Objective
The BPM inbox provides easy, simplified access to the business outcomes of BPM processes. The BPM inbox is a central workplace for a business user to view and perform actions on tasks from the BPM system.
View a task.
Claim a task.
Release the task that is reserved for you.
Complete a task.
You can access the BPM inbox through the following url: http://<host>:<Httpport>/bpminbox/inbox.html?app=BPMInbox.
The BPM Inbox requires additional administration and portal roles, comparable to the roles used in the BPM. The following table lists the administration and portal roles used in BPM Inbox to view and work on the corresponding tasks:
| Role Category | Role | Description | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
Administration UME Role | UnifiedInboxUserRole | UnifiedInboxUserRole enables the user to access the tasks and their details within a BPM Inbox application. | Data source: UME database |
Portal Role | com.sap.bpem.ENDuser | BPEM End User role enables the user to work on the tasks and task execution user interface within a BPM Inbox application. | Data source: portal role |
The following procedure is used to configure users for BPM Inbox so they can access and work on the tasks:
In your browser, enter the following url: http://<host>:<Httpport>/nwa to open SAP NetWeaver Administrator.
Log on to SAP NetWeaver with administrator credentials.
Choose Configuration → Identity Management.
Select the search criteria User, then enter the user name (or part of the user name) to which you want to assign the role.
Choose Go.
Select the user or group from the table and choose the Assigned Roles tab.
Choose Modify.
Purpose | Search Criteria | User Role |
|---|---|---|
Access tasks in the inbox | UME Database | UnifiedInboxUserRole |
Work on tasks | Portal Roles | com.sap.bpem.Enduser |
It is possible to enable substitution in BPM Inbox to either nominate a user to whom you can assign your tasks or to take over tasks from other users in case of planned absence or during an emergency. The planned and unplanned scenarios can be managed by substitution rules.
To view all substituted tasks for a user, choose the Tasks Assigned To Me option from the All Tasks dropdown list.
If more than one user has assigned tasks to the user, who checks substitutions, it is possible to select the user who has nominated the substitute by selecting the On Behalf Of dropdown list. As a substitute, the tasks displayed in the inbox are the tasks that are in Ready status in the assignee’s inbox.
To work on a task, select the task, and then choose Claim. When a task is claimed, the task moves from the Task Assigned To Me list to the My Tasks list and its status changes to Reserved in your inbox. On refreshing the task list, the task is no longer visible in the inbox of the assignee or other substitutes.
To assign a task to a substitute, that the user is currently working on, you must select and release the task. As an assignee, when a task is assigned, the status of the task changes from Reserved to Ready. On refreshing the task list, the task is visible in the inbox of your substitutes.
The figure shows the place in the system, where substitution rules are maintained.
From the Settings icon, click the dropdown arrow and select the Manage Substitution Rules option.
On the My Substitutes screen, choose New to create a substitution rule.
On the Create Substitution Rule screen, in the Substitute field, enter or choose a user.
If you are unavailable due to planned leave, set Automatic Forwarding to On.
The substitution rule is displayed in the Inactive section of the I Am Substituting tab of your substitute until the current date. The rule is activated on the current date and the tasks are displayed in the Active section of the substitute’s inbox.
If you are unavailable due to unexpected absence, create the substitution rule in advance and set Automatic Forwarding to Off.
The substitution rule is displayed in the Inactive section of the I Am Substituting tab of your substitute. To receive your tasks in the task list, the substitute must activate the rule by choosing On.
Choose Manage Substitution Rules.
In the My Substitutions tab, view the rules you have created.
Note
The Active section displays the substitution rules that are within the current date range. The Inactive section displays the substitution rules you have created in the past or for a future date. If the rule is created for a later date, the rule moves to the Active section on the start date. If the start date of the rule has exceeded the current date, the rule is no longer active and the status changes to Outdated.To stop your substitute from receiving your tasks, disable the substitution rule by choosing the Off button.
To delete a substitution rule, choose the Delete icon.
In the I Am Substituting tab, you can view the substitution rules created by other users who have nominated you as a substitute.
The Inactive section displays the substitution rules that you have either not accepted or which are not within the current date range. The rule moves to the Active section and you start receiving tasks of your assignee in your inbox.
