Practical Workflow for SAP
Effective Business Processes using SAP's WebFlow Engine
1st Edition
Published on 28. July 2002
Book
Hardback
552 pages
978-1-59229-006-2 (ISBN)
Description
In addition to giving you in-depth knowledge of the standard features of the WebFlow Engine, this book opens up new Internet-based possibilities. It also shows you how process management fits into your organization
and helps you improve the speed, quality, and consistency of everyday business processes.
You will learn how to deploy and extend SAP workflows, create your own, and make your project a success. Of particular interest is the use of new technologies such as XML messaging, as well as the insight you gain into the use of workflows in mySAP.com (for example, mySAP SRM and mySAP CRM).
Additional tips and tricks, checklists, guidelines for administrators, custom programs, and debugging techniques make this book an indispensable reference for everyday use.
This book is also available in German: Workflow-Management mit SAP, ISBN 3-89842-190-2
Key topics
- Setting Up an SAP Workflow
- Agent Assignment
- Workflow Administration
- Creating a Workflow
- E-Process Interfaces
- Using Forms
- Custom Programs
More details
Other editions
New editions
Alan Rickayzen | Jocelyn Dart | Ginger Gatling
Practical Workflow for SAP
Book
06/2009
2nd Edition
SAP PRESS
€79.95
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Author
Alan Rickayzen is the product manager of Alloy, the first joint software product between IBM and SAP. This integrates IBM Lotus Notes with SAP and includes workflow decision management. He 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 major U.S. customers. During this time, he amassed a good technical knowledge of the product before moving in 1998 to workflow product management where he was the principal liaison for the SAP workflow user groups. He has written regularly for SAP journals and was an author of the first edition of Practical Workflow for SAP. In his pursuit of Interoperability he became one of the original authors of the Web standard BPEL4People and WS-HumanTask, which have now been taken to Oasis. Alan Rickayzen graduated from Kings College, London with a bachelor of science degree in physics.
Jocelyn Dart is an SAP employee and has a number of specialties, including SAP Business Workflow, SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe, and HCM Processes and Forms. She has been involved with SAP products since 1990 on various customer sites. In 1994, she joined SAP Australia as a help desk support consultant. Later, she became an instructor giving courses in ABAP, Internet Transaction Server, SAP Business Workflow, SAP SRM, and SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe. She is currently a SAP Field Services consultant advising various major Australian and New Zealand customers. She is acknowledged as a global expert in SAP Business Workflow and regional expert in HCM Processes and Forms. Jocelyn Dart has a bachelor's degree in applied science. (Computing Science) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Dr. Carsten Brennecke has been involved in Workflow Management since 1995. In 1998 he joined SAP AG to work in workflow development. Carsten Brennecke is responsible for workflow documentation and he is directly involved in the planning and development of the WebFlow Engine. In addition, he takes an active role in the development WebFlow training and on occasion delivers training courses himself.
Markus Schneider has an MA in linguistics from Aachen Technical University. During this course he developed a new training and documentation concept for a local IT company. Markus Schneider joined SAP AG in 1998 to develop documentation and training material for SAP workflow. He is now in the WebFlow Engine development team and has a deep understanding of the underlying architecture.
