Gather Planning Data with Input Tasks

In SAP Analytics Cloud stories, you can create input tasks that request colleagues to provide planning data in your story.

Input tasks are used to gather feedback or additional information from colleagues, like input about planning data from managers of different regions, product groups, or cost centers during your planning process. They let you keep track of the planning process and make sure that everyone has access to the right data. Once you've created the task, it is sent to the respective colleagues, who add the requested information and then return the task.

Setting Up the Table

To create an input task, you must have a table that has the following criteria:

Is on a Canvas page or a Responsive page.
Uses a Planning model.
Is based on a model that has either one or more dimensions with responsible users assigned to the dimension members, or at least with the Responsible setting enabled so that a user can be set as responsible on the input task Summary page by selecting a substitute under Available Assignees.
Example
For example, the model may have an Organization dimension with users responsible for different regions or departments, and a Product dimension with users responsible for different groups of products.
Has one active private version.

Your table can include the Cross Calculations dimension and restricted measure calculations. The assignee fills in numbers for the restricted calculations, including adding numbers to unbooked cells.

If you include a value driver tree based on the same model as the table, the assignee can also provide input by performing simulations on the value driver tree.

Multiple Currencies and Input Tasks

When your model has multiple currencies, you also need to consider the following criteria for your input task:

The private version that you create uses the same currency as your source version.
The person that creates the input task sees the data in the initial currency.
The assignees see data in the currency of the organization they are responsible for.

Creating an Input Task

Create an input task for your story to gather planning data from colleagues.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the Maintain permission for the underlying planning model. You need a table with at least one active private version before you can create an input task. Also, if your model has multiple currencies, you can use only one currency when creating the input task.

Note

Any pages that you have hidden will not be included in the input task.

Context

When creating an input task, you and the people you assign to the task work on a private version of the story. The original story won't be affected, changed data will only be visible to others after the input task has been completed and you've published the private version.

Procedure

From Tools, select Create Input Task.

The input task Summary page opens.
Enter a Title for the task.
Optional: Enter a description.
To set a due date, choose calendar and pick a date that is in the future.

Note

You can't set a start date, the input task will start immediately once you sent it to the assignee(s).
Optional: Configure the completion settings for your input task and click Add Completion Settings.
1. In the Set Final Status dialog box, turn on Discontinue the task at due date automatically.
2. Decide what to do with the information that has been gathered:
  - Keep status Canceled: no information will be saved.
  - Change status to Accomplished: all data that had been submitted will be approved and stored, even for Declined tasks.
3. Click OK to close the dialog box.
Optional: Create a reminder for the task:
1. Choose Click to Add Reminder.
2. In the Add Reminder dialog, specify how many days before the due date the reminder is to be sent.
3. Choose Add.
In the Models area, select a model.
Under Versions, select the private version on which the input task shall be performed.

Note

The version needs to be visible in at least one table of your story.

Versions with an applied planning area are not supported.
Under Distribution, select the required dimension of the model.

Only dimensions that have the Responsible option set to on in the Dimension Settings, are available.
To assign the task, select assignees from the Available Assignees column.

The available assignees are users who are identified in the model as responsible for a dimension member.

Tip
For a large hierarchy, you can select to search for members or assignees, and you can reduce the long list of members by turning on the option for Show members with assignees only.
The chosen values are displayed in Selected Assignees.
To assign the task to a different assignee, or if there is no responsible person defined for a dimension member in the model, do the following:
1. Find the current assignee in the Available Assignees list, or select the dimension member that's missing a responsible person, and choose (Select Substitute).
2. From the Select Users dialog, select your substitute. (You can also use this dialog to clear the substitute assignee: just select Reset Substitute.)
3. Select OK.
To reset all substitute assignees back to the default assignees, on the Summary page, select Reset to All Original Assignees.
Optional: Select Assignee can see other assignees.
Select Send.

Results

The task is sent to the assignees and an Input Form is created. The Summary page is added to your story, showing the current status of the input tasks. You can see at a glance whether assignees have accepted the tasks or made any progress on them.

