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July/August 2010

SAP SUPPORT UPDATE A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE IT@JH - ENTERPRISE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS TEAM

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Need Help with Purchasing? See Page 9

Two Months Later - How Are We Doing Since the Upgrade?

By Zack Rose An increase in customer calls and system issues is expected after any

upgrade of software, especially when the upgrade includes a completely new

version of a module such as SRM (shopping cart). We had our share of

those issues post-upgrade, and have been very busy handling the issues as

they come up. Best practice dictates that you measure the health of your

system by tracking system “metrics”…a way to take the temperature of the

system after the upgrade and see if we are getting back to normal

operations. EBS has been reporting these numbers to management, and

with this article, we are providing a summary report to users.

How many users access SAP?

Since the upgrade, we have seen a steady number of users accessing

each of our major systems (ECC, SRM, and BW). While we did see the

anticipated drop-off during the week of July 4th, the number of Hopkins

staff accessing SAP has remained consistent. Here is a recent chart.

Inside this issue:

Understanding

Organizational

Units

Workflow

Substitutes Q&A

Where to Get

help for

Shopping Cart

Planned SAP

System

Maintenance

Schedule

Zack Rose

Project Manager for the

EBS team

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SAP SUPPORT UPDATE

How many calls are coming in for help?

Since our go-live in 2007, we have been reporting weekly to management using statistics such

as the number of tickets opened, closed, and remaining open by functional categories. We do

this by collecting data from the Helpdesks (this includes EBS and Shared Services). These

statistics have evolved into a series of charts that give us a picture of what is going on in

customer support. Over the three year period, we have seen a steady decrease in numbers of

calls coming in each week that have become Help Tickets. We have also been able to do

analysis of user issues that resulted in functionality or system improvements.

Right after the upgrade, we saw the number of tickets significantly jump, which was as

expected given the upgraded system implementation. Since then, we have seen a steady week

-by-week decrease in the overall number of tickets opened. Looking at the widely-used

transactions, the actual number of tickets opened for help in AP & Travel is down to the

numbers seen pre-upgrade, but we are still well above our pre-upgrade volume in Shopping

Cart and other purchasing-related questions. We planned for this, knowing that with the

addition of the new module and the need for re-training, we would experience a higher rate of

customer support calls. We are working hard to keep up with the calls, but also to identify

areas where we can eliminate the need for support, through training, fixes to the system, and

in general communicating with end users. Both EBS and the Shared Services have been

working together to improve system usability based on customer feedback.

In addition to customer support measures, we have system measures that tell us how well the

system is processing and alerts us to any performance problems, such as long running

processes or user time outs. We have been working with SAP to look at these results and make

improvements. SAP has also performed some “system health” technical reviews and provided

feedback to our technical team to improve how the system runs.

There is a management adage “If you can‟t measure it, you can‟t manage it”. We have found

that measuring progress has been very beneficial to the ongoing monitoring and improvement

of the SAP system. As we continue to measure activities related to the upgraded environment,

we find improvements and solutions. This is a continuous process that has been

institutionalized within EBS and is part of our core operations activities.

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Understanding Organizational Units

By David Levy

The highest level in the SAP organizational structure is the organizational

unit. The characteristics of an organizational unit affect both positions

and employees. Although it is easy to generalize organizational units as

“departments” that is not always an accurate assessment. It is possible

for a single department to be made up of multiple organizational units

that are grouped based on their common attributes. In this article we‟ll

take a look at the attributes of an organizational unit and how they affect

their corresponding positions and employees.

In order to see the organization unit details using transaction PPOSE, start by searching for the

organizational unit of interest and then double click the organizational unit number.

Then, at the top of the screen, click Goto > Detail object > Enhanced Object Description

David Levy

Senior HR Functional

Analyst for EBS

Object - The object infotype shows the organizational unit short text (Object abbr.) and the

organizational unit title (Object name). The organizational unit short text should always be the

Control Salary Cost Center associated with the organizational unit. This is the same number

that will appear in the Cost Distribution infotype described below.

