New ChaRM Feature with SP 10: Enhanced Approval Procedure Functions

Today, SP10 is available! And here’s about some new feature:

Starting with SAP Solution Manager release 7.10, the approval procedure assignment block from CRM standard was integrated, enhanced and used in the Request for Change.

The approval procedure allows customers to use an “approval workflow” that is executed during the Request for Change process. Customers can define several different approval procedures –  each approval procedure consists of one or many approval steps. Each approval step has a name, as well as a target business partner function, that is supposed to execute (meaning approve) this step (e.g. Change Manager, IT Operator, …).

Customers can specify whether all the steps will be active for approval in parallel, or whether the approval steps have to be approved in sequence.

If the approval procedure is started, approvers which have to take action get notified via email notification  using a Workflow item. The email contains a link in order to access the document and execute their approval step – once all the steps are completed the entire document is set to “Approved”, “Rejected” or stays in “To be Approved” (only if all approvers choose ‘Not Releant’).

Some approval procedure example:

Additionally, it is possible to set a default approval procedure or prefill the approvers with the relevant business partners via rule policies…the SAP standard delivers for the Request for Change (transaction type SMCR) here two rule policies, the first one setting the single delivered standard approval procedure as default approval procedure. This delivered approval procedure has only one approval step. The second rule policy fills the business partner entered as change manager as well into the approver in this approval step.

But…the authorization concept provided by CRM standard is limited, it just checks for a special authority object (CRM_APPRVL) to approve an approval step.

If the user has this authorization object assigned, then it is possible to approve each step, independent if the user’s business partner is entered as an approver, or not. This ‘open’ approval concept is a feature from CRM standard but it is not feasible for most of our ChaRM customers.

CRM standard had no improvement in this area on the scope for future releases. You can check Karthik Paramasivam blog which has a part that discusses/states this, too.

http://scn.sap.com/community/it-management/alm/solution-manager/blog/2012/04/18/chanage-request-management–frequent-issues-and-solutions

The ChaRM team was aware that this was a pain point and implemented some enhanced features for the approval procedure. After a SP 9 pilot phase with selected customers, these features are now released with the coming Feature Pack, technically SP10.

The new features have to be manually activated in the system by an IMG activity. But this is the last step you do after prerequisite customizing is done which is explain further on:

Please be aware that there is an error in the IMG docu. The User Name of the customizing entry in the view should be space not ‘*’ !!!

The new features of the enhanced approval procedure functions are:

1.) Enhanced authority concept with a new authorithy object SM_APP_AP

to control the enhanced approval procedure authorization features of specific transaction types (defined by the values of authorization field AIC_PROC):

• Change the assigned approval procedure (activity 02 Change)
• Approve an approval step where your business partner is assigned as approver (activity 37 Accept)
• Delete an approval step  (activity 75 Remove)
• Add an approval step  (activity 22 Enter, Include, Assign)
• Administer (Power user: activity 70 Administer): do all above and approve other business partner’s approval steps

Attention: First it has to be stated that the authorization concept from CRM will only be enhanced so it restricts further. This means if CRM approval procedure logic already forbids a function it will not be allowed or overwritten by the enhanced approval procedure features.

Example: You can control if a user can add and delete an approval step via the new authority object but when you save the document after adding a new approval step, CRM standard might not allow the deletion of the step again. In this case, we do not allow it, either.

How it looks like:

In case your user does not have the authority to execute a function in the approval procedure, the buttons (delete, add) are inactive. In case you are not allowed to approve an approval step or change the approval procedure assignment, the fields are switched to display mode.

Delivered ChaRM standard roles and the new authority object:

Using this feature:

1.) Maintain the authorizations with your roles or copy the standard roles if you start anew.

2.) Activate the enhanced approval procedure features

2.) Substitute a business partner

This part was available already in the Incident Management area and now has been integrated to the Change Request Management area.

The business scenario is that the business partner assigned to the approval step might be not available because he is on vacation, on travel, or got sick, etc.

Now it is possible to define a substitute for this business partner or define for whom you substitute. The dialog window is reused from the Incident Management area which means the substitute you define is as well defined for the Incident Management area :

Now, only the business partner entered as approver and all of his substitutes (and the power admin user) are able to approve the approval step.

Note as a prerequisite the user needs authority object ‘SM_APP_AP’ with activity ’37’ and the current transaction type in his role).

Restriction:

Currently, SP10 has one restriction in this area. The email notification which is executed to inform all approvers when an approval procedure is active, does not inform the substitute. We hope to close this gap with a future support package/release.

Using this feature:

1.) Maintain the authorizations and roles

2.) Activate the enhanced approval procedure features

3.) Maintain organizational units as approver

Some customers have not just a substitute but a special organization, meaning circle of approvers, which approves changes in the landscape. For these customers now it is possible to create an organizational unit in the org model and then assign this business partner of type organization as an approver.

First, you create your organization in PPOMA_CRM and assign your business partners which belong to the approval group.

Then, after the authorizations are maintained and the enhanced approval procedure features are activated, you can assign organizational units as approvers.

Restriction:

Currently, SP10 has one restriction in this area. The email notification which is executed to inform all approvers when an approval procedure is active, does not work for organizational units. We hope to close this gap with a future support package/release.

Using this feature:

1.) Maintain the authorizations and roles

2.) Create the org model with the organizational unit and the assigned business partners

3.) Activate the enhanced approval procedure features

General Restrictions:

Substitute and organizational unit as approver do not work together. It’s not allowed to substitute an organization with a business partner type person or other organization.

Hope that helps, if you have comments are find errors, do not hesitate to contact me.