate the proposed solution’s technical and operational viability. They then rapidly co-created and prototyped solutions in close collaboration with its actual customer users.

The derived prototype not only simplified complex workflows but also significantly reduced manual tasks, minimized errors, and eliminated data silos. By centralizing all relevant information into a unified system, the team delivered a seamless user experience, initiating the groundwork necessary for full deployment.

The result garnered positive feedback from participants, reflecting the practicality and innovation of the solution. “Most impressive to me was the headway made”, states Daniel Oberle, Business Architect at badenovaNETZE.  Daniel not only refers to the created mockups on the user interface during the bootcamp which already went into so much detail. He adds: “Without the SAP Fiori bootcamp, we would be looking at another half a year to get to where we are just now.”

The new work order coordination app streamlines the execution of work orders by providing end users with all essential information briefly via the SAP Fiori launchpad. It allows them to quickly see pending tasks and access shortcuts to create new orders or directly address interface conflicts without unnecessary navigation, and more.

Real User Feedback

To ensure the solution truly resonated with its users, the team conducted three on-site, moderated usability tests using a Figma prototype. Each session included two notetakers capturing live feedback directly within Figma, allowing for immediate insights and adjustments. The initial user stories were visualized using SAP’s Scenes storytelling tool, which enabled the team to quickly create collaborative visual narratives without the need for drawing skills. These early concepts were then refined with SAP Fiori design stencils in Figma, streamlining the transition from rough ideas to polished prototypes.

The involvement of SAP users during the bootcamp was instrumental, providing real-time evaluation through cognitive walkthroughs. “If the UX fits, employees are happy and enjoy using the software,” states Teresa Mayer, UX Designer at SAP. This hands-on, iterative process ensured the final design aligned closely with user expectations and needs.

This example underscores the critical role user research plays in driving successful, error-free, and user beneficial product development. To strengthen its user feedback approach even further, SAP introduced the SAP User Research Panel. This user research initiative invites users to participate in remote research activities allowing SAP’s product teams to get feedback along the product lifecycle. That means, users can share their product and design experiences, help shape SAP products to better align with their needs, while also offering them a preview of new features or products.

Watch badenovaNETZE’s digital transformation journey here.

Conclusion

The SAP Fiori Makers bootcamp proved to be a pivotal step in badenovaNETZE’s digital transformation journey. By combining cutting-edge SAP technologies with a user-centric design approach, the team not only tackled complex operational challenges but also delivered a solution that significantly enhances efficiency and user satisfaction. The rapid progress made during the bootcamp—cutting down development time by six months and projecting savings of 115 working days per year—underscores the power of collaboration and innovation.

With the project already underway and set goals for 2025, badenovaNETZE is well-positioned to continue refining and optimizing their processes with an even more engaged and satisfied workforce.

Make your voice heard! Join the SAP User Research Panel. Registration is unbinding and easy, taking part in research studies is convenient, taking ten to sixty minutes.
To learn more about the SAP Fiori Makers bootcamp offering, which includes a few days long physical workshop following the design-led development process, please visit their webpage.