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Function documentationIssue Processing with Digital Signatures

 

With the digital signature function, the QIM system provides you with a tool that allows you to sign and log business transactions, such as status changes, within the context of issue processing. The digital signature ensures that the signatory can be identified unambiguously and that the name of the signatory is documented together with the business transaction, date, and time. In Customizing, you can specify which business transactions must be signed and whether the signature is to be executed by one or more persons, synchronously, or asynchronously.

Example Example

An issue can only be approved with the digital signature of the quality manager.

An activity to start an escalation process can only be set in process by a digital signature from the quality manager and the escalation manager responsible.

End of the example.

Prerequisites

  1. You have made the settings for the digital signature in Customizing for QIM under Start of the navigation path Environment Next navigation step Digital Signature End of the navigation path.

  2. In Customizing for the issue type, you have specified the business transactions for which a digital signature is required. You do this in Customizing for QIM under Start of the navigation path Issue Processing Next navigation step Define Issue Types End of the navigation path.

Features

You can activate the digital signature for business transactions when processing issues and activities. To do this, you specify in the issue type or the activity type how the signature process is to be executed. In addition to an individual signature, a signature process with several signatories is possible. This signature process can run synchronously or asynchronously.

Note Note

In SAP QIM, you can only use signature strategies to which a system signature based on user ID and password is assigned as the signature method.

End of the note.

The digital signature is only possible when creating issues using the advanced create function, when changing issues, or when processing activities. The signature is automatically queried when the user attempts to execute the business transaction. A dialog box appears in which the signature must be entered.

With a synchronous signature process, the various signatories must provide their signature directly one after the other in the application. Only when the last required signature has been executed can a new application be called, otherwise the whole signature process is invalid. With an asynchronous signature process, the signatories can provide their signature independently of one another at their own workplace.

Each user authorized to provide a signature within a signature strategy who has not yet signed the respective object can cancel a signature process. The signatures that were already executed are then revoked and the object returns to the status that it had before the start of the signature process.

The signature process – and also a cancelation of the process – is documented in the system. You can display the log in the issue or activity hierarchy when processing issues or activities. You can also open the logs under Start of the navigation path System Administration Next navigation step Environment End of the navigation path (see also Environment).

Using the Worklists for Quality Issues and Quality Activities, you can list the issues and activities for which a digital signature is required.

More Information

For more information, look up the keyword Digital Signature (CA-DSG) at http://help.sap.comInformation published on SAP site.