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- SAP Business Workflow is a cross-application tool that makes it possible
to integrate business tasks across departments, applications and system
boundaries.
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- Workflow can be used to define business processes that are not yet
mapped in the R/3 System.
- Workflow is particularly suitable for situation in which work processes
have to be run through repeatedly, or situations in which the business
process requires the involvement of a large number of agents in a
specific sequence.
- It can also be use to respond to errors and exceptions in other,
existing business processes. We can start a workflow when predefined
events occur, for example an event can be triggered if particular errors
are found during an automatic check.
- To reduce the Cycle time by pushing the process directly to the users.
- Deadline handling & Escalation Measures
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- Workflow provides a number of tools for defining and analyzing workflows
as well as for monitoring operation. They are:
- Workflow Builder
- Workflow Wizard Explorer
- Business Object Builder
- Business Wizard Explorer
- Business Workplace
- System Admin Tools
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- Workflow Builder: It is for displaying and making changes to workflows.
We can make small extensions directly to the original workflows supplied
by SAP, such as carrying out your own agent assignments or changing
deadline monitoring.
- Workflow Wizard Explorer: It has Wizards that can be used to support us
in defining of workflows, with
which we can create specific parts of a workflow. It gives us an
overview of the existing Workflow Wizards.
- Business Object Builder: Business Objects are used to make the functions
of the R/3 Systems available to a workflow, this objects can be defined
and analyze here. These business objects are made available to the
workflow in reusable tasks, thus introducing Object Orientation
- Business Wizard Explorer: gives us an overview of all existing tasks.
- Business Workplace: This is the area where the end user receives
information about the activities they are to carry out. This provides
them with a central overview of all the activities that they are
authorized to carry out. They can commence the activities from here.
- Several tools are available to the workflow system administrator, with
which they can control and analyze the current workflows. The workflow
system administrator is notified of problems automatically by the
system.
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- Have a clear idea of the areas in question
- The extent to which business process needs to be changed and adapted, and passed over
to electronic process control.
- Many application components of the R/3 System use and integrate SAP
Business Workflow functions. Therefore, be sure to execute the function Maintain
standard settings for SAP Business Workflow in SAP Business Workflow Customizing.
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- SAP Business Workflow uses the existing transactions and functions of
the R/3 System and does not change the functions.
- We can combine the existing functions of the R/3 System to form new
business processes with SAP Business Workflow. The workflow system takes
over control of the business processes.
- If we are already using SAP Organizational Management, we can use the
organizational structure created there to have the relevant agents carry
out the individual activities.
- It is possible to have an activity carried out by a position. This
ensures that the respective occupiers of the position can carry out the
individual activities during execution of the workflow. This means that
personnel changes in your organization are taken into account
immediately in the execution of a workflow.
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- The definition and execution of a workflow can be divided into four main
areas viz.:
- A user executes workflows in their Business Workplace where the work
items that they can execute are displayed.
- A workflow must be defined to be executed. To this end, a workflow
definition is created in the Workflow Builder.
- This definition contains steps that are executed at runtime. The step
either control the workflow directly or they contain a reference to a task.
- The task refers to a method of an object type in the Business Object
Repository (BOR) and can be executed at runtime either automatically
(background task) or by a user (dialog task).
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- Work items are displayed to the user for execution in their Business
Workplace. Work items are instances of a workflow at runtime. Their are
various types of work item. Only certain types are displayed in the
Business Workplace.
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- Workflow definitions are made up of steps that control the workflow or
refer to the tasks to be executed.
- Additional Specifications can be made about agents and deadline
monitoring for a step. Specifications are evaluated at runtime by the work
item manager.
- The workflow is started either manually or by the system at runtime.
- For the system to start a workflow, the workflow definition must
contain a triggering event (for example the event "material
created"). When the event occurs, the relevant workflow is started
automatically.
- Activation of workflow definition automatically generates a runtime
version.
- When the workflow is started (manually or automatically), the relevant
runtime version is used for the execution.
- If the workflow definition is changed later and a new runtime version
is generated, these changes do not affect workflows that are already
being executed.
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- Tasks describe elementary business activities.
- Tasks always refer to a method of an object type.
- Possible agents are defined for tasks.
