IC Inbox Extensions and Acceleration

Technical Data
Technical Name of Business Function	CRM_IC_INBOX_ACC
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	SAP CRM (core) SAP HANA
Application Component	Agent Inbox (CRM-IC-UNI)
Required Business Function	IC Inbox Extensions (CRM_IC_INBOX)

You can use this business function to activate the accelerated search for the agent inbox (inbox), including new functions that are tailored to further optimize the use of the inbox. The accelerated inbox search is based on content in the SAP HANA system and provides the following features:

The accelerated inbox search provides increased search performance.
The accelerated inbox search is integrated with the non-accelerated inbox search. The non-accelerated search is used as an alternative, whenever the accelerated search cannot be used.
The search traceability has been improved, enabling the user to understand the search behavior and to tailor future searches accordingly.
The new Reserved search attribute, for example, enables IC managers to easily retrieve an overview of reserved or non-reserved inbox items.
A predefined business transaction table contains and evaluates all search attributes and result attributes used by the inbox that are relevant for business transactions. You can easily upload the relevant data using an SAP menu transaction.
You can use the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard (SAP BusinessObjects) in the IC Manager role to display information about your business for analysis and monitoring purposes.

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
Combination of hardware and software (see SAP Note 1514967)	SAP HANA	N/A
Add-On	SAP HANA CRM IC INBOX ACC (Contains the SAP HANA content for the accelerated inbox search)	N/A

To use the business function IC Inbox Extensions and Acceleration (CRM_IC_INBOX_ACC), you have also activated the business function IC Inbox Extensions (CRM_IC_INBOX).
You have made the settings for the inbox as described in the SAP Library on SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com/crm-core <Choose a release> Application Help Interaction Center Interaction Center WebClient Agent Inbox in the Interaction Center WebClient .
You have set up the accelerated inbox search. For more information, see SAP Library on SAP Help Portal at http://help.sap.com/crm-core <Choose a release> Application Help Interaction Center Interaction Center WebClient Agent Inbox in the Interaction Center WebClient Accelerated Inbox Search Setting Up the Accelerated Inbox Search .

Features

Availability of Accelerated Inbox Search

The accelerated inbox search is available for the following inbox item types:

Inbox Item: Workitem - Inbound Email, Fax and Letter
Inbox Item: OneOrder: business transactions that belong to SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM)
Inbox Item: Case

The following search attributes are not supported by the accelerated inbox search:

Category ID
Checklist Step Partner Function
Checklist Step Partner ID
Checklist Step Execution Status
Checklist Step Status

Accelerated Search Integrated with Non-Accelerated Search

The accelerated inbox search is integrated with the non-accelerated inbox search. The non-accelerated search is used as an alternative. The following system checks and resulting system responses apply:

Is the accelerated search activated?
If the accelerated search is not activated, the non-accelerated search is used.
Are all of the selected main categories (inbox item types) supported by the accelerated inbox search?
If not all selected main categories are supported, the non-accelerated search is used.
Is the connection with the SAP HANA database established?
You can define in Customizing for the inbox whether the non-accelerated search is automatically used if an exception occurs during this check or whether the search is canceled.
Are the selected search attributes supported by the accelerated inbox search?
If not all selected search attributes are supported by the accelerated inbox search, the non-accelerated inbox search is used.

Search Traceability

A search processing log has been introduced that consolidates various detailed search messages, such as which search attribute is not supported, 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 could not be performed
Search has been only partially performed
Accelerated search could not be performed; non-acc. search was used

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.

“Reserved” Search Attribute

You can use the new Reserved search attribute in the accelerated inbox search, with the search attribute values Yes and No, to search for inbox items that are reserved or not reserved by an employee or group.

For example, IC managers can easily retrieve all inbox items that have not yet been picked by an agent, by combining the Assigned to: My Groups search attribute with the Reserved: No search attribute. Similarly, IC agents can retrieve all inbox items that they have reserved.

Note that the Reserved search attribute cannot be used in combination with the Employee Responsible search attribute.

Business Transaction Table

A predefined business transaction table is provided for the accelerated inbox search. The business transaction table contains the search attributes and result attributes used by the inbox that are relevant for business transactions. In addition, during the data upload to the business transaction table, the settings in the following inbox Customizing activities are evaluated:

Define Item Types for Searches
Map Item Status to Inbox Status
Map Business Transactions to Responsible Employees and Groups

The business transaction table is found in the SAP HANA content for the accelerated inbox search, in the attribute view AT_ORDER.

You can perform the initial data load for the complete business transaction table or for specific main categories. You do this in the SAP GUI, on the SAP Easy Access screen under Start of the navigation path Interaction Center Next navigation step Interaction Center WebClient Administration Agent Inbox Load Business Transaction Data for Accelerated Search End of the navigation path .

For more information, see Business Transaction Table for Accelerated Search.

“Inbox Work Distribution” Dashboard

You can use the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard (SAP BusinessObjects) to display information about your business for analysis and monitoring purposes. In the standard system, you can access the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard from the Managing Operations work center in the IC Manager role.

In the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard, the following perspectives of the workload are available (the data display is restricted to the data belonging to the selected group):

Inbox work distribution overview
You can display the following information. Note that the various analyses are independent of each other:
- Not Completed Assigned Items by Priority
- Not Completed Assigned Items by Main Category
- Not Completed Assigned Items by Due Date
- Not Completed Assigned Items by Creation Date
Inbox work distribution by employees
You can display the following information. Note that the last three analyses are dependent on the first analysis:
- Not Completed Items by Employee
  You can display this information using the following perspectives:
  - Total
  - Priority
  - Status
- Not Completed Items by Main Category
- Not Completed Items by Creation Date
- Not Completed Items by Due Date

The data displayed in the dashboard is restricted to the groups that are assigned to the IC manager in organizational management. Moreover, it is not possible to upload documents or document contents to the dashboard. The inbox can be launched from the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard.

Note that the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard is only available in English and German. The dashboard cannot be translated using transaction SE63: Translation into other languages has to be done on a project basis.

Effects on Business Add-In for Agent Inbox

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

Determine period dates
This method is not supported by the Inbox Work Distribution dashboard (SAP BusinessObjects). The Inbox Work Distribution dashboard uses fixed time periods.
Manipulate responsible employees for inbox search
This method is not supported by the accelerated inbox search.
Manipulate sort sequence of inbox items in hit list
This method is not supported by the accelerated inbox search.
Manipulate list of rel. partner funct. categories for search
This method is not supported by the accelerated inbox search. The accelerated inbox search is exclusively based on the inbox partner function mapping in the Customizing activity Map Business Transactions to Responsible Employees and Groups and does not evaluate partner function categories.
Ensure that search result is correct for business transact.
This method is not relevant for the accelerated inbox search. During the accelerated inbox search, only one partner function is supported. Therefore, the search only returns the employee responsible and group responsible for which the search has been performed.
Determine the shown inbox status
This method is not supported by the accelerated inbox search. The status mapping is evaluated when the business transaction table is updated.