Communication structures that are used to transfer data from the R/3 System (PP-PI) to production control.

In process instructions, you can use predefined characteristics to define process steps that you want:

• To be executed manually by a process operator at a production line
• To be executed automatically by a process control system

You assign process instructions to the phases of the master recipe and process order.

Process instructions consist of the following elements:

• A header
• Characteristics
• Characteristic values

The header of a process instruction contains general information about the process instruction, such as the process instruction type and process instruction category.

In process instructions, characteristics can have two functions. They can be used to specify:

• The type of information transferred or requested,
  for example, "process order number", "control recipe status" or "control instruction"

• How the requested data should be processed,
  for example, that a specific value should be provided by process control or which message category should be used to report this value

In Customizing for Process Management, you both define process instruction characteristics and assign them to the process instruction category. In the instruction category, you also specify the sequence for the characteristics.

When you create a process instruction in a master recipe or a process order, the system copies the characteristics that are assigned to the relevant process instruction category in the process instruction. You can then assign further characteristics or delete existing assignments in the process instruction. You can assign as many characteristics to a process instruction as you like. You can assign a characteristic to the same process instruction more than once.

You can assign values to process instruction characteristics in Customizing for Process Instruction Categories, in the master recipe, or in the process order:

• In Customizing, you can assign values to characteristics that contain general information such as the message category of the messages to be sent. If a process instruction of this category is created in the recipe or order, these values are copied into the process instruction.
• In the master recipe, you can assign values to characteristics that contain process-specific information, such as the material quantity required for the process or a specific validation rule.
• In the process order, you can assign values to characteristics that are only valid for the individual production run, such as the name of the device from which a measured value is to be obtained.

In the process order, you must assign a value to every characteristic in a process instruction. Otherwise, you cannot create a control recipe.

You can define a certain format and value range for a characteristic in Customizing. The value of a process instruction characteristic can be a numeric or alphanumeric key, a short text or a long text, or the name of a message characteristic that is to be processed in a specific way. When the characteristic values are assigned in the recipe or order, the values entered must comply with the defined format and value range.

If you assign a value assignment function or table field to a characteristic, the value of this process instruction characteristic can be assigned automatically in the process order or when you create a control recipe.