Approve Travel: POWL or UWL

[Former Member]

Dear Gurus,

I request  you to kindly advise on following scenerios.

We are implementing standard Travel management.

For approval of trips, we intended to use POWL, but it does not support multi level approval. The only other option to use is UWL.

Now for this purpose technical team is in process to create new custom workflows.

My questions are following:

1. for multi level approvals, is there a way we  can use POWL. but if workflows is the solution, then workitem should not come in both POWL and UWL

2. if we go for UWL, I dont see any standard WDA application provided to approve. So which option is better: the ABAP GUI screen that opens with approve and reject buttons OR we should create a custom WDA application solely for approval purpose?

Thanks

Ankur

[Former Member]

Hello Ankur,

POWL approvals works only on trip status. So no multi level approvals possible.

No Nr. 2 Approval GUI depends on your possibilties in the organization. If the approver already have SAP GUI installed and are using this environment I would take it also for travel.

If not I'm not sure if this is an easy task to build a UWL. Might be somebody here can give some experience of this....

Best regards,

Sigi

[Former Member]

Thanks for Taking time to reply...

1. point 1 , request more info from other esteemed members if any case exist to implement this.  how about Z.

2. GUI installation is not necessary. Webgui opens with approve and reject buttons currently.

But q is, is it a good idea to develop WDA application for :

a.better look and feel and secondly for

b. email approve links (WDA will open in portal using parameter forwarding), else now it opens direct ECC webgui. clearly this will fail if in future portal goes to internet.

Attached Image for UWL approval

Ankur

[Lukas_Weigelt]

Hi Ankur,

I can only agree with Sigi and elaborate a bit further.

The POWL based approval works with means of a User based Personalization which controls which data (trips) is polled for that particular user. It's nothing more than a query on certain trips which then allows for manipulation of the trip status, i.e. POWL Personalization --> Query --> List of Trips --> ONE decision per trip. Concerning "if we use UWL workitem should not come to POWL" this statement doesn't make any sense, because POWL has nothing to do with Workflow and there is no reason to use POWL and UWL simultaneously. In my opinion, if you have a complex flow of process (functional wise) with multi level approval etc. Go for the Workflow, not for POWL.

For the Workflow based Approval process, there is no WDA solution in standard. You can either work with SAPGui and Business Workplace or, like you apparently do, use a Portal with the WDJ based Universal Worklist.

I don't understand what you mean with "ABAP GUI" and "ECC Webgui" can you elaborate? I mean your approver has an Inbox (the UWL) in his Portal, gets a list of his workitems which he can approve or reject in standard (as you also showed in your screenshot) and that's it. There's nothing more to it.

Cheers, Lukas

[Former Member]

Hi Lukas,

Many thanks!

1. Point taken, that since we have multi level approval in requirements, POWL wont help and so we have to go for UWL.

2. Yes we have to use UWL now, which is WDJ based. But when user clicks on any workitem, we cant configure any WDA or WDA application that is provided as standard(not provided). Right now, a GUI screen opens (screenshot attached in previous message).

I was wondering if we continue to use the same, or make a new WDJ/ WDA application to open when user clicks on workitem?

this will help in 2 ways

a. better and consistent look and feel.

b. help in another requirement, where approval links are sent to manager email. Right now, it opens ECC screen that does not look like a good solution

if we make a new WDA application and configure it to portal, this will open and a portal link be sent to managers to approve.

ANkur