WORKFLOW 30/04/2019

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0.- INTRODUCCIÓN

What Can a Workflow Management System Do?

 A Workflow Management System facilitates the

electronic processing of structured processes
which:
 include a range of activities,
 always occur in a similar or identical form,
 involve several people or departments and
 require a high degree of coordination.
 Workflow Management Systems control processes
according to a predefined model and are especially
suited to structured organizations.

 SAP AG 1999

W o rk flo w B e n e fits fo r th e E n d U s e r

 F a s te r, s im p le r a c c e s s to
in fo rm a tio n

 L e s s e ffo rt fo r a d m in is tra tiv e

ta s k s

 E a s ie r le a rn in g a n d
u n d e rs ta n d in g o f p ro c e s s e s

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Domains of workflow

Optimize the Managing Workflows to

distribution of single manage complex
information processes processes

Information flow Error/exception handling Approval procedures

- on field changes
- on status changes
- on changes of sensitve data
Document handling
- early archiving
- procedures based on forms
- use of circulars
Automatic help
- customizing help
- help in cases of error
 SAP AG 1999
- incorrect EDIs
- follow-on functions on expensive
orders
- follow-on functions regarding
credit limit
- follow-on functions if defined
limits reached
Automatic system activities
- print and send reports
- automatic archiving of data
- automatic booking of data
(see CATTs)
Master data maintenance
- customer master
- material master
- vendor master
- purchase requisition
- park invoice
- notification of absence
- notification of travel
Deadline monitoring
Escalation procedures
Cross-application processes
- administration of applicants
- check quotations
- process change service
Internet Scenarios

Five Questions for Each Part of a Business

Process

?
Who Should? Do What?

To What? When?

In What Order?

 SAP AG 1999
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Templates: Business Scenario

 Some business processes in SAP are supported by

‘ready to use’ multistep workflow processes
 These processes are delivered by SAP as SAP
workflows
 You must examine these templates in detail
 You need to read through the documentation
 You must work with example templates to become
comfortable with basic workflow functionality

 SAP AG 1999

MM: Purchase Requisition Approval

Start
Workflow
Activities for Req
Purchase Customizing Templates

Whole Document
Review
or
Line Item data
 Identify business process to be supported by SAP Business
Workflow
Cancelled Changed Released Refused
Configure
 Strategy Searchthe workflow runtime and development system
Notification of

 Select template that corresponds to your requirements Release

Not. Confirmed
Notification of
 Create organizational plan Cancellation
Notification of
Refusal
Release Strategy KH Not. Confirmed
Not. Confirmed
 Define possible task agents Not.
Not. Confirmed
Confirmed

Char. Value
LinkAssign.
 Acct. tasksCat.
to the
K organizational plan
Plant 3000
End
Activate
 Total Value event linkage
> 25,000 for your workflow
Workflow
Requires Approval From:
L1, L2 ...
Ended
Ended
 SAP AG 1999

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Tasks

Task
Ob jecttyp ewith Organizational
objectm ethod Whatwill be Whowill be plan
executedby responsiblefor
thetask? thetask?

Properties

Texts Events
workitemtext: titleofwork terminatingevents
iteminw orklist
taskd escription
n otifica tionte xt
triggeringevents
d ea d linete xt O nlyif theta skisnotused
d esire de n dte xt inaw o rkflow
late st sta rtte xt
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WF PROJECT

Steps of a workflow project (1)

 Step 1: Preliminary work

What to do:
 Define the project team
(System administrator, process consultant, process
administrator, workflow developer, HR administrator, end user,
representative from the management
 Specify the project goals
 Result
Users are assigned to the different roles.
A central documentation exists.
The goals must be clearly stated so that the direction is clear to
everyone involved in the project

 SAP AG 1999

Steps of a workflow project (2)

 Step 2: Selection of the process

What to do:
 Select possible processes for a workflow project
At the end you should know: actual lead- and transport times,
interfaces, responsible agents, steps of the processes
 Cataloging of processes
Criteria can be: costs/benefits, feasibility, department criteria,
workload
 Decide which process should be implemented
 Define the project team
(System administrator, process consultant, process
administrator, workflow developer, HR administrator, end user,
representative from the management)
 Describe the major steps of the process
describe the conditions in which the process should start/end

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Steps of a workflow project (3)

 Step 3: Designing the workflow process

What to do:
 Establish the workflow design: detailed description of the steps of
the business process
 Find out who is responsible for the single steps
 Check the availability of standard functions
 Perform the application customizing
 Regular reviews with end users ( = process users)
 Clarify, who will be the administrator responsible for the workflow
 Train the persons responsible for implementing the workflow

 Result:
A detailed description of the business process exists and can be
used for the implementation of the workflow

 SAP AG 1999

Steps of a workflow project (4)

 Step 4: Realization of the workflow

What to do:
 Customizing within R/3
 Develop the workflow (BOR, Workflow Builder)
 If necessary: create tasks and object types, enhance object types
 Check whether further interfaces are necessary
(e.g. SAP Connect, SAP ArchiveLink, SAPforms)
 Define authorizations and the PD organization model
 Create documentation
 Regular reviews with all those involved
 Check the interface acceptance
 User tests

 Result:
The workflow has been defined and runs correctly.
User documentation exists.
 SAP AG 1999
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Steps of a workflow project (5)

 Step 5: Go live and support

What to do:
 Final end user training
 Preparation in the production system
 What to do in the first week of going live: productive test/check of the
functions
 One month after going live: review workflow with the end users/review
workflow statistics to detect possible bottle necks

 Result
The workflow has gone live and is being used in the production
environment
Ideally you should be able to estimate the current costs per process
and compare this with the old process in a report for the management.
Other processes in need of optimizing may well be suggested.

