31/08/2016

SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningFAQs|SCN

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Version9

createdbyRaghavJandhyalaon30May201502:37,lastmodifiedbyAlecsandraGhitaon30Aug201618:43

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Thisdocumentcoversfrequentlyaskedques onsfromConsultants,PartnersandCustomers
aboutSAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningSolu on.Thepurposeofthisdocumentistocover
importantques onsthatcomeupduringIBPImplementa onsinapplica onareaslikeExcelAdd
In,ModelCongura on,Analy cs,ProcessManagement,SystemSetupandTransports,Releases
andDataIntegra on.Thispagewillbeupdatedfrequently.Ifyouhaveaddi onalques onsthat
needtobeadded,pleasecontactRaghavJandhyala( raghav.jandhyala@sap.com)and
AlecsandraGhita( a.ghita@sap.com)

PlanningwithIBPExcelAddIn
Q:HowtodoIgetstartedwithcreatingasimpletemplate?
Q:Howtoinstalladdinandcreatealogon?
Q:IBPaddondisappearedfromtheMenuBar.HowcanIbringitback?
Q:CanaPlanningViewdisplaydifferenttimegranularitythroughoutthedisplayedtimehorizon?
Q:IsS&OPExcelAddInmultilingual?
Q:AretheplanningviewsgraphicsIBPorExcelfunctionality?Whatistherecommendednumberof
rowstobetakenintoaccountforthetotalcalculationsintheplanningviewcharts?
Q:Aretheplanningviewstransferable?
Q:IsitpossibletouseExcelmacrosandsavethemattemplatelevel?
Q:CoulditbepossibletotrackmasterdatachangesindependentofimpactonKeyFigures?
Q:IsitpossibletoviewhistorychangesinIBPExcelUI?
Q:DowehavetheabilitytoautomaticallyrunanMSExcelmacrowhenopeningafavorite?
Q:CanyoualsouseExcelcalculationsincells?Ifyes,arethesesavedinHANADB?
Q:Ienteredacalculationdirectlyintheplanningview,whyisitnotautomaticallyconvertedintolocal
member?
Q:Ifmultipleusersareusingthesamedata,howdotablelocksworks?
Q:WhenyoupressSimulateintheMSExcelUI,doallkeyfiguresinthemodelgetcalculatedorjust
theonesyouhavechoseninthatspecificplanningview?
ModelConfiguration
Q:HowdoIcopyandactivateaSAPdeliveredplanningarea?
Q:HowdoImodelmaterialdependentUnitofMeasureconversions?
Q:Whataresomeguidelineswhentouseacompoundmasterdatatype?
Q:Howdoweusecompoundmasterdatainplanninglevelsbuild?
Q:Whatisavirtualmasterdatatypeandhowisitused?
Q:WhenshouldIuseareferencemasterdatatype?
Q:KeyFigurecreation,explaintheconceptofbaseplanninglevelandrequestlevel.Atwhatlevel
calculationshouldhappenetc.
Q:HowdoIperformadditionandsubtractioncalculationswheretheKeyFiguresareatdifferentbase
planninglevels?
Q:Forcrossperiodcalculations,whatguidelinescanIusetodeterminewhetherLCode,attribute
transformations,orsomeothersolutionshouldbeused?
Q:WherecanIfinddocumentationforLCode?
Q:Arethereplanstoaddadditionalstatisticalforecastmodelstothesolution?
Q:IscustomcodelikefunctionmodulesandBADIspossibleinIBP?
Q:Canyoupartiallycopyconfigurationfromoneplanningareatoanother?
Q:Cancertaincalculationsbebatchscheduledasinotherapplications?

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Q:ArethedeliveredmodesjustexamplesorcanIusethoseasstartingpointformycustomer
configuration?
Q:WherecanIfinddocumentationonwhateachmodeldoes?
Q:DodifferentapplicationmoduleslikeDemand,Inventoryetc.needtobeinseparateplanningareas
orcanthefunctionalityofbothbeconfiguredinoneplanningarea?
Q:CancustomerbuyjustDemandandthenaddInventory?Andincorporateitintothesameplanning
area?
Q:PossibilitytocopyKFacrossdifferentplanninglevel
Q:ProductInterchangeabilityTransferofforecastfromoneproduct(obsolete/discontinue)toanother
product(newproduct).Possibilityforproductattributestatusasdiscontinuenotbetobeconsideredfor
demanddisaggregation.
Q:Ifbuildingfromscratch,whatmasterdatashouldfollowanamingconventionreferringtothe
standardmodelSAP4sothatsupplyplanningoperatorscanbeusedatalaterstage?
Q:ShouldwecopySAPstandarddeliveredmodelandmodifyitorshouldwebestartingbuildingit
fromscratch?Proandconsofit.
Q:DatadoesnotshowupinVersions,thoughthesameappearsinbaseline.Whatcouldbetheissue?
Q:Markingattributesasroot/keyandwhatthatmeansontotheplanninglevelsandrootsandhow
theywork.
Q:Whatdoesthestartandenddatainthetimeprofilemeanandhowtheyareused,howthedifferent
pastandfutureperiodsfortheperiodicitiesinthetimeprofilemeanandhowtheyrelatetotheonesin
theplanningarea?
Q:WhataremyoptionstodisaggregatebasedonacalculatedKeyFigureatadifferentplanninglevel
duringsimulation?
Q:WhatisthedifferencebetweenaKF,HelperKFandAttributetransformation?

SystemSetupandTransports
Q:DocustomershavetobuyJAMseparately?
Q:Howdoyoutransportplanningmodelandrolesfromoneenvironmenttoanother?
Q:HowwouldIgetabrandnewsystemsetupforacustomer,andhowmanyenvironmentsisstandard
(dev,test,prod)?
Q:HowtoworkinCloudenvironmentintermsofsystemarchitecture?CreateaTestplanningareaand
developmentplanningareaetc.
Q:IsIBPacloudonlysolutionoristhereanOnPremiseoption?
Q:WherecanIfindmoreinformationonFeaturesandFunctionsineachIBPRelease/Patch
Q:Areupdatesaddedforfreeoristhereachargeforthem?
Q:Whatisthelogicalsequenceofstepsinanimplementation?Doweneedtohaveanactivemodel
beforewecanloadthedata?
Analytics,DashboardsandProcessManagement
Q:WhatisthesourceofwebUIanalyticsaretheyusingHANA?
Q:CanIexportgraphsfromWebUItoPPTorotherformats?
Q:HowdoIseeProcessDashboardinIBP4.0?
Q:CanweshareDashboards?
Q:AreadditionaltaskscreatedforaProcessSteptakenintoconsiderationforProcessProgress.
Q:WhatfunctionalitiesinIBPdependentonuseofJAM
Q:ArethereAPIavailabletointegrateThirdPartyCollaborationTools
Q:HowdotheCustomAlertsdifferthanthekeyfigurealertsdefinedduringconfiguration?
Q:Whatarethedependenciestousethegeographiccharttypes?
Q:Whatarethedependenciestousethenetworkcharttypes?
UserManagement
Q:WherecanIfindinformationonUserAdministrationinIBP?
DataIntegrationHCI
Q:WhataretheDataIntegrationoptionstoIBP.DocustomershavetouseHCI?
Q:CanIBPconnecttootherSAPandnonSAPapplicationssuchasTeradataforinputsand
outputs?
Q:WhataretheoptionstodownloadKFdatafromIBP
Q:HowtoUpload/downloadfilessothatsomecanquicklycreatedataandbuildaprototype.
HCIAgent(DataServices)
Q:AgentHowmanyAgentsareneededpercustomer?
Q:WhataretheAgentGroups?
Q:WhichfolderscanbeaccessedbyHCIDSAgent?
Q:AgentUpgrades:Whenisitnecessary?
Q:WheredoIfindagentconfigurationguide?
Datastores
Q:Canwehavemultipleconfigurationsforonedatastore?(e.gECCDEV/ECCTEST)
Q:DataViewingHowdoIviewmydataafterI'verunatask?

