Transforming project billing workflows in SAP S/4HANA using AI-powered situation handling — shifting billing specialists from reactive firefighting to proactive, guided decision-making.
A Human-Centered Design thesis conducted in collaboration with SAP SE, applying ISO 9241-11 methodology to redesign how billing specialists interact with SAP S/4HANA.
Billing specialists discover critical errors — invoice splits, missing cost centres, price discrepancies — only after submitting billing document requests, triggering costly rework loops with Billing Clerks.
SAP Joule's Situation Handling framework is embedded directly into the billing workflow — proactively detecting risks at the data-review stage, before they escalate into BDR rejections. Specialists receive prioritised situation cards with AI-generated context, one-click resolution, and guided actions — all without leaving the workflow.
A validated high-fidelity prototype with measurably improved hedonic quality (+1.14 UEQ-S), lower time pressure, and a 4.42/5 value rating from 22 enterprise customers at SAP Customer Council.
Developed through day-in-the-life sessions, user interviews, and Customer Council workshops across SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition enterprise customers.
Discovered through day-in-the-life sessions, user interviews, Customer Councils, and Qualtrics surveys with billing specialists in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.
High-value and overdue billing items are not highlighted — specialists struggle to determine what to work on first.
The billing process spans multiple applications with no clear starting point, creating confusion and redundant steps.
Critical billing errors surface only after submission, forcing cancellations and full reprocessing of the billing cycle.
Figures, warnings and aggregated values are unexplained — users don't understand calculations or required actions.
Specialists repeat the same data inputs and checks across different steps and apps, adding effort with little value.
No early visibility into billing readiness — approved time and expenses can remain unbilled for extended periods.
Moving issue detection from the rejection loop to the data-review stage eliminates costly rework and lowers BDR rejection rates.
Key Insight: In the current workflow, issues only surface when the Billing Clerk rejects the BDR — triggering a costly rework cycle. Joule moves issue detection to the data-review step, eliminating the rejection loop and reducing BDR rejection rates before they occur.
SAP Joule's situation handling framework proactively surfaces billing risks, ranked by urgency and financial impact — directly within the specialist's workflow.
Billing risks and overdue items surface with priority badges, financial context, and one-click actions — before the user begins their workflow.
Joule detects invoice split risks, price discrepancies, and missing cost centres before PBR creation — explaining its reasoning inline.
From billing readiness check through issue resolution to invoice submission — one guided experience within Joule, no app switching required.
A persistent "View in App" option preserves specialist authority. Users verify edge cases in S/4HANA and return without losing context.
A walkthrough of the high-fidelity Joule prototype — from the situation card on the S/4HANA launchpad through risk analysis and billing request creation.
7 moderated usability sessions + 21 Customer Council responses using UEQ-S, NASA-TLX, PSAT, and UX Lite instruments.
Both systems scored Excellent. Slight decrease with Joule, users need more practice to fully leverage AI-guided actions.
Biggest gain (+1.14). Joule's conversational, guided experience is perceived as significantly more engaging and stimulating.
Overall UX improved by +0.48. Both systems rated Excellent, Joule's score is driven primarily by its superior hedonic quality.
Key Insight: Hedonic quality gains outpaced pragmatic gains, Joule's improvement is primarily experiential. Users find the AI-driven interface more enjoyable and engaging, even as task-completion efficiency continues to mature.
Pattern: faster triage, but more thinking/verification.
Joule scored higher on ease-of-use and satisfaction; current system led on "does what I need" due to missing billing summary and unclear actions.
"Billing is too complex, guiding & prompting potential issues sooner is better"
"This solution would give the chance to distribute responsibility in the future"
A second prototype addressing trust, clarity, and actionability gaps identified in the usability study evaluation.
Joule now surfaces data sources and reasoning inline. A Billing Summary before BDR submission gives specialists a consolidated view of totals and expected invoice structure.
Action buttons placed directly within the expanded issue card — no navigation away, fewer steps to resolution, reduced context-switching.
Joule triggers are now visible, contextual, and use plain-language labels aligned to the billing task — users no longer discover how to invoke Joule.
Notes display team member names alongside content, restoring accountability and traceability without leaving Joule.
A persistent "View in App" option at any point in the workflow preserves specialist control — drop into S/4HANA, verify, and return without losing context.
Before final submission, Joule presents a consolidated billing summary covering totals, groupings, and expected invoice structure — closing the trust gap.
Beyond the research findings, this thesis delivered concrete, strategic value to the SAP Professional Services & Billing product team — across discovery, design, and product direction.
Provided a clear blueprint for transforming Project Billing so AI can anticipate billing discrepancies and unbilled revenue before they become critical issues — not after.
A direct comparison between the existing solution and the AI-enhanced prototype provided data-backed proof of improvements in billing accuracy, efficiency, and reduced manual effort.
Demonstrated how to build a more intuitive, guided billing process — significantly lowering the learning curve and reducing human error, especially for users new to the system.
Delivered crucial insights into real user needs and pain points, giving the product team greater confidence to make informed roadmap decisions and justify an AI-first strategy.
By intelligently guiding new users through complex billing processes, the solution helps employees become productive faster, reduces training overhead, and fosters greater adoption.
AI in billing today works best as a decision-support layer, not full automation. The concept builds the foundation towards an agentic ERP experience — where Joule is not just a guide, but an agent that executes with oversight.