MDM WF issue

[Former Member]

Hi,

Please help me in answering the below Issues.

1) In process step we define the details of a user who will approve.

Which means once the control comes to process step then the user(xxx) will receive a message in the WF tab(DM)- tasks table ??

and then he will approve it by changing the status there in STATUS-Column??

Do we require a approve step after process step ?If so why?

As per my understanding if xxx approves it in WF tab @ DM then why should we use a approve step again after process step!!!

2) I need to create a WF which will evaluate whether the newly added record should be added into the table or not.

Is it possible?

i am aware that i should create a WF which triggers when a record is added.

can any one let me know what could be the steps.

Approvals should be done by 3 Users.

Once each record comes out of 3 approvals then the record will be finally added in to mdm.

KR

John

[Former Member]

Hi John

Before replying to your queries let me explain the difference between Process and Approve steps in MDM workflow.

Process step is used for any User action like editing a record, adding more details and so on. It can be also be used for marking the record status as Approved or completed depending upon the business needs and design.

Approve step is used for user approval for the records in the job. If any of the records is disapproved by any of the approvers, the job is kicked back to the previous step, with an Approval Result column for each approver indicating whether each record was approved or disapproved. We can also define the Iteration Threshold implying how many iterations is allowed for 1 approval step.

Imagine we have 1 record assigned to workflow with 3 Approvals steps. Approver1 rejects the record and hence it goes back to the previous step say Process which is assigned to Data requestor who can modify and resend the record for approval back to Approver1. This cycle can repeat depending on the max no of allowed iterations we define. After final approval again we can have a Process Step to physically mark the record status as Approved. Please note that the result column for approval is just a flag and is not stored in the repository.

In many cases we use Process step itself for Approval where the user(Approver) can check for some business rules and mark the records as Approved. Advantages are we can split the disapproved records and delete them if required. This can not be done using the Approve step alone. Hope this answers your first query.

can any one let me know what could be the steps.

Approvals should be done by 3 Users.

Once each record comes out of 3 approvals then the record will be finally added in to mdm.

A valid WF could be Start(checkout)->Validate->Match->Process(name this step as Approve1 assigned to Approver1)->Notify-> Process(name this step as Approve2 assigned to Approver2)->Notify->Process(name this step as Approve3 assigned to Approver3)-> Notify-> Stop(Checkin)

Hope this helps-Ravi

[Former Member]

Hi,

i Created a WF which will be triggered when a record is added.

Lets say if i assign user (xyz) to process step .

Then xyz when logs in to DM and checks the WF tab he can see a row which requests him to approve or disapprove in the status Column.

If he approves then that record will remain In mdm if he disapprove then that record will be deleted from mdm.

IS this true ?? Or Does it react in a different way??

Please clarify me.

[former_member205403]

Hi John,

Yes,it is possible to model your workflow like this... based on value in Item status field you can branch your workflow. If status is approved then you can check in record so it will be saved in MDM, else if record is not approved and Item status value is not approved then you can roll back the record, so that it wil not be saved in MDM. To do so, in Start step you have to specify record check out Property, and In Stop step specify record rollback and check in properties...

Revert if any further questions.

Best Regards,

Shiv

[Former Member]

Lets say if i assign user (xyz) to process step .

Then xyz when logs in to DM and checks the WF tab he can see a row which requests him to approve or disapprove in the status Column.

If he approves then that record will remain In mdm if he disapprove then that record will be deleted from mdm.

IS this true ?? Or Does it react in a different way??

If the same record is Checked out while creation, during import this is possible. To achieve this the workflow with Start(checkout) needs to be part of the import map itself.

If the workflow has been triggered after record has been added in MDM it will not be deleted after doing checkin.Records are deleted only manually. Disaaproval(marking the records as Disapproved) alone will not delete the record.

hope his helps-Ravi

[Former Member]

Thanks Ravi and Shiv.

@ravi,

A valid WF could be Start(checkout)->Validate->Match->Process(name this step as Approve1 assigned to Approver1)->Notify-> Process(name this step as Approve2 assigned to Approver2)->Notify->Process(name this step as Approve3 assigned to Approver3)-> Notify-> Stop(Checkin)

Here as soon as control comes to the process step then the user defined that step gets a message in DM-WF tab under tasks table , and he then have to either edit the record or can approve it But cannot Disapporve it. Is my understanding correct??

If yes, then if my user want to disapprove it then he has to use a approve step after each process step mentioned above, am i right??

Notify step will just send a mail(with the message that we specify in the body) to the mentioned user specified.

Once the user receives that message the control goes to next step, am i right!!! or the user mentioned in step need to move the control to next step???

I am trying to understand the underneath flow, so please guide me.

@Shiv,

in process step you can edit or approve(once done control goes to next step) the records. But there is no point of disapproving in process step right!!!! If that is true then i am confused ...

based on value in Item status field you can branch your workflow. If status is approved then you can check in record so it will be saved in MDM, else if record is not approved and Item status value is not approved then you can roll back the record, so that it wil not be saved in MDM. To do so, in Start step you have to specify record check out Property, and In Stop step specify record rollback and check in properties...

