Lesson 1 of 5
The user interface in each edition
8 min
Three editions of SAP S/4HANA share one business model: the same company codes, sales orders, purchase orders and journal entries. What business users experience differs, and the first difference they notice is the screen. This course compares SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition (which SAP now markets as SAP Cloud ERP), SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (marketed as SAP Cloud ERP Private, usually bought through RISE with SAP) and on-premise, from the point of view of the people who use, configure and sign off the system. Contoso Motor Co. runs SAP S/4HANA 2025 in Private Edition; where useful, we ask how the same task would look in Public Edition.
Fiori only, or Fiori plus SAP GUI
In Public Edition, business users work in the SAP Fiori launchpad and nothing else. There is no SAP GUI logon for business users and no transaction codes to type. Some apps still use classic screen technology inside the browser, but they are launched as apps from the launchpad and governed by the same business roles. In Private Edition and on-premise, the Fiori launchpad is the strategic user experience, and SAP GUI remains available: users can run VA01, ME21N or FB50 directly, and the launchpad can open classic transactions in the browser through SAP GUI for HTML.
| Aspect | Public Edition | Private Edition | On-premise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main business UI | SAP Fiori launchpad only | SAP Fiori launchpad, plus SAP GUI | SAP Fiori launchpad, plus SAP GUI |
| Transaction codes | Not available to business users | Available | Available |
| How access is granted | Business roles built from SAP-delivered business role templates | Roles maintained by the customer (PFCG) with Fiori catalogs, spaces and pages | Same as Private Edition |
| New SAP innovations | Arrive as Fiori apps with each release | Mostly Fiori apps; some features only in Fiori | Same as Private Edition |
| Typical user habit after an ECC move | Learn apps from the start | Mix of apps and familiar transactions | Mix of apps and familiar transactions |
Why it matters for training
A Public Edition rollout trains every user in Fiori apps; there is no fallback. A Private Edition rollout like Contoso's faces a choice for each role: teach the Fiori app, the transaction, or both. Doing both doubles training and, as the next section shows, testing. Contoso decided per process: order entry in Manage Sales Orders, because sales staff are new to SAP; goods movements in MIGO, because the warehouse team already knows it and the volume is high; financial closing apps in Fiori, because several closing features are offered only there. The decision is written in the process design, and the business roles enforce it by only giving users what the design says they use.
- Is the edition Public?Yes → script and train in Fiori apps only · No → continue
- Does the business role give users both the app and the transaction for this task?Yes → decide which is the supported path, or test and train both · No → script the one the role provides
- Do the app and the transaction behave differently for this task (defaults, checks, fields)?Yes → each path needs its own test case · No → one test case, with the other path spot-checked
- Will users be trained on the same path as the test?Yes → test evidence reflects real use · No → align training, roles and tests before sign-off
Why it matters for test scripts
A test script written as "run VA01, order type OR, enter sold-to party" is useless in Public Edition and only half the story in a Private Edition system where users actually work in Fiori. The Fiori app and the classic transaction create the same kind of document, but they are different programs with different defaults, field checks and sometimes different features. A test of one does not prove the other. Write business-level steps first ("create a standard sales order for Great Lakes Fleet Services, 50 pieces CMC-ALT-100, sales area 1710 / 10 / 00") and add the UI-specific instructions underneath. That makes the script portable if Contoso later moves users to Fiori, and it survives the UI changes SAP ships with each release.
What would you do?
Contoso's ECC test library has 400 scripts written as transaction-code steps. The program will keep both SAP GUI and Fiori in Private Edition, but new sales staff will use Fiori apps only. What is the best approach for the sales scripts?
- Public Edition business users work only in the Fiori launchpad; Private Edition and on-premise add SAP GUI.
- Business roles decide which apps and transactions each user actually has.
- An app and a transaction for the same task are different programs: test the path users will use.
- Write test scripts as business steps with a swappable UI layer.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which editions give business users SAP GUI access?
2. Why does a VA01 test not prove that Manage Sales Orders works?
3. What decides which UI path a Contoso user takes for a task?
4. What makes a test script portable across editions?