Adding Planning Events to the Planning Process

After the process is created, you can generate events (also known as tasks) for the process. For example, you can generate a series of events by region with reviewers assigned to each of the tasks created.

In the SAP Analytics Cloud calendar, events can start by a specified date and time, at the same date as their parent process, or by a dependency to other events. With dependencies, you define which other events need to meet a certain status before your event can start.

You can use dependent tasks to automate your planning process. For example, when raw data is entered and the associated task is submitted, the system will automatically run a data action and then automatically lock the data.

In the following example, you can see different dependent tasks and a possible sequence of events.

1. General Task: This is a general task type and is a task where the user update the relevant data and submit this task. Once the task is triggered on the start date, and the user is notified of the task.
2. Review: Dependent on General Task task. The reviewer approves or rejects the submitted figures in the previous task. If rejected, it is sent back to the user for review, update, and and resubmission.

   Review tasks don't use the reviewer property but rather, users are assigned to the task.

3. Run Data Action: Dependent on the Planning Process. This task runs automatically when the Planning Process status changes to Successful.
4. Lock Data: Dependent on Run Data Action task. This task runs automatically when the dependency criteria have been met.

After the process is created, you can generate events (also known as tasks) for the process. For example, you can generate a series of events by region with reviewers assigned to each of the tasks created.

The exercise at the end of this lesson will guide you through the six steps of the creation process, however, before you get started, here are a few points to note on event types and data locking.

In the Event Types step, you can generate general, review, and data locking tasks automatically. This reduces manual setup work.

As you configure the step, the Structure Preview to the right of the dialog will update to reflect the selections.

Generated Event Types for Leaf Members:

• General Task and Review Tasks: Creates a general and review task for each leaf member. For example, you are designing a planning process to submit and review tasks for the Midwest, Northeast, Pacific, and Southeast regions.
• From Template: Select a calendar template to define the event types and their structure. You can't add data locking tasks to the predefined structure of a calendar template in the calendar wizard. So, if data locking is required, be sure to select a template that includes data locking tasks.
  Note

  You can only select templates with 20 events or fewer and you can only select templates that you have access to. For more information, see Permissions for Calendar Templates.

  If context is defined in your template, it will be overwritten by the context definition you enter in the Context step (step 2) of the calendar wizard.

• Composite Task: Creates a composite task for each leaf member. This option can still require a reviewer to approve or reject the task, but the review task won't be visible in the calendar. You can add a Before Composite Task and After Composite Task locking task if needed. It is recommend that you use the other options, as this event type will be deprecated.

For more information on Generated Event Types for Leaf Members, go to the SAP Help Portal and go to Step 3.

• Add Data Locking Tasks: Enabling this allows you to create data locking tasks.
• Before General Task: When the parent process starts for an entity, the data lock is open for the same entity.
• After General Task: When the general (dependent) task is submitted for an entity, the data is restricted for the same entity. When the general task is approved, its status is 100% Successful.
• After All Tasks: When the preceding review task is partially successful, or successful, the data lock is triggered.

In the following example, you want to automate data locks by region and display review tasks in the calendar. The data lock status in the underlying planning model is set to Closed by the process owner before the process starts. When each region starts their planning process, the data lock is automatically set to Open. When the general planning task is submitted, the data lock is automatically set to Restricted. When the reviewer approves the results, the data lock is automatically set to Locked. In the calendar, the data lock, general, and review tasks are visible for each region.

Create a process for groups of tasks: Create a task group made up of general, review, and data locking tasks.

The Driving Dimension also contains the Person Responsible and Reviewer properties.

In Additional Settings, you configure the naming rules. In the preceding example, the Event Name consists of a prefix that matches the process name and the description of the Driving Dimension members. You can also add Event Suffixes and Descriptions for each event.

The Driving Dimension determines the assignees and reviewers. Any property with user IDs can be used to identify the assignees and reviewers.

While assignees are required in a task, reviewers are optional.