9.1 Workflow Configuration, Participants, Dynamic Roles, and Dynamic Groups

9.1 Workflow Configuration, Participants, Dynamic Roles, and Dynamic Groups

Quick Answer: A workflow is a Workflow Configuration record, an XML-based foundation object maintained in Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures. It defines approver steps, contributors, and CC roles. Approvers can be a role such as Manager or Manager's Manager, a dynamic role, a dynamic group, or position-based relationships. A workflow derivation rule decides which workflow a transaction uses (Section 9.5).

Why Workflows Matter

Self-service puts data changes in the hands of employees and managers. Workflows let HR Operations review and approve those changes. When an employee or manager submits a change, a workflow is typically activated. Workflows are built during implementation, and administrators make sure they complete and manage the participants. SAP advises adding enough approvers to meet the business requirement without making the process take too long.

The Workflow Configuration Object

Workflow is an XML-based foundation object, generally categorized as Others. Like other legacy FOs, its records are managed in Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures. A record has an ID, a name, approver steps, and optional contributors and CC roles. THR81's example is an Address Change workflow with one approver step (the dynamic group Talent Approval) and two external e-mail addresses copied when the request completes.

Optional workflow fields are enabled in the Corporate Data Model under the wfConfig element (Section 9.2):

• Remind in Days (remind-indays)
• Is Delegate Supported (is-delegate-supported)
• Escalation (escalation)
• Days until Auto Approval (autoApproveInDays, under wfStepApprover)

Enable each with visibility "both", then import the model from Admin Center or Provisioning.

Participant Types

Approver Types

A step's approver can be:

• a Role relative to the subject, such as Manager or Manager Manager, with a Context (for example Target)
• a Dynamic Role
• a Dynamic Group
• in Position Management, a Position Relationship (Section 12.4)

Dynamic Roles

A dynamic role assigns users or groups as approvers based on the subject user's job information. Example: Janet James approves transactions with the Promotion event reason for employees in Corporate Industries. If Carla Grant promotes Marcus within Corporate Industries using that reason, the approval goes to Janet. Dynamic role records are created in Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures.

Dynamic Groups

A dynamic group used as an approver sends the request to all members, but only one member is expected to act. Dynamic groups use the same interface as RBP groups but are managed in Manage Workflow Groups. For example, THR81 creates a group HR for anyone with "HR" in the job code, updates membership, and confirms a member (Alex Anderson). Members can claim a request with Assign to me (Section 9.2).

The Four-Eyes Principle

Enable Enforce Four-Eyes Principle On Workflow Step Approval in Platform Feature Settings so that the initiator cannot approve workflows that use dynamic groups and dynamic roles. The logic is person-based: employees cannot approve requests they initiated, whichever of their employments was used to submit or approve.

Approver Skip

The system can skip the same single approver in consecutive steps. All successive steps with the same single approver are skipped except the last one. Steps with several approvers are never skipped, even if one of them repeats. Skipped steps show on the Workflow Details page and in its Activity area. The option is enabled in Company System and Logo Settings.

Approver Replacement

Approver replacement keeps the subject user of a workflow from being a step approver. The system assigns the manager of that approver's employment instead. It is person-based and also covers contributor and CC roles, and delegation, so the subject user cannot be a delegatee. It does not apply to approvers added or updated in Manage Workflow Requests, workflows for the Position MDF object, escalated workflows, or workflows whose escalation or delegation was revoked.

Workflow Notifications

Standard workflow e-mail templates are in E-Mail Notification Template Settings. They can be modified but not disabled, and they cannot be customized per participant. Use Document Generation for fully customized notifications (Section 3.3).

Worked Example: Customizing the Hire Workflow

1. Export the Corporate Data Model and enable Remind in Days, Is Delegate Supported, Escalation, and Days until Auto Approval (visibility "both"). Import it back.
2. In Manage Workflow Groups, create the dynamic group HR (job code contains "HR").
3. In Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures, open Workflow Configuration > Hire (New or Rehire) (HIRE), choose Take Action > Make Correction, and set:
   • Is Delegate Supported: Yes
   • Step 1: Dynamic Group HR
   • Step 2: Role Manager, Context Target
   • Step 3: Role Manager Manager, Context Target
4. In BCUI, check that jobInfo's WF_Hire rule already sets wfConfig to Hire (New or Rehire).
5. Hire a test employee, choose Show Workflow Participants to confirm the three steps, submit, and approve by proxy.