Synchronous Method It reports back to the
SAP BUSINESS
WORKFLOW SAP Business Workflow comprises technologies and tools for the automatic control and execution of cross-application processes. This primarily involves coordinating
THE PERSONS INVOLVED THE WORK STEPS REQUIRED
THE DATA THAT NEEDS TO BE PROCESSED (BUSINESS OBJECTS)
The main aims of SAP Business Workflow are to reduce throughput times and the costs involved in managing business processes, and to increase transparency and quality.
SAPFORMS R/3 System interface for the integration of electronic forms.
These forms can be used, for example, to execute a work item or start a workflow offline.
SECONDARY
METHOD Method that is executed in addition to the main method in the execution of a dialog or background work item. A secondary method is connected to the leading method of the step, and is generally used to display additional information.
The secondary method can be any object method defined in the Business Object Repository.
If the work item is executed several times, (say, for example, the terminating event has not yet occurred), the secondary method is also executed several times.
STANDARD TASK Single-step task for use in workflow definitions. You can execute methods of business object types in standard tasks.
The following apply to standard tasks:
OBJECT TYPE TS IN ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT
CROSS-CLIENT
UNRESTRICTED VALIDITY PERIOD
ANY PLAN VERSION
START Point in time at which the processing of a work item starts.
The processing of a work item starts when the work item first assumes the status reserved or in process.
STEP Elementary module of a workflow definition. The following types of step exist:
ACTIVITY (= TASK REFERENCE)
CONDITION, MULTIPLE CONDITION
EVENT CREATOR, WAIT STEP
CONTAINER OPERATION USER DECISION DOCUMENT GENERATION LOOP FORK UNDEFINED STEP
The individual steps are arranged and processed sequentially. Only steps in forks can be executed simultaneously.
Steps within a workflow definition can only be changed or inserted according to certain rules, taking into account block orientation.
STEP DEFINITION Part of a workflow definition. The step definition contains all the data relevant to the step. The scope depends on the step type defined.
STEP NAME Name to label a step in the workflow definition. SUBSTITUTE
PROFILE Collection of a substitute's "rights". A substitute profile is assigned to a substitute when the substitution is set up. A substitute profile includes a number of task classes. Task classes are assigned to single-step tasks during definition.
Substitute profiles are defined and task classes combined to form a substitute profile in Customizing.
SUBTYPE Copy of an object type, which has inherited all the attributes, events and methods. The subtype can be modified and extended.
Subtypes are used to edit or extend object types supplied by SAP.
SUBWORKFLOW Workflow template or workflow task used in an activity in a workflow definition. At runtime the workflow referenced in the activity is executed when the step is executed.
SUPERTYPE Object type from which another object type (subtype) has inherited all object type components. Changes to the object type components of the supertype only affect the object type components of the subtype if the components have not been redefined for the subtype.
SYNCHRONOUS
METHOD Method that assumes process control for the duration of its execution and reports back to the calling component (in this case the work item manager) after its execution.
Terminating events can be defined for a single-step task described with a synchronous object method. At runtime, the relevant work item is completed either when the method has been processed or when one of the events occurs. A synchronous method can return the following data to the workflow:
RETURN PARAMETERS
ONE RESULT
EXCEPTIONS
TABLE ELEMENT Multiline element in the workflow container, which can contain a list of values. A table element can be specified in the activity definition. The activity is executed in parallel processing branches as many times as there are values in the table.
TASK Goal-oriented business activity description. The following tasks exist in the workflow context:
SINGLE-STEP TASK (CUSTOMER TASK/STANDARD TASK)
Activity in which an object method is executed on a specific object.
MULTISTEP TASK (WORKFLOW TASK/WORKFLOW TEMPLATE)
Activity whose description includes reference to a workflow definition. TASK CONTAINER Container of a task for storing data from the task environment.
The task container contains the control information in the form of constants and object references:
INFORMATION ON EXECUTION OF THE OBJECT METHOD (OBJECT REFERENCE TO THE OBJECT TO BE PROCESSED, CURRENT AGENT OF WORK ITEM, AND SO ON)
INFORMATION AVAILABLE AFTER PROCESSING THE METHOD
The task container already contains some defined workflow system variables. You can define other container elements in the task container, which are of interest, for example, for variable replacement in connection with the notifications.
TASK GROUP Collection of standard tasks, workflow templates and other task groups, which are used in a common context.
You can set up hierarchies of task groups by inserting task groups into other task groups.
Task groups can be cross-application. They can include tasks from within one application component as well as tasks from different application components. TERMINATING
EVENT Event whose occurrence terminates a single-step task. If the indicator confirm end of processing is set for the single-step task, the end of processing must be confirmed by a recipient even after the event has occurred.
The event is entered as a terminating event of the single-step task. A single- step task can have several terminating events.
