Practical Workflow for SAP

Jocelyn Dart is a long-time SAP employee who currently majors in solutions in the SAP Intelligent Business Operations Powered by HANA bundle, and minors in user experience technologies and design thinking. She has been involved with SAP products as a customer since 1990, and since joining SAP Australia in 1994, she has worked directly with more than 70 organizations in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally, across a diverse range of industries. She is currently a Platinum Consultant, Design Thinking coach, and was recently appointed as an SAP Mentor by the SAP Community Network, where she blogs on a number of topics, workflow included. She is acknowledged as a global expert in SAP Business Workflow, SAP Business Process Management, and SAP Decision Service Management. Jocelyn has co-authored on all three versions of this book. Susan Keohan is a senior application developer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. She has worked with SAP since 1995, when MIT began its implementation. She has been designing and implementing processes with SAP Business Workflow since 1997, starting with SAP R/3 release 3.1C. She was instrumental in founding the ASUG Workflow and BPM Special Interest Group as well as the SAP-WUG mailing list. In 2002, Susan transferred to MIT Lincoln Laboratory to begin a new SAP implementation there, with many workflow applications to develop and maintain. She has presented various workflow-related topics at ASUG conferences and continues to serve as the Program Chair for the Workflow and BPM SIG. In 2008, Susan achieved one of her highest professional honors; to be named an SAP Mentor. Alan Rickayzen is senior product manager in HANA SAP BPM development. H has been with SAP since 1992 and in data processing since 1988. In 1995, he joined the SAP Business Workflow group performing development work as well as consulting for various blue-chip U.S. customers. During this time, he amassed a good technical knowledge of the product before moving to product management, where he was the principal liaison for the SAP Business Workflow user groups. He has written regularly for SAP journals and was a principle author of the first edition of Practical Workflow for SAP. In his pursuit of interoperability, he became one of the principle authors of the Web standards BPEL4People and WS-HumanTask, and he was instrumental in the integration between SAP Business Workflow and IBM Notes. Alan Rickayzen graduated from Kings College London with a bachelor of science degree in physics and can be contacted on twitter or BBO as alanrick. DJ Adams is a principal at Bluefin Solutions and has been working with SAP enterprise software since 1987, specializing in integration, and has a strong connection to the Open Source community. He’s contributed to the SAP, Perl, XMPP, and Google developer communities, and most recently has been sharing knowledge and code on SAP's UI5 toolkit. He was made an SAP Mentor in recognition of his contributions to the SAP Developer Network and community. He's written two books for O'Reilly (Programming Jabber and Google Pocket Guide) and has contributed articles to sites as diverse as O'Reilly's OpenP2P, the SAP Community Network, Bluefin Solutions, and his own blog, in which he's been writing since 2002. He's spoken at conferences such as OSCON, JabberConf, FOSDEM, SAP Inside Track, SAP TechEd, SAP DKOM, SAP UK & Ireland User Group Conference, the Manchester Digital Laboratory, and TEDx. He teaches kids and teachers to code. He runs a CodeClub in his local village school in the UK, is a volunteer and organizer at Manchester CoderDojo, a STEMnet Ambassador, and in 2013 ran a center in Manchester for Young Rewired State. He's married to his theoretical childhood sweetheart, Michelle, and has a son, Joseph, of whom he's very proud. Konstantin Anikeev is an independent senior SRM application developer with more than eight years of SAP experience, mainly in workflow and user interface technologies such as Web Dynpro ABAP and SAPUI5. He graduated from Voronezh State University with a master's degree in applied mathematics in 2006 and started his SAP career at Siemens IT Solutions and Services with Logistics Solutions LE/MM/SD, later moving on to the area of SRM with a focus on workflow and technical architecture. He has been involved in a variety of international SAP Implementation and Application Maintenance projects as functional/technical consultant and developer. He is well known in the SAP Community Network for his publications and contributions to the SRM, Workflow, and Developer Center areas. Paul Bakker is an independent SAP consultant who has been working with SAP software since late last century. He was schooled in Australia and the Netherlands. Following some tentative dabblings with