Getting an Overview of Tasks and Task Management Capabilities

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to use tasks and task management capabilities

Task Overview

A task is one of the key entities of the SAP Intelligent Agriculture data model. It is used for operational planning of farming activities before, during and after a growing season.

A collage of four agricultural images. The top-left image shows hands harvesting ripe red coffee cherries from a coffee plant. The top-right image shows four red tractors with equipment attached, working in parallel lines on a large field. The bottom-left image depicts an irrigation system spraying water over a green crop field. The bottom-right image shows a person working in a rice field, bending down to harvest rice plants.

Tasks are activities associated to a farm/field that enable the assignment of resources and the ability to manage and track input materials.

Typically, a task represents one pass over a field. It could be a person or a machine executing one or several farming activities at a time - as, for example, combines execute a task. A task can have dependencies on other tasks.

Task Creation

The creation of a task can be initiated from 3 applications within the solution: from the Task Scheduling, the Task List, or the Farming Cockpit.

A collage of screenshots from a farming management software. The top-left section titled Task Scheduling shows a calendar interface with scheduled tasks for different fields labeled Field 1, Field 2, and Wheat Field 3, with options to create a new task. The top-right section titled Task List shows a list-view table with tasks including details like task type, field, start time, end time, duration, and status, with an option to create a new task. The bottom section titled Farming Cockpit shows a map interface on the right displaying a field with a pop-up box containing field details and crop zones, as well as a left panel displaying crop zone details and a calendar of tasks.

After selecting Create Task, the user must fill in information. The task entity has several attributes that help to plan and organize farming activities, some of them are mandatory during task management and are marked with an asterisk "*". Different fields are required at different stages to move to different statuses (learn more about Task Status Rules).

Here’s an overview of the header attributes available:

Task Name*:
The speaking name of the task to be executed.
Start Date and End Date*:
The planned start date and end date of the task associated to start time and end time. This information is required before changing the status to In Progress.
Status*:
The task status is a field that will be automatically populated and changed based upon the actions performed.
Here are the various statuses available in SAP Intelligent Agriculture:
- Draft: When the task is created and saved, it will be set to Draft status by default. This means it’s not finished or not ready to be published.
- Open: When all the mandatory data is maintained, the user will be able to set the status to Open to indicate it’s a final version, but not released/started yet.
- In Progress: When the processing of the task has started, status will be set to In progress.
- Completed: When the processing is finished, the status will be set to completed, at which point it cannot be edited anymore.
- Canceled: The task can also be canceled and will become inactive. Only Open and In progress tasks can be canceled. A reason is required to change the status to canceled.
- Delayed: If the task is set as delayed (using the available checkbox in the header section), the user must provide a reason and will be able to track these delayed tasks through the Task Scheduling app.
Work Order:
Work orders can be used to group tasks that belong together from a controlling or order management perspective. The different tasks in one work order can span across different fields.
Note
For additional details, see the following figure: Work Order, Tasks and Task Item Operations.
Assignee*:
The task needs to be assigned to a user in the system, who’s assigned to role(s). The assignee is the owner of the task. Not necessarily the executor of the task, but someone who needs to look after the task from a business process perspective, such as follow-up on the statuses.
Priority*:
A field to organize tasks by priority. The options are as follows: Very High, High, Medium, or Low.

Task information attributes include the following:

Task Type*: Allows to group tasks into certain farming categories. For example, irrigation, fertilization, harvesting, and so on.
Description: A free text description of the task to be performed.
Farm*: The task needs to be associated to an existing farm. A farm is the organizational entity that runs farming operations and is responsible for the field. A farm does not need to be set up following legal/company structure. For instance, a legal entity active in farming can run multiple operational farms.
Field*: The task needs to be associated to an existing field that is assigned to the farm previously selected. A field is an organizational entity that represents a certain area of a farm where farming activities are conducted. A field is linked to an area that defines the current field boundaries, or if the boundary is not available, giving the field size. Field and area association is one to one.
Crop Zone: The task can be associated to a crop zone that is assigned to the field previously selected. A crop zone is an entity to identify an area where a specific crop/variety is grown during a specific season.
Task Dependencies: A task can have a dependency on other tasks, so the user can select tasks to indicate this dependency, which will be visible in the Task Scheduling app.
Crop Pattern Elements: These represent individual instances of spatial pattern elements in which crops are grown such as individual rows or cross-rows that should be considered for the task.
Soil Samples: The user can associate soil samples. The soil samples need to have been previously defined in the system.

