Advantage of Process-Controlled Workflow

[Former Member]

Good Morning!

What are the advantage of Process-Controlled Workflow? (and/or what are the advantage of Business-Rule-Framework?)

[masa_139 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

One is maintenance cost advantage.

Power user in Customer can change approval rules without ordering an external expensive consultant.

Workflow templates are SAP standard, so customer can get SAP standard support.

Regards,

Masa

[Former Member]

We use process-controlled workflows to model and carry out approval processes for purchasing documents like shopping carts and also provide easy and flexible implementation of approval processes which typically run on several process levels for that a document can require different kinds of checks and can involve agents with different roles.

Process-controlled workflows are available for the following business objects:

Shopping cart

Purchase order

Contract

RFx

Quote

Invoice

Confirmation

Regards

Vishal Pd

[Former Member]

I am looking at a SRM 5.5 upgrade to SRM 7 and moving to PCW represents issues and risk to me.

The SAP Migration program /sapsrm/pr_wf_migration_cfg does not deal with the N Step Badi Wf's.

SAP's recommendation is to complete all active Wf's are restart with PCW which means finalising all approvals restarting Approvals using PCW from the start,

SAP recommend ALL processes should be moved to PCW from ACW in a production environment.

If your trying to implement a ACW N Step Badi in PCW then you will probably be looking at Resp Resolvers that refer to a Badi implementation where you will need abap code.

Not sure about a flexible set of approval levels, but think that's another Badi implementation, with abap code.

Not over impressed, I'm afraid. Better structured abap program code in the N Step BADI could be an improvement

[masa_139]

Hi,

SRM 7.0 supports both Application-Controlled Workflow and Process-Controlled Workflow.

Here is general guideline.

Upgrade customers - Keep Application-Controlled Workflow

New customers - Use Process-Controlled Workflow

Regards,

Masa

[Former Member]

Or as SAP write in the SAP Server 7.0 Abap Upgrade Guide:

If you are using SAP SRM Server 5.5 or lower, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to the
process-controlled workflow framework. Continued use of the application-controlled workflow
framework is only intended in exceptional cases if you are upgrading from SAP SRM Server 5.5 or
lower.

which is a lot stronger steer towards PCW. Have SAP backed off since writing this statement (21/11/2008)?

[masa_139]

Hi,

Of course upgrade customer can migrate current workflow to Process-Controlled Workflow.

SRM 7.0 supports 2 frameworks, Application-Controlled Workflow and Process-Controlled Workflow.

Regards,

Masa

[Former Member]

Masa

I have SAP documents from 2009 that states:

Framework Switch (Required)
Note
In test systems, it is possible to switch to process-controlled workflows by business object type. This
upgrade strategy can help you become familiar with process-controlled workflows before switching
to this framework in your production system

I read this to say in a Production environment ALL business objects (that are capable of PCW, ie not BUS2209) need to be PCW or they all need to be ACW.

Is this right?

[masa_139]

Correct. None of customers want to operate mixed mode with "High TCO".