New features in process chains

In Netweaver BI 2004s we can find many new features in process chains. Below I have listed some of them

Copying of process chains:In BI 2004s there is a copy option in the process chain menu.

Go to RSPC -----> Process chain ----> Copy. Enter the technical name and description, save it and click on refresh button. You can see the new process chain in the list.

Client dependent: We have a option of assigning a particular process chain to a particular client.



Go to RSPC ----> Process chain ----> Attributes. Enter client id and save it. Once you assign, the process chain can only monitored in this client. Note: Process variants which are used in one client will not be used in other client.

Display mode: Display, here in BI 2004s we don't have locking issues. One user may change the process chain while the other is just displaying it. Process chain can be scheduled in display mode.



Authorization for process chain: There is a new authorization object on process chian itself S_RS_PC which checks on the sub objects:
.DEFINITION, the activities display(03) and change(23),
.PROTOCOLS, the activity deletion(06),
.RUNTIME, the activity execution(16).

Some new Process Types:

Decision between Multiple Alternatives:

This process Supports if (condition1) then (event1) elseif; decisions up to 99 resulting events and an error event can be defined.

Once you put all conditions in the process type, then when you connect a link between decision process type to the next process, it will asks on what condition you need to proceed to next process type.
You can find the process type in "General Services".



Data Transfer Process:

This proess is used for automatically load data into an Infoprovider. It is just like an info package.
You can find the process type in "Load process and post-processing".



Close Request of Real-Time Infopackage:

With this process type, you can close an open PSA request for a Web service DataSource or a DataSource for real-time data acquisition in an SAP source system before the entry value is reached.
You can find the process type in "Load process and post-processing".



Archive Data from Info Provider:

This process type is used to automate the Archiving data from info provider.
You can find the process type in "Data Target Administration".



Deletion of Request from the Change log:

This process is used for deleting data from the change log of a DataStore object is which are no longer needed for the delta update.
You can find the process type in "Other BW Processes".



Switch Real time Infocube to Plan mode & Switch Real time Infocube to Load mode:

This both process types are used to automate the process of converting real time Infocube to plan mode or load mode.
You can find the process types in "Other BW Processes".

key performance indicators

If you are struggling to define your company's key performance indicators (KPIs), here is a useful bit of information. I recently discovered an interesting website dedicated to identifying KPIs for just about every category you can think of. And it is FREE!

Yes, indeed -- a website described as "The free Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Library is a community of business professionals that provides guidance in identifying and prioritizing the KPIs that really matter for your organization's success." The categories include business, compliance & legislation, environmental, finance, HR, IT, outsourcing, procurement, project portfolio, R & D, supply chain & logistics, and many others. Warning -- you have to register to use the site but I found it quite useful.

The site contains (at the time of this posting) 943 KPIs. Here are a few by name:

Market share gain comparison %
Ad click-through ratio (CTR)
Cash dividends paid
Share price
Perfect Order Measure
Average customer recency
Average number of trackbacks per post
Number of past due loans
% of service requests posted via web (self-help)
Total energy used per unit of production
Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

With each entry, you get a definition, the category it belongs to, and the ability to share it using any number of book marking applications. You can also comment on the KPI and add your own to the listing. As an example, here is the entry for Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR):

"This tells the story about any company as to what rate the company has grown over years irrespective of consistency in growth YoY basis. A company might have one successful year and then a bad year. If you compare the growth rate YoY basis it may give a different picture and be concluded as lack of consistency in management. But if one looks at the CAGR, it will explain the real growth over years. It is calculated as:

=Power(Revenue Year (n)/Revenue Year(1),1/n) - 1

Where, Revenue Year (n)= n-th year Revenue Revenue Year(1) = 1st year Revenue"

And on it goes...