Customizing with Reference to the Locking Concept 

Note that when creating and designing planning levels, several users will be planning simultaneously. In Customizing you therefore have to ensure that user-specific selections do not interfere with each other. As soon as a user executes a planning step and the system creates the corresponding locks, these locks remain in place until the end of the planning session. This is so that data consistency can be ensured. Note that the requested transaction data is normally connected in complex ways, even when data is being edited in a planning session with manual planning and planning functions in different planning levels. This means that you cannot normally only save and lock some data packages. The other data packages will also be locked.

You can alter this behavior by using the user parameter SEM_BPS_SAVE_UNLOCK. This parameter allows you to save and unlock all edited data. The detailed application that was active when data was saved is then instantiated again. This means that only data required for this detailed application is reselected and locked (in change mode). For more information, see SAP Note 635244.

The following sections contain notes that should be taken into account during Customizing in order to avoid unwanted lock situations.

Selections with No Interference

To avoid users being hindered by other users, user-specific selections should not interfere with each other. The following rules apply:

●     There is no interference between the selections if users are using different key figures. This is demonstrated by the table showing the sample data records in Locking Transaction Data: The colored areas derived from the examples do not overlap.

●     As transaction data is always locked in the basic planning area, two selections can only interfere with each other if they access data from the same basic planning area. If different user selections are parts of different basic planning areas, or if the selection of at least one characteristic has no intersection, there is no interference between users.  

With multi-planning areas note that locks are implemented in the basic planning areas contained in the multi-planning area.

●     No lock entries are created if a planning layout is executed in display mode.

Selections with Interference

There is interference between the selections if there is at least one common data record that is required to create the result values. This is shown in the following example:

User A and user B want to perform manual planning. User A includes the characteristic year and the key figure revenue in their planning level. User B includes the characteristic year, customer group = IT and the key figure revenue in their planning level. The results are as follows:

Results table for user A

Year	Sales Revenue
2004	10000

Results table for user B

Year	Customer Group	Sales Revenue
2004	IT	3000

The records highlighted in red are used in both sets of results:

Year	Customer Group	Customer	Sales Revenue	Costs
2004	IT	SAP	1000	500
2004	IT	IBM	2000	1000

As these selections interfere with each other they cannot be used by two different users simultaneously. The system produces a lock message accordingly.

Handling Characteristics Not Contained in the Planning Level

The following rule applies: If a characteristic is not part of a planning level, it can be accounted for in selection ‘*’ (all values). We recommend that you adhere to this rule as selections can then be compared more easily and potential locking problems are easier to identify.

Example: Conversion rule

As far as locks are concerned, the following selections are the same, since all the records for the year 2004 are locked:

Characteristic:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

and

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = *

Example: Determining an intersection

You have to determine the intersection of the two selections shown above:

Selection A:

Characteristic:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Selection B:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = IT

Convert selection A in accordance with the rule mentioned above:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = *

If you compare the selections characteristic by characteristic you see the following intersection:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = IT

Example: Checking whether selections interfere with each other

Selection A:

Characteristic:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Selection B:

Characteristic:                  Key Figure:

Customer group = IT        Revenue

In order to compare selections, they should contain the same set of characteristics. Based on the conversion rule, we add the year to selection A and customer group to selection B. The result looks like this:

Selection A:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = *

Selection B:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Customer group = IT        Revenue

Year = *

If you compare the selections characteristic by characteristic you see the following intersection:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = IT

Budgeting as an example of this scenario

You want to implement a budgeting process and simultaneously facilitate a bottom-up and a top-down approach: The central planner enters the revenue values for all customers for the budget year. The person responsible for customer contacts enters the revenue values for their customers. The results are compared at group level.

The characteristics year, customer group and customers are added to the planning level. The revenue is stored with the key figure revenue.

The selection for the central planner is:

Characteristic:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

The selection for the person responsible for customer contact with SAP is:

Characteristics:                  Key Figure:

Year = 2004                      Revenue

Customer group = IT

Customer = SAP

When both planners are working, the second planner will receive a message saying data is locked.

Proposed solution: To avoid this locking problem, the data model has to be changed so that both groups are working with independent data records. You have the following options:

●     Add a key figure: One key figure is used for the top-down direction, the other key figure is used for bottom-up.

●     Add a characteristic (such as a budgeting version). This characteristic can be used to indicate the budgeting direction.

Comparison Columns in the Planning Layout

Lock-relevant characteristics are normally contained in the header or in the rows of the planning layout. As long as there are no overlapping selections in these areas, lock problems do not occur.

The following example deals with the special case that the data columns contain the users’ different selections and you want to display the same reference data for all users.

Comparison columns are not input ready in manual planning. We differentiate between the following cases:

●     The data in the comparison columns is in planning packages. In this case it is locked.

●     The data in the comparison column is not in planning packages. In this case you have reference data that is not locked.

Individually defined comparison rows behave in the same way.

One example of using reference data is cost center planning where different users are assigned to the same cost center and are differentiated between using the characteristic Version .

Planning layout with reference data

Fiscal Year 2005
Cost Center	Costs/ Version: User Version	Current Cost: Version 0
4711	90	100
4712	190	200
Total	280	300

If the planning package contains characteristic Version 0, you have a comparison column that is locked. If not, you have reference data that the different users can access without locking other users.

In the case of reference data, the system splits the selections for the planning layout into two disjunctive selections; each requires its own database request:

...

       1.      The selection for the plan data is: Fiscal year: 2005, cost center: 4711,4712, version: ‘user version’, _BKENNZAHL: ‘Costs’. BW-BPS is called in change mode for this selection (the selection is locked).

       2.      The selection for the reference data is: Fiscal year: 2005, cost center: 4711,4712, version: Version0, _BKENNZAHL: ‘Costs’. BW-BPS is called in display mode for this selection (the selection is not locked).

For more information and examples of special features of using MultiProviders, see SAP Note 555849.

This function has to be activated in the system: Add a new record to database table UPC_DARK2 using param = SPLIT_SELECTION and value = X.

This function requires a high number of database accesses and may therefore affect performance in manual planning.

It is only possible to split the selection into two disjunctive selections if reference data is used either in the rows or in the columns. If there is reference data in the rows and columns, the system does not split the selection and all of the data in the planning layout is locked.