Can you please explain me in detail how is it possible to read the data in status column from wf?

and what will roolback function do at stop step??

Please help me in answering my quiries.

KR

John

[Former Member]

Hi John

Here as soon as control comes to the process step then the user defined that step gets a message in DM-WF tab under tasks table , and he then have to either edit the record or can approve it But cannot Disapporve it. Is my understanding correct??

If yes, then if my user want to disapprove it then he has to use a approve step after each process step mentioned above, am i right??

Please understand that we are using Process step as a substitute for Approve step. In Approve step user can mark the record as Approved or reject them which are visible in data manager as flags. They are not stored.

Instead by using the Process step along with a field at main table level, Record Status, the user on approving can manually fill this field as Approved or Rejected

Notify step will just send a mail(with the message that we specify in the body) to the mentioned user specified.

Once the user receives that message the control goes to next step, am i right!!! or the user mentioned in step need to move the control to next step???

Notify is a system controlled task and does not require any manual intervention. After this the workflow will go automatically to next Approver.

Best regards-Ravi

[former_member205403]

Hi John,

1. Yes, in a Process step you can just edit record.

But As you said you are planning to update Status field in Process step. So if you create a field in MDM with the Name "Status" and in Process step edit record by specifying Values like "Approved" or "Disapproved". Then you can use Process step like approval step. But for MDM it will be still just like you are editing record.

So, if you even Mark status of Item as "Disapproved" in process step, MDM will not transfer control Back to previous step, like what it does with standard Approval step.

2. Yes, you can use branch step to Break Workflow job into multiple jobs depending upon value in Item Status field. i.e.records have value in Item Status field as approved or disapproved. To do so, add a branch step in your workflow after you set Item status using process step. Branch Step has one input and multiple outputs. Now in Branch Step, Specify the Validation which will check the Item status field value and will accordingly forward records to the workflow branch based on return value of the Validation..

3. In the Stop Step, we have to set property Record Checkout. Here if you specify value as Rollback, then MDM will revert the changes done in record while in workflow. So, if you are triggering workflow on record import, and on stop roll back property is step, then MDM will not save that record and will reject it.. You can set this property as Roll Back in the Stop step of the workflow branch which will be executed if Item Status is "Disapproved". And for the workflow branch which will be executed if Item Status field value is "Approved", you can set Record checkout property as "Checkin" (*i am assuming that you have checking out records in workflow)

Hope this is clear now... please revert if any further question...

Best Regards,

Shiv

[Former Member]

Hi John,

Please follow below Articles to understand the use of Process step and Approve step in MDM Workflow to better understanding. Just go through all of these documents to get familiar with the use of MDM workflow:

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/d0be83e4-a1e6-2a10-c1be-8395ae948...

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/9180cbaf-0801-0010-f882-f2af6dc97...

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/60f28084-b90e-2b10-3eb6-d65653670...

Hope it helps you in better understanding of business scenario using MDM workflow

Regards,

Mandeep Saini

[Former Member]

Hi Ravi, I would like to continue the same query, with my concerns.

I have designed the workflow,

with Launch Assignment 1,

                  Assignment 2 ,

                       Approver 1,

                       Approver 2,

                    Asignment 3,

                                Stop.

Sucessful scenerio when approvers approves I . E clicks on Mark as Approved button , the next step is getting enabled and flow is success.

But  the same when Approver clicks on Mark as Disapproved, the Previous step button is not getting enabled, Is there any configuration to be performed?

Please suggest.

Regards

Shifali

[former_member205403]

Hi John,

Please find answers to your questions below:

1) Process step is a step in which assigned user will manually act on the record. For Approval, MDM provides a seperate step i.e. approval step.

You can change status in the status column either way i.e either by using a process step and manually updating status, or By using an assignment for automatic update in the status Field after approval step.

2.) Do we require a approve step after process step ?If so why?

It totally depends on your requirement. If you change Status of Item to Approved using a process step, then MDM will not be aware that this process step is used as an approval for record. For MDM it will be just like data update. if you use process step as approval step then You will face challenge in UWL workflow on Portal. i.e. approve and disapprove buttons will not be visible.

Also, you will not get the functionality of approval step i.e. if record is rejected then it will go back to previous step. you have to manually handle this requirement then in some other way.

3. ) As per your requirement, you can design your workflow like this:

Start Step>Notify Step>Process Step>Notify Step>Approval Step->Assignment Step>Notify Step-->Stop

Start step will trigger workflow as soon as record is added.

Notify will send email to the role/user who can check record in MDM and can enrich record like add image, pdf etc using process step.

Once this user acts on record he will forward it to next step (approval). notification will be sent to all approvers. make the execution type property of approval step as all sequential random. once approved notification will be sent to all MDM users informing that new record has been added and data will be saved in MDM.

You can make changes to this workflow as per your requirement.

Revert if you have any further question.

Best Regards,

Shiv