Single-step tasks that refer to an asynchronous method must have at least one terminating event. Single-step tasks that refer to a synchronous method can have terminating events.
Single-step tasks with terminating events can be terminated as follows:
BY THE EVENT OCCURRING
BY AN AGENT EXECUTING THE WORK ITEM AND (POSSIBLY) SETTING IT TO 'DONE' (ONLY FOR SINGLE-STEP TASKS THAT USE SYNCHRONOUS OBJECT TYPE METHODS) TOTAL TIME Sum of process time and wait time.
TRIGGERING EVENT Event whose occurrence starts a task or a workflow.
The event must be entered as a triggering event for the task to be started, and the event linkage must be activated. A task or workflow can have several triggering events.
Information from the event creation context can be passed in the binding from the event container to the task or workflow container.
The event must be defined as an object type component in the Business Object
Builder.
TYPE LINKAGE Assignment of one or several receiver function modules and receiver types to an event.
table. The event receiver with the receiver function module and receiver type are defined in this table. The event is specified by the object type and event name. In addition to the instance linkage table, the type linkage table is one of the two event receiver linkage tables managed in the system.
If events are used in SAP Business Workflow (as triggering and terminating events, for wait steps), the entries required in the linkage table are made by the workflow system.
UNTIL LOOP Step type in a workflow definition for processing a sequence of steps repeatedly at runtime until the termination condition defined in the loop command occurs.
The system makes the decision about terminating the loop on the basis of a termination condition created in the condition editor, in conjunction with values contained in the workflow container.
The first check takes place when the loop has been processed once.
USER DECISION Step type in a workflow definition to take a branch at runtime based on a decision made by the current user during the current workflow.
At runtime the user decision is represented by a dialog work item (type W work item).
VIRTUAL ATTRIBUTE Attribute for which a read procedure always has to be implemented, since no field content in the database corresponds to this attribute. Its value is established by evaluating what may be complex database contents at runtime. It generally applies that multiline attributes and attributes that reference a object with several key fields are to be implemented as virtual attributes. A virtual attribute can return the value of an ABAP Dictionary field or an object reference.
WAIT STEP Step type in a workflow definition for waiting for an event at runtime. Processing in this workflow branch is continued after the expected event has occurred.
At runtime a wait step is represented by a type E work item. WAIT STEP WORK
ITEM Type E work item representing a wait step in a workflow at runtime, which waits for a published event to occur. WAIT TIME Time during which a work item exists but is not yet being processed. The
calculation of the wait time depends on the type of the work item.
WHILE LOOP Step type in a workflow definition for processing a sequence of steps repeatedly at runtime as long as the comparisons defined in the step definition apply.
To make the decision, the workflow system checks the value of a basis of comparison (= expression from the workflow container) against the defined comparison values.
The first check is made before the loop is processed.
WORK ITEM Runtime representation of a task or a step in the workflow definition. There are various types of work item.
WORK ITEM
CONTAINER Runtime representation of the task container of a single-step task.
WORK ITEM
DISPLAY All information and activities are displayed, which are relevant in the environment of the work item in question. Very little technical information is displayed.
As an alternative to the standard view of the work item display, which supports the agent in the processing of the current work item, you can use the technical view of the work item display.
You can change the status or the deadline data of the work item in the technical view.
WORK ITEM
MANAGER
Active unit which provides methods for the work items. The work item manager has the following functions:
THE WORK ITEM MANAGER CAN INITIATE CALLING OF BACKGROUND PROCESSES. THIS IS NECESSARY BECAUSE ACTIVITIES IN THE WORKFLOW DEFINITION CAN REFER TO OBJECT METHODS WHICH RUN IN THE BACKGROUND.
THE WORK ITEM MANAGER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEADLINE MONITORING AND INITIATING APPROPRIATE MEASURES (ESCALATION).
THE WORK ITEM MANAGER MAKES AVAILABLE THE EVENT INTERFACE. IT ACTS AS THE RECEIVER OF EVENTS FOR TASKS WHICH ARE TERMINATED BY AN EVENT AND FOR WAIT STEPS.
WORK ITEM TEXT Text that appears in the Business Workplace to describe the work item. The work item text is defined with the single-step task.
The work item text can include up to four expressions that refer to the task container. A text is then displayed at execution time, which incorportaes the current values of the container elements.
WORK ITEM TYPE There are various types of work item.
The work item type determines the internal processing. The type also determines which statuses and status transitions are allowed.
Certain work items are displayed to a user in their Business Workplace, depending on the type. Other work items are only used and processed internally within the system.
Work items of the following types are displayed in the Business Workplace:
DIALOG WORK ITEM (TYPE W)
Runtime representation of single-step tasks requiring user dialog.
MISSED DEADLINE WORK ITEM (TYPE D)
Work item for notification upon missed deadline.
WORK QUEUE WORK ITEM (TYPE A)
Runtime representation of a work queue.