neural networks and Japanese robots, he became a webmaster in Central Africa. His first exposure to SAP was during a rollout at Shell Gabon.Paul learned ABAP at PwC and worked all over Australia as a developer. He moved into the workflow space in 2004 and has been happily building workflows ever since. In 2007, Paul convinced his twin, Rick Bakker, to join in as well, and they founded their own company.Paul has a Ph.D. in computer science and psychology from the University of Queensland, Australia. Rick Bakker is a freelance contractor who discovered SAP in Central Africa late last millennium. Some years later, he was introduced to SAP Business Workflow and has been a regular on the SCN Workflow forum ever since. Rick, together with his twin Paul, attended SAP TechEd in Shanghai in 2009 and presented a session on SAP Workflow at ASUG 2014. Rick has a degree in computer science from the University of Queensland (Australia), has worked in several countries, and hopes to work in many more. He can often be found in Hawaii. Manish Chaitanya is an SAP NetWeaver architect who has experience in handling multiple SAP NetWeaver implementations for global customers. Manish works as the SAP Enterprise Portal practice lead for MOURI Tech LLC (www.mouritech.com), which is a US-based premier consulting company for global SAP solutions. Manish has helped many customers define their implementation strategy, and he has managed their implementations from blueprinting through go-live and post go-live stages. Manish's areas of interest include SAP Enterprise Portal, ABAP, Web Dynpro, SAP Process Orchestration, SAPUI5, and analytics. Manish lives in New Jersey, USA, with his wife Uttora, and their two children, Pranjal and Prakriti. He can be reached via email at manishc@mouritech.com or manishchaitanya@gmail.com. Stephen Johannes is a system analyst who currently supports a productive SAP CRM implementation for a large specialty chemical company in the United States. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has worked with the SAP CRM solution as a developer since 2001, providing enhancements to the standard platform for SAP customers in both consulting and application support roles. Stephen has also been a moderator on the SAP Community Network (SCN) for the CRM space since 2009 and has been actively answering questions off and on since 2005 on SCN. He was recognized in 2009 as an SAP Mentor for his contributions to the SAP ecosystem through SCN and remained active as an SAP Mentor until early 2012. Markus Kuppe is vice president and chief solution architect for SAP Master Data Governance. Since joining SAP development in 1997, he led various programs across the SAP Business Suite in topics such as reporting, user experience, or architecture; always in close collaboration with customers. He is a frequent author and speaker at business events. Markus holds a degree with distinction in mathematics (Dipl. Math.) from the University of Darmstadt, Germany.|Martin Maguth is a managing director at Norikkon, LLC, in Miami, Florida. He has more than 10 years of experience in the IT industry specializing in SAP Business Workflow, SAP enterprise content management, as well as ABAP programming. Prior professional experience includes positions at SAP, EMC, IBM Global Services, and IXOS Software. Having worked on projects with Fortune 500 and mid-size companies across North America, Europe, and Asia, he has extensive experience in international assignments. He is a regular speaker on topics involving SAP Business Workflow and content management at ASUG, SAPPHIRE, SAP TechEd, and other SAP-related events. Martin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Strasbourg, France, and an M.B.A. from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.|Elke Menninger joined SAP Germany in 1994 and gained experience as consultant in many projects with her main focus on SAP R/3 Production Planning and Supply Chain Management. In 2000, she transitioned to SAP AG and is now working as product manager within SAP Master Data Governance. She is an active contributor to the SAP Community Network for SAP Master Data Governance. Elke has a degree in business engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany. Justin Morgalis has been helping clients implement SAP ERP HCM Self-Services since 2007. He comes from a consulting and development background, so he understands both the technical and functional aspects of SAP ERP HCM and can communicate them clearly to any audience. In the past four years, he has focused almost exclusively on projects with the HCM Processes and Forms components, leading teams of both functional and technical resources to successful implementations. He earned his degree in psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives today with his wife and two sons. Eddie