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Abap should know Processes (FI, SD, CO, ...) ?

ronaldo_aparecido
Contributor

Hi Masters.

Lately I've spoken with ABAPERS in my country and a discussion appeared:

To be considered senior, ABAP should know the functional processes beyond technical knowledge?

I See functional complaining that the abapers claim to be seniors, but do not understand the process and end up doing wrong.

Some abapers, say an abap that knows no process is just a typist to functional.

Some say that if you work long with a module ends up understand the process but wonder: And when you change to a project, with another module or meet a demand from another module?

Thanks for return.

Accepted Solutions (1)

Accepted Solutions (1)

matt
Active Contributor

Another aspect of being senior is that you are a skilled programmer. I know people who know the business processes fairly well, and have been programming for years - but nonetheless, the code they produce is not well written. These people may be considered "senior", but they're not really to be emulated.

I don't think that a total understanding of the business processes is required to be an excellent developer. Part of the skill of programming is the ability to abstract. You can write programs that are well structured, easy to maintain and reusable without fully understanding the functional side. For many processes I have a deep understanding of what is going on technically, but no idea how the business actually use them. Because of this, I can go to a new part of SAP (and I've demonstrated this many times), and be productive very quickly. For example, I did the development for a QM and Laboratory Information System, with no prior knowledge of these things, and the users were delighted with the end result.

Having said that, while I do not need to understand the process to develop really good applications, sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "la la la" whenever the business aspect is raised is unlikely to be a career enhancing move!

ronaldo_aparecido
Contributor
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Ok naveen and matthew.

in some cases the functional criticizes the fact that the abap not know the process and says:

He does not understand anything I say.

Then the ABAP is lowered and everyone thinks he is not senior

anupam_anand
Participant
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The blame game is always on between the functional and the technical consultants. Its a different story and you can't help it.

There are a lot of instances when we do reject the designs/enhancements/issues because of technical constraints. In that case you have an upper hand to say that the functional doesn't understand and he is lowered.

Thanks,

Anupam

naveen_inuganti2
Active Contributor
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Everyone will have same level of importance in Right Teams!!!

However, If there is any situation like that then we should...   

stephenjohannes
Active Contributor
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It's true that's it is much easier with a developer background to learn a new data model in SAP and start building for that model, than someone with no development skills to try learn all the ins and outs of building efficient code in SAP.

That being said I work with CRM where it's impossible to survive as a pure developer or pure functional role and instead most people are a mixture of both with a different ratio of focus.  I will say if you have worked with a particular module for 10+ years and you don't understand the basic business processes in that module from a developer's viewpoint then something is wrong.

Then again working with the same module for 10+ years as a developer can also make you a little crazy.

Take care,

Stephen

matt
Active Contributor
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That only happens where there's a hierarchy within the organisation.

If I don't know the process, the business analysts carefully explain it to me. It's based on mutual respect. I can program so much better than them - and they have better understanding of the business.

Former Member
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Anupam Anand wrote:

The blame game is always on between the functional and the technical consultants. Its a different story and you can't help it.

Then something is very wrong and the application will go downhill for sure.

Working together and delegating some responsibilities works best in a team. Then everyone can be successful and the whole thing works.

Cheers,

Julius

Answers (9)

Answers (9)

former_member182465
Active Participant
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Accepting all comments above want to add as below

From my point of view :

If an ABAPER has the functional knowledge then he can code the requirement as per considering all cases that can be encountered in a simple way.

former_member186746
Active Contributor
0 Kudos

Hi,

In  my book a senior ABAPer is someone who:

1. understands the business processes he/she is coding for and the business need

2. is able to code with the viewpoint of a junior in mind

3. can say no to a requirement

4. has held several positions over the years

5. has worked for multiple companies

ad 1. Self explanatory, you must understand what it is you are coding for. If you don't you can't tell if it is any good

ad 2. Systems have to be made future proof and a good senior knows that he/she is alway replaceable, therefore when you code, you always ask yourself is this easy to understand for someone with a basic knowledge of ABAP

ad 3. You should be able to notice if a requirement is stupid and what way of saying no to the requirement has the highest chance of succes.

