Using ARIS process models as the foundation for Business Process Monitoring

[Former Member]

Hello,

Do anyone know if you can use IDS Scheer ARIS process models and the integration between IDS Scheer ARIS and SAP Solution Manager as the starting point for end-to-end Business Process Monitoring (BPM) so that you get the process description/model automatically in Solution Manager BPM and just need to configure the monitoring (more or less that you monitor against the modelled process in ARIS)?

Is there an API for SAP Solution Manager BPM so that non-SAP solutions/systems can be part of the end-to-end process monitoring?

If not, how do you usually integrate non-SAP solutions that are part of an end-to-end process that you want to monitor into SAP Solution Manager BPM, or do you not use Solution Manager BPM for this?

What is the roadmap for SAP around SAP Solution Manager BPM when it comes to non-SAP systems/applications/solutions and the new SAP NetWeaver BPM functionality?

Regards,

Markus Johansson

[markus_doehr2 · Accepted solution]

Check the ARIS administration documentation chapter 7.1.2.1.

You need to

- import the transport to SolMan delivered with the ARIS media

- configure the webservice

Markus

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hello Markus,

Thanks for your answer but that is not really what I am looking for. I am more looking for a way to reuse the ARIS process model in the Solution Manager BPM and be able to, for the non-SAP process steps, send information from the system/application in which those process steps are run through an API or similiar into SAP Solution Manager BPM (and relate this information to a specific step in the monitored end-to-end process).

I am not even sure it is possible today, therfore I am interest if anyone knows what is coming in the future or where SAP is heading in this area.

Regards,

Markus

[volker_vongloeden · Accepted solution]

Hello Markus,

in an SAP Solution Manager and ARIS scenario only the following is supported by SAP. You start with a project in Solution Manager transfer it to ARIS, enhance it there and import it back into the project part of Solution Manager.

In order to use such a process in BPMon you have to copy the process into a solution in the Operations part.

Be aware that out of experience most of the time ARIS processes are too detailed for an operational day to day monitoring with BPMon. You easily lose the overview with processes with too many steps.

If you started your modeling in ARIS and not in Solution Manager this is not officially supported by SAP and you should contact ARIS consultants as they have their ways to bring the processes into Solution Manager nevertheless.

Monitoring non-SAP is possible but limited or means additional programming effort. For SAP products there is plenty of pre-configured monitors available out-of-the-box. For monitoring non-SAP you can make use of CCMS agents, program things in the available Customer Exit or use other monitoring tools that write into CCMS and there the data is retrieved from BPMon. More non-SAP monitoring possibilities are supposed to be shipped with EhP2 for SAP Solution Manager in Q4/2009.

If you are looking for comprehensive documentation on this topic, please check out https://service.sap.com/bpm --> Media Library

Or you can also have a look at different blogs around this topic. The best to start with is /people/community.user/blog/2008/09/02/sap-business-process-monitoring-within-sap-solution-manager as it links to all other blogs. Further blogs about Procure to Pay and the Customer Exit are to be published soon.

Best Regards

Volker

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hello Volker,

Very helpful answer!

Do you know any details around the SAP roadmap in this area and the relation/connection to SAP NetWeaver BPM?

Thanks,

Markus Johansson

[volker_vongloeden · Accepted solution]

Hello Markus,

I just paste my answer form the other forum entry

in a nutshell BPM Netweaver is focussing on so called edge-processes (usually

SOA-based and often workflow related). These edge-processes a thought to enhance exisitng core business processes and should provide the fast competitive edge versus competitors. Examples would be also xApps. For this Netweaver provides process modelling tools, where you can get exectuable code through the integration between CE and PI. The monitoring part for these processes is mainly targeting business end-users and business manager.

Business Process Monitoring with Solution Manager focusses on core business processes which are realized with the "conventional", "old" SAP Architecture, e.g. Order-to-Cash or Procure-to-Pay. You get a combination of technical monitors (average response times of transactions, background job runtimes, monitors for IDOC or qRFC processing) and application related monitors (you get more than 200 pre-configured application monitors out-of-the-box like number of overdue customer orders or outbound deliveries or number of deliveries with goods issue posted but no invoice). The target group here is the support organization of the customer, from Basis-Support over application support on IT side to process owner on business department side.

Overview presentations can be found under

https://service.sap.com/bpm --> Media Library --> Customer Information -->

"Business Process Monitoring - Part 1 & 2".

Or look under https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-processmonitoring

In the end BPM Netweaver and BPMon SolMan are complementary for different purposes and different target groups.

Best Regards

Volker

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hello Volver,

Thanks again for your input.

I agree with you in most areas but I am still interested in what SAP NetWeaver BPM will provide in this area as I have seen SAP demos that show SAP "core processes" modelled (documented?) in SAP NetWeaver BPM (BPMN representation) which can be extended at specific "extention points". I this context I can not see why SAP should not reuse those models (to some extent) also for monitoring (including both SAP and non-SAP components)?

It will also be interesting to see how Business Process Monitoring should be handled where you have a combination of on premise (e.g. ERP) and "cloud" solutions/services (e.g .SAP Business By Design or solutions buildt on top of the SAP AP platform) which builds up the complete end-to-end process :-).

Regards,

Markus Johansson

[Former Member]

Hi,

We implement our current project with ARIS synchronization only.

Intially we define the project in SAP & transfered to ARIS.

Later all the Business process flow are defined in the ARIS say example Service PO(PR-- POGRInvoice-- vendor payment.)

all the process flow we defined in the ARIS with the roles & responsibility persons.each node in diagram is represented with the whether the step is SAP or other system.If SAP then we specify the transaction in ARIS,for example PR( me52n),PO (Me21n) GR ( MIGO) like that & make RFC connection to dev server.when they click from there they can enter in to the dev server to that transaction.

After complete all the business model we synchronize all the business model to Solman,all the data copied to Solman automatically with all node & transaction as specified in ARIS.

After that we start configure SAP dev through Solman,so once config is over we reverse synchronize with ARIS & send all the configuration node dat also.

Now when the user enter in to the ARIS flow they follow the procedure as per in ARIS flow & enter in to SAP transaction directly from ARIS & for configuartion they enter through ARISSOLMAN- DEV.

SO any change is doing now like this only.

The roles & authorization profile was downloaded from the business model only.

Test case also we test in ARIS & send to SOlman.

I think you get some idea,

Regards,

Raj