Morris is an SAP Support Architect with more than 15 years of IT experience. Starting with Dell Inc., he worked as an analyst/programmer, but the past 12 years, he has been supporting SAP Business Workflow for customers across the globe. He has delivered workflow customer training in the UK and Ireland, as well as within the SAP Product Support teams worldwide, and he has delivered numerous remote Expert on Demand sessions for Solution Support. Eddie was a contributor to Practical Workflow for SAP (2nd ed.) and is an occasional contributor to the Workflow User Group and SCN to promote all things workflow. Eddie is based in Ireland and studied business as well as software design and development at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Amol Palekar has worked on BI programs for various Fortune 500 companies. He is currently director of Analytics and Service Delivery at TekLink International Inc. Actively engaged in providing BI solution and architecture consulting services, he also leads the Application Management Services practice in TekLink and focuses on institutionalizing the global delivery model and processes for BI application development and support engagements. He is also a trainer, author, and regular speaker on the subject of BI. He is recognized for his popular and best-selling books: A Practical Guide to SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 (1st ed., SAP PRESS), A Practical Guide to SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 (2nd ed., SAP PRESS), and Supply Chain Analytics with SAP BW (Tata McGraw-Hill). You can reach him at amolpp@yahoo.com. Mike Pokraka is a freelance consultant who has been working with SAP since the 1990s. Prior to SAP, he has also worked as an Oracle DBA, and co-founded a successful data processing bureau. His SAP career started out in ABAP development, but he also put his business skills to use in various functional roles. He discovered SAP Business Workflow in 2000 and quickly developed a passion for its unique mix of business and technical disciplines. The diverse range of applications for workflow has also gained him experience in a range of functional areas in an array of industries from manufacturing to retail, pharmaceutical, automotive, utilities, and more.He is also a regular speaker at conferences such as ASUG and SAP TechEd, and he was nominated as an SAP Mentor in 2009. Andreas Seifried is product manager for SAP Master Data Governance and has been engaged in shaping SAP's portfolio for data management since he joined the development organization in 2004. Andreas joined SAP in 2001. As a technology consultant, he helped organizations all over the world solve their data and process integration challenges. He began his professional IT career in 1996 as a consultant for internetworking, security, and related technologies at Deutsche Telekom. As a foundation of his strong and diverse technical background (networking, security, programming, in both SAP and non-SAP environments), he holds a master diploma (Dipl. Ing.) in electrical engineering from the University of Karlsruhe (Germany). Sachin Sethi is an author, speaker, and agent of change for SAP SRM. He's the founder and managing partner of TSE (The SRM Experts), which provides business consulting and systems integration services focused around the SAP SRM solution. Find out more at www.thesrmexperts.com. Sachin has helped build business cases for SAP SRM, launch SAP SRM ramp-up and upgrades, and analyze many e-procurement solutions. His experience with SAP SRM and SAP EB products dates back to their inception; the initial B2B release. As an industry leader, he has addressed audiences at the Logistics and Supply Chain conference, annual SAP Sapphire and America's SAP Users' Group (ASUG) conferences, e-business seminars, universities, and local ASUG chapters.A resident SAP SRM solution expert at www.searchsap.com, he advises organizations globally and spends a considerable amount of time on customer engagements in the role of a strategic advisor, project lead, and solution architect. Sachin has a dual degree in computer engineering and business administration and holds an Executive MBA degree. He can be reached at sachin.sethi@thesrmexperts.com. Atul Sudhalkar is a product manager for SAP's Governance, Risk, and Compliance group, and works at SAP's Palo Alto offices. Before joining SAP, Atul worked as an architect and development manager at PeopleSoft. Atul holds engineering degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He obtained a doctorate in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where his thesis research focused on computational geometry and geometric solid modeling. Atul holds several patents on product ideas he has developed, and he has several more patents pending in the United States and abroad.

