Technical Implementation of the SAP Business Workflow for Issuin (SAP Library

Technical Implementation of the SAP Business Workflow for Issuing Approvals

The workflow for issuing approvals is a single-step workflow. For technical reasons, it cannot be extended to a multistep task at present.

Object Type

The interface between SAP functions and the workflow system is based on object technology.

The following information is technical and only relevant if you are interested in the technical aspects of implementation, or if you plan to create your own enhancements.

The SAP standard system contains the following object type:

CATS (Cross-Application Time Sheet)

If you want to modify the workflow, you must implement this object type.

Standard Tasks

There are three standard tasks that you can use to notify persons who approve data that there are times ready for approval. The agent generates the work items in his or her integrated inbox, starting the report RCATSB01 (CATS: Approve times). The agent either approves or rejects the time sheet data.

Standard task: Approval

Standard task: TS40007901

Abbreviation: Approval

Name: CATS: Approval

Standard task: Approval2

Standard task: TS20000459

Abbreviation: Approval2

Name: CATS: Approval by Time Administrator

Standard task: Approval3

Standard task: TS20000460

Abbreviation: Approval3

Name: CATS: Approval by Superior

Referenced Object Method, Properties

Object type: CATS

Method: Approve (Approval request)

Properties: None

If you want to modify the workflow, you must use this object method.

Assigning Agents

You can assign agents by:

Assigning the standard task using an organizational plan object

Defining the standard task as a general task. You are advised to use this option if you have not yet maintained an organizational plan and do not intend creating one.

For more information, see Preparation and Customizing of the Approval Workflow.

Determining the agent using the SAP enhancement Determine Workflow Recipients for Approval (CATS0008).

For more information, see the documentation for the SAP enhancement.

Event

This workflow does not have a triggering event, only a terminating event.

Terminating event:

Object type: CATS

Event: COMPLETED

Element: _WI_OBJECT_ID

The event occurs once the agent has approved all of the records entered for a personnel number.

Recommended Activities:

You can currently:

Customize the work item text to suit your requirements

Use the parameters in the container for your copy of the standard task (TS_ENAME - employee/applicant name, for example).

Maintain the long text for the work item

In the long text for the work item, you can describe the approval procedure, for example. You can also include the parameters in the container.

There are two ways to copy a standard task:

Copy the standard task to another standard task using the Copy function in the Maintain task transaction. In this case, the task is client-independent.
Copy the standard task to create your own customer task. In this case, the task is client-dependent.