Content
Preface from the Industry ... 17
Preface from SAP ... 21
Who Should Read This Book? ... 23
Part 1 Using SAP supplied Workflows ... 27
1. Introduction to SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 29
... 1.1 What is SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 29
... 1.2 Workflow or WebFlow? ... 32
... 1.3 Can I Do Without SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 33
... 1.4 In Which Situations Should I use SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 35
... 1.5 High-Level Overview of What Can be Achieved With SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 40
... 1.6 Brief Overview of Features ... 41
... 1.7 Summary ... 46
2. Requirements Gathering Strategy ... 49
... 2.1 Introduction ... 49
... 2.2 Understanding the Business Process ... 50
... 2.3 Gathering Object Data ... 57
... 2.4 Determining the Agents ... 62
... 2.5 Determining Work Item Delivery Routes ... 66
... 2.6 Confirming the Workflow Design ... 67
... 2.7 Workflow Administration ... 69
... 2.8 Planning for Production Start ... 69
... 2.9 Planning for Future Enhancements ... 70
3. Configuring the System ... 73
... 3.1 Quick Start: Configure SAP's WebFlow Engine in seconds ... 74
... 3.2 Workflow-Scenarios: Task S pecific Cu stomizing ... 81
... 3.3 Transport and Client Copy ... 82
... 3.4 Overview: Customizing for SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 83
4. Work Item Delivery ... 85
... 4.1 The Human Factor ... 85
... 4.2 Inbox Features ... 87
... 4.3 Table of Features Available in the Principle Inboxes ... 103
... 4.4 Successful Strategies for Work Item Delivery ... 104
... 4.5 Other Considerations ... 109
5. Agents ... 111
... 5.1 Understanding Agent Assignment ... 112
... 5.2 Agent A ssignment Using the Or ganizational Structure ... 120
... 5.3 Agent Assignment Using Task Groups ... 126
... 5.4 Implementing and Maintaining the Structure in Practice ... 127
6. Workflow Administration ... 133
... 6.1 Introduction ... 133
... 6.2 Reporting on Workflows... 134
... 6.3 Error Resolution ... 139
... 6.4 General Techniques for Resolving Runtime Errors ... 141
... 6.5 Resolving Agent Determination Errors ... 152
... 6.6 Resolving Buffering Errors (The Cinderella Principle) ... 155
... 6.7 Other Support Tools ... 158
... 6.8 Help-Desk in the Intranet ... 159
... 6.9 Day in the Life of a Workflow Administrator ... 161
Part 2 Developing your own Workflows ... 173
7. Creating a Workflow ... 175
... 7.1 Introduction ... 175
... 7.2 Workflow Builder Ba sics ... 176
... 7.3 Intermediate Workflow Builder (Steps, Tasks and Objects) ... 187
... 7.4 Advanced Workflow Builder-Step Definitions ... 197
... 7.5 Advanced Workflow Builder-Special Workflow Techniques ... 206
8. Business Objects ... 219
... 8.1 Business Object Basics ... 220
... 8.2 Creating your own Business Object Types ... 236
... 8.3 Creating Business Object Type Components ... 241
... 8.4 Business Object Type Programming 2... 55
... 8.5 Some useful predefined Object Types ... 270
9. Agent-Determination Rules ... 273
... 9.1 Determining Agents Through Rule Resolution ... 273
... 9.2 R ule Basics ... 274
... 9.3 Agent Determination Rule Resolution in the Workflow Step ... 278
... 9.4 What Happens If Rule Resolution Has No Result ... 279
... 9.5 Responsibility Rules ... 281
... 9.6 Evaluation paths as rules ... 285
... 9.7 Function Modules as Rules ... 286
... 9.8 SAP Organizational Objects as Rules ... 291
... 9.9 Other Options for Responsible Agent Assignment ... 293
10. Business Interfaces ... 295
... 10.1 Introduction ... 295
... 10.2 Understanding Events ... 295
... 10.3 Defining Events ... 297
... 10.4 Raising Events from Business Applications ... 297
... 10.5 Using Events in Workflows ... 304
... 10.6 Generic Object Services ... 313
... 10.7 Starting Workflows from Messages ... 317
11. E-Process Interfaces ... 319
... 11.1 Internet and Beyond ... 319
... 11.2W f-XML ... 320
... 11.3 Inside-Out: Web Services ... 329
... 11.4 Inside-Out: SAP Business Connector ... 339
... 11.5 Inside-out: Integration With Other Systems ... 340
... 11.6 Outside-in: Calling APIs to the WebFlow Engine ... 340
... 11.7 Outside-in: Wf-XML ... 340