The following attributes can also be maintained on the task:

Task Item Resources: The user can assign resources to the task, which can be a machinery (for example, a tractor), a person (for example worker, agronomist), a resource group or any other resource previously recorded in the system. Resources must be created using APIs and are further explained below.
Task Input Materials: The task input materials are the materials that are consumed during the task. This could be water, fertilizers, or any object necessary for the given activity of the task.
Task Item Operations: The user can assign task operations to track different activities associated to the task or to detail sub-activities of a task. A tangible example is a combine that can do multiple activities, such as cutting and cleaning simultaneously during one task. Task Item Operations need to be predefined in the system.

Here are some examples of different tasks:

The screen shows the SAP Task List interface for an Irrigate task on the Sugar Cane Farm. The task is part of Work Order: Work Order Sugar Cane 1 and assigned to smith victor. The task starts on April 1, 2024, and ends on April 3, 2024. Its status is Open, with a priority of High. The task type is Irrigate, specifically for Field 2 in Sugarcane Crop Zone 2. Details include dependencies like Clean Tractor and indicate no assigned crop patterns or soil samples. The task resources listed are Tractor 1 and Farm Worker 2. In the Task Input Materials section, 200 liters of water are needed, covering a 100 square meter area at a rate of 2 liters per square meter. No operations are assigned. Buttons for editing the task, changing its status (to In Progress or Cancelled), and copying the task are available at the top.

The screen shows the SAP Task List interface for a Broccoli Picking task on Brad Keep Farm. The task is part of Work Order: WOD4008363 and assigned to a user with an obscured name. The task type is Harvest, with a description to Pick ripe broccoli. It started and ended on May 28, 2024, from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. The status is Completed, with a high priority. It closed on August 26, 2024, at 12:49 PM. The task is for Field: Brad Keep Field 1 in the Broccoli (Calabrese) on Red Keep Field 1 Zone 1 crop zone. No dependencies, crop patterns, or soil samples are assigned. Task resources include Farm Worker 1, Agronomist, and Tractor 1. No materials are assigned under Task Input Materials. The Task Item Operations lists three steps for harvesting: Step 1 Harvest, Step 2 Harvest, and Step 3 Harvest, all described as harvesting. A Copy button is in the top right corner.

Roles and Permissions for Tasks

The following roles can perform activities related to tasks:

Farm Manager: The farm manager can schedule tasks, maintain tasks, and change the status of tasks.
Data Scientist: The data scientist can read tasks.
Operations planner: The operations planner can schedule tasks, maintain tasks, and change the status of tasks.

Operator: The operator can change the status of tasks and read tasks.
Master Data Manager: This role can maintain task types to support task management activities.

Note

For more details, check User Roles on the SAP Help Portal.

Work Order, Task and Item Operations Relationship

The figure, Relationships Between Work Orders, Tasks and Task Items, shows you the relationships between Work orders, tasks and task items. Work orders are not mandatory and they are grouping elements.

A diagram illustrating the hierarchy of a work order process in agriculture. At the top, there is Work Order, indicating the order level (internal work order/3rd party order). Below it, there are three Task Items: Fertilization, Harvesting, and Seeding, signifying levels for scheduling and resource assignment. Under the Task Item Seeding, there are two Task Item Operations: Pre-Seeding Ploughing and Seed Drilling. A note on the right mentions that some machines can perform multiple operations simultaneously, for example, ploughing and seeding.

Resources

Resources are important aspects of task planning and execution. Using the Resource Service API, you can create and maintain resources, add specifications, and check the availability of resources.