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Continued from page 3

Relationships - An overview of the Relationships infotype shows all of the relationships an

organizational unit has to other objects. These relationships determine the organizational

unit„s place within the organizational structure as well as security roles. All positions have

relationships to a core set of objects. These are:

E

D

C

B

A

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A. A|002 Reports (line) to (O) – This determines which organizational unit this one is

subordinate to in the organizational structure.

B. A|011 Cost Center (K) – This determines the Master Cost Center for this organizational unit.

The Master Cost Center is inherited by any positions and employees in the organizational

unit. The Master Cost Center is a default account where salary dollars would be charged if

the primary cost center was closed while payroll is processing. This cost center will always

end in 98 and will default onto the Base

Pay & Labor Distribution infotype for

any hourly paid employee in the

General Distribution section. The

Master Cost Center will also be

defaulted onto the Organizational

Assignment infotype for all employees.

If this cost center is changed any

associated positions and employees will

also need to be updated.

C. B|002 Is line Supervisor of – These relationships show any organizational units that are

subordinate to this one in the organizational structure.

D. B|003 Incorporates – These relationships show any positions that are assigned to this

organizational unit.

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E. B|Z61 Incorporates – These relationships indicate positions that have a special relationship

to the organizational unit and allow

them to have structural authorization for

this organizational unit when they do not

fall within it.

Cost Distribution – The Cost Distribution infotype contains the Control Salary cost center

which is used to account for any salary dollars that are not accounted for in the labor

distribution of salaried employees. This cost center will always end in 99. This cost center will

default onto the Base Pay & Labor Distribution

infotype for any salaried employee in the section

labeled as Default Cost Distribution. If this cost

center is changed any associated employee

records will also need to be updated.

In the organizational structure as a whole, organizational units are the highest level of object

followed by positions and then employees. The Johns Hopkins SAP Organizational Structure is

complex but having a general understanding of how the individual objects in the structure are

related to each other can help you understand why things work the way they do.

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Workflow Substitutes Q&A

By Sherri Flaks

These frequently asked questions provide information and instructions

for establishing a workflow substitute:

Q: Who should assign a Substitute?

A: Approvers and other users who get work items in their Inbox.

Q: Where do I go to assign a Substitute?

A: From toolbar select Settings - Workflow Settings - Maintain Substitute.

Q: What is the difference between a ‘Passive’ and an ‘Active’ Substitute?

A: Active Substitution

Mary is going on vacation, she wants Bob to process her work items in a timely matter.

Mary makes Bob her „Active‟ Substitute:

Bob will automatically see Mary‟s work items in his Inbox during the specified time period .

Note: Mary’s work items will be combined with Bob’s, he will not be able to distinguish the

items that came to him as a result of being Mary’s Substitute.

Passive Substitution

Tom is away from the office and travels frequently, so he asks his colleague Jane to handle

the work items in his Business Workplace (Inbox).

Sherri Flaks

Application Security

Director, IT@JH

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Continued from page 7

Tom makes Jane his „Passive‟ Substitute:

Jane needs to adopt Substitution, to switch from her Inbox to Tom‟s Inbox.

Q: Do I have to assign a substitute for each business process?

A: In ECC, the designated Substitute applies to all workflows in ECC (for instance, Online

Payment Request, ISR, ZSR, eform, etc.).

However, the designation of a Shopping Cart Substitute must be done in Shopping Cart.

(see June newsletter Designating a Substitute Approver for Shopping Cart - p.4)

Q: Does my Substitute automatically have access to process my Work Items?

A: Your Substitute must have the corresponding approval roles.

Further, for HR workflows such as ISR and eforms, the Substitute must have Org Unit

access to the individual subject user (see April newsletter - Spotlight on HR Access p.4).

Q: What is the effective period when I designate a Substitute:

A: You will need to specify a Begin and End Date on the Substitute you assign.

