Is Workflow a Must-know for ABAP Programmers

Question

Hi guys, do I have to learn workflow to make myself (ABAP programmer) competitive in the job market? How about other skills such as Smartforms and iDocs?
Please kindly give me some comments. Thanks!

Answer 1

Here's a rough roadmap of life as an ABAP programmer.
The field of SAP Netweaver programming covers a deep and wide area. You can choose to specialize in one of several different ways. The first way is to go very deep. Select a subspecialty and learn it backwards and forwards, for example, conversions. Conversions are boring but are a very necessary part of EVERY implementation. You will ALWAYS find work in conversions. There is a lot of things that you will learn as you deepen your experience with conversions that will make you more and more valuable as your career progresses. Working with conversions entails a tremendous amount of basic csv file manipulation. There are times when you'll work on the legacy system as well so if you like playing with a wide variety of (mostly archaic) programming environments, conversions can be fun.
Conversions are just one example, though. Other areas that are traditional "deep" specialization targets: EDI, workflow, interfaces (although that blends with EDI and PI these days), dialog programming (user exits/BADIs), report writing with an emphasis these days on Adobe Forms, etc. (The traditional acronym WRICEF -- workflow, reports, interfaces, conversions, enhancements, forms should help you remember.)
Second, you could could choose to go "wide", the infamous technofunctional route. This means that you put in the extra effort to learn one of the functional areas, for example Human Resources. This gives you an advantage over other ABAPers trying to do WRICEF in "your" area. There are many intricacies in, for example, HR reporting that a generic abaper is going to trip across if it's his/her first time coding in the HR module. The danger here is that you will sometimes get pulled to do configuration for your functional area and if you really prefer coding to configuration, that can be a drag. (As a side note, deep HR abapers are worth their weight in gold, due to the intricacies of cluster tables. Go deep enough in your functional area and you'll surely carve a lucrative niche for yourself.)
You could choose to supplement your career with non-ABAP coding, such as in java or XML. There are fewer folks who practice in these areas so currently you can get a premium for these supplemental skillsets, but that changes over time.
While we're on that topic, if you are really trying to ask what skillsets are going to be hot in a few years, don't bother. No one has a crystal ball. Fads come and go. For a while everyone predicted the end of the ABAPer in favor of java programming and XML, but SAP has started to turn away from JAVA and XML so, while java and XML coding will continue to be valuable skillsets, they may be less in demand over time.
Lastly, (although, truely I am just scratching the surface) you could go into Project Management. Managing software development is not a skill that every programmer can do well. You have to deal with managing both people and code and change and unrealistic demands and budgets and... and.... and... etc. SAP software project management can be high stress, but it can also be very rewarding if those types of activities get you excited.
In the end, it comes back to doing what you like to do. You're still at the early stages of your career. Try everything. Go back to the things you enjoy the most and at which you excel. The career part will take care of itself.
Hope this helps!
Best regards,
  --Tom