Open any Fiori launchpad and most tiles are static — an icon, a title, a tap target. Then you notice the odd ones out: a tile showing "€1.2M" with a small green arrow pointing up, or "37" in red with a downward trend. Those are KPI tiles, and they're the analytical heartbeat of the launchpad.
The interview-ready definition: a KPI tile binds to an OData measure and renders the current value plus a trend arrow on the launchpad home page. This post unpacks how that actually works — from the measure in the backend to the colored arrow on the screen.
KPI tiles vs dynamic tiles vs static tiles
Three tile flavors get confused constantly, so let's separate them:
- Static tile — icon and title only. Pure navigation.
- Dynamic tile — shows a number refreshed from an OData service, like "14 open purchase orders." Informative, but it doesn't judge the number.
- KPI tile — shows the number and evaluates it: a trend arrow plus color coding (good, neutral, critical) based on thresholds you define. It answers "is this number okay?" at a glance.
The trend arrow reflects how the value is moving; the color reflects how the value compares against your thresholds. Both need configuration — which is where Smart Business comes in.
A dynamic tile reports a number. A KPI tile judges it. The judgment comes from thresholds defined in an evaluation.
The Smart Business building blocks
KPI tiles are part of Smart Business, SAP's framework for operational KPIs. Four concepts stack on top of each other:
- KPI — the definition: which measure, from which data source (typically a CDS view exposed as OData), and what it means.
- Evaluation — a filtered, thresholded view of a KPI. One KPI can have many evaluations for different audiences or time windows.
- Tile — the launchpad artifact that visualizes one evaluation: value, trend arrow, colors.
- Drill-down — what opens when you tap the tile: an analysis app with charts and filters to investigate the "why" behind the number.
Building one: the KPI Modeler walkthrough
Here's the standard flow, using a classic example — tracking overdue purchase order days:
- In the launchpad, open the KPI Design catalog and choose the Create Tile tile.
- Name the KPI (say, "Overdue PO Days") and pick the data source — a CDS view such as the overdue-purchase-orders consumption view.
- Select the OData service and entity set the view is exposed through, then choose the value measure (Overdue Days). Activate.
- Click Add Evaluation. This is where the business logic lives: name the evaluation, add input parameters and filters (currency EUR only, evaluation period of 365 days), pick the goal type (Fixed Value is the default), and set the thresholds — target, warning, critical.
- Activate the evaluation, then Configure New to generate the tile itself.
The tile lands in the SAP: KPIs catalog. From there it's the usual launchpad routine: add it to a group, assign the group to a role, and users see a live number with its trend arrow the next time they open the home page.
A KPI without an evaluation is just a number. The evaluation — filters plus thresholds — is what turns a measure into a judgment the tile can display.
What happens when you tap the tile
Tapping a KPI tile doesn't open a transaction. It opens the drill-down analysis app, parameterized with the tile's chip ID and evaluation ID. Users get charts, can change filters and the evaluation period, and drill into the underlying line items. The standard navigation target is the Analyze KPI Details app (semantic action analyzeSBKPIDetails), which is why KPI tiles feel consistent no matter which KPI they show.
Interview quick answers
Which launchpad artifact shows a KPI value with a trend indicator on the home page?
The KPI tile. It binds to an OData measure and renders the current value plus a trend arrow, with good/neutral/critical coloring driven by the evaluation's thresholds.
What is an evaluation in Smart Business?
A filtered, thresholded view of a KPI — it defines the filters, goal type, and target/warning/critical thresholds that the tile visualizes.
Where do you model KPIs and evaluations?
In the KPI Modeler (via the KPI Design catalog), on top of a CDS view exposed as OData.
Have you put KPI tiles in front of business users? Which KPI got the most attention? Tell us in the comments.