Developing Business Roles Using Templates

A business role represents a collection of applications and the authorizations (permissions) required to perform a particular job role or function, such as Warehouse Manager, AP Accountant, or System Administrator. The business role should include every task that an end user performs related to their workplace responsibilities, including a set of predefined permissions that correspond to the user's duties.

In SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, SAP provides SAP Fiori apps to help create and administer business roles: 

• Business Role Templates app
• Maintain Business Roles app

Let's have a look at how these apps can be used to develop business roles using the SAP predefined business role templates.

Business role templates are predefined by SAP to make it easier for you to find the business catalogs and SAP Fiori apps that might be relevant for a specific role in your company. You can use the Business Role Templates app to access the template library, and to centralize the administration of business role templates.

Business role templates typically have a comprehensive job profile designed to show all options available in the system. Each business role template may also be mapped to a corresponding pre-delivered business role definition, as well as one or more pre-delivered Launchpad Space configurations. Using the Business Role Templates app, you can access the pre-delivered business roles in your system and use them for evaluation purposes to identify the specific SAP Fiori apps that you want to implement.

Each business role template comes with a detailed Functional Description that outlines which functions, actions, and tasks are supported by the apps contained in the assigned catalogs. To execute a specific SAP Fiori app, the business user must have a business role that references the specific catalog containing the SAP Fiori apps tile definition and target mapping, as well as any relevant spaces or pages required for the SAP Fiori launchpad layout.

You can use the business role template to identify which predefined SAP catalogs may be relevant for a specific job role or function.

SAP does not recommend using business role templates as delivered by SAP because the scope of the business catalogs might conflict with the roles in your company. For this reason, SAP recommends that you only use business role templates for testing and not for generating productive roles. Instead, you need to create productive business roles using the appropriate role templates and adjust and tailor each role to your specific requirements.

Additionally, you can use the Business Role Templates app to identify business roles that may have been impacted by a recent upgrade. You can use the filter Different from Business Roles to help you identify any templates that were updated in the latest release and are now different than the current business roles assigned to your users.

The changes could mean that a new business catalog was added, or an existing catalog was replaced with a successor. You can see which business roles have changed and how they've changed, so that the administrator can adapt them if necessary.

To create a business role from a template, follow these steps: 

1. Select the tile of the Maintain Business Roles app on the SAP Fiori launchpad to open the app. On the initial screen select Create From Template.
2. Select the required template. Define the ID and the name of the new business role. If required, select Create and Assign Launchpad Space Based on Space Template and define the new space ID (for more information, see the Related information section below). Click OK.
3. A template already contains one or more business catalogs that will be assigned to. Adjust the displayed template to your requirements, for example, change the general role details, and add or delete catalogs.
4. By default the value help and read access for each business catalog is set to unrestricted and there is no write access. If you want to change these restrictions, select Maintain Restrictions.
5. Maintain instance-based restrictions for all required business objects (following the requirements of your local authorization concept).
6. On the Assigned Business Users tab you can assign the business users to your new business role. These users will receive the authorizations as defined in the business role.
7. Save the business role to activate it.
   Note

   If you go back to the business roles overview without saving the business role, the business role will automatically be saved in a draft status. You can access it again and edit it from the business roles overview.

We will discuss the Maintain Business Roles app in more detail in the next lesson.

In the exercise below you will create a custom business role using a SAP Business Role Template.

You should now know how to develop business roles using an SAP business role template