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Q:ViewingDatainIBP:CanauserseethedataintheProductionstagingtableofHCIDS?
Q:REPTables:WhenbrowsingtheIBPmetadatayouwillseeforeachtableaversionwiththe
sametablenamebutwith_REPadded.Canyouloaddataintothese_REPtables?Ifnot,why
doesthesystemshowtheseinthemetadataview?
Administration
Q:SSOsupport:IsSSOsupportedwithHCIDS?
Q:SecurityHowareusernamesandpasswordsusedinHCIDSandintheAgent?Arethese
usernamesandpasswordsdownloadedintheHCIAgentconfigurationfile?
Q:Authorizations/AccessPrivilegeWhycan'tIdocertaintasks?
Q:AuthenticationdoesHCIDSsupportIDProviderfederation?
SystemDevelopmentcycle
Q:ItisanopenSAPsystemrequiredwithGenerateandExecutemode?
Q:HowcanwerunthetaskvsSAPTestenvironment?
Q:TablenameErrorMytaskfailstorun.Igetamessagethatsays"<tablename>isaninvalid
ABAPprogramname.Programnamesmustbelessthan40charactersandstartwith'Z'or'Y'".
WhatdoIdo?
Templatesandglobalvariables
Q:TemplatesWhataretheyandisthereacataloglistingoftemplatesthatcanbeusedwith
HCIDStasks.
Q:TemplateForatemplatethatwasusedinataskandthattaskwasloadedandplacedinto
production,canthattaskandtemplatebemodified?
Q:MappingTargetInataskthatIcreatedfromatemplatetherearecolumnsintheOutputpane
oftheTargetQuerywhicharenotmapped.Isthisaproblem?
Q:WhataretheGlobalVariables?
Q:TimeZoneWhattimezoneissetforthetimesthatdisplayintheprojectspage,taskschedule,
andsoon?
Q:IfIcheckHCIjobloginIBPDataIntegrationtab,IseethatStartAtandEndAtarereportedin
differenttimezones.HowcanIcorrectthis?
Q:GlobalVariables:CanIchange/editthenameofanexistingGlobalVariable?
Tasksanddataflows
Q:CopyaTaskCanIcopyadataflowtoadifferenttask?
Q:MultipleDataFlowsHowaretheyexecutedWhenIrunataskcontainingmultipledata
flows,inwhatorderarethedataflowsexecuted?
Q:TaskExecutionOntheProjectstab,whydoesn'tthetaskexecutionstatusupdate?
Q:LockedbyUserAtaskthatIwanttoeditislockedbyanotheruser.HowdoIunlockit?
Dataflowssyntax
Q:Itispossibletohavetranslation(mapping)tablesmaintainedinHCI?
Q:Isthereanystandardfunctiontoconvertweekstomonths?
Q:Whatarethemandatoryfieldstobemappedinaninbounddataflow?(onpremisetoIBP)
Q:Whataretheexistingoptionsforremovingduplicateentries?
Q:IsHCIabletoextractdatafromdifferentsourcesinonetask(e.g:SAPtable,file).
Q:JoinWhenperformingaJoininadataflowwhatisthenumberofjoinsthatIcanperform?
Q:MultipleTables:HowefficientisHCIatperformingruntimelogicinvolvingmultipletables?
Q:SourceSystems:Canyouloadthesamemasterdatatablefrom2differentsystems?
Q:TimeDependentData:Whenselectingtimedependentdata,cantheselectionrangebe
relative(e.g.,last12monthstothenext12months)?
Q:Transform,AddingWhycan'tIaddanewtransformaftertheTargetQuerytransform?
Q:SaveActionsWhenaremyactionssaved?
Run/Scheduletasks
Q:Automatingdataloadstorun:HowtoautomatedataloadsintoIBPfromonpremisedata
services?
Q:ControlledReleaseforrunningadataflow:Howwouldauserdothis?
Q:Triggeranevent:Canausertriggerthejobwithanevent?
Q:RunTimeParameters:Canauserdefinethevariablestopasstheruntimeparametersforthe
fields?
Q:Canajobbescheduledonaspecificdaye.g:everylastSundayofthemonth?
Logs
Q:MonitoringLog,howtointerprettheRowCountHowdoyouinterpretthesplitbetweentwo
differentqueriesaTarget_Query1andaTarget_Query_Mapping2?Forasuccessfulload,the
sumaddsuptothefullcountofrecords.Inafailedjob,whatmightyouseeandwhatwouldit
mean?
Q:MonitoringLoghowtointerprettheStatecolumnAtdifferenttimesyouhaveobserved
differentvaluesfortheStatefield.Howdoyouusetheseintroubleshooting?
Q:History,ViewPageWhileataskisrunning,whyaren'tthelogsintheHistorypageupdated?

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CrossTopics
Q:BexQueriesinSAPBWIfthetransactiondataisinformofBexinSAPBW,canthisdatabe
accessedbyHCI?
Q:DSOBWdataIfthetransactiondataisinmultiprovider(DSOs,InfoCubes)inSAPBW,can
HCIreadthisdata?
Q:ZtablesIfthemasterdata(Product&Customer)isstoredincustomdatabasetablesinECC,
canHCIreadthesedata?
Q:DeltaExtractors:CanHCIaccessthedeltaextractorsincludedinSAPOnpremiseproducts?
Q:ECCSendingdataback:CanauserbesendingbackdatatoECCsuchasforecast?
Q:WebservicesCalls:MustallwebservicecallsgothroughtheAgent?
Q:DataExports:AredataexportssupportedbyHCIDSorareexportsonlyrequestedusinga
WebService(bypassingHCIDS)?
Q:IBPTablesCanyouwritedirectlytoanIBPcoretablewithHCIDS?
Q:HCIPIforIBP,canitbeusedinplaceofHCIDS?
Q:AdaptersCreation:CanauserdeveloptheirownadapteronHCIagenttosupportother
sourcessystembottomline,canuserpluginadditionaladaptorsintoHCIotherthanwhatis
currentlyavailable.
Q:ThirdpartyETL:Can3rdpartyETLloadsdatadirectlyintoIBPStagingtables?
Q:IBPonpremiseuseofHCIDS,canHCIDSbeused?
Q:DoesonpremisedataserviceshavetoexportaflatfileandthatflatfileisimportedinIBP.On
premisedataservicesandIBPcannotbeconnectedwithoutaflatfileinbetween?
Q:TimeoutPeriodIsitpossibletoconfigurethesettingforthetimeoutperiod?
Q:SAPSupportHowdoIcontactSAPSupporttoreportaprobleminHCI?

PlanningwithIBPExcelAddIn
Q:HowtodoIgetstartedwithcreatingasimpletemplate?
A:ReferSAPNote:1790530S&OP/IBPPlanningViewTemplatesfortheExcelAddIn

Q:Howtoinstalladdinandcreatealogon?
A:ReferApplicationhelpSAPIntegratedBusinessPlanning4.0SAPHelpPortalPageChapter:Installing
theAddinforMicrosoftExcel.Alsorefertonote:InstalltheS&OP/IBPExcelAddIn:Supported
Configurations/Prerequisites2135948

Q:IBPaddondisappearedfromtheMenuBar.HowcanIbringitback?
A:Thishappensusuallyafterexcelsessionhasclosedunexpectedly.CheckifIBPaddonisdisabledandenableit
back:ExcelOptions>AddIns>ManageDisabledItems>SelectIBPaddon>Enable
ThengotoCOMAdd>EnsurethatIBPaddonischecked.

Q:CanaPlanningViewdisplaydifferenttimegranularitythroughoutthedisplayedtime
horizon?
A:PlanningViewcandisplayonlyonetimeprofilelevel(onetypeoftimegranularity)atatime.Toviewmultipletime
bucketsyoucanuseanEPMLocalMembertoaggregatetoothertimeperiods.Anotheroptionwouldbetocreateone
templatewith2differentplanningviewsontwodifferenttabs:onetodisplaydataonmonthlybasisandtheotherone
inquarterlybuckets.

Q:IsS&OPExcelAddInmultilingual?
A:Yes,uponinstallationoftheAddinyoucanchoosefrommultiplelanguagestoinstall.Onlyonelanguagecanbe
installed.Thelistofsupportedlanguagesisavailablehere:<dowehaveadocumentationoranote?>

Q:AretheplanningviewsgraphicsIBPorExcelfunctionality?Whatistherecommended
numberofrowstobetakenintoaccountforthetotalcalculationsintheplanningview
charts?
A:IntheSAPexampletemplatesofnote1790530areimplementedwithMicrosoftExcelfunctionality.For
performancereasons,itisrecommendedtolimitthechartdatarangeupto300rows.

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ThereareotherwaystoimplementchartsinMicrosoftExcel,ofcourse,andforspecificlayoutsofplanningviews
somethingsimplercouldbeimplemented.I
IngeneraltemplatedevelopmentbeyondtheSAPsamplesisdonebyimplementationprojects.
QWhataretheperformancerecommendationsforExcelPlanningViews:
RefertothefollowingSAPNotesonPerformanceandSizingrecommendationsofPlanningViews
S&OP/IBPExcelAddIn:PlanningViewPerformanceRecommendations

2153455

S&OP/IBPAddInforMicrosoftExcel:RecommendedSizesforPlanningViews 2108186

Q:Aretheplanningviewstransferable?
A:Planningviewsarenottransferableunlesstheplanningareasareidenticalinkeyfiguresandattributes.Ifthe
planningareasareidentical,youlogontotheoneyouwanttocopyfrom,loadtheplanningview,logoff,logontothe
oneyouwanttocopytoandrefresh.Thenyoujustadditasafavoriteortemplate.
Ifyouneedtransferbetweendifferentplanningareas,youneedtohaveanemptytemplate(i.e.thechart,thehidden
sheets,theheaderinformationetc.,butnoplanningviewinit).SAPdeliverssomeexampleemptytemplateswithnote
1790530.

Q:IsitpossibletouseExcelmacrosandsavethemattemplatelevel?
A:Yesmacroscanbeusedandsavedintemplatesorfavorites.

