Business Task Management - Shared Services

Chapter 4 System Landscape

4.2 Shared Services

4.3.10 Business Task Management

4.3.10.1 Overview

Business tasks are the activities generated either by the company’s underlying business processes or by the users themselves as reminders for their own benefit or in order to delegate work to colleagues. The sooner users complete the tasks, the quicker the processes run. The easier it is for users, departments and companies to generate and track the tasks, the higher the quality of the output from the processes and the higher the transparency of processes within a company.

Tasks in SAP NetWeaver span the range from collaboration tasks generated manually in response to exceptions, through work items generated from automated business processes. Tasks in SAP NetWeaver are typically links to activities or transactions rendered by the mySAP Business Suite, or form-based tasks, such as in Manager Self Services using Interactive Forms based on Adobe software, for the occasional user.

Administration of the tasks in SAP NetWeaver is greatly simplified because the tasks generated from the automated processes (workflows) are all generated by the same BPM runtime software. This means that administration, such as locating tasks without owners or archiving, can be carried out on a uniform basis, irrespective of the source of the tasks. This reduces the total cost of ownership and ensures that the business processes run as fast as possible

This scenario includes the following variants:

n Central Access to Tasks

Organizations can decompose tasks into coordinated activities performed by various people. They can support predefined activity patterns and ensure that all tasks, regardless of their origin, are performed using a single, consistent access point and user interface.

n Support for Offline Processes

Offline support for business processes includes development and interaction using forms.

.Note

For more information, see the SAP Library [page4] at SAP NetWeaver Library ® IT Scenarios at a Glance.

4.3.10.2 System Landscape

4.3 IT Scenarios

Figure 30:System Landscape for Business Task Management

n The exact usage types that are required for a Business Task Management IT scenario depend on exactly what is required. Here are some of the most common constellations:

l Collaboration tasks from different collaboration rooms are accessed centrally instead of in the different collaboration rooms. This requires EP, which includes AS Java.

l SAP Business Workflow items from different SAP Business Suite applications or Web Applications Servers are accessed centrally. This requires one EP system for accessing and launching the tasks deployed in the same system landscape as the SAP Business Suite applications, and AS ABAP usage types for any independent workflow.

l Alerts are accessed from a single task list. This requires the Central Alert server which is part of AS ABAP, together with EP, which includes AS Java.

l Interactive Forms based on Adobe software forms are integrated in a workflow. This requires usage type EP for accessing the work items and AS Java, which includes the Adobe document services software needed for the Interactive Forms together with AS ABAP for workflow management. On the front end, you require Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat . Also, the installation of the Adobe LiveCycle Designer client is required. This enables the creation of forms that combine high-fidelity presentation with XML data handling.

For more information about the prerequisites for the development of Interactive Forms based on Adobe software, see the corresponding sections in the Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s <Technology> on

l Guided procedures are accessed from a central task list. This requires one EP, which includes AS Java, for the guided procedure modeling environment and universal worklist, and AS ABAP for the BPM runtime engine.

l Interactive Forms based on Adobe software are integrated in guided procedures. This requires one EP, which includes AS Java, for the guided procedure modeling environment and universal worklist, and AS ABAP for the BPM runtime engine. The AS Java that is used for the Interactive Forms is part of the EP usage type. On the front end, you require Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat . Also, the installation of the client Adobe LiveCycle Designer is optional. This enables the creation of forms that combine high-fidelity presentation with XML data handling.

<Operating System>: <Database>.

n For workflows, Business Task Management requires the Business Process Management [page83] IT scenario.

n In certain cases (mainly for the Support for Offline Processes IT scenario variant), an additional license for Interactive Forms based on Adobe software is required:

l When you create your own custom-developed templates for Interactive Forms based on Adobe software.

l When you modify an SAP-delivered template for Interactive Forms based on Adobe software by, for example, adding interactive fields. This would be considered to be more than a cosmetic change (such as inserting your logo or some static text on an SAP-delivered interactive form template), and is therefore licensable.

.Note

The license applies only when you use interactive forms in a production system, that is when PDF forms are generated for filling in by end users.

l An additional license is not required for using the Adobe LifeCycle Designer (this is covered by the SAP NetWeaver license).

For more information, see the FAQs for Interactive Forms based on Adobe software solution on SAP Service Marketplace atservice.sap.com/adobe.

4.3.10.3 Implementation Sequence

To install this IT scenario, perform the steps listed in the following table:

Step Action

[Correpsonding Documentation]

Remarks

1 Make sure that you have performed the preparation steps:

n You have planned your system landscape [page

25] (that is, you have decided how many systems you require, how you want to use each of these systems, and which standalone engines and clients you require).

4.3 IT Scenarios

Step Action

[Correpsonding Documentation]

Remarks n With the help of your hardware partner, you

have mapped your systems and standalone engines to properly sized hosts.

n You have planned and installed shared services [page30].

2 Installation of a system with usage types EP (includes the installation of AS Java) and AS ABAP (as runtime for Guided Procedures) [Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s

<Technology> on <Operating System>: <Database>]

Make sure that you perform the configuration steps as described in the installation guide. For certain usage types, configuration templates exist that can be applied by the Template Installer. In addition, all required configuration steps for your IT scenario are listed in SAP Solution Manager. For more information, see the

Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s <Technology> on <Operating System>: <Database>.

3 Installation of a system with usage type AS ABAP for alert management.

[Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s

<Technology> on <Operating System>: <Database>]

Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s <Technology> on <Operating System>: <Database>.

4 Installation of clients:

n SAP GUI

[Installation Guide ‒ SAP Front End]

n If you want to develop Interactive Forms based on Adobe software, install Adobe LiveCycle Designer.

[SAP Note801524]

For more information about the prerequisites for the development of interactive forms based on Adobe software, see the corresponding sections in the Installation Guide ‒ SAP Netweaver 2004s

<Technology> on <Operating System>: <Database>.

5 Installation of third-party software:

If you want to develop Interactive Forms based on Adobe software, install the required version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

[SAP Note834573]

In document PUBLIC. Master Guide (Page 94-97)