SAP Octopus
Java, Vue.js, R
SAP Octopus is an internal application designed to foster a community of subject matter experts and mentors, with the aim of disseminating knowledge about SAP products and tools.
My primary role in the project was as a software developer, where I undertook various responsibilities, including:
- Building API endpoints and implementing platform business logic. I worked on the Java-based REST API backend for Octopus, which involved tasks such as adding new objects to the model, introducing new properties, and other standard development tasks.
- Performance and scalability optimisations. When I joined the Octopus team, I discovered several performance and scalability issues with the backend and database that had gone unnoticed. A significant portion of my time was dedicated to resolving these problems, ensuring a more robust and high-performing program for future developers.
- Data migration. Octopus had originally started as a community initiative, maintaining its own "database" in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. Migrating this data posed an interesting challenge due to significant inconsistencies in data storage. I devised a script to clean and migrate as much data as possible into the new database, enlisting the help of my colleagues to manually enter the remaining data and verify its accuracy.
- Platform integration. Octopus became the first real-world use case for DANOS, a new machine learning engine being piloted at SAP. My role involved facilitating integration efforts, collaborating with both teams to determine the necessary endpoints for connecting the platforms, identifying the data to be exchanged, and processing the required information to ensure smooth functionality.
- Analytics reports. I was responsible for generating platform analytics reports for management. Leveraging my skills in R, I summarised the data in a readable format and conducted exploratory data analysis to uncover valuable insights about Octopus users.
Throughout my collaboration with the Octopus team, I actively engaged with the human side of the platform. This involved creating instructional tutorials on SAP tools for the Octopus community and contributing to the SAP creative IT hackathon, in which Octopus played a significant role. Octopus transcended being a mere software platform; it fostered a vibrant community, and participating actively within that community was just as important.
Octopus was an exciting project to work on, with an exceptional team.