Q:CoulditbepossibletotrackmasterdatachangesindependentofimpactonKey
Figures?
A:WecurrentlytrackchangestoMasterDataastheyarerelatedtokeyfigurevalues.Trackingchangesofmasterdata
byitselfisnotarequirementthatcustomershaveaskedaboutbutwereinterestedinsuchusecases.

Q:IsitpossibletoviewhistorychangesinIBPExcelUI?
A:ThisispartofChangeHistoryenhancementsplannedfor2015or2016.

Q:DowehavetheabilitytoautomaticallyrunanMSExcelmacrowhenopeningafavorite?
A:Thistopicmayneedfurtherresearch.ThereisahookprovidedbyEPMtoruncodeonrefresh.

Q:CanyoualsouseExcelcalculationsincells?Ifyes,arethesesavedinHANADB?
A:Youcanuseformulastocomputeeditablekeygures.Theresul

ngnumberswillbestoredinHANADB,

butnottheformulas.

Q:Ienteredacalculationdirectlyintheplanningview,whyisitnotautomaticallyconverted
intolocalmember?
A:TheformulaisautomaticallyconvertedintolocalmembersonlyiftheLocalMemberRecognitionfeatureis
activated.Advanced>SheetOptions>Generaltab>ActivateLocalMemberRecognition

Q:Ifmultipleusersareusingthesamedata,howdotablelocksworks?
A:Toavoidblockingusersunnecessarilythereisnolockingonapplicationlevel.Theassumptionisthatusersrarely
workonthesamedataatthesamepointintimeinanactualS&OPordemandplanningprocess.Iftwouserssavedata
thesystemtakesthelastchangesaved.WheneveryouqueryinExcel(thatisafterrefreshorsimulateorchanging
filter)youseethenewestsaveddata,exceptforchangestodatayoudidyourselfinsimulationmode.

Q:WhenyoupressSimulateintheMSExcelUI,doallkeyfiguresinthemodelget
calculatedorjusttheonesyouhavechoseninthatspecificplanningview?
A:Whenpressingsimulate,thesystemdisaggregatesandupdatesthechangedvaluesandfromtherecomputesall
relevantcalculatedkeyfigurevaluestoshowthecorrectresultforeverythingthatisshownintheplanningview.This
involvestypicallymanymorestepsandcalculationsthanjustupdatingthechangedvalues.

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Whenyouchangeyourfilterorplanninglevelorlistofkeyfigures,thesystemdynamicallycomputeswhatsnecessary
forthenewvisiblesetofkeyfigurevalueswithouthavingtoleavethesimulation.

ModelConfiguration

Q:HowdoIcopyandactivateaSAPdeliveredplanningarea?
A:ForguidanceonhowtocopyandthenactivateaSAPsampleplanningarea,pleaserefertothefollowing
blogpost:
SAP4PlanningAreaCopy/Activate/Load
Goingfuther,part2ofthisblogwillguideyouonhowtoloaddataintoIBPviaflatfile.
SAP4PlanningAreaCopy/Activate/Loadpart2

Q:HowdoImodelmaterialdependentUnitofMeasureconversions?

A:ThebaseUOMcanbemodeledasanattributeoftheProductMaster.Thiswillallowloadingtransactionalkeyfigure
datainthebaseunitofmeasure.Refertosection17.3inthemodelconfigurationguide.
AnotheroptionthatwouldallowspecifyingtheunitofmeasureatthetimeofdataloadwouldbemodelingUOM
conversionsimilartocurrencyconversion(maintainingthebaseUOMasaplanninglevelrootattribute).

Q:Whataresomeguidelineswhentouseacompoundmasterdatatype?
A:ACompoundMasterDataTypeisusedtostoreattributesthatbelongtomultipleMasterDataTypeKeys.For
exampleintheSAP2planningarea,MarketFamilyandMarketSegmentareattributesofthecombinationofCustomer
andProductandaremaintainedviathemasterdatatypeCustomerProduct.Thereisaforeignkeyrelationship
betweenthekeysofthecompoundandthereferencedmasterdatatypeswithindividualkeys.
BasedonthePlanningAreaSettingsifanattributeofacompoundmasterdataischosenasmandatorythendatawill
notbeloadedforakeyfigureunlessacorrespondingmasterdataentryexistsinthecompoundmasterdatatype.

Q:Howdoweusecompoundmasterdatainplanninglevelsbuild?
A:ForplanninglevelswhichincludeprimarymasterdatatypeslikeProductandCustomer,theCompoundMaster
DataTypeCustomerProductshouldalsobeincludedsothattheMarketSizeandMarketRevenueattributesare
available.Also,aPlanningLevelcanincludearootattributecomingfromaCompoundMasterDataTypewherethis
attributeisnotakey.Example:ForecastLocationisanattributeofacompoundmasterdatatypeCustomerSales
Org.ThisattributecanberootofaplanninglevelsuchasProductForecastLocation.

Q:Whatisavirtualmasterdatatypeandhowisitused?
A:VirtualMasterDataTypedoesntstoredatabutmodelsarelationshipbetweenothermasterdatatypes.Itisusedto
jointwoormoreMDTswithajoincondition.ThisisusuallyusedwhenanattributeofoneMasterDataTypeshouldbe
availableforanother.Example:ThemasterdatatypeProductCustomerGrouphasanattributeActive.Thisattribute
shouldbeavailableforallCustomersbelongingtotheCustomerGroup.ToachivethisweneedtojointheProduct
CustomerGroupandCustomerMasterDataTypes.ThejoinisonCustomerGroup.

Q:WhenshouldIuseareferencemasterdatatype?
A:Areferencemasterdataobjectisaviewonanexis ngmasterdataobject.ReferenceMasterDataType
ismasterdatatypethatreferstoanothermasterdatatype.Itdoesnotcontainactualmasterdatabut
simplyreferstothedatacontainedinitsunderlyingMasterDataType.Itisrequiredwhentheunderlying
dataisthesamebutcanplaydierentseman crolesandyouwanttoavoidloadingthesamedatatwice.
Forexample,considerProductandComponent.Datawiseacomponentisalsoaproduct.Soonecould
modelProductasanindependentMasterDataTypewhereasComponentcouldbecomeaReference
MasterDataType,whichreferstomasterdatatypeProduct.Ofcourse,thisisop onalasthemasterdata
typeComponentcouldalsobedenedseparatelyfromProductandaseparatesetofdatacouldbe
loadedforcomponents.

Q:KeyFigurecreation,explaintheconceptofbaseplanninglevelandrequestlevel.At
whatlevelcalculationshouldhappenetc.
A:BaseplanningleveldefinestheplanninglevelatwhichaKeyFigureisStored.Ontopofthisonecanbuild
agraphofcalculationsthatiterativelydefinehowotherkeyfiguresarecalculatedbasedonthestoredkey
figure.Thegraphendswithrequestlevelnodes,whicharetheonesthatauserqueriesformtheIBPExcelUI
orIBPAnalytics.Atquerytimethegraphisevaluatedfromrequestleveltostoredkeyfigurestodetermine
whatneedstobereadandtheninthereverseordertodotheactualcalculations.

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Usuallythebaseplanninglevelisthemostdetailedplanninglevelforakeyfigure.Thatmeansyoucan
usuallydisplayresultsforakeyfigureatbaseplanninglevel(ifthisisyourrequestlevel)oranyaggregated
(request)levelaccordingtothedefinedconfiguration.Howeverthereareinstanceswhereyouwantto
configureaKFstoredatanaggregatedlevel(forexampleafinancialqunatityatProductFamilyandCustomer
Grouplevel)butwanttodisplaysameatproduct/customerdetailedlevel.Thenyoucanuseforexamplea
splitfactorcalculationtocalculatedmoredetailedplannibglevelsthanthebaseplanninglevelsothatat
requestlevelyoucanshowthekeyfigureforcustomersandproducts.

Q:HowdoIperformadditionandsubtractioncalculationswheretheKeyFiguresareat
differentbaseplanninglevels?
A:YoucanperformadditionsorsubtractionsonKFsatdifferentplanlevels.EgKF1@PERPRODCUST+KF2@PROD.
InthiscaseaninnerjoinisperformedandKF2@PERPRODvaluewillbeavailableatplanlevelPRODCUST.You
needtocheckforNullconditionsegISNULL(KF2@PROD)

Q:Forcrossperiodcalculations,whatguidelinescanIusetodeterminewhetherLCode,
attributetransformations,orsomeothersolutionshouldbeused?
A:Forcrossperiodcalculation,thereareseveralconfigurationoptionsavailable:Periodtransformations,Time
AggregationCalculation,PeriodtoDatacalculationsetc.

Q:WherecanIfinddocumentationforLCode?
A:LCodeisinternaltoSAPandthereisnodocumentationavailable.LCODEisnotrecommendedtobeused.There
aremanycaseswhereLCODEcanbeavoided.OnlyusecaseforLCODEisforcalculationslikeCumulativeSum
whereKFatpriorperiodisusedtocalculateKFatcurrentperiod.

