ECC Log format (warning: rant)

[Mike Pokraka]

Hello all,

I'm at another client and managed to explain a great mystery about Ctrl-P:
Why is it called 'print' when it actually is the tech log?

On this system I didn't get the tech log, but instead there was a little
popup window informing me that my workflow was sent to some random
printer.

I found I needed to disable the "Print immediately" setting in my SAP user
profile to get the tech log working (WTF?).

Actually I still don't fully understand the thinking behind "Print"
because the output is utterly different depending on your user profile
setting: You either print the new or the old log depending on whether
you've got "Print immediately" switched on. Someone''s been at them happy
pills again.

Just wanted to share that in the hope it will help someone and spare some
trees.

Cheers,
Mike


On Mon, March 10, 2008 12:21 pm, Keohan, Susan wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> Perhaps your WLC parameters are not correct.  I get the 'old' technical
> view every time I do CTRL-P, easier, I think than Ravi's Alt+i+w+I ;).
>
>
> Speaking of which, here are my WLC parameters:
>
> WLC     X XXX X     X 00000     Workflow: User-specific settings
>
> If we were really moving out of the dark ages, wouldn't you think we could
> have something more meaningful than dipswitches? ('nother rant coming?)
>
> Thank you - for collecting these replies (I will, as well).  I invited
> Thomas Volmering and Ralf Schaub to view this thread, so maybe they are
> feeling out pain!
>
>
>
> ----
> Susan R. Keohan
> SAP Workflow Specialist
> MIT Lincoln Laboratory
> 244 Wood Street, LI-200
> Lexington, MA.  02420
> Ph:   781-981-3561
> Fax: 781-981-1607
> keohan at LL.MIT.EDU
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sap-wug-bounces at mit.edu [mailto:sap-wug-bounces at mit.edu] On Behalf
> Of Mike Pokraka
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 6:29 AM
> To: SAP Workflow Users' Group
> Subject: RE: ECC Log format (warning: rant)
>
> Thank you for the great suggestion regarding the influence council, I
> shall collect all the responses and print thm out and take them there in
> person, so keep 'em coming folks! :-)
>
> Regarding ctrl-p, great tip. Though when I last tried it it would give me
> the 'user' style tech log without container icons, so a further switch is
> necessary to get to the real tech log. It occasionally still does, and I
> haven't figured out why.
>
> It still is only a workaround (and an annoying extra step) though, why do
> the nice people at SAP invest significant time and effort in designing a
> fancy new log, but throw ergonomics out of the window and make it a right
> pain to use?
> I would cautiously even suggest that a side-by-side arrangement would be
> more useful than the top/bottom view. Or a multipane view, PPOME-style,
> anything but this.
>
> Cheers,
> Mike
>
>
> On Fri, March 7, 2008 1:13 pm, Keohan, Susan wrote:
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> I too have felt this pain, with our upgrade to SRM 5.0 though.
>> One thing I know is that I've never spent that much time with the new
>> log.
>>  I click on the log icon, and get the new view, and then hit Control-P
>> which gives me the 'old technical view'.
>> Yes, I've tried various WLC parameter settings, but none of them brings
>> me
>> to the technical view, so CTRL-P and I are now good friends (although
>> sometimes it wants to print the log instead).
>>
>> One area where we might have some recourse with SAP is via the ASUG
>> Influence Council, specifically the one taking place this May at the
>> ASUG
>> Annual Conference.  The WF/BPM luminaries will be there, and it's an
>> opportunity to help them feel our pain.  Those of you in other
>> geographies
>> may have similar 'Influence Councils' in your user groups, and I
>> encourage
>> you to make use of them.
>>
>> I don't think it's just a matter of teaching an old dog new tricks, as
>> Mike is a very much younger dog than I.  Perhaps someday we will
>> understand the reasoning behind this 'enhancement'.
>>
>> Glad your mouse has a cord,
>> Sue
>>
>>
>>
>> ----
>> Susan R. Keohan
>> SAP Workflow Specialist
>> MIT Lincoln Laboratory
>> 244 Wood Street, LI-200
>> Lexington, MA.  02420
>> Ph:   781-981-3561
>> Fax: 781-981-1607
>> keohan at LL.MIT.EDU
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: sap-wug-bounces at mit.edu [mailto:sap-wug-bounces at mit.edu] On Behalf
>> Of Mike Pokraka
>> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 6:35 AM
>> To: sap-wug at mit.edu
>> Subject: ECC Log format (warning: rant)
>>
>> Hello wuggers,
>>
>> Am I the only one who gets the same feeling from the new ECC workflow
>> log
>> as sitting in a traffic jam?
>>
>> <rant>
>> I've tried to get used to it for over a year and I think at one point I
>> actually managed to discover a useful feature somewhere (though I've
>> forgotten what it was), but for most part it's just stupid. Yes, stupid.
>> I'm sorry if this upsets some people who have invested significant time
>> into this as it's a fairly complex tool and looks very pretty, but it
>> just
>> doesn't cut it in the real world.
>>
>> Let's take looking at a container element for a step in the WF as an
>> example:
>>
>> Old style:
>> 1. Click log icon to display workflow log.
>> 2. Click on container icon next to step in question.
>> 3. See container element of interest.
>> 4. Feel a sense of calm and wellbeing.
>>
>>
>> ECC log:
>> 1. Click log icon to display workflow log
>>
>> 2. Click to expand first fork.
>>
>> 3. See 'Branch 1' 'Branch 2', click on one at random.
>>
>> 4. Resist urge to use foul language in front of client because it's the
>> wrong one.
>>
>> 5. Click to expand other one, realize you need a SECOND click to expand
>> branch itself (what's the point of the 'Branch n' tree level?).
>>
>> 6. Click twice to switch to Chronological view when you realize there
>> are
>> more forks further down.
>>
>> 7. Think how nice it would be to sit in a traffic jam on a Friday
>> afternoon.
>>
>> 8. Click to select step of interest.
>>
>> 9. Click on Container tab.
>>
>> 10. Attempt to throw mouse out of window because scroll wheel doesn't
>> work
>> in container tab sub-window, which is horizontal and and thus far too
>> small, and all the system elements are of course at the top, blocking
>> out
>> the ones you're interested in. Luckily mouse is attached by a cable (at
>> least mine is) and can easily be retrieved.
>>
>> 11. Click several times to scroll down the container list to find the
>> one
>> you want.
>> (If it's a mulitline element then clicking it causes it to expand and
>> cover the entire container in a way that is also really annoying, but
>> that's a whole different topic.)
>>
>>
>> Ummm... "New and improved"? Surely someone's been overdoing the happy
>> pills a little?
>> </rant>
>>
>>
>> So, back to my original question: what are our options of pressuring SAP
>> to re-design it or at least in the meantime give us our old log back as
>> a
>> *default* option?
>>
>> I can't help thinking one or two development requests are not going to
>> cut
>> it, and even if they respond via that route then the thought of waiting
>> two years to see the result in ECC7 is just a bit much.
>>
>> Any opinions?
>> Cheers,
>> Mike
>>
>>
>>
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