Living the ChaRMed Life: Discover the Central Sharing Tool within CRM UI for ChaRM, ITSM

Hi There!  Thanks for checking out my blog.  As a Solution Manager Architect, I spend a lot of time implementing ChaRM for clients… and with lots of clients come lots of customizing requests!

I will be writing a series of How To’s, based on real world situations and requests.  Hopefully they will benefit you as much as they benefited our clients!

My fourth blog topic is all about the Central Sharing Tool and capability within CRM UI for ChaRM and ITSM.

The search and query functionality within the CRM UI is incredibly robust allowing end user to define criteria, using drop downs and parameters but also providing the ability to re execute the search from the user’s CRM UI home page.

But did you know you can SHARE your defined searches out to other ChaRM, ITSM, or any other CRM UI function user, or business role?  This recipient can see the shared items via the My Sharebox widget on their CRM UI homepage which is available as part of the Business Role SOLMANPRO.  They also have the ability to personalize their My Sharebox and its content.  You can also share out Favorites, or Tags you defined in your system using the Central Sharing Tool.

I have received questions around this functionality a few times during implementations, and I would like share the steps to accomplish it with you now.

Prerequisites:

First there is some configuration you must ensure is done within Solution Manager system:

1. You have enabled the Central Sharing Tool for business roles in Customizing

• From within transaction SPRO, traverse the menu SAP Solution Manager -> Customer Relationship Management -> UI Framework -> Technical Role Definition -> Define Function Profile.

• Ensure the entry CENTRAL_SHARING_TOOL is available

     2.  To enable the usage of the Central Sharing Tool in a business role, you have assigned the                  function profile CENTRAL_SHARING_TOOL to your business role in Customizing for UI                    Framework under Business Roles  Define Business Role.

         *As recommended, always use a copy of the SOLMANPRO

• Select customized Business Role, ZSOLMANPRO and click Assign Function Profiles

• Define the level of sharing authorization (if you are using only one business role, use the Supersharer auth):

  -Standard sharer

  Can share items. The authorization to receive shared items is included in a sharer’s authorizations.

  -Supersharer

  Can copy shared saved searches to the recipient’s saved searches.

  -Recipient with limited authorizations

  Can receive shared items, but cannot delete shared items from the Inbox.

  -Recipient

  Can receive shared items.

3. Ensure the My Sharebox widget is available on the CRM UI Screen

• If its not, you can add it by clicking the Personalize icon on the right of your screen and add it to the visible widgets:

• Choose the My Sharebox Widget from the drop down list and make sure Start Collapsed is deselected

4. Use Case:

Our example will display the process for Change Managers creating a search,  and saving it so it may be re executed.  Next he can share this search out to either one specific CRM UI user, or to the Global user community itself.

Here we go:

• Launch CRM UI using transaction sm_crm, or via the solman_workcenter

• As Change Manager user, click Change and Request Management link on left side of page

• Click Change Documents

• Define search criteria: “Normal Changes, Time Frame ‘Last Month’,
• Give Search a name, Click Save

• Click Home to go to CRM Home Page

• View our newly Saved Searches from the Saved Searches Widget

• To Share this search: Click Share in upper right hand corner of screen

• The Central Sharing Tool is now launched.
  • You can review any items that have been shared with you from the left side of the screen in the My Sharebox,
  • Use the Central Sharing Tool on the right of the screen to share items
    • Under Shared Items, Click Add
    • From submenu Choose Saved Searches

• At pop up, execute an open search, and choose the Saved item you which to Share: in our case, Last Month’s NC’s
• 

• From the Central Sharing Tool screen you may now define who the recipients will be of this Shared Search
  • Under Shared With, Click Add
    • From Sub Menu choose desired recipient:  You may choose an individual by clicking User, or Business Role and your ZSOLMANPRO to make the search Globally available to all end users with that Business Role.
  • 
  • Enter the User name you wish to share this with: ch_dev_sml, click Choose
  • 

• From the Central Sharing Tool, enter a message if desired, and click Share
• 

• My Sharebox shows the Shared Results as Change Manager has Sent a search:
• 

*NOTE*

• A saved search that was received as a shared item keeps a dependency with its original saved search. That is, if the sharer changes the original saved search, the recipient’s saved search is also updated. For saved searches, you share only the search criteria, but not the search result.

• The My Sharebox content is customizable,
  • Content can be deleted
  • New folder structures can be created / renamed
  • Content can be moved around in the structure
  • Content can be selected and forwarded

When the End User logs in, he will see the new content in his My Sharebox, and can execute the search query by clicking the link!

Thank you for reading and have fun customizing!

For more information surrounding this capability, please see help.sap.com document:

https://help.sap.com/viewer/62055d1ef81d43f3aa41473061d86046/7.0.4.10/en-US/936ae60b91154636857251089a1a68bf.html