Q:Arethereplanstoaddadditionalstatisticalforecastmodelstothesolution?
A:MorestatisticalforecastingmethodsthantheonesavailablewithIBPforsalesandoperationscomewithIBPfor
demand.Inrelease5.0,IBPfordemandalreadysupportsadditionalStatisticalModelslikeMLR,Croston,AutoFit,and
WeightedMovingAverage.

Q:IscustomcodelikefunctionmodulesandBADIspossibleinIBP?
A:ThereisnoconceptofCustomCode/CustomDevelopment,However,theentiremodelofplanningareaand
masterdaratypesishighlyconfigurabletoadapttoaCustomersusecase.Therearenocodeexitsbutinpractice
mostcalculationscanbeperformedthroughconfiguration.IfmorecomplexCustomCodeneedstobedone,thenyou
cancontactSAPIBPProductManagement.

Q:Canyoupartiallycopyconfigurationfromoneplanningareatoanother?
A:Notyet.Inproductroadmap.

Q:Cancertaincalculationsbebatchscheduledasinotherapplications?
A:Yes,youcanuseCopyOperatortoperformcalculationsandstoreinatargetkeyfigure.TheCopyOperatorcanbe
scheduledorrunonrequestfromtheIBPExcelUI.

Q:ArethedeliveredmodesjustexamplesorcanIusethoseasstartingpointformy
customerconfiguration?
A:DeliveredModelsareexamplecontent.IfCustomersrequirementfitscloselytothedeliveredmodel,thentheycan
usetheDeliveredModelandadaptfurthertotheirrequirements.InmostcasesweseethatCustomerstartswiththeir
ownplanningModel.IfSupplyPlanningorInventoryOptimizationareneeded,thenSAP4andSAP3planningareas
arecopiedasstartingpointsfortheCustomerPlanningArea.

Q:WherecanIfinddocumentationonwhateachmodeldoes?
A:TheModelConfigurationGuidecontainsdetailsonSAPdeliveredmodels.AlsorefertoEKTmaterialswheresome
oftehmodeldetailsarecovered.MorecomprehensivedetailsofeachmodelwillbeavailableinFuturerelease.

Q:DodifferentapplicationmoduleslikeDemand,Inventoryetc.needtobeinseparate
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Q:DodifferentapplicationmoduleslikeDemand,Inventoryetc.needtobeinseparate
planningareasorcanthefunctionalityofbothbeconfiguredinoneplanningarea?
A:Theycanbeallconfiguredinoneplanningarea

Q:CancustomerbuyjustDemandandthenaddInventory?Andincorporateitintothe
sameplanningarea?
A:Yes.

Q:PossibilitytocopyKFacrossdifferentplanninglevel
A:CalculationscanbedefinedtocopyKFvaluesacrossplanninglevels.ReferModelConfigurationGuideSplit
FactorCalculation.

Q:ProductInterchangeabilityTransferofforecastfromoneproduct(obsolete
/discontinue)toanotherproduct(newproduct).Possibilityforproductattributestatusas
discontinuenotbetobeconsideredfordemanddisaggregation.
A:InterchangeabilityandnewproductintroductionareontheIBProadmap.Alreadytoday,withconfigurationyoucan
TransferForecast/Historyfromoneproducttoanother.YouneedtodefinetherelationshipofProductandReference
ProductinProductMDTanddefinecalculationtocarryforecast/history.YoucanrefertoexampleinSAP1for
DependentComponentDemandQty.

Q:Ifbuildingfromscratch,whatmasterdatashouldfollowanamingconventionreferring
tothestandardmodelSAP4sothatsupplyplanningoperatorscanbeusedatalaterstage?
A:RefertoapplicationhelponSupplyPlanning.TherearefixedsemanticsofAttributesMasterDataTypesandKey
Figures.egAttributes:PRDID,LOCID,CUSTID,RESID,SOURCEID,etcMasterDataTypes:<Prefix>PRODUCT,
<Prefix>CUSTOMER,etc,KFs:CONSENSUSDEMAND,PROJECTEDINVENTORY,etc.RefertoSAP4Delivered
Model.

Q:ShouldwecopySAPstandarddeliveredmodelandmodifyitorshouldwebestarting
buildingitfromscratch?Proandconsofit.
A:Thisdecisionscompletelydependsonthebusinessblueprintidentifiedduringtheblueprintphase.EveryCustomer
isdifferentinhowtheMasterdataandKeyFiguresareusedinS&OPprocess.WhenusingSupplyPlanningor
InventoryOptimizationtheStandardDeliveredModelsSAP4andSAP3shouldbeusedasastartingpointand
additionalKFscanbeaddedtothis.WhetheryoucanalsouseSAP1,SAP2orSAP5dependsonthedetailsofthe
customerusecase.

Q:DatadoesnotshowupinVersions,thoughthesameappearsinbaseline.Whatcouldbe
theissue?
A:CheckifUOMandCurrencyhavealsobeeninitializedinVersions.

Q:Markingattributesasroot/keyandwhatthatmeansontotheplanninglevelsandroots
andhowtheywork.
A:Rootattributesarenecessaryaskeystoidentifyindividualkeyfigurevalues.Theydefinetheindependent
dimensionsinwhichthekeyfigurevaluesexist.Therootattributesareoftenalsothekeysofmasterdataobjecttypes
butthisisnotanecessarycondition.Seechapter7frommodelconfigurationguide.

Q:Whatdoesthestartandenddatainthetimeprofilemeanandhowtheyareused,how
thedifferentpastandfutureperiodsfortheperiodicitiesinthetimeprofilemeanandhow
theyrelatetotheonesintheplanningarea?
A:Atimeprofileismadeupoftimeprofilelevels,eachofthembeingmadeupofperiods.Theseperiodsaretime
intervalsdefinedbyanindividualstartandanenddateforeachperiod.Thetransactionaldatafromaplanningareais
storedorcalculatedacrossthesetimeprofileperiods.Onedefinesstartandenddateofthetimeprofileoverall,sothat
theIBPprocesscanberunformultipleyearswithoutchangestothetimeprofile.Moreover,eachplanningareahasa
planninghorizonwhereuserdefinesthepastandfutureperiodstobeconsideredintheplanningalgorithms.The
periodsthatarepartofthishorizonareavailableforselectionintheplanningviewtimesettings.Formoredetails
checkchapter5fromtheModelConfigurationGuide.

Q:WhataremyoptionstodisaggregatebasedonacalculatedKeyFigureatadifferent
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Q:WhataremyoptionstodisaggregatebasedonacalculatedKeyFigureatadifferent
planninglevelduringsimulation?
A:Beforecalculatedkeyfigurescanbeusedfordisaggregation,theymustbecopiedintoanotherstoredkeyfigureat
thesamebaseplanninglevelasthekeyfiguretobedisaggregated.Thismeansthatdisaggregationworksonlyifthe
disaggregationkeyfigurecanbecalculatedatthebaseplanninglevelofthetobedisaggregatedkeyfigure.Formore
details,check10.2and10.3fromtheModelConfigurationGuide.InspecialcasesalsotheADVSIMoperatormightbe
used.

Q:WhatisthedifferencebetweenaKF,HelperKFandAttributetransformation?
A:Akeyfigureisaquantitativemeasureofnumbersthatverybyaconfigurablesetofkeysandtimeperiods,whichis
eitheraninputforplanningorisanoutputofplanning).Ahelperkeyfigureisakeyfigurethatisusedtohold
intermediatecalculationresultincaseofacomplexmultistepcalculation.Suchkeyfiguresarenotavailablefor
displayinthePlanningView.
Acalculationinwhichthevalueofanattributegetscalculatedisreferredtoasattributetransformation.

SystemSetupandTransports
Q:DocustomershavetobuyJAMseparately?
A:Yes,JAMisaseparatelicensefromIBP.

Q:Howdoyoutransportplanningmodelandrolesfromoneenvironmenttoanother?
A:UsingtheselfserviceModelTransportFunctionality.RefertotheModelConfigurationGuide:14TransportPlanning
Models.Italsoincludesbestpracticesforsettingupmodelsfordifferentphasesoftheproject.

Q:HowwouldIgetabrandnewsystemsetupforacustomer,andhowmanyenvironments
isstandard(dev,test,prod)?
A:AfterSubscriptionContractissigned,theCustomergetsanOnBoardingChecklistandaSystemisprovidedbased
ontheContractterms.UsuallythecontractcoversaTestandaProductionTenant.

Q:HowtoworkinCloudenvironmentintermsofsystemarchitecture?CreateaTest
planningareaanddevelopmentplanningareaetc.
A:UsuallyCloudenvironmentshaveaTestTenantandProductiontenant.PleasereferModelConfigurationGuideon
howtosetupModelsandbestpracticesfortransports:
1.BestPracticesforTransportingPlanningModels
2.ModelTransportina2PhaseConfigurationProject.

Q:IsIBPacloudonlysolutionoristhereanOnPremiseoption?
A:CurrentlyIBP4.0and5.0areonlyavailableonCloudversion.S&OP3.0isavailableasanonpremisesolution.