- Tasks can refer to automatically executable methods (background tasks)
or they can need a user to execute them (dialog tasks).
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- The Business Object Repository provides an overview of all object types
in the R/3 System. We can use or extend the existing object types as
well as create new object types.
- An object type describes the data with which you want to work in a
workflow, for example the object type Material.
- An object is an individual data record of an object type. Attributes are
defined for an object type, which make up its data record (for example,
material name or material number).
- Each object type has methods, in which activities are defined, which can
be executed with the data (for example, create material). The
transactions and functions of the R/3 System can be called in a method
as can your own transactions or other applications.
- The last important component of an object type are its events. These
describe the status changes that an object can undergo (for example,
material deleted or material changed). A workflow can be started by an
event of this kind being triggered.
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- A Worflow Management System can be designed based upon following two
Procedure Model:
- General Procedure model
- Role Based Procedure Model
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- While following the General Procedure model to design the Workflow
Management System the following procedure needs to be followed in the
same sequence:
- Organizational Plan
- Objects and Object Type Definition
- Single-step Tasks
- Standard Roles
- Events
- Multistep Tasks
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- Process Consultant
- Person who analyses the existing business processes, identifies those
that are suitable for SAP Business Workflow and maps them onto a
business process model.
- Workflow Modeler
- Person who implements the
workflow based on the business process model developed by the process
consultant and using the SAP Business Workflow definition tools.
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- Workflow Programmer
- Person who implements the requirements of the workflow modeler.
Provides assistance to the task of Modeler.
- Workflow System Administrator
- Person who is responsible for the technical maintenance of the
development environment and the runtime behavior after
auto-Customizing.
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- Workflow Agent
- Person who appears as an end user in productive workflows. Processes
the task assigned to them in the workflow inbox.
- Process Controller
- Person who evaluates the workflow from a business perspective and makes
suggestions for improvement at runtime.
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- Organizational Plan
- Representation of the task-related, functional structure of the
enterprise.
- An organizational Plan is made up of
- an organizational structure , with which the reporting structure and
task distribution are created using organizational units (departments,
for example).
- Staff assignments for each
organizational unit, in which the current persons (employees), users
and vacancies are listed.
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- Organizational plans are created by assigning objects of the following types
to each other.
- Organizational Unit
- Position
- Job
- Task
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- All tasks and workflows in the system can be accessed via the Business
Workflow Explorer. This includes the tasks used in the workflow
scenarios.
- The Business Workplace is the main interface between an end user and the
workflow system. All of the type W and type D work items to which the
user is assigned as a recipient are displayed in the user’s workflow
inbox.
- Work Item
- Object that represents a task or action in the workflow system at
runtime.
- Workflow Settings
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- Workflow Inbox
- The worklist of the user currently logged on to the Business Workplace
is displayed in the workflow inbox.
- Workflow Outbox
- The workflow outbox lists the workflows started and the work items
forwarded and executed by the current user.
- Workflow Resubmission
- The workflow resubmissions can be used to resubmit work items for
processing at a later point in time or periodically and to display
these work items in a list.
- Workitem preview
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- Definition
- Person who implements the workflow based on the business process model
developed by the process consultant and using the SAP Business Workflow
definition tools.
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- Business Workflow Explorer
- Using the Business Workflow Explorer, one gets an overview of the
existing single-step tasks and multistep tasks, and then editing them
or using them as templates for own tasks.
- Workflow Wizard Explorer
- This tool can be used to generate particular workflow types (for
example, workflows for approval procedures) using a wizard, and then
edit them afterwards in task maintenance.
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- Business Object Repository
- To identify all business objects involved in business process model.
- Using the Business Workflow Explorer, one gets an overview of the
existing single-step tasks and multistep tasks, and then editing them
or using them as templates for own tasks.
- Task maintenance
- To tasks involved in the business process model. In doing this, one
sorts out which object method is to be executed with the task and which
person or group of persons is responsible for dealing with it.
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- Workflow Builder
- This is the main SAP Business Workflow tool for creating, displaying
and processing workflow definitions.
- The steps, outcomes and triggering events of the workflow definition
are displayed graphically with their interconnections.
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- Person who appears as an end user in productive workflows.
- The workflow agent starts workflows and processes work items. Their work
area is the Business Workplace.
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Notes
