Understanding Modeling and

Structure of Process Chain

Applies to:
SAP R/3, SAP ECC 6.0 and SAP BI NetWeaver 2004s. For more information, visit the EDW homepage.

Summary
This article gives the idea about Architecture and structure of Process Chain and different features available
in Process Chain to analysis in different scenarios.
Author: Vipin A
Company: Cognizant Technology Pvt. Ltd
Created on: 27 September 2011

Author Bio
Vipin is currently working with Cognizant as BW Senior Consultant. He has more than 4 years of experience
in BW and 2 years of experience in ABAP

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Important Concepts in Process Chain: ........................................................................................................... 4
Terminologies in Process chain: ..................................................................................................................... 4
Structure and Flow of Process Chain: ................................................................................................................ 5
Execution of Process Chain follows: ............................................................................................................... 5
Runtime sequence Diagram: .......................................................................................................................... 5
Questions for Process Chain: ............................................................................................................................. 6
Technical aspects of Process Chain .................................................................................................................. 7
General Functionality ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Process Types .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Collector Process: ......................................................................................................................................... 14
Job Notification ................................................................................................................................................. 15
Related Content ................................................................................................................................................ 18
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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Introduction
A Process chain is a sequence of processes that wait in the background for an event.
Some of these processes trigger a separate event that can start processes in turn.
A normal Process chain activities look like:

We can achieve following objects by Process chain:

A) Automate BW activities by the principle of event controlled processing
B) Graphical Modeling and monitoring in one cockpit
C) Central monitoring of BW Process
D) High Termination security
E) Handle event based in a linear fashion
F) Openness

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Important Concepts in Process Chain:

1) Start Process:
This provides the scheduling options of Process chain. Each Start process can be linked with only
One Process chain and each Process chain can contain only one Start process
2) Application Process:
They are actual processes that are automated. They can be any BW activities, an ABAP Program,
an OS command or even another Process chain.
3) Collector Process:
The collection process are necessary when you want to schedule process in parallel and the
scheduling of the successor processes are based on the outcome of the successor parallel
processes.
The collection processes are AND (Last), OR (Every), EXOR (First).

Terminologies in Process chain:

A) Process Type:
These are the processes that are included in the Process chain framework like load process, ABAP,
rollup etc.
Main table for Process type is RSPROCESSTYPES. It captures various Process types, their
properties and the Implementation object details
B) Process variant:
It is the name of the process type with respect to the Process chain context. It is the definition of a
process type at design tiem
C) Process Instance:
It is the run time object of the process. It is necessary for the communication with the framework and
also the successor processes. It also contains the runtime logs.
D) LogID: It is the runtime instance of the chain.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Structure and Flow of Process Chain:

Execution of Process Chain follows:
A) Get the variant and predecessor list
B) Instantiate process object
C) Ask predecessors fro information
D) Execution of the defined process
E) Report ending the status and Instance

Runtime sequence Diagram:

Processes are executed one after another depending on success or failures of predecessors.
Every process types is basically a set of interfaces. There are a number of interfaces that are implemented
for each process type.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Questions for Process Chain:

A) What are the different Processes?
We need to collect all processes that have to run, so that end user can get proper values. Some
processes are:
i) Data Loading processes
ii) Administration processes
iii) Reporting Agent processes
B) When to run Process Chain?
When business having requirement on Data availability.
C) How to run Process Chain?
i) Define whether one or several predecessor processes have to run before a single process
can start
ii) Define whether a single process has to run when the process chain is executed or whether
failures can be (temporarily) accepted
D) What will be the frequency for Process Chain?
It can be hours, daily, weekly, monthly etc. It all depends upon the business Requirements’.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Technical aspects of Process Chain

General Functionality
There are 3 Transaction for Process chain: RSPC/RSPC1/RSPCM

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Detail View for Process Chain:

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

In additional information we can find Technical Info package and name of Data Target etc.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Process Types

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

There are some new features in Process chain in 7.0

i) Decision Between Multiple Alternatives
Once you put all conditions in the process type, then when you connect a link between decision
process type to the next process, it will asks on what condition you need to proceed to next
process type.
You can find the process type in "General Services".
ii) Data Transfer Process
This process is used for automatically load data into an Info provider. It is just like an info
package.
You can find the process type in "Load process and post-processing".
iii) Close Request of InfoPackage (RDA/Push)
With this process type, you can close an open PSA request for a Web service DataSource or a
DataSource for real-time data acquisition in an SAP source system before the entry value is
reached.
You can find the process type in "Load process and post-processing".
iv) Archive Data from an InfoProvider
This process type is used to automate the Archiving data from info provider.
You can find the process type in "Data Target Administration".
v) Deletion of Requests from the Change Log
This process is used for deleting data from the change log of a DataStore object is which are no
longer needed for the delta update.
You can find the process type in "Other BW Processes".
vi) Switch Realtime InfoCube to Plan Mode / Switch Realtime InfoCube to Load Mode
This both process types are used to automate the process of converting real time Infocube to
plan mode or load mode.
You can find the process types in "Other BW Processes".
vii) Display mode:

Default view is always DISPLAY mode. There is NO locking issue in Process chain.
One user can change and other user is just displaying it.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Copy of Process chain:

vii) Client Dependent Process chain

Assignment of Process chain for particular Client.

Scenario: client-dependent applications that incorporate SAP NetWeaver BI (e.g. SAP SCM) 
process chain can only be seen in the specified client

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

viii) New Authorization Objects:

There is a new authorization object on the process chain itself S_RS_PC which checks on the
sub objects:
 DEFINITION (Metadata) the activities display (03) and change (23)
 PROTOCOLS (Protocols) the activity deletion (06),
 RUNTIME (Execution) the activity execution (16).
ix) Background user

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

 Scenarios
 Special users for load balancing
 Be able to see in sm50 which user has scheduled a certain process chain
and is in charge of it
 Three options
 BWREMOTE (default)
 User actually scheduling the process chain
 Manually specified user

Collector Process:
They manage multiple predecessor processes that feed into the same subsequent process.
 AND: All of the processes that are direct predecessors must send an event in order for
subsequent processes to be executed
 OR: A least one predecessor process must send an event
The first predecessor process that sends an event triggers the subsequent process
Any additional predecessor processes that send an event will again trigger
subsequent process (Only if the chain is planned as “periodic”)
 EXOR: Exclusive “OR”
Similar to regular “OR”, but there is only ONE execution of the successor processes,
even if several predecessor processes raise an event
 Decision:
A more complex status of process flow for which flexible execution paths are
implemented is possible
Up to 99 different outcomes (plus one failure) possible
Formula editor available
 Interrupt:
A chain or part of it shall not run except explicite conditions are met
Both conditions (of the chain and the Interrupt wait job) shall become true
Only if both are true, the chain will go beyond the Interrupt chain job

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Job Notification
When a chain gets started, its processes will be planned in batch
 as program RSPROCESS with type and variant given as parameters
 with job name BI_PROCESS_<TYPE>
 waiting for event, except the trigger
 The trigger is planned as specified in its variant, if “start via meta-chain” it is not planned to
batch
In table RSPROCESSTYPEST, we can find all details for Process Chain Jobs:

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

We can analyze jobs in SM37:

Above we can see status of job for our process Chain.

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Displaying all jobs for a particular Process Chain:

We can see all jobs running for particular Process Chain

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

Related Content

SAP HELP
Introduction to Process Chain

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 Understanding Modeling and Structure of Process Chain

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