... 11.8 E-Process Security Issues ... 341
... 11.9 Other Options for Communicating with External Systems ... 343
12. Forms ... 345
... 12.1 Introduction ... 345
... 12.2 Simple Forms ... 346
... 12.3 WebForms ... 349
... 12.4 WebForms That Call an Internet Application Component ... 351
... 12.5 Native WebForms ... 352
... 12.6 PC Document Forms (Including Microsoft Word) ... 354
13. Custom Programs ... 357
... 13.1 The Engine ... 357
... 13.2The Workflow APIs ... 364
... 13.3 Advanced Business Interface Techniques ... 368
... 13.4 Office Document Interfaces ... 380
... 13.5 Configuring RFC Destinations ... 382
14. Advanced Diagnostics ... 383
... 14.1 The Tools of the Trade ... 383
... 14.2 The Diagnosis Logs ... 384
... 14.3 Debugging with the ABAP Debugger ... 390
... 14.4 The Diagnosis Transaction ... 391
... 14.5 An Apple a Day ... 393
Part 3 Examples of the use of WebFlow in mySAP.com ... 397
15. WebFlow in Enterprise Buyer Professional ... 399
... 15.1 Workflow in EBP ... 399
... 15.2 Changing Shopping Cart Approval Workflows ... 412
... 15.3 Changing Confirmation and Invoice Approvals ... 419
... 15.4 User Approval Workflows ... 420
... 15.5 Understanding the Procurement Card Reconciliation Workflow ... 420
... 15.6 Tracking Workflow Instances ... 421
... 15.7 Advanced Troubleshooting and Solutions ... 421
... 15.8 Basics of EBP Architecture from a Workflow Perspective ... 423
... 15.9 Business Object Types ... 426
16. WebFlow in mySAP CRM ... 429
... 16.1 mySAP CRM and Workflow ... 429
... 16.2 Customizing ... 432
... 16.3 'Specials' of mySAP CRM ... 432
... 16.4 Using Your Own Workflows with mySAP CRM ... 436
17. Setting Up an SAP-Provided R/3 Workflow ... 439
... 17.1 Introduction ... 439
... 17.2 W hat is the Business Scenario? ... 440
... 17.3 Which SAP Workflows are Involved? ... 441
... 17.4 How is the Workflow Started? ... 442
... 17.5 How Do I Activate This Scenario? ... 442
18. WebFlow and ArchiveLink ... 447
... 18.1 Intelligent Organization and Distribution of Business Documents ... 447
... 18.2 What Is ArchiveLink ... 447
... 18.3 ArchiveLink Standard Scenarios ... 450
... 18.4 Business Object Types ... 453
Appendix ... 455
A Tips and Tricks ... 457
... A.1 Working with Wizards ... 457
... A.2 W orking with E-Mails ... 458
... A.3 Showing the Decision Maker in a Follow-On Step ... 466
... A.4 URLs in the Work Item Display ... 467
... A.5 Creating your Own User Decision Template ... 468
... A.6 Using Secondary, Before, and After Methods ... 468
... A.7 Looping Through a Multiline List ... 471
... A.8 Creating Object References Dynamically ... 472
... A.9 Deadlines Based on the Factory Calendar ... 472
... A.10 Making the Most of Modeled Deadlines ... 477
B Checklists ... 479
... B.1 Gathering Requirements ... 479
... B.2 Return on Investment (ROI) ... 484
... B.3 Quality Assurance Design Review ... 488
... B.4 Verification Tests ... 493
... B.5 Quality Assurance Implementation Review ... 496
... B.6 Going Live ... 500
... B.7 Housekeeping ... 502
C Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide ... 505
... C.1 A Workflow That Does Not Start ... 505
... C.2 A Workflow that Stops in Mid-Track ... 509
... C.3 Binding Problems with the Workflow Trace ... 514
... C.4 Why Duplicate or Multiple Workflows are Triggered ... 515
... C.5 Why an Agent Does Not Receive a Work Item ... 516
... C.6 Why the Wrong Agent Receives the Work Item ... 517
... C.7 Why the Work Item Follows the Wrong Route ... 518
D Administrator's First Aid Guide ... 519
... D.1 Resolving Work Item Errors ... 519
... D.2 Resolving Workflow Instance Errors ... 523
... D.3 Finding Workflows That Appear to Have Disappeared ... 525
... D.4 Resolving Event Linkage Errors ... 525
... D.5 Resolving Internet-Specific Errors ... 529
E Workflow Macros ... 531
... E.1 Macros Specific to Object Type Programs ... 531
... E.2 Macros for General Workflow Programming ... 532
F SAP Workflow Training ... 535
... F.1 BC600 Workflow Introduction ... 535
... F.2 BC601 Build and Use Workflows ... 535
... F.3 BC610 Workflow Programming ... 535
... F.4 BIT603 Web Scenarios and the WebFlow Engine ... 536
... F.5 TAWF10 Workflow Academy ... 536
... F.6 Further Information ... 536
