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 IC Inbox Extensions

 

Technical Data

Technical Name of Business Function

CRM_IC_INBOX

Type of Business Function

Enterprise Business Function

Available From

SAP enhancement package 2 (SP06) for SAP Customer Relationship Management 7.0

SAP enhancement package 1 (SP10) for SAP Customer Relationship Management 7.0

Technical Usage

CRM core

Application Component

Agent Inbox (CRM-IC-UNI)

Required Business Function

Not relevant

You can use this business function to activate various agent inbox (inbox) improvements and new functions that increase the adaptability and usability of the inbox, aiming at an increased user acceptance and productivity. The inbox has also been made available for back office roles, including new functions tailored to the business requirements of back office roles, such as the IC manager role.

The following new and enhanced features are available:

  • Availability

    • The inbox is now also available for business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role, which extends the range of possible usages of the inbox.

    • The inbox is available in the IC Manager role.

  • Search

    • The standard inbox search and the advanced inbox search have been aligned in terms of functions and screen areas to improve usability.

    • Checks have been implemented in the search logic to prevent unclear search results and to improve the search performance.

    • The search traceability has been improved, enabling the user to understand the search behavior and to tailor future searches accordingly.

    • New search attributes are available, enabling more precise searches and reducing filtering activities in the result list.

  • Result list

    • The result toolbar can be configured according to your business requirements on a business role basis, for business roles with the profile type IC WebClient Business Role and for business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role.

    • The various result list functions, such as the forwarding function, have been consolidated in the configurable result toolbar, reducing the navigation effort.

    • New result list functions are available, such as the preview function for e-mails, fax messages, and letters.

    • New result list attributes are available, improving the sorting and evaluation of search results.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the following components as of the version mentioned:

    Type of Component

    Component

    Required for the Following Features Only

    Software Component

    BBPCRM 702

    N/A

  • You have made the settings for the inbox as described in the SAP Library on SAP Help Portal at Start of the navigation path http://help.sap.com/crm-coreInformation published on SAP site Next navigation step <Choose a release> Next navigation step Application Help Next navigation step Interaction Center Next navigation step Interaction Center WebClient Next navigation step Agent Inbox in the Interaction Center WebClient End of the navigation path.

  • Once you have activated the business function, you have made the settings in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management under Start of the navigation path Interaction Center WebClient Next navigation step Agent Inbox Next navigation step Define Inbox Toolbar Profiles End of the navigation path.

Features

Inbox Availability

  • Inbox is available for business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role

    In addition to business roles with the profile type IC WebClient Business Role, you can now also use the inbox in non-IC business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role.

    Note that the following inbox functions are not available for business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role:

    • Interact

    • Link

    • Next Item

    • Displaying e-mails, fax messages, and letters

    • Asynchronous search

  • Inbox is available in the IC Manager role

    You can launch the inbox from the Managing Operations work center. The IC Manager role can search for objects and use various result toolbar functions.

Alignment of Standard Inbox Search and Advanced Inbox Search

The standard inbox search and the advanced inbox search have been aligned in terms of functions and screen areas to improve usability:

  • Standard search:

    • The Inbox Search area has been renamed to Search Criteria.

    • The Quick Search field has been moved above the Search Criteria area of the inbox. Since the Quick Search field no longer belongs to the Search Criteria view, the field is not available in the UI configuration.

    • You can show and hide the Search Criteria area of the inbox, using Show Search Fields and Hide Search Fields.

    • Search fields for multilevel categorization

      The search for categories is done based on the Category ID field using an input help. The Category field has been renamed to Category Description and is display only.

  • Advanced search:

    • Quick search

      Quick searches are performed upon selection, and the Go button has been removed. The Quick Search field has been moved to the left of the Inbox page. The Quick Search field is not available in the UI configuration.

    • Search fields for multilevel categorization

      The search for categories is done based on the Category ID field using an input help. The Categorization field has been renamed to Category Description and is not available as a search field.

Additional Search Attributes

The following new search attributes are available:

  • Created By

  • Employee Responsible

For example, this search attribute provides the option of searching for all work items (e-mail, fax, and letter) that are in process by the respective employee responsible.

Note that these search attributes cannot be used in combination with the search attribute Assigned To.

Search Attribute Validity Check

The following attribute validity check has been implemented to improve search performance and to prevent unclear search results:

If a main category cannot be combined with a selected search attribute, the main category is excluded from the search. For example, a search involving the main category E-Mail in combination with the Checklist ID search attribute is not valid, and the search is not performed.

This system behavior also applies if only one main category has been selected or if no main category has been selected. In the latter situation, the validity check is performed for all main categories that are defined for the corresponding inbox profile in Customizing, and the search is performed for all main categories that have passed the validity check.

Search Traceability

A search processing log has been introduced that consolidates various detailed search messages, such as which search attribute is not supported by which main category, in a structured way. The processing log can be accessed using a corresponding button in the result toolbar.

In addition to the entries in the processing log, the following general messages are displayed on the UI, as appropriate:

  • Search has been only partially performed

  • Search could not be performed

For each of the messages above, a long text is provided that informs the user about the possible causes for the search behavior. This enables the user to understand the search behavior and to tailor future searches accordingly, or to contact the system administrator, as required.

