The purpose of writing blog on FI validation and Substitution is to share my experience how I SAP is enhancing itself. During my initial years of programming whenever I use to get some new enhancement be implemented in FI some fields need to be validated, some values to be substituted and so on. I use to get so much worried that how can it be done.
I was lucky that most of the problems were resolved by implementing some USER EXIT or so. So I learned at least how to find a USER EXIT and implement it in CMOD. But you know all problems cannot be solved by USER EXIT only so got to move to the next step like start learning what a BADI is and how to find and implement it. It was a good learning experience. I thought now I know everything related to enhancement. But my thinking was wrong. “SAP is a huge ocean in which the more you drown the more you get addicted to it and more interesting it becomes.”
All of a sudden one of the requirements came where I don’t have a BADI/USER EXIT for the same. I guess SAP wanted me drown a little more. I learnt about IMPLICIT/EXPLICIT enhancements and I was so much surprised to learn that how flexible SAP is becoming day by day. To tell you frankly I love implicit enhancement so much that I started using them on priority. A word of caution is they are very dangerous but yeah finding the location of implicit enhancement and debugging the whole transaction gives you so much insight and make you learn so many things of what type of code shall we write.
Searching for Implicit enhancements developed my debugging skills the way SAP standard programs are structured and understanding them. Believe me if you have debugged good number of SAP standard program you will realize how smart, intelligent SAP is. Every program is structured in such a way that you can co-relate them and can find your next implicit enhancement very easily. Hats off to SAP.
So I was good in enhancements but in one of my projects, one of my functional FI consultants told me about validation and substitution I was like what..? The moment I came to know about it my approach took a U turn I was like it’s good that I have learnt so many things but why to waste time searching for FI enhancements why don’t we go for validations/substitutions. Believe me from my last 2-3 projects any validation/substitution related to FI my first solution is implement it don’t search for BADI/Enhancements etc. They are so flexible and they have reduced the effort of development with a good fool proof solution. We even implemented it in case of PO invoices also as some accounting related data was to be validated. In case of Project Systems also we have substitution and validations which are also good.
Few months back I learn about the switch framework the concept of activating business functions and all. It is also pretty good. I feel this framework as switch of fan whenever you want it on you can switch it on and whenever you want off you can switch it off. SAP is just evolving like anything. It’s very difficult to keep pace with SAP but yeah SDN is a great source to stay up to date. It’s a time to end the blog but while writing some questions came in my mind for which I don’t have any answer it will be good if someone can throw some light on them.
Open Questions still wondering in my mind with no answer
I am wondering why cannot SAP introduce validation and substitution in every modules it will increase the development efforts drastically.
Why don’t we have much enhancement options with master data creation for example Cost centre, Profit centre etc.