Q:WherecanIfindmoreinformationonFeaturesandFunctionsineachIBPRelease/
Patch
A:ThehelppageSAPIntegratedBusinessPlanning4.0SAPHelpPortalPageisthelandingpageforall
informa onrelevanttoIBP.TheWhatsNewsectionhighlightsthefeaturesineachReleaseorPatch.SAP
Note2036622isthecentralNoteforIBPfromwhichyoucanaccessnotes
2089926SAPIBP4.0SP01:PatchReleaseInforma onNo ce
2037139SAPIBP4.0:ReleaseRestric onsNote
FurtheryoucanrefertherecordingsofCustomerUpdateGroupWebinars: EventsandWebinarsfor
SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanning

Q:Areupdatesaddedforfreeoristhereachargeforthem?
A:Beingondemand(subscriptionbased),updatesareincludedforpaidcustomer/partnersystems.
Moreinformationonupgradescanbefoundhere
PlanningUpgradeProcess

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Q:Whatisthelogicalsequenceofstepsinanimplementation?Doweneedtohavean
activemodelbeforewecanloadthedata?
A:Thehighlevelstepsareasfollows:
1.CreateRole
2.CreateUser
3.ConfiguretheModel(Attributes,MasterDataTypes,TimeProfiles,PlanningArea,PlanningLevels,KeyFigures,
andScenarios)
4.ActivatetheModel(TimeProfile,MasterDataObjects,PlanningArea)
5.LoadMasterData,TimePeriods,andKeyFigures
6.UseExcelAddIntoview/changedata
7.CreateVisualizations/Charts/DashboardsintheUIforanalysis
Inpracticethesestepsareiterative,ofcourse.
Yes,youmustactivatethemodelbeforeyoucanloaddata.

Analytics,DashboardsandProcessManagement
Q:WhatisthesourceofwebUIanalyticsaretheyusingHANA?
A:IBPAnalyticsusesHANACalculationEngineandHANAAnalyticalViews.AllnumbersinplanningandAnalytics
arecomputedinsidetheHANADB.

Q:CanIexportgraphsfromWebUItoPPTorotherformats?
A:AnalyticsinWebUIofIBPprovideanoptiontoexportstaticchartcontentitinPDF/JPG/PNGformat

Q:HowdoIseeProcessDashboardinIBP4.0?
A:ProcessDashboardneedstobeaddedtoDashboardunderDashboardActions>Edit>AddProcess.Youcan
choosetwodifferentvisualizationsforProcess:DonutProcessorChevronProcess

Q:CanweshareDashboards?
A:Yes,InIBP4.0,youhaveanoptiontosharedashboardbyuserorbyrole.ThisisperformedfromDashboardAction
menu.

Q:AreadditionaltaskscreatedforaProcessSteptakenintoconsiderationforProcess
Progress.
A:ProcessProgress%advancesonlybasedontheTaskCompletionofthetaskassociatedwiththeProcessStep
definitionandfortheUsersparticipatingintheProcessStep.

Q:Whatfunc onali esinIBPdependentonuseofJAM

A:En reProcessManagementinS&OP,Collabora on,FeedandTasks,ExcelUICommentsandReason
Codes,

Q:ArethereAPIavailabletointegrateThirdPartyCollabora onTools
A:No.
Q:HowdotheCustomAlertsdierthanthekeygurealertsdenedduringcongura on?
A:TherearetwoseparatealertconceptsinIBP.
Keyfigurealertsareconfiguredkeyfiguresthatincludeaformulaevaluationtodetermineifanalertexists.Key
figurealertsarevisibleinthewebUIviathesidepanelandintheExcelUI.Thesealertsareconfiguredduring
theimplementation.TheenduserappliesthealertintheExcelUIforthecurrentplanningview/filter.
CustomalertsareenduserconfiguredalertsinthewebUI.Theusercancreateanalertdefinitionfora
combinationofrulesthatdetermineifanalertshouldexist,thetimeperiodfordetermination,andthelevelof
aggregationfordetermination.Thedefinitionalsodescriptionswhichdatashouldbeshownwiththealert,such
asotherkeyfigures(metrics)andcharts.Thecustomalertsubscriptionallowstheusertofilterwhichattributes
shouldbeusedforthealerts.ThecustomalertsarevisibleinthewebUIontheCustomAlertapplication

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screen.NotethattheCustomAlertisfunctionalitythatrequireslicensingSupplyChainControlTower

moduleinIBP.CustomAlertsarenot(yet)availableintheExcelUI.

Q:Whatarethedependenciestousethegeographiccharttypes?
A:ThegeographiccharttypesinIBPrequireagroupbydeni onthatincludesthegeocoordinatesforthe
a ribute.Forexample,tocreateachartthatshowsthekeygurebyloca on,theloca ona ributemust
includethea ributesGEOLONGITUDEandGEOLATITUDE.

Q:Whatarethedependenciestousethenetworkcharttypes?
Thenetworkcharttypesareaspecialtypethatcreateanetworkviewbasedonthemasterdatatypes.To
displayanetwork,thegroupbyinthechartmustincludeoneormoreofthefollowing:
Product(PRDID)
Location(LOCID)
ShipfromLocation(LOCFR)
Customer(CUSTID)
Component(PRDFR)
Source(SOURCEID)

UserManagement
Q:WherecanIfindinformationonUserAdministrationinIBP?
IntheHelpatSAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningSAPLibraryand

UserManagementFAQ.

DataIntegrationHCI
Q:WhataretheDataIntegrationoptionstoIBP.DocustomershavetouseHCI?
A:HCIistherecommendedDataIntegrationtooltoloadDatatoIBPOnDemandandtoextractdata.Anotheroption
foruploadistousetheDataIntegrationWebUIavailableinIBP.Thenthisismoremanualandnotautomatedlikein
HCI.Itisalsonotsuitedforlargeuploads

Q:CanIBPconnecttootherSAPandnonSAPapplicationssuchasTeradataforinputs
andoutputs?
A:IBPcantakeinputsfromanySourceandOutputtoanyTargetSystem.HCIistheETLtoolwhichenables
connectivitytoSAPorNonSAPSystems.

Q:WhataretheoptionstodownloadKFdatafromIBP
A:KeyfiguredatacanbeexportedfromIBPusinghttpbasedexportAPIsorHCI.FormassdataexportSAPhighly
recommendsthelatter.HCIalsoallowsmasterdataexport.FordetailsyoucanrefertotheDataExportGuide:
http://help.sap.com/download/ibp/ibp40_data_export_guide.pdf

Q:HowtoUpload/downloadfilessothatsomecanquicklycreatedataandbuilda
prototype.
A:ForaprototypetoquicklyshowthevalueofIBP,youcanloaddatathroughtheSelfServiceDataImportWebUI.It
providesoptionstodownloadcsvtemplatesofTimeProfile,MasterDataandKeyFigures,whichyoucanthenfillwith
dataandupload.Thismethodisnotrecommendedforproductionsystemsormassdata.

HCIAgent(DataServices)
Q:AgentHowmanyAgentsareneededpercustomer?
A:HCIDSneedsonlyoneagentpercustomer.Oneagentcanbeconnectedtomanydifferentsystems.Optionallyyou
canhavemoreagentsforfailover.

Q:WhataretheAgentGroups?
A:Agentgroupsarecollectionsofagentsthatarelogicallygroupedtoenablehighavailabilitysolutionsforyour
productiontasks.Itisalsoamethodforloadbalancingtasksontomultipleagents.

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Q:WhichfolderscanbeaccessedbyHCIDSAgent?
A:YoucanonlyaccessfolderswithinthenetworkforwhichyouhavedirectaccessfromtheAgent.TheWindowsuser
thatisusedtoruntheHCIagentservicemustbeadomainuserthathasaccesstothenetworklocationsyouwantto
readfrom.Additionally,allfoldersyouwanttoreadfromneedtobewhitelistedintheagentconfigurationtool(only
rootfolderneedstobewhitelisted,subfolderswillbeaccessibleautomatically).

Q:AgentUpgrades:Whenisitnecessary?
A:Fortasksrunninginproduction,SAPdoesnotrequirecustomerstoupgradetheiragent.Theycankeeptheold
versionoftheAgent.Onlywhenthereisneedtodonewdevelopmentandpromotenewtaskstoproduction,an
upgradeoftheagentisrequired.ForupdatesofAgents,thereisnoautoupdate.Theupgradeinstallisverysimple:it
willdetectthepreviousversion,keepallconfigurationsandjustreplacethebinaries.

Q:WheredoIfindagentconfigurationguide?
A:http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_agent_en.pdf

Datastores

Q:Canwehavemultipleconfigurationsforonedatastore?(e.gECCDEV/ECCTEST)
A:Yes,youcanmaintainmultiplesetsofdatastoreparameters.Inthedatastore`sconfigurationmenuclickonCreate
NewDatastoreConfiguration.OneDatastorewillbemaintainedasDefaultConfiguration.Unlessuserpicksa
differentconfigurationfromthedropdownlistatrun/scheduletime,thedefaultconfigurationisused.Inordertobeable
toselectadifferentconfigurationatruntime,youalsoneedtocreatesystemconfiguration.Systemconfigurations
groupdatastoreconfigurationsfromdifferentdatastorestogetherasonelogicalentity.