Configurable Result Toolbar

You can configure the result toolbar according to your business needs for business roles with the profile type IC WebClient Business Role and for business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role:

  • Toolbar buttons

    You can define the following for each button:

    • Description

    • Label

    • Tooltip

    • Icon

    • Availability of button for use in business roles with the profile type IC WebClient Business Role, in business roles with the profile type CRM WebClient Business Role, or both (providing the button function is available in the corresponding business role)

    You can also add user-defined buttons.

  • Toolbar profiles

    You can define toolbar profiles for IC business roles and for other CRM core business roles.

    You can define the following for each profile:

    • Which buttons are available

    • Button order

    • Button grouping

      You can group buttons using separators.

    • Whether the label, icon, or both are displayed for the button

    If you do not define toolbar profiles for your business roles, the system uses default profiles.

  • Result list functions consolidated in configurable result toolbar

    All result list functions can be accessed through the configurable result toolbar including the following existing functions:

    • Existing forwarding function

      The existing forwarding function has been moved to the result toolbar as a Forward menu button that provides access to the function from a dropdown menu. The actual function is unchanged.

    • Existing reference function

      The existing reference function has been moved to the result toolbar as a Reference menu button that provides access to the function from a dropdown menu. The dropdown menu contains the entries from the activity clipboard. The actual function is unchanged.

  • Effects on Customizing

    You make the Customizing settings for the configurable result toolbar in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management under Start of the navigation path Interaction Center WebClient Next navigation step Agent Inbox Next navigation step Define Inbox Toolbar Profiles End of the navigation path.

New Features Accessible From the Configurable Result Toolbar

  • Extended forwarding function

    A separate Forward toolbar menu button is available that provides access to the new extended forwarding function from a dropdown menu.

    In addition to forwarding to the recipients defined in the transaction Assign Recipient Profile for Forwarding to Inbox Profile, the function can also be used to perform a general employee search and organizational unit search, including forwarding to other employees or organizational units (for example, agent groups).

  • Extended reference function

    A separate Reference toolbar menu button is available that provides access to the new extended reference function from a dropdown menu.

    The dropdown menu provides the entries from the Recent Items and access to a business transaction search that can be used to reference business transactions that are not contained in the Recent Items.

    The extended reference function is not supported for business roles with the profile type IC WebClient Business Role.

  • Extended reset reservation function

    A separate new Reset Reservation toolbar button is available that can be used to reset the reservation of inbox items on behalf of other users. For example, the button could be used by IC managers to reset inbox items on behalf of IC agents, if required.

  • Refresh

    The new Refresh button enables the user to repeat a search without expanding the Search Criteria view and choosing the Search button. This enables the user to use the entire screen for working with the result list.

  • Preview

    The new Preview On / Preview Off toggle button enables users to display a preview of the currently selected e-mail (plain text and HTML format) , fax message (PDF format), and letter (scanned picture), without navigation effort. The preview is displayed below the table chart area. The preview does not provide follow-up buttons, such as Reply and Forward.

  • Processing log

    The Show Log button provides access to the new search processing log. For more information, see the Search Traceability section above.

Result List Attributes
Naming Convention for Result List Attributes

New result list attributes are available, and the following naming convention has been introduced:

If the result list attribute represents an icon, ID, name, or description, this has been noted in brackets in the attribute name:

  • Main Category (Icon)

  • Main Category (ID)

  • Main Category (Description)

If the result list attribute represents a combination of the ID and the description of the object in question, only the attribute name is used without further explanations in brackets. For example, the result list attribute Main Category represents the main category ID and description.

If the result list attribute represents a time specification, the following applies:

  • If the result list attribute represents the date, the preposition On is used in the attribute name, for example Due On.

  • If the result list attribute represents the time, the preposition At is used in the attribute name, for example Due At.

  • If the result list attribute represents the date and time, both prepositions are used in the attribute name, for example Due On/At.

  • If the result list attribute represents an icon, this is not noted in the attribute name, for example Overdue.

Note that to adhere to the naming convention, some existing result list attributes, search attributes, and sort attributes have been renamed in the form of a correction, independent of business function CRM_IC_INBOX.

New Result List Attributes

The following new result list attributes are available (the list is structured thematically):

  • Item identification:

    • Main Category (Icon)

    • Main Category

  • Origin of work items:

    • Sender Address

    • Recipient Address

  • Involved parties:

    • Created By (ID)

    • Created By (Name)

    • Employee Responsible (ID)

    • Employee Responsible

    • Group Responsible (ID)

    • Group Responsible

    • Account

    • Contact

  • Time specification:

    • Last Updated On/At

    • Last Updated On

    • Last Updated At

    • Received On/At

    • Received On

    • Received At

    • Due On

    • Due At

    • Overdue

  • Importance:

    • Status (ID)

    • Status

    • Priority (ID)

    • Priority

  • External reference:

    • Logical System (Description)

    • Logical System

    • Company (Description)

    • Company

  • Checklist:

    • Checklist (ID)

    • Checklist (Description)

    • Checklist

Effects on Business Add-In for the Agent Inbox

The following specifics apply to the Business Add-In (BAdI) Agent Inbox:

  • Called right before handing back the found agents

    This method does not apply to the general employee search and organizational unit search that you can perform as part of the extended forwarding function.

  • Called before searching agent inbox item

    You must observe the search routing principles and the specific features of the search attributes, when implementing this method. For example, the search attributes Employee Responsible and Created By cannot be used in combination with the Assigned To search attribute. For more information about the inbox search, see Inbox Search.

  • Determine recipients – agents and groups

    This method does not apply to the general employee search and organizational unit search that you can perform as part of the extended forwarding function.