How to restrict workflow launches ?

Thu Nov 6 18:54:07 EST 2003

If you saw my code you would not bestow the lofty title of programmer
upon me.  The reason I like check FMs is because the whole linkage
information is in one place, i.e. relatively transparent.  Start
conditions are transparent to the extent of being easily readable but
what is the result?  A check function that looks at the start condition!
No matter how drag and drop you make workflow builder, workflow is
fundamentally a technical beast.  Knowing how check FMs, receiver FMs,
alternate binding FMs, role FMs work just give you more options to build
the most reliable solution.  How many times have you seen a workflow
built with needless background steps getting information?  Sure it works
but it is not the most efficient way.  Sometimes a start condition is
fine, sometimes it is not.  Sometimes an event is raised but the data
for the object has not been updated so the start condition will fail.
Sometimes not.

Cheers,

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: SAP Workflow [mailto:Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of
Dart, Jocelyn
Sent: Thursday, 6 November 2003 8:07 PM
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?

Paul,
Well there speaks a programmer! But please remember that more and more
business process people are actually putting together workflow these
days or at the very least having to actively participate in
understanding workflows.

We use start conditions a lot in SRM and elsewhere and once the initial
condition is set up (I agree the Create button is not exactly in the
most obvious place and I usually do this) both business process analysts
and both workflow and non-workflow technical conslultants really like
them - and are happy to work with them.

What start conditions lets them do is both display and edit in a fairly
non-confrontational way under what conditions their workflows will start
- and without having the whole thing shrouded in the mystery of a
program or having to call in a programmer to make minor changes.   In
this case having a non-SAP transaction pays off.

As a workflow consultant I love them because at most if users want
something extra all I have to do is put together some new object
attributes and then leave them to sort out at a business level what
values they want to check for.  Much less development effort as they
nearly always want to use the same attributes elsewhere - especially in
work item texts - so in the majority of cases I would have had to create
the attribute anyway. And of course they can access any attributes of
attributes as well - so all your object to object relationships really
pay off here too.

But the really massive win is in clarity!  In my experience people find
it quite easy to understand the logical expression and the start
condition format.  Understanding one piece of the puzzle so easily gives
people much more confidence in the workflow solution as a whole, and
increases the sense of ownership.

These days the recommendation from SAP and certainly from all the senior
workflow consultants I deal with is and should be to use start
conditions rather than your own check function modules as much as
possible.  There are only a very few cases nowadays where you actually
need to resort to creating your own check function modules - like those
special off-the-planet cases.

And of course the other big bonus is that you can use mutually exclusive
conditions to get out of ever having to write a receiver type function
module as well.

Something to think about I hope.
Regards,
        Jocelyn Dart
Consultant (SRM, EBP, Workflow)
and co-author of the book
"Practical Workflow for SAP"
SAP Australia
email: jocelyn.dart at sap.com
phone: +61 412 390 267
fax:   +61 2 9935 4880

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Batey [mailto:Paul.Batey at intelligroup.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday,5 November 2003 7:01 PM
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?

Hi Gilles,

You'll see that if you use SWB_COND it puts in a check FM into SWETYPV
and so you can only have either a start condition or your own check fm.
I prefer using check functions as SWB_COND is the most unSAP SAP
transaction I have ever seen.  Plus SWB_COND only gives you access to
the object attributes or certain system variables to use in your
condition (which seems to suit your purpose), whereas a check FM allows
you to go completely off the planet (in a logical business process sense
of course).

By the way it might be worth looking at receiver function modules if you
want to trigger different workflows off for the same event in the
future.

Cheers,

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: SAP Workflow [mailto:Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of
GOURLET Gilles
Sent: Wednesday, 5 November 2003 6:22 PM
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?

Thanks a lot Jocelyn,
You got it : switch to display mode then switch to create and all active
events appear : R/3 is still full of surprise for me ...
If you want to follow up, I would be interested to know if these
conditions
come in addition or in substitution to "Check Module Functions" that I
may
define using SWETYPV.

