SAP Mobile Apps On The Apple Watch

[Former Member]

We all know mobility is the future of computing, and this includes SAP.  We also know the future of mobility is often led by Apple, and the Apple Watch wearable is a prime example.  But what about when we talk about both in the same use case?  Does it make sense? Is the form factor too small? Does it even look good? And most of all, is it even usable?

I think this brings up a lot of good points.  Recently in our design shop, we had the opportunity to utilize the xCode object model and see how SAP Work Manager screens would play out on a wearable, specifically the Apple Watch.

What we found was very encouraging.

Using the container approach, we can adjust the content to the context and form factor.  We had to play around with the libraries a bit to ensure the app would neatly fit, but after some tweaking it actually looked pretty good.

We used the use case of a Service Technician in the field.  A good idea of the use case we were trying to hit is written up pretty cleanly by Todd Coleman here.  From a Service Technician's view point, they can see the status of a work order or service notification, they can update the status, and can also be informed on specific pieces of information related to the ticket and the product in question.

The apple watch makes the user be a consumer more than a contributor.  So if your design is one of maxing out information giving, and doesn’t depend too much on information taking, it works out well.

Here’s some of the concepts we put to use in our POC lab, using our own Gateway, ECC, and SMP systems, and our own in-house Apple Watch.  We started by building the project in the SAP WebIDE, using HCPms - this allowed us to create the stub code for a typical xCode project.  We can then use the SMP deployment model to run it on the cloud.  From a design perspective though, the key is understanding the xCode model inside and out, and then design for the form factor, don’t just relay on the standard resizing within the templates… Once you do that, it fits in very nicely.  Again - it all starts with the design, so even apps like SYCLO or stringent SAP Mobile apps can be modernized to fit wearables with the right design approach.