You can designate a permanent Substitute by specifying the End Date 12/31/9999 when

you establish your Substitute. However, if you use this method, you should periodically

review your Substitutes to ensure they are still appropriate.

Q: My Department’s Approver went on vacation and did not assign a Substitute,

what can be done?

A: Users who get Work Items can establish their own Substitutes (see above) and should

consider their needs. However, in extenuating circumstances, a Substitute can be

requested via email request to SAPWorkflow@jhmi.edu and copy the original Approver and

Substitute. Depending on what is customary for your area, it may also be appropriate to

copy a Supervisor and/or Security Coordinator.

We hope to include a ZSR Action Type for Substitution to automate this process in the future.

Inactive User Policy

REMINDER: After one year of inactivity, user access to SAP will be revoked.

If access is needed, please submit a ZSR.

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Resources for SAP. SAP Upgrade Information: www.SAPatHopkins.org www.facebook.com/sapupjh www.twitter.com/sapupjh Knowledge Network: http://knowledgenetwork.johnshopkins.edu Fast Facts: learning.jhu.edu Shared Services: http://ssc.jhmi.edu JHU Controller’s Office: http://www.controller.jhu.edu SAP Support Update newsletter archive: http://orchid.hosts.jhmi.edu/hopkinsone/News/archive.cfm

SAP Support Page: http://www.jhu.edu/hopkinsone/Support

For Our Readers. The SAP Support Update is pub-

lished monthly to keep you informed

of the activities within the Enterprise

Business Solutions team and to pro-

vide tips and tricks that will make your

work with SAP easier.

If you have any questions or

suggestions or if you wish to submit

an article or tip, please email us at:

sapnews@jhu.edu

Where to Get help for Shopping Cart Questions

Process Questions: If you need help Creating a Shopping cart, finding or getting the status of

a shopping cart or have questions regarding a PO contact:

purchasing@jhu.edu or 443-997-5600

Technical Issues: If you are receiving an error message or if Shopping Cart is not working as

it should contact:

SAPHelpdesk@jhmi.edu or 410-735-4500

Vendor Issues: If you need to set-up or make a change to a vendor contact:

apSSC@jhmi.edu or 443-997-6688

For Shopping Cart instructions from the upgrade visit:

http://ssc.jhmi.edu/supplychain/training/index.html

http://knowledgenetwork.johnshopkins.edu/

http://www.sapathopkins.org/support.html

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Planned SAP System Maintenance Schedule

It has become necessary to schedule monthly maintenance for the SAP system in order to

perform routine maintenance tasks such as: adding storage, deploying patches, and other

activities that require the systems to be offline. As always, our objective is to minimize the

amount of downtime during these periods while accomplishing important system management

tasks. After coordinating with Shared Services and other key users, we have developed the

following weekend schedule.

Unless otherwise specified, the systems will be taken down for a 14 hour period, with a start

time of 9:00 PM on the evening before the specified date, and concluding no later than 11:00

AM on the specified date. If the maintenance activities finish sooner, the system is released to

the users at that time.

Upcoming Schedule

August 14

(Fri. - Sat. @ 9 pm - 11 am) Maintenance

September 18

(Fri. - Sat. @ 9 pm - 11 am) Maintenance

October 16

(Fri. - Sat. @ 9 pm - 11 am) Maintenance

November 7

(Sunday) Time Change

December 11

(Fri. - Sat. @ 9 pm - 11 am) Application of calendar year-end support packs. This

date is tentative pending what is learned from SAP's

support pack and notes release schedule.

Training Opportunities at Johns Hopkins: A range of SAP training is offered to all employees in both “e-course” or traditional classroom format.

Employees can access the training centers by visiting their organization’s training sites at:

Johns Hopkins University: learning.jhu.edu

Johns Hopkins Medicine: www.hopkinsinteractive.org (clinical training)

Johns Hopkins Health System SAP: www.hopkinsmedicine.org/sap