Modification of SAP standard solution for payment blocks

[Soady, Phil]

Hi Paul, Hi Mike,
I would tend to agree.
 
Im not that familiar with the standard workflows.
By the time I get to a customer, the situation has been so far butchered
that starting again is normally best.
 
Even the basic HR leave scenarios can burn you as soon as you deviate from
the vanilla scenario.
 
 
By the time you have built your own delegation scenario,
have wiz bang next approver determination roles, that may support
escalation, change of position and auto send to administrator etc
the workflow itself is the easy bit.
 
Im now convinced, the only view to take is,
you are automating a process of some sort.
Understanding the real process is the first step,
The degree you automate is the second decision.
 
Trying to crowbar a template into this is back to front.
 
Use the example to help understand the process inside SAP.
 
Then understand your process.
 
Then figure out what needs to be modeled and build it.
 
Don't get hung up about saving a hour or 2 by copy WSxxxxxxx
 
The other thing is you can document your own WSxxxxxx better.
 
Personally I think, Swdd_config Causes more dramas than it solves.
 
Depending on what mode you look at a task, you can see the SAP text
or the customer specific one.
Ive lost time looking for something when Ive missed this.
 
AT the end of the day consistency and good docu, good processes
and transparency are better that saving 4min 25sec by recycling a template.  And as soon as you need to change it, you need a new one anyway...
 
Lets face it. If you go to the trouble to document the true process,
the effort in actually building the workflow isn't normally that bad.
The hard work is in the modeling, understanding how SAP works, which events are issued and when,  plus your custom delegation, escalation, approver determination code.
 
No doubt there a customers happy with some of the standard workflows.
But my  mindset remains use templates as an example and bake you own.
 
 
 
Phil Soady
Senior Consultant
Business Technologies
SAP Australia
M  +61 (0) 412 213 079
E  phil.soady at sap.com
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: SAP Workflow [mailto:Owner-SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael Pokraka
Sent: Friday,11 June 2004 10:26 PM
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: Modification of SAP standard solution for payment blocks
 
Hi Kjetil,
There was a discussion here a short while ago about whether anyone really
uses the SAP standard workflows. The general consensus was that SAP's are
really only guidelines, so copying the flow shouldn't be a problem -
probably even a good thing since you may be able to iron out any 'oddities'.
 
I certainly have only used a standard flow once in nearly 5 years of
workflowing, and that time I got burnt.
 
I've found the original mail that started it, quoted below.
Cheers
Mike
 
Subject:   Discussion: Standard Workflow Templates Purpose
From:   "Paul Batey" <paul.batey at intelligroup.com.au>
Date:   Thu, April 15, 2004 2:53 pm
To:   SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
 
Evening all,
 
I am hoping to glean the purpose of the SAP standard templates.  To me
they are basic examples to point you in the right direction for your own
further development.  I have come across several specs recently that
start off...
 
"This is a simple workflow, just copy WS######## and allow for
escalation, changes, what the weather is, and then bung in some
completely different text for the task description"
 
By the time you have copied a standard template and wedged in the client
requirements it, to me, is always quicker to get the gist from the
standard, but then build it from scratch. This may not be true for the
backgroundy idoc type of things, but I have never been able to take a
standard and just switch it on.  This makes the whole idea of
SWDD_CONFIG meaningless, and a pain when you train people to say
SWDD_CONFIG is wonderful in BIT600, because it is never used.
 
Any thoughts folks?
 
Cheers,
 
Paul
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kjetil Kilhavn wrote:
> In our company we use standard IT solutions. Well, nearly. Now they want to
> implement payment block with workflow release for customer credit memos (in
> FI). However, they want to be able to differ on sales organisation within a
> company code. I have said that this is not possible, at least not without a
> modification of SAP standard, since one company code can only have one
> workflow variant. We can have different procedures based on document type
> etc, but not based on sales organisation (as far as I have been able to
> find out).
>
> Using approval groups is not an option since they don't register that
> information on the customer. Perhaps we could talk them into this one....
>
> Have anyone tried to modify the standard solution for FI automatic payment
> blocks? I suppose the easy route would be to modify the solution which
> finds the workflow variant, extending that with new criteria to be able to
> differ on e.g. sales organisation. However, I fear endless trouble.
>
> We are on R/3 release 4.6C if it matters.
> --
> Kjetil Kilhavn
>
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