A PDF form or not a PDF form - that is the often the question

Markus Meisl Business Card

Company: SAP AG Posted on Dec !!" !##$ #%:#& AM in ABAP" Application Ser'er" Business Process ()pert" *a'a Pro+rammin+" SAP ,et-ea'er Platform" -e.

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A common conversation with SAP customers: "So SAP has a new forms technology in SAP NetWeaver, right?" [Answer of SAP employee: Yes, it s a partnership with A!o"e in the P#$ area calle! SAP %nteractive $orms&' "We can now generate interactive P#$ forms from the system, enter information in them, an! up!ate the !ata"ase, correct?" [Answer of SAP employee: Yes, that s correct&' "So can % use this P#$ stuff to replace all my SAP screens, no matter whether they are SAP ()%, *SP or We" #ynpro?" [Answer of SAP employee: No, not really&' /So 0hen does it make sense to use a PDF1/ (oo! +uestion, -his "log tries to provi!e some general answers to the +uestion when a P#$ form can "e suita"le in a "usiness process& Some of the arguments or uses cases ma!e "elow are very clear.cut, others are lia"le to cause !e"ate& A couple of introductory comments: /& 0eaving the topic of print forms asi!e for the purposes of this "log, you coul! argue that an interactive P#$ form is 1ust another )%, which really means an alternative way to interact with !ata store! in the SAP system& -his is no contra!iction to SAP s general )% strategy 2We" #ynpro3, "ecause no matter where you use a P#$ form, the technology is always em"e!!e! in an SAP environment& 2Note: -he creation of the form itself ma4es up a"out 567 . at the most . of the overall effort involve! in creating a forms."ase! process& -he rest, in particular the "ac4en! "usiness logic, is stan!ar! SAP !evelopment&3 5& )sing SAP %nteractive $orms, you still !evelop in SAP& -his !oes not mean, however, that a P#$ form can accommo!ate the comple8 "usiness logic that is so often part of the SAP )%& %n other wor!s: #o not try to replace a heavy application with comple8 screen flow with a P#$ form& You won t "e happy with the results& *usiness processes that have the following re+uirements are +ood candidates for a!opting SAP %nteractive $orms: 2 Communicatin+ and colla.oratin+ 0ith e)ternal parties You interact with people outsi!e your company who nee! to provi!e !ata that nee!s to somehow get "ac4 into your "usiness systems& You want to transfer this !ata into the system in an automate! way& 2See also Transforming paper-based processes into electronic processes "elow&3 SAP e)amples: . mySAP 9:P 566;: 98ception han!ling in %nvoice <anagement System 2#uplicate invoice3 . mySAP =:< 566;: 0ea! management with channel partners ! 3nteractin+ 0ith other employees throu+h offline forms As part of your company.internal processes, some employees may prefer . or "e force! to . temporarily wor4 offline, i&e& without a "ac4en! connection& As in /& a"ove, only a P#$ form allows you to ta4e some !ata out of your SAP system, a!! to it outsi!e the system, an! then up!ate the !ata"ase as automatically as your application allows& 2Naturally, you can inclu!e chec4 steps in your process "efore finally su"mitting the !ata entere! "y the user in the form . "ut that has nothing to !o with the form itself&3 SAP e)amples: . mySAP 9:P 566;: 98ception han!ling in %nvoice <anagement System 2=onfirmation of goo!s receipt3 . mySAP 9:P 566;: >=< Performance <anagement offline form & Matchin+ e)act print layout in the interacti'e form You have "well.4nown forms", for e8ample ta8 forms that you can !ownloa! from a pu"lic we"site& You want to use such forms as an interface so that users will not get lost "ecause the same information is presente! in !ifferent ways at !ifferent stages of the process&