There are other work item types that can only be seen using the selection report for displaying work items.
WORK QUEUE List of objects that are to be processed once and together within a specified period.
The work queue provides a "framework" for the individual entries to be processed and manages the list of objects to be processed, including their statuses and the tasks to be executed on them. The status of the work queue work item (type A) indicates the processing status of the work queue overall.
WORK QUEUE
WORK ITEM Work item of type A, which represents a work queue at runtime. Work items of type A are displayed in the Business Workplace. The processing status of the work queue overall can be derived from the status of the work item.
WORKFLOW Execution of a multistep task at runtime.
A workflow consists of a sequence of steps, which are processed either by people or automatically by the system.
The chronological and logical sequence of the steps, linked to the evaluation of conditions, is monitored by the workflow manager and can be controlled flexibly with event-related response mechanisms.
From a technical point of view, a workflow is represented by a workflow work item (type F).
WORKFLOW
CONTAINER The workflow container contains workflow-specific system variables and other container elements to be defined explicitly. The container elements for which the import or export indicator is set form the data interface of the workflow. This interface applies to all versions of the workflow definition.
Container elements for which no import or export indicators are set are local container elements in the workflow definition. They are subject to versioning and are only valid in the versions of the workflow defintion in which they were
defined. They can be used as indicators or internal counters amongst other things.
WORKFLOW LOG Log for a workflow, which contains all the workflow steps whose processing has been at least started so far.
You can double-click in a workflow log to display work items (and change them if you have the appropriate authorization).
Any errors during a workflow are displayed in the workflow log and can be analyzed with the help of the error messages displayed.
You can go to the following, amongst other things, from the workflow log:
ATTACHMENTS
AD HOC OBJECTS
PROCESSED WORK ITEMS
SUBWORKFLOWS
AGENTS INVOLVED WORKFLOW
OUTBOX User-specific list of work items for the tasks that were: STARTED BY THE USER IN DIALOG
TRIGGERED BY AN EVENT CONTAINING THE NAME OF THE USER IN THE CONTAINER ELEMENT _EVT_OBJECT IN ITS EVENT CONTAINER
The workflow outbox is part of the Business Workplace. WORKFLOW
RESUBMISSIONS User-specific list of work items "resubmitted" by this user. The work items are displayed with their resubmission dates. WORKFLOW SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATOR Person responsible for the workflow definition from a technical point of view. The workflow system administrator can be set globally in the administration data of the Workflow Builder, or individually for each workflow definition in its basic data. The maintenance of the global workflow system administrator is part of Workflow Customizing.
A workflow system administrator is assigned to each workflow at runtime. The entry in the basic data is evaluated for this. Only if this is blank is the entry in the administration data evaluated.
The system administrator of a subworkflow is derived automatically from the data of the superordinate workflow. This also applies if another system administrator is maintained in the basic data of the subworkflow.
Neither changes to the basic data or the Customizing settings nor organizational reassignments have any effect on workflows that have already been started.
The workflow system administrator should be able to repair errors in workflows. If a workflow that has been started assumes the error status, the workflow system administrator receives a mail in their Business Workplace inbox. The workflow log can be used to perform analyses and remove errors. If a workflow fails to start, only the workflow system administrator entered in the Workflow Builder is notified.
Information about the workflow system administrator is available as an attribute in the workflow container element _Workitem.
WORKFLOW TASK Multistep task created by a customer to meet their specific requirements. These tasks contain a workflow definition.
The following apply to workflow tasks:
ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECT TYPE WF
CLIENT-SPECIFIC
VALIDITY PERIOD
PLAN VERSION-SPECIFIC TEMPLATE
WORKFLOW Multistep task with the following properties: ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECT TYPE WS
CROSS-CLIENT
ANY PLAN VERSION
Executable workflows are supplied by SAP as workflow templates. You can:
USE THEM AS MODELS FOR DEFINING YOUR OWN WORKFLOW TEMPLATES
CONFIGURE THEM MAKING YOUR OWN AGENT AND DEADLINE ENTRIES WORKFLOW WORK
ITEM Type F work item that represents a multistep task at runtime. There is one workflow work item for every multistep task started. The workflow log and workflow container of this workflow work item can be accessed:
FOR ERROR DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECTION
IF NO WORK ITEMS ARE DISPLAYED FOR INFORMATION ABOUT STEPS ALREADY PROCESSED (INCLUDING THEIR CURRENT AGENTS, NOTES AND AD HOC OBJECTS) FOR REPORTING PROCESSES COMPLETED
Workflow work items are not displayed in the Business Workplace, but can be found using the work item selection. If a workflow task or workflow template is referenced as an activity within a workflow definition, this step is also represented with a workflow work item.
WORKLIST List of all work items that are assigned to a specific user at a particular time. This user is one of the recipients of each work item.