 SAP AG 1999

Factors for success (1)

 Co-operation between user department and IT-department

 Active support from the management
 Clear decision-making structures
 If necessary: involve the works council asap
 Check the political and organizational conditions
 Well prepared project management, logical procedures
 Discuss the benefits of the workflow projects
do not concentrate only on saving personal costs
 Convince the end user.

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Factors for success (2)

 Involve the end user in the process of process decription

 Project marketing: publish every successful step
 Careful process selection for first project
 Determine administrative responsibility for the generated
workflow
 Document the processes implemented
 Extensive testing
 Train the project team and the end users
 Create optimum conditions for ergonomic work environment

 SAP AG 1999

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WF ARCHITECTURE

SAP Business Workflow Architecture

Person Position Org.unit

Organization
Level Role
Role Task

Reference

Process WF-Definition WF-Step

Level
Trigger or
Terminate
Attribute Event Method
Object
Type
Object
Level

 SAP AG 1999

Materials Management Workflow

Material: 100-300 Change documents

Old Material: Original_part

Transaction SWEC
New_part

Lab: PM1 Event

ZBUS1001,
Check Import parameter
Old_Material_changed
table for role
T024L
Possible
agents
Org-Plan
Task
Engineering unit
Product Management unit Display Material
SAP org object T024L PM1
Product Manager Position Role: Find Lab
Holder: Jones

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Workflow Design: Top Down

Triggering Design Process

1 Event 0
Workflow
Workflow Which
Organizational 2 responsibilities
plan definition 1 do you have
for the scenario?
1 Terminating
Event
Design the
2 workflow
Organizational task
plan 3
How must the
3 tasks be
defined ?
Object type 4
How must the
4 object type
be defined ?
SAP
functionality Which functionality
5 5 should the
method involve ?
 SAP AG 1999

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1.- PARAMETRIZACION PREVIA:WU3

Configuration of the Workflow Environment

Verify Workflow Customizing

SWU3
Test RFC Destination Automatic Customizing Verify workflow
Workflow Runtime System
Customizing Incomplete
An active plan version exists
Workfkow administrator maintained
RFC destination has not been tested in this session, Please test
Generic decision task classified completely
T777* Tables all available
Monitoring job for missed deadlines is scheduled
Monitoring job for work items with errors is not scheduled
Sending to objects and HR objects activated

Workflow Development Environment

Customizing incomplete

Prefix numbers for standard object types maintained

An active plan version exists
No explicit number range defined for customer tasks (type ‘T’)

 SAP AG 1999

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Business Object Repository (BOR)

Business
BO Workflow
BO BO
BO
BO
BO BO
BO
BOR
ArchiveLink BO
BO BO
BO
BO
BO BAPI
BAPI
BAPI
BAPI
BO
BAPI BO
BAPI
BO
BO BAPI
BAPI

BAPI
BO
BO
BAPI
BAPI

Modeling
 SAP AG 1999

Object Types and Runtime Objects

Instance
Object type

BOR Runtime
object

R/3
Database Persistency
tables
 SAP AG 1999
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Objects in Workflow

Event
triggering
event
Workflow
Multi step task Workflow
definition

Workflow manager
terminating
event
Task Work item

Work item manager

Object type Object type
Execution of an
Attribute Method object method

ABAP
Dictionary Database
SAP External
 SAP AG 1999 functionality applications

New Business Object Type

Material: My_part Change documents

Old Material: Original_part

New_part

Lab: PM1 Event

ZBUS1001.
Old_Material_changed

Business Object Type: ZBUS1001

Key: MARA-MATNR
Attribute: Laboratory
Method: Display Task
Event: Old_Material_changed Display Material

Business Object Type: T024L

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Object Type: Elements

Object type

Program
key fields
transaction
field reference
attributes
object
function
reference
module

Export/import report
parameter
methods

result ABAP coding

events
 SAP AG 1999

Delegation

Without Delegation With Delegation

between BUS1001 and ZBUS1001

BUS1001 BUS1001
created created

TASK TASK
based on based on
ZBUS1001. BUS1001.
Report1 Report1

No communication since Communication within Workflow

Workflow system finds two possible between those two tasks
business object types

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DefineaDialogTask

Standardtask Organizational
plan
Ob jecttypewith Whois
Whatistobe
objectm ethod responsible
executedby
forthe
thetask?
task?

Properties
“G eneral”Task:
allSAPu sers

Texts Events
Workitemtext:titleof Terminatingevents
workite minw orklist
Longte xts:
D escrip tion Triggeringevents
N otification Onlyif thetaskisn ot
M isse dd eadline s usedinaw orkflow

SAPAG1999

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2.- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

http:/help.sap.com
print files
business scenarios

DEMO WORKFLOW : SWUI_DEMO, SWXF

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