Q:DataViewingHowdoIviewmydataafterI'verunatask?
A:FromtheDatastorestab,selectyourIBPdatastoreandthenthetargetobject.ClicktheViewDataicon().
Note:IfViewDataisnotavailableinyousandboxtargetdatastores,contactSAPSupportandrequestthatthey
activateViewDatafunctionalityonyourtargetapplication.
OncetheIBPstoredprocedurehasfinishedthedatathathadbeenloadedintothestagingtablebyanHCItaskwillbe
deleted.ThismeansthatdataforaparticularrunofanHCItaskmayonlybeinthestagingtableforamatterofminutes
untilthestoredprocedureiscompleted.
YoucanusebatchreportsinHCItodetermineifaparticularrunofanHCItaskwassuccessfulafterthestagetable
dataisdeleted.Thecorresponding*REPtablesarealsoavailableasdatasourcesinHCI.

Q:ViewingDatainIBP:CanauserseethedataintheProductionstagingtableofHCIDS?
A:HCIDSprovides"viewdata"inthesandboxIBP(notinproductionforsecurityreasons).Thiswillbehelpfulduring
development.

Q:REPTables:WhenbrowsingtheIBPmetadatayouwillseeforeachtableaversionwith
thesametablenamebutwith_REPadded.Canyouloaddataintothese_REPtables?If
not,whydoesthesystemshowtheseinthemetadataview?
A:No,datacannotbeloadedintoIBPREPtables.Thesetablesareforreportingpurposesonly.YoucanseefromHCI
DSwhatdatawasloadedviatheseREPtables.Thisallowsyoutoreviewerror&successforindividualrows.TheIBP
REPtablesarepurgedperiodicallyaswell(default:after7days).

Administration
Q:SSOsupport:IsSSOsupportedwithHCIDS?
A:WedohaveSSOwithSAPIDService.Soifauserlogsinviathebrowser,andhascertificateloginenabled,the
userwillloginautomaticallywithoutneedingtotypeusernameandpassword.

Q:SecurityHowareusernamesandpasswordsusedinHCIDSandintheAgent?Are
theseusernamesandpasswordsdownloadedintheHCIAgentconfigurationfile?
A:Theusername/passwordenteredintheAgentConfigurationtoolisonlyusedfortheinitialconnectionfromthe
agenttotheserver,oncetheinitialconnectionismade,theagentistrustedbytheserverandthe
username/passwordisnolongerneeded.Sotheusername/passwordisnotstoredinaconfigurationfile.The
certificatesthatareexchangedbetweenagentandserverareusedforthetrustedconnectionbetweenagentand
serverforfuturecommunication.Otherpasswordstoconnecttosourceortargetdatastores,areenteredintheHCI
webUI.WheneverHCIstoresapassword,itsalwaysencrypted(e.g.HCIneedtostorethecredentialstoconnectto
sourcesystems).ViaourwebUI,itsevenpossibletogenerateanewencryptionkeyandreencryptallpasswordsin
casetherewouldbeasuspicionthattheencryptionkeyiscompromised(orifthecompanyhasapolicytoupdate
encryptionkeyseveryxmonths.)

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Q:Authorizations/AccessPrivilegeWhycan'tIdocertaintasks?
A:Youmaynothavethenecessaryprivileges.SAPHANACloudIntegrationhasarolebasedarchitecture.
DevelopershaveprivilegesonlyinthesandboxenvironmentProductionOperatorshaveprivilegesonlyinthe
productionenvironment.YourSecurityAdministratorcantellyouwhatrolesyou'vebeenassigned.Youcanalsoclick
onHelpintheAdministrationPageforadescriptionofeachroleandwhichprivilegesithas.

Q:AuthenticationdoesHCIDSsupportIDProviderfederation?
A:No,wedonotsupportIDProviderfederationyet.HCIDSonlysupportsSAPIDService.

SystemDevelopmentcycle

Q:ItisanopenSAPsystemrequiredwithGenerateandExecutemode?
A:Yes.TheABAPexecutionmode,GenerateandExecute,willcauseanABAPprogramfiletobegeneratedonthe
Agentmachine.NextthefileisautomaticallysenttotheNetWeaverserver,executedandtheresults(data)aresent
backoverRFCtotheagent.TheABAPprogramitselfisnotstoredonthesystem.

Q:HowcanwerunthetaskvsSAPTestenvironment?
A:YourTestandProductionsystemswillnotbeopenformodifications,soyoucannotusetheGenerateandExecute
mode.Insteadyouneedtosetthedatastore(configuration)toExecutepreloadedforwhichyouneedtotransportto
theTESTsystemtheABAPprogramthatwaspreviouslygeneratedintoDEV.ThegeneratedABAPprogramcanbe
foundontheagentmachineintheABAPfolder(in%DS_COMMONDIR%).

Q:TablenameErrorMytaskfailstorun.Igetamessagethatsays"<tablename>isan
invalidABAPprogramname.Programnamesmustbelessthan40charactersandstart
with'Z'or'Y'".WhatdoIdo?
A:IntheSAPapplicationdatastore,checkiftheABAPexecutionoptionissettoExecutepreloaded.Ifitis,makesure
thattheABAPprogramhasbeeninstalledontheSAPapplicationserver.Moreover,whenyouuploadtheprogramin
SAPTransactionSE38youmustusethenamespecifiedintheABAPQuery.EditanyABAPQueryintheDataflow,and
GototheABAPOptionstab.UsetheABAPProgramNameshown.

Templatesandglobalvariables

Q:TemplatesWhataretheyandisthereacataloglistingoftemplatesthatcanbeused
withHCIDStasks.
A:AtemplateisincludespresetGlobalVariables,preload/postloadscriptsandmayormaynothaveadataflow.
Thereisacataloglistingunderchapter2,seethislink:
http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_integration_ibp_en.pdf

Q:TemplateForatemplatethatwasusedinataskandthattaskwasloadedandplaced
intoproduction,canthattaskandtemplatebemodified?
A:1)Tasksaredevelopedinthesandboxenvironment,neverinproduction.Taskscanbecreatedfromscratch,orthey
canbebasedonatemplate.Forataskbasedonatemplate,onceimportedinthesandboxrepository,developerscan
completelycustomizethetemplateHCIdoesnothaveanyrestrictionshere.2)But,oncetasksaretestedandan
Administratormovesthemtoproduction,nochanges[atall]areallowedintheproductionrepository.Theonly
changesinproductionwouldbeconfigurationchangesliketheconnectionparameters(connecttoprodERPandprod
IBPinsteadoftestsystems)orvariables(e.g.avariablefiltertosetastartdateofwhichdatatoextract).

Q:MappingTargetInataskthatIcreatedfromatemplatetherearecolumnsintheOutput
paneoftheTargetQuerywhicharenotmapped.Isthisaproblem?
A:Thetemplateswerecreatedtocoverabroadrangeofrequirements.UnmappedcolumnsintheTargetQuerymay
ormaynotberelevant.Youmayneedtoverifyyourspecificrequirements.UnmappedcolumnsintheOutputpaneof
theTargetQuerymaygiveawarningwhenvalidatingatask.Thetaskcanstillbeexecutedifvalidationhasonly
warnings.However,ifacolumnisrequiredinthetargetstagetable,youwillgetanerrorattaskruntime.

Q:WhataretheGlobalVariables?
A:Globalvariablesaresymbolicplaceholdersthatarepopulatedwithvaluesduringtaskruns.Someofthemare
requiredbySAPIBPduringdatapostprocessing(e.g:$G_PLAN_AREA,$G_SCENARIO,$G_TIME_PERIOD,
$G_BATCH_COMMAND,$G_LOAD_DATE).ForacompletelistanddescriptionsseetheIBPintegrationguide:
http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/hci1/en/hci10_integration_ibp_en.pdf

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Q:TimeZoneWhattimezoneissetforthetimesthatdisplayintheprojectspage,task
schedule,andsoon?
A:UTCtimezone(CoordinatedUniversalTime)isdisplayedinalllocationsexcepttheScheduledialog.For
schedulingatask,intheUI,youcansetthetimezoneyouwanttousetoscheduleyourtask(behindthescenesHCI
willconverttoUTCandstorethisintherepository).

Q:IfIcheckHCIjobloginIBPDataIntegrationtab,IseethatStartAtandEndAtare
reportedindifferenttimezones.HowcanIcorrectthis?
A:Thisgapwillappeariftheglobalvariable$G_LOAD_DATEissettoSYSDATE().Sysdate()returnsthedateand
timeinthelocaltimezoneoftheHCIagentmachinewhileIBPtrackstimeasUTC(UniversalCoordinatedTime).Set
theglobalvariabletoSYSUTDDATE().

Q:GlobalVariables:CanIchange/editthenameofanexistingGlobalVariable?
A:IfyouenteranincorrectnameforaGlobalVariableandyousavethis,youcannoteditthisnamefortheGlobal
Variable.Youmustenteranew[correctname].