Foreword ... 29

Preface ... 33

PART I: Getting Started with Workflow in SAP

1. Introduction ... 45

1.1 SAP Business Workflow: Defined ... 45
1.2 SAP Intelligent Business Operations ... 48
1.3 How SAP Business Workflow Fits Into the SAP Overall Business Process Management Strategy ... 51
1.4 When to Use SAP Business Workflow ... 52
1.5 What Can Be Achieved Using SAP Business Workflow … 57
1.6 Features of SAP Business Workflow ... 58
1.7 Some Terminology ... 66

2. Requirements Gathering Strategy ... 69

2.1 Introduction ... 69
2.2 Understanding the Business Process … 71
2.3 Gathering Object Data ... 78
2.4 Determining the Agents ... 84
2.5 Determining Work Item Delivery Routes ... 89
2.6 Confirming the Workflow Design ... 90
2.7 Workflow Administration ... 92
2.8 Planning for Production Start … 93
2.9 Planning for Future Enhancements ... 94

3. Configuring the System ... 97

3.1 Quick Start: Configure the SAP Business Workflow Engine in Seconds ... 99
3.2 Task-Specific Customizing ... 105
3.3 Transport and Client Copy ... 107
3.4 Customizing for the SAP Business Workflow Engine ... 108

4. Work Item Delivery ... 111

4.1 The Human Factory ... 111
4.2 SAP Business Workplace ... 114
4.3 Universal Worklist ... 127
4.4 Examples of Universal Worklist Customizing ... 137
4.5 Extended Notifications ... 141
4.6 Business Workflow Work Center ... 144
4.7 Mobile Workflows ... 145
4.8 External Users ... 146
4.9 Other Considerations ... 147

5. Agents ... 149
5.1 Understanding Agent Assignment ... 150
5.2 Agent Assignment Using the Organizational Structure ... 160
5.3 Agent Assignment Using Task Groups ... 167
5.4 Implementing and Maintaining the Structure in Practice ... 168

6. Setting Up an SAP-Provided SAP ERP Workflow ... 177

6.1 Finding Workflows Delivered by SAP ... 178
6.2 Business Scenario ... 180
6.3 SAP Workflows Involved ... 181
6.4 Starting the Workflow ... 182
6.5 Activating the Scenario ... 183
6.6 Commonly Used SAP ERP Workflows ... 185

7. SAP Operational Process Intelligence Powered by SAP HANA ... 187

7.1 The Objectives of SAP Operational Process Intelligence ... 188
7.2 Prerequisites for Operational Excellence ... 190
7.3 space.me Dashboards ... 192
7.4 SAP HANA Studio ... 200
7.5 Next Steps ... 205

PART II: Administering Workflows

8. Workflow Administration ... 209
8.1 Reporting on Workflows ... 210
8.2 Error Resolution ... 216
8.3 General Techniques for Resolving Runtime Errors ... 219
8.4 Working with the Work Item Display ... 224
8.5 Working with the Workflow Log ... 231
8.6 Working with the Classic Workflow Technical Log ... 236
8.7 Resolving Agent Determination Errors ... 239
8.8 Other Support Tools ... 246
8.9 Help Desk in the Intranet ... 247
8.10 A Day in the Life of a Workflow Administrator ... 249

9. Using SAP Business Warehouse for SAP Business Workflow Reporting ... 263
9.1 SAP Business Warehouse Basics for the Workflow Expert ... 264
9.2 Standard Workflow Analysis with SAP Business Warehouse … 266

10. Administration Troubleshooting Guide ... 271
10.1 A Workflow That Doesn’t Start ... 271
10.2 A Workflow That Stops in Mid-Track ... 276
10.3 The Most Likely Causes (and How to Avoid Them) ... 278
10.4 The Administrator’s First Aid Guide ... 286

11. Advanced Diagnostics ... 299

11.1 Troubleshooting Workflows ... 299
11.2 Diagnosis Logs ... 301
11.3 Debugging with the ABAP Debugger ... 308
11.4 Preparing a Task to Go to Production ... 317

12. Upgrading SAP Business Workflow ... 323

12.1 First Steps to Upgrading Workflow ... 323
12.2 Steps to Take Before the Upgrade Begins ... 325
12.3 Steps to Take During and After the Upgrade ... 327
12.4 Important SAP Notes ... 332

