Where Have You Been – Rihanna Finding missing elementsĮvery so often, and especially when you are new to the process diagram pane, you drag something onto the diagram – e.g. The warning icon on the other hand can almost always be ignored (Grammar constraints? Bite me!). With a little more experience under my belt, I’ve learned to also look for them in the Project Explorer and Outline panes, and of course in every data mapping view. When I first started building processes I made the rookie mistake of only looking at error markers in the process diagram. When you are trying to find the problems you need to resolve, the error marker icons (red circle with black cross icon) are a godsend. I’m spinning around – Kylie Minogue Finding problems that need resolving Sometimes even the error message is not only helpful but encouraging, for example they usually tell if you Quick Fix in the Problems view is worth a try. When building a Process Development Project containing 11 processes and sub-processes and almost 20 tasks, I could quite clearly see the order in which the build was progressing – which processes and tasks were ok and where it stopped and threw an error. One of the useful things the build log shows you is the progress through the build. However I now freely take back all the inward reservations I was mentally sending in the direction of the build log developers, as I have found that learning to read the build log somewhat is moderately useful, even if you aren’t into the intense detail. Clearly we were in geekville territory (make no sudden movements and back away slooooowly). Ok so I admit it, the first dozen or so times I opened the build log I closed it down just as quickly. Hard to Say I’m Sorry – Chicago The Build Log is My Friend Making an “if” command the only new thing I added to the deployment was how I tracked down the problem in minutes. A case in point – at one of my sites my NWDS version is 7.3 SP07, my BPM server version is 7.3 SP05 – which means the built-in mapping function “IF” is deprecated on the NWDS but the new “if” command that replaces it isn’t recognized by the server – so if I use the new “if” my process deploys but won’t activate in the Process Repository and the server logs just give vague mapping transition exceptions. This is especially true if your NWDS and server versions are slightly different (out a support pack or two) so that something that builds fine suddenly has problems when you deploy. might eventually get you there, but it’s a lot easier if you know what you did that broke it. Traversing SAP Logs, system logs, deploy logs, authentication logs, web service logs etc. When you’ve made 15 different types of changes and one of them is stopping your process but from deploying (or worse… it deploys to the Process Repository but doesn’t activate), working out which one is the offender is just not fun. Deploy little and often – especially when trying new thingsĭeploying little and often is sanity-saving measure, especially when you are trying some new technique, option, or function for the first time on this NWDS/server combination.
Or as I tell my device-addicted Generation Y friends, “just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to use it”.Īnd just to stop this being all too dry… I’ve named them after a somewhat eclectic mix of songs I like (ok so maybe sometimes my sanity needs saving too…). So in fear and trembling and with all due cautions and disclaimers, and in no particular order, here are some tips for building BPM Processes that work for me and might work for you. Like the lovely guy who sent me a thermal coffee cup halfway round the world as a thank you for my answering a forum question that ended up saving his project (and his sanity).
On the other hand it might just add a little bit of joy and relief back into their day. Like the suggestion we made in the Practical Workflow for SAP book and occasionally on workflow forums that using the SAP basic organizational hierarchy without using the HR module is one possible solution for assigning people, which technically works but I seem to have been walking that one back on sites ever since (no one ever maintains it properly). The tip that is so useful to me might confuse or even hinder someone else. I’ve always found giving out tips is always something of a double-edged sword.