SAP e)ample 2in !evelopment3: . mySAP 9:P: -a8 form in -a8 an! :evenue <anagement 4 Pro'idin+ a simple" intuiti'e 53 for interaction 0ith occasional SAP users ?ccasional users of SAP systems are generally not very fon! of SAP user interfaces, which are often 1u!ge! to "e too full an! cum"ersome to han!le& 2As a !eveloper, you may argue that it s actually ?@ to convey the comple8 "usiness logic of an SAP application to all users, "ut let s not get into philosophical !iscussions&&&3 $in!ing a way to ma4e interacting with the SAP system more attractive to occasional users, who often only have to fill in a few fiel!s to start or continue a process, has "een a 4ey o"1ective for SAP for a while& An interactive P#$ form offers a nice alternative also for online scenarios . where the first +uestion is usually "Why a form an! not 1ust stan!ar! We" #ynpro?" . especially for those users who are as4e! to wor4 with an SAP system for the first time& -he nice si!e effect of such an implementation: You can print the form from the screen after filling it in& 2$or some strange reason, there are still people out there resisting the paperless office&&&3& SAP e)amples: . mySAP 9:P 566;: >=< Processes an! $orms . mySAP 9:P 566A: <anager Self.Services 2<SS3 for >: 2Personnel =hange :e+uests3 an! $inancials % 6andlin+ appro'al processes .efore storin+ data in the .ackend You have a multi.step approval process where you want to store the !ata in the "ac4en! only after final approval& While it ma4es more sense from an SAP controlBmonitoring point of view to !evelop such a process using one of SAP s wor4flow environments, in a simple offline process you coul! han!le this with a P#$ form& You can !esignate specific sections of the form . which is passe! aroun! "y, for e8ample, e.mail . for !ifferent roles in the process 2re+uestor, e8pert, approver3, an! han!le loc4ing each section after e!iting through !igital signatures on the form& $ 7ransformin+ paper-.ased processes into electronic processes -his argument for using the technology is less !riven "y a concrete "usiness process, "ut more from a change management point of view& When you try to automate your processes "y transferring them into the electronic worl!, you often encounter resistance from en! users& As laCy human "eings, they !on t li4e change . who !oes? %f a process tra!itionally e8ecute! on a paper form all of a su!!en runs in a system, users ten! to get lost . an! thus waste time an! money . trying to enter the information in !ifferent places from "efore& )se a P#$ to "ring the loo4 an! feel of the paper form onto the screen, an! ensure that your users still 4now what to !o with the )%& SAP customer e)ample: -raffor! <etropolitan *orough =ouncil using SAP %nteractive $orms in com"ination with mySAP =:< an! SAP :ecor!s <anagement 8 (asily customi9in+ a forms-.ased 53 >ere is an %-Bmaintenance loo4 at using a P#$ form& 9ven though SAP may !eliver a suita"le form template for your process, chances are that you nee! to a!apt it to your corporate i!entity an! "usiness re+uirements 2i&e& the information you want to capture3& )sing A!o"e 0ive=ycle #esigner, you can have someone from the functional !epartment +uic4ly ta4e care of the layout part of the form, while your !eveloper can focus on the fancy stuff, i&e& !ata retrieval an! other programming aspects& -his shoul! re!uce the cost associate! with such changes& SAP e)ample: -his was one argument in favour of P#$ forms in mySAP 9:P s >=< Processes an! $orms an! <SS applications& %f you chec4 your P#$ forms i!eas against the points a"ove, an! remem"er to . @eep the form simple 2for e8ample, avoi! !rop.!own lists with DEF entries3 . $ocus on the capture of !ata without ma1or "usiness logic in the form . #o not try to create a full."lown application you will "e a"le to create forms."ase! processes that "enefit your en! users an! your "usiness& <erry =hristmas, <ar4us Markus Meisl is a Product Manager at SAP AG. A!! to: !el&icio&us G #igg G :e!!it Do you ha'e your o0n real-life e)amples :+ood ones and .ad ones;1 Please share them here Comment on this 0e.lo+

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566H.6D./F /D:5A:DF Su"ramanya Srinivas <ullapu!i *usiness =ar! [:eply'

% have a !ou"t regar!ing the two points you mentione!

@eep the form simple #o not try to create a full "lown application& #oes that mean A!o"e !oesnt support comple8 forms or will the performance not "e goo! or =omple8 forms with A!o"e are prone to errors& %f so, will this "e ta4en care in future releases? % have "een !eveloping some forms with !rop !owns using A!o"e an! % !o o"serve inconsistent "ehaviour at times&

(oo! =ontent . Not 9nough 98amples 566F.6/./6 6H:6;:;F Sam <artin *usiness =ar! [:eply' % li4e the information in the "log an! foun! it useful when trying to evaluate A!o"e $orms, however most of the e8amples seem one si!e! an! there aren t any real life e8amples& When trying to evaluate most things in SAP it s typically a gam"le since in reality there are no real.life e8amples& When % trie! to access the lin4 to what appeare! to "e an e8ample, the lin4 completes in an error&

:egar!s, Sam <artin

(oo! *log 566F.6/.6H /F:;/:/F @uncham :a1a Se4har *usiness =ar! [:eply' >i,

-his is a very goo! "log& Iery informative& :a1a