PART III: Developing Workflows

13. Creating a Workflow ... 337

13.1 Workflow Builder Basics ... 338
13.2 Enhancing Your Workflow ... 347
13.3 Basics of Containers and Bindings ... 363
13.4 Steps ... 368
13.5 Documenting, Translating, Transporting, and Team Development ... 376

14. Advanced Workflow Design Techniques ... 381

14.1 Step Conditions ... 381
14.2 How to Implement Parallel Processing ... 384
14.3 Reusing Workflows as Subworkflows ... 391
14.4 Modeled Deadlines ... 392
14.5 Containers ... 394
14.6 Binding ... 400
14.7 Blocks and Local Workflows ... 402
14.8 Ad Hoc Features and Review Workflows ... 404

15. Business Objects ... 407

15.1 BOR Object Basics ... 409
15.2 Creating Your Own BOR Objects ... 426
15.3 Creating BOR Components ... 431
15.4 BOR Object Programming ... 447
15.5 Some Useful Predefined BOR Objects ... 464
15.6 Real-World Examples for BOR Object Customizing ... 466

16. ABAP Classes ... 471

16.1 ABAP Classes Basics … 472
16.2 Comparing ABAP Classes and BOR Objects ... 476
16.3 Utility Classes ... 479
16.4 Business Classes ... 492
16.5 Exception Classes ... 506
16.6 Using BOR Objects in Classes ... 512
16.7 Events ... 517
16.8 Recommendations and Advanced Topics ... 527

17. Agent Determination Rules ... 535

17.1 Determining Agents through Rule Resolution ... 536
17.2 Rule Basics ... 537
17.3 Agent Determination Rule Resolution in the Workflow Step ... 542
17.4 What Happens If Rule Resolution Has No Result ... 543
17.5 Responsibility Rules ... 545
17.6 Agent Determination Using SAP Organizational Data ... 549
17.7 Function Modules as Rules ... 551
17.8 Evaluation Paths as Rules ... 556
17.9 Other Options for Responsible Agent Assignment ... 558
17.10 Real-World Example of Agent Determination Rules ... 560

18. Using Events and Other Business Interfaces ... 563

18.1 Understanding Events ... 564
18.2 How to Know What Events Exist ... 566
18.3 Defining Events ... 570
18.4 Raising Events from Business Applications ... 571
18.5 Using Events in Workflows ... 580
18.6 Generic Object Services ... 593
18.7 Starting Workflows from Messages ... 596

19. Custom Programs ... 599

19.1 The SAP Business Workflow Engine ... 599
19.2 Workflow APIs ... 608
19.3 Advanced Business Interface Techniques ... 612
19.4 Office Document Interfaces ... 625

20. Service-Enabling Workflows ... 627

20.1 Workflow in the Context of a Business Process ... 627
20.2 Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture ... 629
20.3 SOA at SAP ... 634
20.4 Implementing the Service Interface for a Workflow ... 636

21. BRFplus and SAP Decision Service Management ... 659

21.1 Introduction to Business Rules and Decision Services ... 660
21.2 Overview of Decision Services in SAP DSM/BRFplus ... 664
21.3 Calling Decision Services from SAP Business Workflow ... 667
21.4 Example: Decision Service for Adaptable Deadlines ... 669
21.5 Example: Decision Service for Agent Assignment ... 673

PART IV: Enhancing Workflows

22. User Interface Options ... 681

22.1 Inbox and the User Interface ... 682
22.2 Containers, Bindings, and Data Flow ... 684

23. Using Web Dynpro ABAP ... 689
23.1 Example Based on User Decision ... 690
23.2 Required Settings in Web Dynpro ABAP ... 697
23.3 Configuration for the Universal Worklist ... 705
23.4 Ensuring the User Only Executes the Work Item in the Universal Worklist ... 706

24. Using Web Dynpro Java ... 709
24.1 Real-World Example of Web Dynpro Java and Workflow ... 710
24.2 Setting Up the Java Development Environment ... 712
24.3 Tasks on the Java Side … 716
24.4 Tasks in the Universal Worklist ... 721