G Glossary ... 537
Index ... 547
Preface from SAP ... 21
Who Should Read This Book? ... 23
Part 1 Using SAP supplied Workflows ... 27
1. Introduction to SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 29
... 1.1 What is SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 29
... 1.2 Workflow or WebFlow? ... 32
... 1.3 Can I Do Without SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 33
... 1.4 In Which Situations Should I use SAP's WebFlow Engine? ... 35
... 1.5 High-Level Overview of What Can be Achieved With SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 40
... 1.6 Brief Overview of Features ... 41
... 1.7 Summary ... 46
2. Requirements Gathering Strategy ... 49
... 2.1 Introduction ... 49
... 2.2 Understanding the Business Process ... 50
... 2.3 Gathering Object Data ... 57
... 2.4 Determining the Agents ... 62
... 2.5 Determining Work Item Delivery Routes ... 66
... 2.6 Confirming the Workflow Design ... 67
... 2.7 Workflow Administration ... 69
... 2.8 Planning for Production Start ... 69
... 2.9 Planning for Future Enhancements ... 70
3. Configuring the System ... 73
... 3.1 Quick Start: Configure SAP's WebFlow Engine in seconds ... 74
... 3.2 Workflow-Scenarios: Task S pecific Cu stomizing ... 81
... 3.3 Transport and Client Copy ... 82
... 3.4 Overview: Customizing for SAP's WebFlow Engine ... 83
4. Work Item Delivery ... 85
... 4.1 The Human Factor ... 85
... 4.2 Inbox Features ... 87
... 4.3 Table of Features Available in the Principle Inboxes ... 103
... 4.4 Successful Strategies for Work Item Delivery ... 104
... 4.5 Other Considerations ... 109
5. Agents ... 111
... 5.1 Understanding Agent Assignment ... 112
... 5.2 Agent A ssignment Using the Or ganizational Structure ... 120
... 5.3 Agent Assignment Using Task Groups ... 126
... 5.4 Implementing and Maintaining the Structure in Practice ... 127
6. Workflow Administration ... 133
... 6.1 Introduction ... 133
... 6.2 Reporting on Workflows... 134
... 6.3 Error Resolution ... 139
... 6.4 General Techniques for Resolving Runtime Errors ... 141
... 6.5 Resolving Agent Determination Errors ... 152
... 6.6 Resolving Buffering Errors (The Cinderella Principle) ... 155
... 6.7 Other Support Tools ... 158
... 6.8 Help-Desk in the Intranet ... 159
... 6.9 Day in the Life of a Workflow Administrator ... 161
Part 2 Developing your own Workflows ... 173
7. Creating a Workflow ... 175
... 7.1 Introduction ... 175
... 7.2 Workflow Builder Ba sics ... 176
... 7.3 Intermediate Workflow Builder (Steps, Tasks and Objects) ... 187
... 7.4 Advanced Workflow Builder-Step Definitions ... 197
... 7.5 Advanced Workflow Builder-Special Workflow Techniques ... 206
8. Business Objects ... 219
... 8.1 Business Object Basics ... 220
... 8.2 Creating your own Business Object Types ... 236
... 8.3 Creating Business Object Type Components ... 241
... 8.4 Business Object Type Programming 2... 55
... 8.5 Some useful predefined Object Types ... 270
9. Agent-Determination Rules ... 273
... 9.1 Determining Agents Through Rule Resolution ... 273
... 9.2 R ule Basics ... 274
... 9.3 Agent Determination Rule Resolution in the Workflow Step ... 278
... 9.4 What Happens If Rule Resolution Has No Result ... 279
... 9.5 Responsibility Rules ... 281
... 9.6 Evaluation paths as rules ... 285
... 9.7 Function Modules as Rules ... 286
... 9.8 SAP Organizational Objects as Rules ... 291
... 9.9 Other Options for Responsible Agent Assignment ... 293
10. Business Interfaces ... 295
... 10.1 Introduction ... 295
... 10.2 Understanding Events ... 295
... 10.3 Defining Events ... 297
... 10.4 Raising Events from Business Applications ... 297
... 10.5 Using Events in Workflows ... 304
... 10.6 Generic Object Services ... 313
... 10.7 Starting Workflows from Messages ... 317
11. E-Process Interfaces ... 319
... 11.1 Internet and Beyond ... 319
... 11.2W f-XML ... 320
... 11.3 Inside-Out: Web Services ... 329
... 11.4 Inside-Out: SAP Business Connector ... 339
... 11.5 Inside-out: Integration With Other Systems ... 340
... 11.6 Outside-in: Calling APIs to the WebFlow Engine ... 340
... 11.7 Outside-in: Wf-XML ... 340
... 11.8 E-Process Security Issues ... 341