There are important attributes to consider when creating resources:

Crops of Resources: Crop assignment to a resource indicates that the resource can operate on one or multiple specific crops. This information will support the choice of suitable resources during the availability check. If you leave the crop configuration empty, that means that the resource can operate on any crop.
Resource Types: Used to classify different types of resources such as Worker (for example, agronomist, driver, and so on), Machinery (tractor, sprayer, and so on), or Group. Additional resource types can be set up to support organizational needs.
Resource Groups: A collection of resources that usually work together (for example, a tractor, a harvester, and a farm worker). Grouping resources can facilitate the assignment of multiple resources to a task and support availability check for the whole group.
Resource Capabilities: A resource can have one or more capabilities. To define the capabilities of a resource, you should specify which task types (for example, plowing, irrigating, and so on) the resource can do and indicate the performance of the resource using the Effective Field Capacity. This information will help you to support the choice of suitable resources and to run the availability check. Effective Field Capacity is defined as area over time with two values and two units of measure (for example, 15 hectares per 1 hour).
Resource Availability: Provides a list of all the resources that can perform a requested activity (task type and crop) and are available over a time range, allowing you to manage resources' availability more effectively to make the most of your farm resources. A resource must have a capability and an effective field capacity to be considered during the availability check.

The image contains three icons with labels. The first icon, showing a tractor, is labeled Manage Resources. The second icon, depicting a calendar, is labeled Check Resource Availability. The third icon, a clipboard with checkboxes, is labeled Tasks.

Manage Resources

Manage Resources

Check Resource Availability

Tasks

Resource:

Combine (type: Machinery)

Crop: Sugar Cane

Capability:

Task type: Cutting
Effective Field Capacity: 5 Hectare / 1 Hour

Query for resource that can do cutting for sugar cane and are available between certain dates…

The API will return a list of all available resources capable of performing the task types with the specified crop during the specified timeframe.

Capabilities must have an Effective Field Capacity maintained to be considered for Resource Availability.

Only tasks with Open and In Progress statuses are considered for the resource availability.

Task Scheduling and Task List Overview

In addition to the Farming cockpit mentioned later in this training, there are two other applications that can be used to view and manage tasks in SAP Intelligent Agriculture: Task Scheduling and Task List.

Task Scheduling App

You can use the Task Scheduling app to gain an overview of the various tasks over time and visualize them in different contexts, such as the field they are assigned to (Field View), the resource allocated to the task (Resource View), or as a simple list of tasks with the associated field (Task View).

Display of Tasks Statuses

Tasks in draft status will appear in the app highlighted in grey color if the start and end dates have been maintained. Otherwise, they will be marked as Unscheduled and will not be associated to a specific date schedule. If the Farm and Field attributes have not been maintained, the task will be marked as Unlocated and will be reflected in the schedule if the dates are entered.
Tasks in open status will appear in the app highlighted in the color orange.
Tasks with status in progress will show up in the schedule for specific dates highlighted in the color blue.
Tasks with status completed will appear in the app in the color green.
Tasks with status canceled will appear in the app highlighted in the color red.

As an example, for the Farm Manager the Task Scheduling app provides the functionality to plan and assign farming activities as tasks to all relevant fields of the farm. By switching views, the Farm Manager has an overview of all resources allocated to tasks and thus can easily manage the workload of the allocated resources.

SAP Task Scheduling interface with filters at the top for Search, Status, Task, Task Type, Farm, Assignee, Field, Start Date, and End Date. Below, the Task Scheduling table is displayed for the week of May 14, 2023, to May 20, 2023. The table is organized by fields: Field 1 (Sugar Cane Farm), Field 5 (Sugar Cane Farm), Field 7 (Sugar Cane Farm), Green Valley Field 1 (Green Valley Farm), and Unlocated Tasks. Tasks listed include Clean Tractor, Soil Preparation, Irrigation, Spray Growth Regulator, and Plowing. Dependencies are indicated for some tasks. A note clarifies that not all tasks are displayed and suggests enhancing filter options to find more tasks.

Based on the search criteria, the user will be able to see the tasks and their dependencies at a field level using the Field View. The tasks will show up according to the dates selected.

SAP Task Scheduling interface with filters at the top for Search, Task, Task Type, Farm, Field, Assignee, Start Date, End Date, and Status. Below, the Task Scheduling table is displayed for the week of August 25, 2024, to August 31, 2024. The table is organized by fields: Field 1 (Sugar Cane Farm), Field 7 (Sugar Cane Farm), Wheat Field 1 (Grain Farm), and Unlocated Tasks. Tasks listed include Irrigate Field 1 Victor, Copy of Plowing, My task without start and end date, Fertilize, and Plowing. Dependencies are indicated for some tasks. A note clarifies that not all tasks are displayed and suggests enhancing filter options to find more tasks.