Note

Only you as the creator have the overview of the overall status.

You can look up and review the task status by browsing to Start of the navigation path Files Next navigation step Input Forms End of the navigation path , and then selecting the task.

You can also review the input task in the Calendar. The calendar details panel of the input task shows dates, people assigned to the task, and a Context section that lets you see which model is used for the task.

Next Steps

If you need to change an assignee after the task has started, do the following:

From your Selected Assignees list, beside the assignee you wish to change, select Change User.
In the dialog, select a new user and then select OK.

The task will be reassigned.

If needed, you can also remove an assignee by clicking Remove User. If all assignees of the task are removed, the input task is set to Canceled.

Working with Input Tasks You Created

As the creator of an input task you also act as approver, and mark an input task as completed or provide other feedback based on how the task is returned to you.

Input tasks are sent to assignees. The assignees make changes to the data, or they decline the task. In both situations, the task comes back to you and you mark it as completed.

Working with tasks involves one or more of the following situations:

Check Approval Status of Input Tasks

The Summary page for a task shows the current approval status for input tasks.

Default view: see a high-level view of the number of assignees for each type of status (In Progress, Open, Declined, and so on).
Hierarchy view: expand to see the status for each assignee.

The overall status shows Partially Accomplished if some assignees have accomplished their tasks and some have not finished or have canceled.

Assignee Accepts Input Task

After an assignee completes an input task, you receive a notification to that effect.

Access the task in one of the following ways:
- Open (Notifications) and choose the task.
- On the Home screen, open the input task from the Calendar Highlights tile or the Recent Stories tile.
- Go to the Calendar and select your input task there. The Task panel appears, where you can open the attached work file to access your input task.
- Go to the Files page, open the Input Forms folder and navigate to your input task.
The Summary page shows the updated status of the task.
To view the input from an assignee:
1. Under Selected Assignees, select the assignee.
  
  The story switches to the input task page.
2. When you are satisfied with the results, go back to the Summary page, locate the assignee, and then select (Approve).
  
  Tip
  If you have received feedback from all assignees and are satisfied with it, select Approve All.
The status for the assignee changes to Accomplished.

If you decide that the feedback is inaccurate or incomplete, you can select (Reject). The system sends the input task back to the assignee.

Assignee Declines Input Task

An assignee can choose to Decline the input task. When that happens, the approver has the option to exempt that assignee (select (Approve)), or to (Reject) the task to the assignee for a response.

When the approver exempts the assignee, the status changes to Canceled, and the assignee no longer has permission to view the input task details.

Sending a Reminder

You can send a reminder to all assignees who have not yet completed the task.

On the Summary page, select Immediate Reminder.
Enter a text to remind the assignees of their tasks.
Click Send.

Assigning the Input Task to a Substitute

You can choose to assign the task to a different person.

To assign the task to a different assignee, do the following:

Find the current assignee in the Selected Assignees list and choose (Change User).
From the Change User dialog, select the substitute.
Select OK.

All dimensions that were assigned to the original person are now assigned to the substitute.

Removing an Assignee

You can remove an assignee from the task – even if the task is in progress – as long as that assignee has not already submitted their results.

To remove the assignee, find the assignee in the Selected Assignees list and choose (Remove User). The assignee is removed; they will also receive a notification that they have been removed.

If all assignees of the task are removed, the input task is set to Canceled.

Completing an Input Task

Once you have dealt with the input from all assignees, either by approving or exempting, and all assigned tasks are accomplished, the data that has been entered by the assignees is transmitted to the original story. After you've published your private version of the story, the data will be public for everyone who can see the story.

You can discontinue an input task at any time, even if the assignees have not submitted feedback yet. When you click Discontinue, you can set the status for all assigned tasks in the Discontinue Input Event dialog box. Decide what to do with the information that has been gathered depending on the status of the assignee:

Keep status Canceled: no information will be saved.
Change status to Accomplished: all data that had been submitted will be approved and stored, even for Declined tasks.