Workflow. Managing Deadlines for Workflow Tasks

The topic of workflows in the SAP system is rich and seemingly endless. One can talk a lot about workflows, even more about their use, and endlessly about their tricks and capabilities. Let me stop digressing and get to the point of this note.

In addition to the basic ability to manage the number of agents in a workflow and notify them by email, the workflow toolkit also allows a functional consultant to define deadlines for decision-making tasks (i.e., tasks requiring user action or response).

See:  Deadline Tab Pages

Use
You can define all the deadlines for this step with the specifications you make on these tab pages. All these entries are optional.

Features
You can set the following deadlines on the corresponding tab pages:Requested StartLatest StartRequested EndLatest End
You can define reactions to a missed deadline for the last three deadline types. The system offers the following possible reactions:NotificationFree modeling

All of this is covered under the concise English term: SAP Workflow Deadline Management.

The main advantage of using deadline tracking in workflow tasks is the ability to control the execution of steps based on a defined schedule, which can be strictly regulated. It’s especially justified in automated production processes or in processes governed by SLAs. With deadlines in place, key business users gain the ability to monitor and analyze compliance with timing at each responsible stage.

Participants who fail to act on time—causing potential business impact—can be "rewarded" with public reprimands. Just so they learn the lesson.

SAP provides several deadline types for user-responsive workflow tasks:

• Requested Start
• Latest Start
• Requested End
• Latest End

Requested Start – if a workflow item is created before the specified Requested Start time, it gets the status “Waiting.” Once the time is reached, the status changes to “Ready.”

See: Status of a Workflow Work Item
See: Deadline Tab Pages

Requested start

If the work item is created before the requested start, it is assigned the status waiting . When the requested start is reached, the system sets the work item to status ready . If the work item is created after the requested start, it is assigned the status ready immediately.

For these deadlines, you can notify a user or handle the missed deadline directly in the workflow—e.g., end the entire workflow or reroute it through an alternate approval path.

See: Deadline Tab Pages

Latest end, latest start, requested end

You can either notify someone or model a reaction in the workflow definition for when the deadline is reachedDisplay text (standard escalation) If you want to notify someone, you must specify a recipient on the tab page Display text . The message text is displayed in the display area. From here you can go directly to the task definition, where you can change the text.Modeled If you want to model your own reaction, enter a name for the new outcome on the tab page Modeled . A reaction branch is added to the workflow definition, which is processed if the deadline is missed. If a deadline is missed, the original step is not yet completed. The steps following this "missed deadline outcome" do not end the original activity.

See: Modeled Deadline Monitoring or Standard Escalation

Deadline settings are defined on the Deadline tab of the task that requires a user response. Access them via transaction codes SWDD or PFTC:

Define the key settings you wish to use for the Latest End deadline:

In my example, the task is considered "overdue" from the moment it is created and assigned to a processor. Let’s test it.

I wait 1 minute until the specified deadline and check the result in transaction SBWP.

Notice that the system also generates an email with predefined text:

The email contains text configured on the task's Description tab. SAP allows different texts depending on the deadline type used in your task.

To monitor overdue tasks, you can use the report RSWINTRO, also available via transaction SWI2_DEAD.

The following video shows the steps required to change a task’s deadline while the workflow is already running:

For the deadline monitoring tool to function properly and detect all overdue tasks, schedule the program RSWWDHIN as a background job.

The correct way to do this is via transaction SWU3, under the section Schedule Background Job for Workflow Deadline Monitoring.

See: Automatic Workflow Customizing