25. Using Business Server Pages ... 725
25.1 Building the Example BSP and Workflow ... 725
25.2 Launching the BSP and Transferring Data ... 734
25.3 Completing Workflow Tasks from BSP Applications ... 740

26. Using Forms ... 743
26.1 SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe ... 743
26.2 SAP Business Workflow Forms ... 744

27. Using SAPUI5 ... 751
27.1 UI Applications ... 752
27.2 Inside SAPUI5 ... 753
27.3 Sketching Out the Application ... 755
27.4 Frontend, Meet Backend ... 774
27.5 Last Steps ... 783

PART V: Using SAP Business Workflow in SAP Applications

28. ArchiveLink ... 787
28.1 What Is ArchiveLink? ... 788
28.2 ArchiveLink Standard Scenarios ... 791
28.3 BOR Object Types ... 794

29. SAP Supplier Relationship Management ... 797

29.1 Approval Processes ... 799
29.2 SAP SRM Approval Frameworks ... 806
29.3 Process-Controlled Workflow in Detail ... 808
29.4 Real-World Example of a Process-Controlled Workflow ... 841
29.5 Application-Controlled Workflow in Detail … 847
29.6 Real-World Example of Application-Controlled Workflow ... 863
29.7 Inbox and UWL ... 865
29.8 Offline Functionality ... 866
29.9 Deadline Monitoring ... 868
29.10 Recommendations When Getting Started ... 870

30 SAP Customer Relationship Management ... 877

30.1 Introduction ... 878
30.2 Customizing and Workflow Administration ... 887
30.3 Integrating Your Own Workflows ... 888
30.4 SAP CRM Worklist ... 891
30.5 SAP CRM Standard Workflows … 902
30.6 Sample Implementation of a Customer Workflow in SAP CRM ... 906

31. SAP ERP Human Capital Management—Processes and Forms ... 935

31.1 Workflow within the HCM Processes and Forms Framework ... 936
31.2 Standard Workflows in HCM Processes and Forms ... 939
31.3 Workflow Techniques ... 940
31.4 Creating Your Own Workflows ... 946
31.5 Universal Worklist Configuration ... 951

32. SAP Governance, Risk, and Compliance ... 955

32.1 Overview of SAP’s GRC Applications ... 956
32.2 Multi-Stage, Multi-Path Approval Workflow in GRC Access Control ... 957
32.3 SAP Process Control ... 965
32.4 Risk Management ... 974

33. SAP Fiori and Mobility ... 979

33.1 Fundamentals of Mobile Access to Workflows ... 980
33.2 Assessing Mobile Fit: HTML5 versus Native Apps versus Hybrid Containers ... 982
33.3 SAP Fiori Approve All versus Unified Inbox ... 983
33.4 SAP Fiori Approve All ... 984

34. SAP Master Data Governance ... 993

34.1 Application Overview ... 993
34.2 SAP Master Data Governance’s Change Request Process ... 995
34.3 Using SAP Business Workflow in SAP Master Data Governance ... 999
34.4 Rule-Based Workflow ... 1006
34.5 Blueprinting Your Change Request Process ... 1015
34.6 Implementing the Change Request Process ... 1019

Appendices ... 1027

A. Tips and Tricks ... 1029

A.1 Working with Wizards ... 1029
A.2 Working with Email ... 1031
A.3 Showing the Decision Maker in a Follow-On Step ... 1037
A.4 Creating Your Own User Decision Template ... 1038
A.5 Using Secondary, Before, and After Methods ... 1039
A.6 Looping through a Multiline List ... 1041
A.7 Creating Object References Dynamically ... 1042
A.8 Deadlines Based on the Factory Calendar ... 1043
A.9 Making the Most of Modeled Deadlines ... 1047
A.10 Ad Hoc Anchor Step ... 1049
A.11 Review Workflows ... 1050

B. New Features and Functionality ... 1051

C. The Authors ... 1055

Index ... 1065