Tasksanddataflows

Q:CopyaTaskCanIcopyadataflowtoadifferenttask?
A:YesHighlightyourdataflow,andfromtheactionsmenu,chooseREPLICATE.Alistofothertaskswillbe
presented.Choosethetaskyouliketocopythedataflowto.

Q:MultipleDataFlowsHowaretheyexecutedWhenIrunataskcontainingmultipledata
flows,inwhatorderarethedataflowsexecuted?
A:Thedataflowswillbeexecutedsequentiallyfollowingtheorderinwhichthetargettablesarelistedinthetask.You
canmodifytheorderoftargettableexecutionorderbychoosingManagetargetorderfromtheActionsmenuinthe
taskeditor.Youcanonlychangetheorderoftargettableexecution.Youcannotchangetheexecutionorderof
dataflowsforagiventargettable.

Q:TaskExecutionOntheProjectstab,whydoesn'tthetaskexecutionstatusupdate?
A:ClicktheRefreshbuttonintheupperrightcornerofthepagetoseeanupdatedstatus.Therefreshbuttonisthetwo
swirlingarrowsrotatinginacircle.

Q:LockedbyUserAtaskthatIwanttoeditislockedbyanotheruser.HowdoIunlockit?
A:Onlyoneuseratatimemayeditatask.Ifnecessary,youcanaskyouadministratortounlockataskthatsomeone
hasinadvertentlyleftlocked.Tip:Afterthetaskhasbeenunlocked,ifneeded,refreshtheProjectstab.

Dataflowssyntax
Q:Itispossibletohavetranslation(mapping)tablesmaintainedinHCI?
A:No,asHCIisnotdesignedtostoredata.Instead,youcanuselookupintofilefunctionality.

Q:Isthereanystandardfunctiontoconvertweekstomonths?
A:Thereisnofunctionforweektomonthtransformationaswecannottellstartdateandenddateofaweekfromthe
WW_YYYYsyntax.Usually,thecustomerhasatableintheirsystemthatgivesthestartdatesandenddatesofaweek.
YouwouldneedtojointhistableintothequeriesofyourHCItasktogetthedatesyouneed.Oryoucouldlookupintoa
tablewherethisinformationismaintained.TransformingthedatadirectlyisHCIisalsopossible,beingjustamatterof
mathanddatetimefunction.Formoredetailscheckthefollowingthread:

http://scn.sap.com/thread/3621086

Q:Whatarethemandatoryfieldstobemappedinaninbounddataflow?(onpremiseto
IBP)
A:KeyFiguresmustbeloadedandthegranularitygivenbythebaseplanninglevels(attributesmarkedasRootinthe
planninglevel).Ifdataisnotavailableatthislevel,thenitshouldbetransformedbeforesendingittoIBP.
Example:Shipmentsareavailableonweeklybasis.BeforesendingthemintoIBPitisrequiredtoaggregatethe
valuesfortheweeksthatfallwithinsamemonth.Firstyouwouldneedtoconvertweekstomonth,thengroupbymonth
andaggregateshipmentsqty.
ForMasterDataloadyouwillhavetomapallattributesmarkedasKeyorRequired.
EachIBPtablehasacolumnnamedFILENAME.Thiscolumnneedstobemappedtoaconstantthatcontainsthe
targettablename.Thisnameneedstobeenclosedwithinsinglequotesasitisaconstant(e.g.
SOPMD_STAG_SM1CUSTOMER)

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Q:Whataretheexistingoptionsforremovingduplicateentries?
A:Basedonthebusinessneed,thereareseveralways:
ByusingABAPAggregationorAggregationtransformwithagroupbyonkeycolumnsanduseaggregation
functioninothers(e.g.max(date),sum(quantity),)ByselectingthecheckboxSelectDistinctRowsonthefiltertab
ofyourQuerytransform(incasetherecordsareidenticalinallfieldsyouselect)

Q:IsHCIabletoextractdatafromdifferentsourcesinonetask(e.g:SAPtable,file).
A:HCIcannotusedifferentsystemsourcesinonetask,butallowslookupinadatastorethatisnotthesource
datastore.

Q:JoinWhenperformingaJoininadataflowwhatisthenumberofjoinsthatIcan
perform?
A:NumberoftablesintheInputDataminus1isthenumberofjoinsyoucandointhedataflow.

Q:MultipleTables:HowefficientisHCIatperformingruntimelogicinvolvingmultiple
tables?
A:Whenjoiningmultipletables,HCIwillgenerateanABAPprogram(forERP)oraSQLstatement(fordatabases)so
thattheprocessingofthejoinsispushedtothesource.Soperformancedependsonyoursourcesystem,notonHCI.If
youwouldjoinfilesit'sabitmoretrickybecauseHCIDScan'tpushdownthisandneedstodothejoininmemoryon
theAgentmachine.Soforfiles,HCIDSrecommendsNOTtojoinlargefiles.

Q:SourceSystems:Canyouloadthesamemasterdatatablefrom2differentsystems?
ExampleisYouwanttoloadID+attribute1,2&3withonebatch,nextyouwanttoloadthesameIDswithattribute4,
5&6.WilltheendresultinIBPbethattheyseeallattributedfortheloadedIDs?
A:Yes,thisissupported.

Q:TimeDependentData:Whenselectingtimedependentdata,cantheselectionrangebe
relative(e.g.,last12monthstothenext12months)?
A:Yes,thatispossible.Inthefiltercondition,youwouldusethesysdate()functiontogetthecurrentdate,andsubtract
xmonthstogetthestartdate.

Q:Transform,AddingWhycan'tIaddanewtransformaftertheTargetQuerytransform?
A:TheTargetQuerytransformmustbethefinaltransforminthedataflow.ThecolumnsintheOutputpanereflectthe
schemaforthetargetobject.

Q:SaveActionsWhenaremyactionssaved?
A:IntheDataFlowview,actionsareperiodicallyautosavedsoyourinterimchangesareretained.However,Join
conditioninformationmustbespecificallysavedbyclickingtheSavebutton.NoteNorollbackorhistoryavailable.
Beforeyoumakesignificantchanges,youwanttouseReplicatetosaveacopyofyourdataflow.

Run/Scheduletasks
Q:Automatingdataloadstorun:HowtoautomatedataloadsintoIBPfromonpremise
dataservices?
A:AutomatingdataloadsisdonebyschedulingthetaskswiththebuiltinschedulerinHCI.E.g.youcanschedule
dailyorweeklyuploads.

Q:ControlledReleaseforrunningadataflow:Howwouldauserdothis?
A:ThiscanbedoneviaHCIDSUIviathe"Runnow"button(insteadofusingthescheduler).

Q:Triggeranevent:Canausertriggerthejobwithanevent?
A:Yes,HCItaskscanbestartedviaawebservicescall.Soifyouhaveanexternaltoolyoucantriggerawebserviceit
canstartanHCItask.

Q:RunTimeParameters:Canauserdefinethevariablestopasstheruntimeparameters
forthefields?
A:Yes,variablesaresupportedandcanbesetatexecutiontime.

Q:Canajobbescheduledonaspecificdaye.g:everylastSundayofthemonth?
A:Yes,whatcanbedoneistoschedulethetaskeverySunday,butinthepreloadscriptdosomechecks
andifnotthelastSundayofthemonthterminateexecution.Thecodeshouldbesomethinglikebelow:
IF((last_date(sysdate())sysdate())<7)
Print('Thisisthelastsundayofthemonth')

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ELSE
Raise_Exception('TASKWILLNOTEXECUTEnotlastSundayofthemonth')

Logs
Q:MonitoringLog,howtointerprettheRowCountHowdoyouinterpretthesplitbetween
twodifferentqueriesaTarget_Query1andaTarget_Query_Mapping2?Forasuccessful
load,thesumaddsuptothefullcountofrecords.Inafailedjob,whatmightyouseeand
whatwoulditmean?
A:YouonlycareaboutthefinalnumberintotheTargetTable.IntheMonitorLog,itistheverylastlinewhereyousee
wherethefilewaswrittento(yourTargetTable.)TherestoftheinformationlistedisinternaltotheDSengineusedby
theHCIDSagent.Ifajobfails,whatyoucareaboutistheerrorlogandthetracelog.Usethosetwologstoknowifit
failedonload(typicallythiswilllogJDBCerror),oronpostprocessingIBPmayreturnanerrorfromthedataupload
storedprocedure.

Q:MonitoringLoghowtointerprettheStatecolumnAtdifferenttimesyouhave
observeddifferentvaluesfortheStatefield.Howdoyouusetheseintroubleshooting?
A:IntheMonitorLogyoudontcare.ForexamplethevalueofSTOP,meansitloadedthedata.Lookatyourtraceand
errorlogstodetermineyournextsteps,nottheMonitorLog.

Q:History,ViewPageWhileataskisrunning,whyaren'tthelogsintheHistorypage
updated?
A:Themonitorlogisrefreshedevery10secondswhilethetaskisrunning.ClicktheRefreshbuttonintheupperright
cornerofthepagetoupdatetheTraceLogandErrorLog.Againshowwhattherefreshiconlookslike.

