Message Functional Areas (SAP Library - Personnel Time Management (PT))

Message Functional Areas

Definition

Message functional areas contain groups of time evaluation messages. You can use them to:

Structure messages to arrange how they are displayed
Support efficient message processing

Use

Time evaluation can generate a large amount of messages. Sometimes the list of messages can be too long to manage. When Customizing the Time Manager’s Workplace, you can therefore group together message types into message functional areas to suit your business requirements. Message functional areas can be created using the following criteria:

Many message types describe similar business-related situations. Grouping together message types can streamline message processing as the time administrator handles related topics at one time.

Example

Message functional areas describing similar business-related situations:

Working time collisions
Deviations from the work schedule
Checking time accounts

There are many types of messages requiring identical or similar processing methods, such as those concerning incorrect or missing time events. Grouping these message types together enables the time administrator to use the same steps and screens, processing these messages systematically.
Messages concerning serious errors in time evaluation and additional messages for which accurate time evaluation results are not relevant. Grouping together messages according to their relevance enables time administrators to correct the errors first of all. They can choose to process notes and information messages later.

For more information about the significance of messages, see Grouping Messages.

Structure

To structure messages in the message view, you can choose between the following procedures:

All message types of a functional area are summarized under one description and not listed individually
All message types that have a functional area assigned to them are listed individually under the functional area node.

The message view is structured according to whether you assign a processing method to the message types or to the functional areas.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

If you assign the message types their own processing methods, they are displayed under the message functional area node.

If you want to display all messages of a functional area in the message list, select the functional area in the message view. If you only want to display the messages for a message type, select only the message type.

If you assign a processing method to the message functional area, the system summarizes all messages under the description of the functional area.

The individual message types no longer appear in the message view. You always transfer all message types to the message list.

You do not have to assign all message types to a message functional area. Some messages require such specific handling that they can be regarded as special cases. These message types do not need to be assigned to a message functional area. They are displayed in the message view on the same hierarchy level as the message functional areas.