ad 4.It helps tremendously if you have been teamlead/project lead, functional/business consultant, worked in 3d line support/projects. Basic project methodology knowledge is also nice to have. All of the above helps in seeing the bigger picture of a company/project/service line

ad 5. I've met people claiming to be seniors because they had 10 years of experience in ABAP SAP-HR, for the same company. You are not a senior. You are an <insert company> HR senior.

The strength of a senior is that they have implemented the same requirement in various ways depending on the customizing and usage of the module. There is not a one size fits all solution.

Cheers, Rob

matt
Active Contributor
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I'd qualify the your first point. A good (senior) developer should be able to recognise when they have the minimal information required to do the job well, and when they don't make sure they get the information they require.

That may mean understanding the end-to-end business process and the business requirement, but not necessarily. For example, I developed a replacement LSO HR extractor, when the standard ran for 36 hours then dumped. To do this work I needed to know:

1. What is the data structure in R/3?

2. What is the required data structure in BW?

There wasn't time for me to know how that related to the HR process, or the meaning of the data. I worked in an abstract space. I needed to understand the relationship between S, O, CP, P etc. - I didn't know and didn't need to know that S = position, O = orgunit etc.

The new extractor ran in a few hours. The customer was very happy.

The ability to work abstractly is an important development skill.

naveen_inuganti2
Active Contributor
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"Some abapers, say an abap that knows no process is just a typist to functional."

hahaha! Then why not a Typewriter... why are we looking for eclipse?

Well... in my opinion, it all depends on your interest and long term goal. There is much more to learn/perform within technical... ABAP, OOABAP, Portal, BASIS, SolMan, PI, WebDynpro (or FPM), SOAP and REST services, XML, HTML, UI5, JAVA SCRIPT, HANA Development, SQL, R, SUP and other Mobile Apps development, Cloud...... list goes on!

Speed it up, Re-use, Design, Visualize, Innovate.....! And be a Technical Specialist!!

Once again, with tremendous respect to SAP Functional Modules, I want to say... it's your choice based on your interest!

Regards,

Naveen

former_member189849
Contributor
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Its is already posted in carrer center right,

Any way ABAPer should know the function module flow then only we can work smoothly ( other wise is there any issue in functional side,then they will tell this issue is related to ABAPer )

Regards

Mahesh

anupam_anand
Participant
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Hi Ronaldo,

A senior ABAPer will always have technical expertise but what makes him senior is his experience. He can leverage his experience in various modules. Obviously, I echo as all above, a good ABAP code can never come without an understanding of the requirement and functionality. You can never answer a 'How to do it' without knowing 'what and why to do it'.

Also, most of the ABAPers gain some expertise or comfort working in any module for a longer duration that makes him more inclined to learn it.

It was a good discussion that you brought up.

Thanks,

Anupam

Former Member
0 Kudos

Hi

I think that a senior abap is the person who know this program language very well and then is also keen to know  new technologies about it.

A good abaper writes clear code without hard-coded.

I also think that each of us know some module in according to its work experience.

Ivan


Former Member
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Hi Ronaldo,

At leas as a ABAPer we should know the Logistic Modules ( SD,MM and FI ).  When the experience counts, you will get this knowledge automatically.

rosenberg_eitan
Active Contributor
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Hi,

In the same breath I can say that to be senior functional one should know ABAP too (cows and pigs will fly first....).

Regards .

Former Member
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Hi

I believe the rule is only one: the best abaper is who knows ABAP (very well) and processes too....that's all.

It's not possible to know all Modules of course, so it's better to master some of them....I can't imagine an abaper creates a program without to know the process managed in that program.

But if you know very well abap, probably it's easier to approach a unknown module

Max