Regards,
Gilles.

-----Message d'origine-----
De : Dart, Jocelyn [mailto:jocelyn.dart at sap.com]
Envoyi : mercredi 5 novembre 2003 00:49
@ : SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Objet : Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?

Hi Gilles,
You need to activate your event linkage.
Then go to transaction SWB_COND.  It starts in display mode.  Use the
Display/Change button
to swap to Change mode.  Then press the Create button.
Then you can search for all active event linkages without start
condition.
Selecting the
event linkage will then allow you to create a start condition for that
event
linkage.
Use the "Technical Names On" option if you have difficulty finding your
event linkage.

And by the way folks - it's great to see everyone is well aware of start
conditions functionality now!
Regards,
        Jocelyn Dart
Consultant (SRM, EBP, Workflow)
and co-author of the book
"Practical Workflow for SAP"
SAP Australia
email: jocelyn.dart at sap.com
phone: +61 412 390 267
fax:   +61 2 9935 4880

-----Original Message-----
From: Kouw, FA - SPLTX [mailto:fa.kouw at td.klm.com]
Sent: Wednesday,5 November 2003 4:24 AM
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?

Hi,

In display mode all start conditions are shown, and I guess you don't
have a
start condition at the moment, so
nothing is shown. In change mode however all linkages without start
condition are shown!

Regards,

Fred Kouw

GOURLET Gilles wrote:

> Thanks all for your help.
> If I sum up :
> . Regarding the transaction SWB_COND : it doesn't display anything to
me
> even if I widen all criterias (conditions = *, business objects = *,
events
> = *).
> Since workflows are fired when I create a new PM notification, I
should
see
> in the SWB_COND transaction my PM notification objet and the event
> "created", don't you think so ?
> . Using the events : I don't see how to restrict the existing event to
> "Notificationtyp is (TQ80-QMTYP = 01)". Do you mean I should create a
new
> event and put this condition into the code or something else ?
> . I can adapt the starting FM "QQWF_EVENT_PM_NOTIF_CREATED",
> . I can use check Check Function Modules.
>
> Gilles.
>
> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : Becker, Stephan [mailto:stephan_becker.ext at siemens.com]
> Envoyi : mardi 4 novembre 2003 17:16
> @ : SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Objet : Re: How to restrict workflow launches ?
>
> Use start conditions via transaction SWB_COND
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Schmidinger, Heinz (Unaxis IT BZ)
[mailto:heinz.schmidinger at unaxis.com]
> Enviado el: 04 November 2003 16:40
> Para: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Asunto: AW: How to restrict workflow launches ?
>
> Hi Gilles,
>
> I have running such WF for SM e.g.
>
> You can use the Events (e.g. 'CREATE') from Object BUS2038. This
Events
> should be fired only if Notificationtyp is (TQ80-QMTYP = 01).
>
> Additional you can do a detailed filtering using a adaption of f.m.
> 'QQWF_EVENT_PM_NOTIF_CREATED'. This f.m. is used by SAP-Standard for
> starting WS00200065.
> WS00200065 is a SAP-Standard-Example which you can activate in the
> Customizing of PM.
>
> Maybe it helps.
>
> regrads
>
> Heinz
>
> -----Urspr|ngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: GOURLET Gilles [mailto:gilles.gourlet at airbus.com]
> Gesendet am: Dienstag, 4. November 2003 16:13
> An: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Betreff: How to restrict workflow launches ?
>
> Dear all,
> I need your help to find a way to avoid launching PM notifications
workflow
> whatever the type of the notification is.
> I mean I only want new workflows to be launched for certain types of
> notifications.
> eg: PM Notification - type M1, M2 and M3 -> Workflow ; other types ->
No.
> Thanks in advance,
> Gilles.
>
> This mail has originated outside your organization,
> either from an external partner or the Global Internet.
> Keep this in mind if you answer this message.
>
>
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