Purchase Requisition Item - Custom Release Procedures

[Kjetil Kilhavn]

I am responding to this message because I think it is confusing, so I think a 
better explanation is necessary to avoid leaving people with the impression 
that release procedures do not work very well - or even that you can not use 
SAP standard if you want to centralize maintenance of financial authority.

Onsdag 13. mars 2013 08.38.07 skrev David G Cooper:
> This is just a quick note/warning for workflow developers using the BUS2009
> (Purchase Requisition Item) object with a custom release procedure.

Based on reading your entire e-mail I think it is necessary that you define 
what you mean by a custom release procedure. Especially since there are no 
standard release procedures. There is however a release framework which can be 
customized. When you say "custom release procedure" you could perhaps mean 
release procedures which are not customized as release procedures.


> 1)   The following events all have a standard parameter "ReleaseCode" which
> is checked against table T161E
> a.   Released
> b.   Reset
> c.   Rejected
> d.   ReleaseStepCreated
> e.   SignificantlyChanged
> 
> 2)   ReleaseCodes are maintained as part of configuration in TWO areas, only
> the first option below updates table T161E
> 
> a.   Materials Management -> Purchasing -> Purchase Requisition -> Release
> Procedure -> Set Up Procedure Without Classification

T161E is the table for release codes defined for release strategies without 
classification, so it makes perfect sense that this updates table T161E.


> b.   Materials Management -> Purchasing -> Purchase Requisition -> Release
> Procedure -> Procedure with Classification -> Set Up Procedure with
> Classification

T16FC is the table for release codes defined for release strategies with 
classification (common table for purchase requisitions and EKKO-based 
purchasing documents), so that table will be updated here.


> 3)   If the Release Codes are not entered into table T161E, the raised event
> will
> a.   Fail, and
> b.   Deactivate the event binding on the workflow

First of all, this is not true without a specific context as the release 
procedures here work very well without any of the release codes in T161E. 
Those release procedures are however defined (with classification).

So this is my problem. Is the context in which this will fail a situation 
where you have defined release codes for release strategies without 
classification, and raise the event manually?

Or perhaps this was just a typing error, and you meant that the raised event 
will fail if the release code does not exist in T16FC. That makes a lot more 
sense, because it is only those release codes that have an attribute to define 
them as workflow relevant, which is a prerequisite for the event to be raised 
when using "standard" release procedures with classification.


> 4)   The workflow cannot be restarted as the standard workflows all have a
> mandatory parameter for the Release Code

Of course they do, because the release code is a very important parameter for 
the standard workflow when the release agent is to be determined.


> While having a custom release procedure within a custom Z Table is common,
> as businesses like to centralize the management of financial authority.

In my experience this can be achieved within SAP standard. The user exits for 
classification and agent selection can be used to do all sorts of stuff - from 
simply reading the agent from a table to determining the agent based on 
account assignments and combining that with organizational hierarchy climbing 
if the responsible user determined from account assignments is not authorized 
for the release code in question.


> Please keep in mind that the release codes used need to be entered in BOTH
> configuration areas.

Both? If you mean both for procedures with and without classification I would 
like to hear why you think this is necessary. I have no experience with 
release procedures without classification, so I know for a fact that the events 
will work just fine if the release codes exist only in T16FC.
-- 
Kjetil Kilhavn / Vettug AS (http://www.vettug.no)