Product development

[OttoGold]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to write an article for the Mentors Quarterly (hope I will gather enough for an article) and would like to know your opinions and experience. The topic for today is "Product development".

For those who don`t know what the wuarterly is, check here:

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/library/uuid/b00e0953-3aa9-2e10-dd98-e19d93ffb889

My thinking is mostly from the development perspective (i am a developer myself), but if you have something to share and it is not about writing ABAP or Java, but is still a "product", pelase share it.

If you`re a SAP partner/ integrator employee, I would be interested in:

• do you offer products?

• how do you define products? Does that mean the same as "solution" or "package"?

• how do you get ideas about them? Do you build something first and then look for customers? Or you take something you built for a customer and improve it so it is usable for others? (can be seen often)

• do you have dedicated teams for products? Or do you build products as hobbies? (dayjob: consultant, night-shift: product development...)

• do you use products you build?

• do you protect your products? your codes? your intellectual property somehow?

If you`re a customer, I would like to know about:

• do you buy "products"? why yes or not...?

• do you find "products" any better than average "Z-code"?

• is there anything you often miss about the "products" that you`re offered?

• how do you like the support? do you get any support as a part of the delivery?

I welcome any inputs, either fitting into my outline or anything I missed. I don`t ask about your business secrets, special procedures, nothing like that. I am interested in general things, about things you do, like, you can recommend...

If that turns into a fruitful discussion for everyone, I would be glad.

Outputs can one read in the next Quarterly, if it makes an article. Would be cool if I could use names to thank you for the contribution in the article, would you mind that?

Cheers Otto

[Lukas_Weigelt]

Customer / Developer. All answers given by me reflect my personal opinion and not the one of my company of course...

do you buy "products"? why yes or not...?

We buy products if they are economically efficient rather than developing something of our own with our own manpower or if it's something we need and we can't build it ourselves. Aside from that it always is more "comfortable" to have someone with deep-down expertise of applications/solutions/products which are "alive" (HCM Public Sector in our case with its tons of legal challenges, etc.).

do you find "products" any better than average "Z-code"?

Depends on the complexity and cost factor.

is there anything you often miss about the "products" that you`re offered?

Yes. Good documentation. The description of products is almost always formulated too marketing-wise and eventually doesn't say anything about the actual contents: which might lead to the mischievous purchase of products, which then have to be modified (by me) to meet the actual requirements etc etc. More substantiation and less "business business, look it's shiny and can do anything you want" would put a smile on my face. Sorry for the sarcasm.

Concerning coding, I often stumble upon code in which there is no documentation at all or where the developer has documented what he has done but not WHY. As in

lv_example = lv_example - 1. " reduced by 1

always makes me think, "Thanks for these pearls of wisdom. Did you do this because you were bored or is there a functional background?".

how do you like the support? do you get any support as a part of the delivery?

Yes we get support. In case the productive environment is "burning", IMHO and as far as I experienced, SAP is very fast and competent. In case it's "just an error" which doesn't kill the entire productive environment, the support is like pulling teeth. So, bottom line, support is only good in times you direly depend on it.

Cheers, Lukas

[OttoGold]

Hi Lukas,

thanks for the time and effort to formulate your opinion. I have one more question. Can you specify what is your "job title" or what you really do? I understand you are not a "sales guy" (or what`s the sales guy partner on the customer side...).

So do you build/ fix things (developer), support guy, admin...? Am I allowed to use you as a source stating your name or not?

Thatnk you very much,

cheers Otto

[Lukas_Weigelt]

I'm a developer ("junior developer" I guess, since I've been busy with SAP only for about 2 years now) in ERP HCM; usually busy with implementing/configuring and enhancing/modifying standard applications into our system, main focus on WebDynpro ABAP and SAP EP ESS/MSS but also "regular" ABAP stuff. You can state my name if you like.

Cheers, Lukas

[Former Member]

You can state my name if you like.

Careful. You might start getting post from Reader's Digest...

Jokes aside: Your comments about good (technical) documentation and support are interesting. These two normally cost a lot and a "labour of love", so I can well imagine that they are the first things to start being "pulled".

Cheers,

Julius

[OttoGold]

Hm, pity, I was hoping for a frutiful discussion, but it never happened. closing the thread with a thank you to Lukas, maybe next time I`ll do better:((

Cheers Otto

[Lukas_Weigelt]

maybe next time I`ll do better:((

IMHO there's no reason to blame yourself like this. Maybe the coffee corner isn't the right place for you to get input for this topic. Probably results turn out better if you'd cross-post in other forums like "Suggestions and Comments" or the like.

Better luck next time ;-/

Cheers, Lukas