... 11.9 Other Options for Communicating with External Systems ... 343
12. Forms ... 345
... 12.1 Introduction ... 345
... 12.2 Simple Forms ... 346
... 12.3 WebForms ... 349
... 12.4 WebForms That Call an Internet Application Component ... 351
... 12.5 Native WebForms ... 352
... 12.6 PC Document Forms (Including Microsoft Word) ... 354
13. Custom Programs ... 357
... 13.1 The Engine ... 357
... 13.2The Workflow APIs ... 364
... 13.3 Advanced Business Interface Techniques ... 368
... 13.4 Office Document Interfaces ... 380
... 13.5 Configuring RFC Destinations ... 382
14. Advanced Diagnostics ... 383
... 14.1 The Tools of the Trade ... 383
... 14.2 The Diagnosis Logs ... 384
... 14.3 Debugging with the ABAP Debugger ... 390
... 14.4 The Diagnosis Transaction ... 391
... 14.5 An Apple a Day ... 393
Part 3 Examples of the use of WebFlow in mySAP.com ... 397
15. WebFlow in Enterprise Buyer Professional ... 399
... 15.1 Workflow in EBP ... 399
... 15.2 Changing Shopping Cart Approval Workflows ... 412
... 15.3 Changing Confirmation and Invoice Approvals ... 419
... 15.4 User Approval Workflows ... 420
... 15.5 Understanding the Procurement Card Reconciliation Workflow ... 420
... 15.6 Tracking Workflow Instances ... 421
... 15.7 Advanced Troubleshooting and Solutions ... 421
... 15.8 Basics of EBP Architecture from a Workflow Perspective ... 423
... 15.9 Business Object Types ... 426
16. WebFlow in mySAP CRM ... 429
... 16.1 mySAP CRM and Workflow ... 429
... 16.2 Customizing ... 432
... 16.3 'Specials' of mySAP CRM ... 432
... 16.4 Using Your Own Workflows with mySAP CRM ... 436
17. Setting Up an SAP-Provided R/3 Workflow ... 439
... 17.1 Introduction ... 439
... 17.2 W hat is the Business Scenario? ... 440
... 17.3 Which SAP Workflows are Involved? ... 441
... 17.4 How is the Workflow Started? ... 442
... 17.5 How Do I Activate This Scenario? ... 442
18. WebFlow and ArchiveLink ... 447
... 18.1 Intelligent Organization and Distribution of Business Documents ... 447
... 18.2 What Is ArchiveLink ... 447
... 18.3 ArchiveLink Standard Scenarios ... 450
... 18.4 Business Object Types ... 453
Appendix ... 455
A Tips and Tricks ... 457
... A.1 Working with Wizards ... 457
... A.2 W orking with E-Mails ... 458
... A.3 Showing the Decision Maker in a Follow-On Step ... 466
... A.4 URLs in the Work Item Display ... 467
... A.5 Creating your Own User Decision Template ... 468
... A.6 Using Secondary, Before, and After Methods ... 468
... A.7 Looping Through a Multiline List ... 471
... A.8 Creating Object References Dynamically ... 472
... A.9 Deadlines Based on the Factory Calendar ... 472
... A.10 Making the Most of Modeled Deadlines ... 477
B Checklists ... 479
... B.1 Gathering Requirements ... 479
... B.2 Return on Investment (ROI) ... 484
... B.3 Quality Assurance Design Review ... 488
... B.4 Verification Tests ... 493
... B.5 Quality Assurance Implementation Review ... 496
... B.6 Going Live ... 500
... B.7 Housekeeping ... 502
C Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide ... 505
... C.1 A Workflow That Does Not Start ... 505
... C.2 A Workflow that Stops in Mid-Track ... 509
... C.3 Binding Problems with the Workflow Trace ... 514
... C.4 Why Duplicate or Multiple Workflows are Triggered ... 515
... C.5 Why an Agent Does Not Receive a Work Item ... 516
... C.6 Why the Wrong Agent Receives the Work Item ... 517
... C.7 Why the Work Item Follows the Wrong Route ... 518
D Administrator's First Aid Guide ... 519
... D.1 Resolving Work Item Errors ... 519
... D.2 Resolving Workflow Instance Errors ... 523
... D.3 Finding Workflows That Appear to Have Disappeared ... 525
... D.4 Resolving Event Linkage Errors ... 525
... D.5 Resolving Internet-Specific Errors ... 529
E Workflow Macros ... 531
... E.1 Macros Specific to Object Type Programs ... 531
... E.2 Macros for General Workflow Programming ... 532
F SAP Workflow Training ... 535
... F.1 BC600 Workflow Introduction ... 535
... F.2 BC601 Build and Use Workflows ... 535
... F.3 BC610 Workflow Programming ... 535
... F.4 BIT603 Web Scenarios and the WebFlow Engine ... 536
... F.5 TAWF10 Workflow Academy ... 536
... F.6 Further Information ... 536
G Glossary ... 537
Index ... 547