CrossTopics
Q:BexQueriesinSAPBWIfthetransactiondataisinformofBexinSAPBW,canthis
databeaccessedbyHCI?
A:No,HCIcannotaccessBexqueries,soifthedataisonlyavailableinBex(e.g.ascalculatedkeyfigures),youwould
needtoexportthedatainsomewayandstoreinatableorfileandletHCIaccessthetable/file.

Q:DSOBWdataIfthetransactiondataisinmultiprovider(DSOs,InfoCubes)inSAPBW,
canHCIreadthisdata?
A:HCIcanreadthedatafromtheDSOtables(viatheABAPlayer,nodatabaseaccessneeded.)

Q:ZtablesIfthemasterdata(Product&Customer)isstoredincustomdatabasetablesin
ECC,canHCIreadthesedata?
A:Yes,HCIcanreadthefromcustomZtables(viatheABAPlayer,nodatabaseaccessneeded).

Q:DeltaExtractors:CanHCIaccessthedeltaextractorsincludedinSAPOnpremise
products?
A:Yes,HCIsupportsthedeltaextractorsfromSAPBusinessSuiteapplications.

Q:ECCSendingdataback:CanauserbesendingbackdatatoECCsuchasforecast?
A:WritebackisalsopossiblewithHCIDS.HCIDScanwritebacktoafileordatabasetable.OrcallaBAPIin
ERP/APO(enabledasawebservice)toloaddatabacktoERPAPO.

Q:WebservicesCalls:MustallwebservicecallsgothroughtheAgent?
A:Thereare2typesofwebservicecalls:1)AnexternalappcallinganHCIwebservicetostartatask>theagentisnot
involvedhere,WScallisdirectlytotheHCIserver.2)HCIdoingawebservicecalltoload(orextract)data>inthis
caseitistheagentthatdoesthecall.

Q:DataExports:AredataexportssupportedbyHCIDSorareexportsonlyrequested
usingaWebService(bypassingHCIDS)?
A:DataexportsaresupportedbyHCIDS.HCIDScanreadfromtheIBPcalculationviewsforkeyfiguresorattribute
viewsformasterdata,andcanwritetheonpremisesystem(viafileorWebservices).

Q:IBPTablesCanyouwritedirectlytoanIBPcoretablewithHCIDS?
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SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningFAQs|SCN

A:No,yourtaskwritestoIBPstagingtablesonly.Afterthestagetablesareloaded,HCItaskcallstheIBPstored
procedure.ThisprocedurereadsthedataloadedintotheIBPstagingtables,validatesthedata,andifdatapassesthe
validations,itwritesthemtotheIBPcoretables,whichhaveastructurethatsdifferentfromthcoretables.

Q:HCIPIforIBP,canitbeusedinplaceofHCIDS?
A:ForIBP,theusecaseisbatch/scheduleduploadsofdata,soonlytheHCIDScomponentisenabledtoloaddata
intoIBP.

Q:AdaptersCreation:CanauserdeveloptheirownadapteronHCIagenttosupportother
sourcessystembottomline,canuserpluginadditionaladaptorsintoHCIotherthanwhat
iscurrentlyavailable.
A:No.HCIDShas2adapters,createdbytheHCIdevteam:oneforSuccessFactors,oneforOData.Thereiscurrently
noframeworktopluginadditionaladapters.

Q:ThirdpartyETL:Can3rdpartyETLloadsdatadirectlyintoIBPStagingtables?
A:HCIDSistheonlysystemtosystemintegrationtoolthatcanloaddirectlyintotheIBPstagingtables(becauseHCI
DSisphysicallyinstalledinthesamedatacenterasIBP).

Q:IBPonpremiseuseofHCIDS,canHCIDSbeused?
A:ForonpremiseIBP,onpremiseETLtoolslikeSAPDataServicescanbeused.

Q:Doesonpremisedataserviceshavetoexportaflatfileandthatflatfileisimportedin
IBP.OnpremisedataservicesandIBPcannotbeconnectedwithoutaflatfileinbetween?
A:Yes,onpremiseDataServicesoranyotherETLtoolneedtogoviafilesoranothermeanstostagedata(e.g.a
databasetable).NextHCIDSisusedtoreadthefile/stagetableandmaptoIBP.Allcomplexdataprocessinginthis
casecanbedoneintheonpremiseETLtool,HCIDSisonlyusedforthefinalmappingtotheIBPtables

Q:TimeoutPeriodIsitpossibletoconfigurethesettingforthetimeoutperiod?
A:No.Yoursessionwillautomaticallytimeout.Thisfeatureistoprotectthesecurityofyourdata.

Q:SAPSupportHowdoIcontactSAPSupporttoreportaprobleminHCI?
A:Gotohttp://service.sap.com/support/ComponentLODHCIDS.

25503Views
Categories:Training,Implementation,Solution,IBPforsalesandoperations,IBPcrosstopic,IBPfordemand,IBPforinventory,
SupplyChainControlTower,IBPforsupply
Tasks:planningTags:sap,sales,faq,s&op,sales_and_operations_planning,s&op_cloud,sop_cloud,
integrated_business_planning,ibp,hci,s&op_model,s&op_training,sop_on_hana,sop_modeling,ibp_faq,faq_sop,faq_supply

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12Comments
GopiNidjelli17Nov201517:10

Hi,

CanyoupulldatafromIBPtoOdataservice?Alsoisthereanydocumentwhichshowshowtopull
thedatafromIBPtoWebservice?

Thanks
Like(0)

AlecsandraGhita17Nov201522:11(inresponsetoGopiNidjelli)

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC64323

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31/08/2016

SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningFAQs|SCN
HiGopi,

Hereistheexportguide:
http://help.sap.com/download/ibp/ibp50_data_export_guide.pdf

MoreoverwithIBP5.0thereisanoutboundtemplateforsendingsenseddemandtoSNP,
chapter2.2.8
http://help.sap.com/download/ibp/ibp50_hci_integration.pdf

Hopethishelps
Rgds
Alecsandra
Like(0)

GopiNidjelli17Nov201523:03(inresponsetoAlecsandraGhita)

Thankyouverymuch.IamtryingtopullthedatafromIBPusingthewebservice
andfollowedexactthesameprocedureasmentionedinthedocument.

InQuery,XMLtransformstepsIcanviewthedataindesigntime,butintheXML
transformtoWebservice_callTransformitfails.

Error
QUERYTarget_Web_Service_Call>Queryeither
selectsfromnoobjectatall,oritsSELECTproducescolumnswhilethequery
outputschemaspecifiescolumns.Reeditthe
query.
Appreciateyourhelp.
Like(0)

AlecsandraGhita18Nov201509:50(inresponsetoGopiNidjelli)

Hi,

BeingaspecificissueandnotrelatedtoFAQs,pleasecreateaseparate
threadforthistopic.

Regards
Alecsandra
Like(0)

GopiNidjelli04Dec201515:43

Hi,
WearelookingifitsfeasibletosendonlythechangesforKeyFiguresbacktoAPOfromIBP.Wedo
notwantthefullload,ratheronlythedelta(i,eChanges)tobesentbacktoAPOfromIBP.

InIBPisthereawaywecantriggerthis?

Thanks
Like(0)

LingaiahVanam30Dec201513:31

ThispostisveryusefultounderstandtheIBP.

BestRegards,
Lingaiah
Like(0)

APOSUPPORTTeamGenMills18Jan201623:28

HiRaghav,

Thissiteisveryuseful.IamlookingfortheendendsimulationandwhatifcapabilitiesintheSupply
PlanningusingIBP.Canyoupleaseguidemetothedocumentation/presentationsavailable?

Regards,
SatyamValluru
GeneralMillsInc
Like(0)

DavidKahn19Jan201602:51(inresponsetoAPOSUPPORTTeamGenMills)

HiSatyam.
Youcanstarthere: SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningforresponseandsupply
IntegratedBusinessPlanningPartnerEnablementContent
GettingStartedGuideandotherdocumentsaboutS&OPSupplyPlanning
Letusknowifyouhaveadditionalquestions.
Thanks.
David

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC64323

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31/08/2016

SAPIntegratedBusinessPlanningFAQs|SCN
Like(1)

WilliamNi12Feb201617:16

Hi,istherefunctionalityinIBP5.0forapprovalofchangestokeyfigureormasterdatadata?For
examplebetweenasalepersonandsalesmanagerforasalesforecast,etc?

Thanks,
Will
Like(0)

IBPConsultant28Mar201613:27

Hi,

InCrossPeriodCalculationsquestionsThereismentionofTimeAggregationCalculationand
PeriodtoDataCalculation.Canyoupleasesuggestwherecanwefindmoreinformationonthese
twotopics.DidnotfindinfoonthesetwoinModelConfigguide.
Like(0)

H.Haagen19Apr201614:07

ThispostisusefulforunderstandingIBP
Like(1)

ChandrasekharP13Jun201606:36

Veryusefuldocument.
Like(0)

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