The user can also see the fields and task dependencies at a task level using the Task View.

SAP Task Scheduling interface with filters at the top for Search, Task, Task Type, Farm, Field, Assignee, Start Date, End Date, and Status. Below, the Task Scheduling table is displayed for the week of August 25, 2024, to August 31, 2024. The table shows tasks such as Fertilize (status: Draft), Irrigate Field 1 Victor (status: Completed, assignee: Smith Victor), My task without start and end date (status: Open, assignee: Florian Waldner), Plowing (status: Draft, unscheduled, unlocated), and Spraying (status: In progress, assignee: Michael Scott). Dependencies and field locations are indicated for some tasks. A note clarifies that not all tasks are displayed and suggests enhancing filter options to find more tasks.

Finally, the user can also see the tasks at a Resource level using the Resource View.

SAP Task Scheduling interface with filters for Search, Task, Task Type, Farm, Field, Assignee, Start Date, End Date, and Status at the top. Below, the Task Scheduling table is shown for the period February 25, 2024, to March 9, 2024. Tasks are organized by resources: Farm Worker 1, Farm Worker 2, Irrigation Pump 0001, Seeder, and Sprayer 1. Tasks listed include Irrigate Field 1 Victor, Plowing, Picking, Prep for Organic Broccoli, Broccoli Planting, Broccoli Fertilization, and Plant Broccoli Field 3 with specific dates and field locations indicated. Dependencies are noted for some tasks. A note clarifies that not all tasks are displayed and suggests using filter options to find more tasks.

In all three views, the user can move the task schedule by selecting the task in the screen and moving it to another date using drag and drop. The dates associated to the task will move to the new schedule.

SAP Task Scheduling interface with filters for Search, Task, Task Type, Farm, Field, Assignee, Start Date, End Date, and Status at the top. Two screenshots are shown. The first screenshot displays the Task Scheduling table for Red Keep Field 3, Red Keep Farm, for the period February 25, 2024, to March 9, 2024. Tasks listed for this field include Prep for Organic Broccoli on February 26 (highlighted with a red box) and Plant Broccoli Field 3 on March 6. The second screenshot shows a similar view focusing on tasks for Red Keep Field 3. It displays Prep for Organic Broccoli from February 26 to March 5 (highlighted with a red box) and Plant Broccoli Field 3 on March 6. Both screenshots highlight that not all tasks are displayed and recommend enhancing filter options to find more tasks.

Task List App

You can use the Task List app, which is accessible from the home screen of SAP Intelligent Agriculture, to search, sort and display all the tasks available in detail. You can also create tasks and navigate to the tasks to edit them.

For an operator, as an example, the Task List app is the perfect tool to get a personalized overview on all duties to be done in a simple list view.

Various options are available to adapt the filters and the information displayed in the task list. Refer to Unit 4 (Navigation Process and Personalization Options) for the Personalization options.

SAP Task List interface with filters for Search, Task, Task Type, Farm, Field, Assignee, Start Date, End Date, and Status at the top. The tasks table below shows four tasks assigned to smith victor: 1. Broccoli Picking (Work Order: WO4000185), Task Type: Harvest, Field: Red Keep Field 3, Start Date: April 1, 2024, 12:00 AM, End Date: April 4, 2024, 5:00 PM, Duration: 4 days, Status: Completed. 2. Irrigate (Work Order: Sugar Cane 1), Task Type: Irrigate, Field: Field 2, Start Date: April 1, 2024, 6:00 AM, End Date: April 2, 2024, 6:00 AM, Duration: 2 days, Status: Open. 3. Soil Preparation Victor (Work Order: Sugar Cane 1), Task Type: Soil Preparation, Field: Field 2, Start Date: April 1, 2024, 6:00 AM, End Date: April 3, 2024, 6:00 AM, Duration: 2 days, Status: In Progress 4. Broccoli Picking (Work Order: WO4000185), Task Type: Harvest, Field: Red Keep Field 3, Start Date: April 1, 2024, 11:00 AM, End Date: April 3, 2024, 11:00 AM, Duration: 2 days, Status: Open.

Note

For more information, see the link to this documentation: Managing Tasks