To accept or to take over the rule from the Inactive section, choose On. The rule moves to the Active section and you start receiving the tasks of your assignee in your inbox.
You can view the tasks that are assigned to you and perform one of the following operations at a time.
View a task
Claim a task
Release the task that is reserved for you
Complete a task
To view operating tasks, perform the following steps:
Log on to your BPM Inbox at the following url: http://<host>:<Httpport>/bpminbox/inbox.html?app=BPMInbox.
Your open tasks are displayed in the BPM Inbox by default. To view tasks in other categories such as My Completed Tasks, My Overdue Tasks, or My Escalated Tasks, select the required option from the Task Selection dropdown list.
To view the task details, choose the task name from the task list table.
To view a specific number of rows in the task list table, choose Settings from the toolbar and select the appropriate number of rows from the Table Row Settings dialog box.
To claim a task that is assigned to you (and complete it or release it to another user) choose a task in the task list.
The Claim, Open, or Release option is enabled or disabled based on the status of the selected task. The detailed information on each task status and possible actions are explained in the following table:
Task Status | Possible Action | Status Change |
|---|---|---|
Ready | You can claim the task | Reserved |
Reserved | You can claim the task You can complete the task | Ready Completed |
Completed | No operations possible | No status change |
In Progress | You can release the task You can complete the task | Ready Completed |
Note
You can also execute actions on multiple tasks that have the same status. To do so, select multiple tasks (Ctrl+Select) and choose the appropriate action button. For example, to complete multiple tasks, select two or more tasks from the task list table and choose Open. The task execution user interface is opened with multiple tasks. You can navigate to a specific task using the previous and next navigation icon and perform required action and complete the tasks. To filter the tasks, choose the Filter option and choose the required criteria.You can manage tasks in the following ways:
Share a task with other users who can contribute to its execution.
Task sharing allows the owner of the task to invite contributors to work on a particular task instance. Every user can be a contributor, except the owner. If any user is invited for a task contribution that user will get the task in their task list in the BPM Inbox. If they open the task, they see who the actual owner of the task is and the task description, if any.
Delegate the task (if you want to completely hand over the task responsibility to another user).
Put back the task to the task owner if you are not able to complete it or do not have the resources to complete it.
View task details and process the task.
Add and download attachments in the form of documents or URLs.
Add notes that are visible on all process levels.
Depending on the availability that is set, you can see all previously added notes along with details such as who added the note and on what date and time.
To delete a task, use the following procedure:
In the BPM Inbox, choose the task you want to delegate.
In the Task Execution screen, open the Actions menu and choose Delegate.
In the Delegate dialog box, enter the name of the user you want to delegate to the individual task.
To find a particular user name, enter the first name of the user in the User field and choose Find. In the search results, choose the user and choose Go. The applicable user is automatically entered in the Delegate dialog box.
In the Delegate dialog box, choose OK.
Once you have delegated a task, you cannot complete this task. The delegate is now the owner of the task. Only this individual task is delegated to the user nominated as the delegate.
To put back a task, in the Task Execution screen, open the Actions menu and choose Put Back. The task is put back and the Task Execution screen closes.
To manage attachments, use the following steps:
In the Task Execution screen, open the View menu and choose Attachments.
From the Attachments area, in the Add menu, choose whether you want to add a file or a url.
If you want to attach a file, choose Browse and select the file from a file directory.
If you want to add a title to the file, specify the title in the Title field.
To make the selected file available only for a particular task, select the Only for members of this task option.
To make the selected file available for entire process, select the For all involved users of embedding process option.
Choose OK.
To download an attachment, choose the title link.
To delete an attachment, open the context menu of the icon next to the attachment title and choose Delete.
To add notes, use the following steps:
In the Task Execution screen, choose the View menu, then choose Notes.
Choose Add.
Note
You can customize your note by text by using the formatting button. You cannot delete notes.To make the selected file available only for a particular task, select the Only for members of this task option.
To make the selected file available for entire process, select the For all involved users of embedding process option.
Depending on the products, custom attributes can be set and delivered or transferred in the business processes and then used in the inbox for additional purposes, like assignment, sort, or display.
These attributes are to be assigned in a task and mapped depending on the business data. In the BPM Inbox, these attributes can be used with the Filter button.
Note
Display of the custom attributes requires a release higher than 7.40, SP03.Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes