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Logging and EvaluationLocate this document in the navigation structure

Use

Processes in the Process Step Journal Application

The aim of logging is to enter data for each process step across system boundaries and to evaluate this data at a later time. Logging takes place at the same time in all logical systems that later participate in the evaluation of the Process Step Journal.

The aim of the evaluation is to determine the technical status of each process step at a given time. The Composite Application can then derive the overall status of the business process and use it as the basis of its control.

The Process Step Journal maps the evaluation result for each process step in the form of an aggregated process step status in the Process Activity Overview. The overview provides information about whether a process step that is uniquely identifiable across all systems by a message ID or process step ID has been completed, is still being processed, or is in error handling. If results for a process step that can lead to a service message and therefore to a further process step still exist at the time of evaluation, the overview includes these in the derivation of the status.

Process

Logging

Asynchronous services write the technical information for a process step into the Process Activity Log of all the logical systems that participate in a process step. A logical system is said to participate in a process step if it assumes the role of either the sending or the receiving system. If it sends a service message to this step, it is playing the sending role. If it receives a service message for this step, it is playing the receiving role.

The Process Step Journal performs a plausibility check during writing and thereby ensuring that no incorrect entries are in the log. When a system has taken on the receiving role it is not allowed to send service messages.

Analysis

The following is a simplified representation of the technical process flow of the evaluation:



Figure 1: Evaluation of process activity log entries
  1. The Composite Application uses Enterprise Service 1 (Query Service of the Message Monitoring View business object for the process component Business Document Flow Processing) to send a query to the global read interface of the Process Step Journal for System A. The aim of the query is to determine the status of a business process.

  2. The global read interface evaluates Customizing to determine which systems will participate in the evaluation. The Process Step Journal checks which logical systems you have already set up in the SAP Customizing implementation guide under Start of the navigation path Cross-Application Components Next navigation step Processes and Tools for Enterprise Applications Next navigation step Process Step Journal End of the navigation path in the Customizing activity Configure System Landscape. Here, these are the logical systems A, B, and C.

  3. Then, the Process Step Journal uses Enterprise Service 2 (Find Service of the Business Document Message Monitoring View business object of the process component Business Document Flow Processing) to call up Enterprise Service 3 (Find Service of the Process Integration Activity Journal Entry business object for process component Process Integration Activity Journal) successively in each participating system. The aim of these calls is to query the entries of the individual, local process activity logs for a business process ID. Enterprise Service 3 uses each local read interface to read and return all entries. Existing events (change pointers) stored in the Change Notification Service are also evaluated at this time.

  4. Finally, in the process activity overview of the leading process, the global read interface aggregates the individual log entries into a technical status for each process step (for each service message). Enterprise Service 1 returns the aggregated results.

    When grouping the data, the Process Step Journal checks whether the gathered data in the individual process activity logs is consistent.

    Note

    If there are technical problems during evaluation and one or more logical systems are not available for reading the process activity log entries, the global read interface then uses the available data to derive the aggregated process step status from the individual process steps. Additionally, the Process Step Journal issues warning messages to inform you about which participating systems cannot be reached.

  5. The Composite Application can now analyze the result for process control purposes.