Access SAP Cloud Platform Workflow Applications from SAP Work Zone

By standard definition “SAP Work Zone is a cloud-based digital workplace solution that provides an easy-to use and collaborative framework for people-centric experience creation. It helps improve the experience people have with business applications and processes across the entire organization so they can run more efficiently” (read more)

Beside other applications, you can also see all the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow apps in your SAP Work Zone workspace. This help you improve the overall productivity and integrated digital workplace experience across multiple touch points.

In this blog, I will help you to set up your SAP Cloud Platform account with Work Zone, integrated with Workflow service. While the setup is simple and nicely described in the help portal, I have extracted the exact needed steps with a bit more explanation for you.

Prerequisite:

1. SAP Cloud Platform Workflow Service entitlement added to you your cloud account
2. SAP Work Zone Application added to you cloud account
3. SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication Service (IAS)
4. SAP Cloud Platform Identity Provisioning Service (IPS)
5. Trust must be configured between IAS and SAP Cloud Platform account (link)

The whole setup is about IAS >> IPS >> Workzone user synchronization and workflow service integration.

• IAS will be used for user management where all the users, role groups etc. are maintained.
• IPS will be used to provisions and sync up users between IAS and Work Zone.
• Workflow service in internally integrated with Work Zone.

Step 1: Setting up IAS

Open IAS admin application: https://<tenant ID>.accounts.ondemand.com/admin

1. add Groups as new assertion attribute
2. add default attribute as Groups : Workzone_User_Type_${type}
3. Create Workzone user groups (Workzone_Admin, Workzone_Area_Admin, Workzone_Support_Admin, Workzone_Page_Content_Admin, Workzone_End_User, Workzone_User_Type_public) (link)
4. Add the user to Workzone_Admin user group (this user will be used to perform various admin activities later on) (link)
5. Create system as Administrator with Manage Users and Manage Groups roles and set Password. Keep a note of User UUID which will be used later to setup IPS.
6. Ensure that User Type is not public. Users of type public get created as external user. Mention the User Type as Employee or Customer or Partner based on profile

Step 2: Run the Booster to automatically setup account

From your global account, select Booster option from left panel. Choose Extension Suite – Digital Experience and finally click Start from “Get Started with SAP Work Zone” booster.

From the wizard you have to select the sub-account, organization and space where you want setup Work Zone. Booster will then automatically start and complete these tasks for you:

Assign Entitlements, Create Workflow service instance (this will be needed to access workflow applications), create service key (this will be used to call workflow APIs while accessing the workflow application), create workflow service destination, enable workzone subscription, create workzone role collections and maps them to IAS groups.

Let the setup complete and you will set a successful dialog. Click on Goto provisioning application to perform the last and most important piece of the setup.

Step 3: Run the SAP Work Zone configurator

It is the guided set of setup and you have keep performing the steps manually and checking the checkboxes. (don’t think that you will check the boxes and setup will happen automatically). In this setup I am setting up on a new account without any existing SAP JAM

Now we have to perform each tasks one-by-one:

1. Firstly you have to configure IAS and Workzone

   For that create a SAP WorkZone application in your IAS and import the Metadata as SAML 2.0 Configuration (link)

   

    

   Change the Subject Name Identifier to UUID

   

    

   Next add Groups as Assertion attribute and add Workzone_User_Type_${type} as default attribute value.

   

2.  Secondly, you have to configure IPS to provision IAS as Source System and SAP JAM as Target system.

   Please note: SAP JAM is now a technical component of SAP Workzone and you will receive credentials to connect to it from the configurator.

   Also note, IPS is available with Neo environment and I have used one of my cloud platform neo account which is also connected to same IAS which I have used above. To enable IPS, you have to go-to Services in your Neo environment and enable Identity Provisioning service.

   

    

   Once enabled, you to first use Configure Service to add your user as IPS_ADMIN. Make sure that you add username or user ID depending upon the settings of your IAS.

   

    

    

   

   Then open the IPS application using Go to Application link. Add your IAS system as Source System with given transformation (code sample for IAS Source) and properties (pick from here). Note: the user ID is the User UUID of the SAP Workzone system administrator in IAS (see Step 1/e)

   

    

   Next add SAP JAM as Target System with the above added IAS as source system. Note that the SAP JAM information can be found from Workzone Configurator (step 3 screenshot). You can pick the properties from here (Step3 : Run SAP Workzone Configurator | Option 2 : New SAP Workzone | Step 2 : Configure IAS & IPS | Step b : Configure IPS Source | step iii) and transformation from here (look for section: Code sample of SAP Jam Collaboration Target System Transformation)

   

    

3. Finally, run the provisioning job in IPS to do the syncing of the users between IAS and Workzone.

(note: this is most important stop. If you miss this then you will get unauthorized issue when you open the workzone).

By default the job is scheduled for 30 min. You can change the schedule by clicking on Schedule button.

Step 4: Access Workflow Apps from Work Zone

Once you have configured then everything then go back to Work Zone configurator and tick-mark the checkboxes to complete the configuration. You will be finally led to the workzone launchpad link.

Hint: In case you missed the configurator URL, here it is:

https://<tenant>.dt.workzone.cfapps.eu10.hana.ondemand.com/sites#Workzone-Config

Workzone homepage

https://<tenant>.workzone.cfapps.eu10.hana.ondemand.com/site#workzone-home&/home

Access Workflow Applications from Applications tab in launchpad

With this we are all ready to access workflow applications from Workzone beside other applications to create unique workplace experience.