SAP Business Workflow - Business Object

Business Object in SAP Business Workflow is defined as a collection of methods or events for an entity in business process. Few common Business Objects in SAP system include: Customer, Material, and Vendor. With the use of Business Objects, all services are provided in the form of executable methods.

An object in the Workflow represents a Business entity in SAP system. Common entity example includes: Purchase Order, Material, Vendor, etc.

An Object in SAP system performs the following functions −

• A Business Object reduces the complexity of SAP system by dividing it in small units.

• With the use of Business Objects, different components in SAP system can communicate with each other.

• Business Objects can be used in RFCs and Workflows.

• With the use of BAPI’s and Business Objects, SAP system can communicate with non-SAP system.

Components of Business Object in SAP System

Each Business Object in SAP system contains the following five components −

• Key Fields

  • Specification of a unique object key - to access a specific instance of a BO

  • Key field is represented as a combination of one or more fields

  • Shows a reference to underlying application table

  • Character based

  • You can read a Business Object from other non-SAP system

  • You can’t change a Business Object from outside

  • Maximum length of concatenated key field can be 70 characters

• Attribute

  • Two types of attributes - Virtual (Set by a BO program) and DB Field (Loaded by database)

  • An attribute can be read from out of SAP system but it can’t be changed

  • An attribute of a BO shows properties and characteristics of the object

  • An attribute can be shown as one line or multi-line

  • You can have an attribute which is instance independent or instance dependent

• Events

  • Events contain listener outside the BO like SAP Workflow

  • It is used to trigger or terminate a SAP Workflow

  • It also shows change in occurrence of a Business Object

• Methods

  • Method can be of two types - synchronous (result is returned to calling program) and asynchronous (result can be returned to calling program using an event)

  • Method can be instance dependent or instance independent

  • Method consists of exceptions and parameters such as single/multiline, optional/mandatory, etc.

• Interface Types

  • A Business Object in SAP system can inherit one or more interfaces

  • You can have methods defined in an interface that can be redefined in Business Object type in the Workflow

Status of Business Object Component

A BO in development can have different development statuses −

• Modeled − This status shows a BO as only defined - i.e. method and its signature

• Implemented − This status shows that ABAP implementation is done and you can use BO for testing purposes

• Released − This shows that the method is ready to use

• Obsolete − This shows that the method/event shouldn’t be used anymore

Create a Business Object

Step 1 − To create a Business Object, use the Business Object Builder (T-Code − SWO1). The following screenshot pops up.

Step 2 − Click Create. The following window opens. Define the object Supertype.

Step 3 − Fill in all the other details. Select the application from the search list as shown in the following screenshot.

Step 4 − Next, save the package. Save package in “Z” package as shown in the following screenshot.

Step 5 − To change the release status of object type, go to Edit → Change Release Status → Object Type → To Implemented.

Step 6 − Click the Object type and go to Edit. Again to change the release status, go to Change Release Status → Object Type → To released.

Step 7 − In the following window, click Methods → Create button. A pop-up will open, select 'No'. Pass the method name and description as in the following screenshot and click the Tick button.

Step 8 − Now, select the method created. Go to Edit → Change Release Status. Here, first implement the object type component and then release it.

Step 9 − Note that a tick mark in front of the method and BO shows that it is created successfully. Add parameters to the method by clicking the Create button.

Step 10 − Navigate to “Program” tab for adding code to the method as shown in the following screenshot. Click the Save button to save a created object.

Delegate a Business Object

You can also delegate this object to its subtype. Delegation is used to replace an original Business Object by its subtype to which you can add additional events/methods.

To delegate a Business Object, navigate to SWO1 T-code. Setting → Delegate as shown in the following screenshot.