Problem Statement: Company Jackson Steinem wants all purchase team members to have a look at certain purchase orders details and send it to end users. These team members are mostly SAP users and can access production systems.

Question to Ask: The problem statement is very simple – Team needs access to certain data in PO so that they can share the information with the end users. Possible solutions are creating a basic Z-report or Fiori app with required information on the screen. The consumer, in this case, is actually the end user, e.g. a vendor named Mike in Houston, TX. In the existing model, team members collect the data manually and send it to the end user. One of the questions we have to think about is that whether we really need the team members to be the bridge.

Arriving at the Solution: One possible solution is that if the intermediate is not required, we can give access to Mike who can see the data provided his id passes security. A Fiori App can be the simplest solution in such a case. It might take more development time, it saves more man-hours in long run. Based on data in the backend, Mike will be able to access only relevant data and it will solve the purpose while eliminating the additional step.

Prototyping: Once the basic idea is finalized, developers will create a basic prototype to show the end users how the end product will look like. All stakeholders can discuss the prototype and revert with suggestions for improvement. This is done iteratively until a final product is in place.

In the above example, it is important to understand that sometimes the problem statement doesn’t reflect the main problem and the answer lies between the lines. It is prudent to focus on the ultimate goal while brainstorming. Sometimes a more difficult solution is advantageous because it is more flexible and scalable.

~S