Working with the new My Timesheet App Version 4 (F3074A) and tasks time-reporting in PPM Projects

[AbdulRahman77]

The new Fiori App "My Timesheet" offers a comprehensive alternative to the popular CAT2 transaction. In this Blog Entry I will show how the new APP, My Timesheet (S/4HANA Version 4) Overview, can be used in an integrative way to report time related to Tasks in PPM Projects.

Before we dive into the use case, I will present some highlights of the new App.

Upon opening the App we land in the main “Time Sheet” screen. Here one is presented with the time recordings for the week, if none were made for this week (like in the screenshot above), (1) three links on the bottom of the page are available that enable the user to either add a time entry, make a quick entry, or simply copy the entries from last week. The user can freely switch between two views (2) a vertical one, which is the default one, and a horizontal one which mimics the style of the CAT2 transaction. Unlike the transaction CAT2, where the user has to choose a profile before proceeding to a different page for recording their time, in the new app (3) the user is able to switch seemingly between all profiles as deemed necessary.

Multiple ways of providing a time entry can be put in use. By clicking on the Edit button (4) or, in the case where no entry has been made for the actual week, one can simply click on Add time Entry. From there the user has to choose one or more assignment for time entry. Another option is to have an administrator assign assignments to users and transfer them to the user with the help of a report. This method is further explained in SAP Note 3444277.

There are 4 manual ways in using a time attribute in order to record time:

• Assignment and Assignment Group: Users can create favorites in the form of assignments and assignment groups during time recording. Assignment info (Attribute hyperlink provided with assignment name) will display details of the time entry. A Group is simply a collection of single Assignments. The assignments are created either by the user themselves or by an admin that allocates assignments to the respective user.
• Worklist: depending on the Profile settings, a list of automatically generated Attributes are presented. These Attributes can represent for example Tasks in PPM that are assigned to the user.
• Form Entry: a new time attribute can be generated on-the-spot in relation to attributes such as “Activity Type”, “Receiver WBS Element”, and “Sender Cost Center”. This method can be useful for ad-hoc time entries where no assignments are available or accessible, or for a one-off time entry.

The last highlight goes deeper and into Customizing. Under the following path:

• Personnel Management

--> Roles and Self-Services (SAP Fiori)

--> Employee Self-Service (SAP Fiori)

--> Application-Specific Settings

--> My Timesheet

--> Enable or Disable Features

This highlight offers the functionality for admins to switch features on or off according to their requirements:

Settings for My Timesheet (Version 4) and Pre-requisites for PPM

As described in the online help of My Timesheet (Version 4) app, there are some prerequisite configurations required:

Data Entry Profile Creation:

In transaction CAC1, create a data entry profile. Select configurations in the profile as per requirement.

An important setting to pay attention to that relates to PPM Projects in the Data Entry Profiles in order to show Assignments from Projects to the user in the Worklist is checking the following box to enable the automatic transfer of entries into the Worklist:

Profile Fields Configuration:

In transaction CAC2, configure the Influencing Data Entry section for the profile you have created.

CVR Parameter Setup:

In transaction SU01, maintain CVR Parameter as the default Data Entry Profile that is to be used while recording time for your user.

Assign Personnel Number to User:

In transaction PA30, assign a personnel number to your SAP user by maintaining Communication Infotype value as IT0105 and Subtype as 0001.

Maintain Planned Working Time:

In transaction PA30, maintain the Planned Working Time for the personnel number in IT0007.

Assign the BP role BUP003 Employee to the users:

In transaction BP, ensure that the role BUP003 is maintained. This ensures the creation of a Business Partner (1) that can be used in PPM as a resource. This Business Partner is also an Employee (2) and an SAP User (3).

Time Recording for Projects in Portfolio and Project Management

Now to the use-case, we start by creating a Project in Project Management (PPM) and by choosing the right Project type that enables the automatic creation of a Project Systems (PS) Project with WBS Elements for the transfer of time recordings from the Timesheet App into PS and thus subsequently into PPM. The Project type settings must be set up in Customizing for Accounting Integration.

Once the PPM Project is created and Tasks are staffed, we release the Project and flag it for transfer. In our example the PS Project is created automatically along with the corresponding WBS Elements representing the tasks in the PPM Project. Time recording is supported for role- or task-based time recording and the PS Project assignment is created either manually or automatically in the accounting integration scenarios. In this use-case the option of automatic creation of PS Project (and thus WBS elements) according to PPM task-based time recording is used.

The Project is now created and flagged for transfer. Under the Accounting Tab in the PPM Project one can check for the automatic assignment of the Tasks with the corresponding WBS Elements that are now created along with a PS project automatically with a one-to-one relationship:

We proceed now to the Fiori App, My Timesheet (F3074A), in order to start with the time-recording activity. First, we switch our Profile to the preferred one, the one with Project assignments (see settings section above), after that, in the “Time Sheet” tab, we start our time entry by clicking on "Add Time Entry".

Since we have set up our Profile to show Project assignments, we will start by looking for our assignments through the Worklist that is automatically generated. To do so we open the Select Assignment search option by clicking on the double squares:

A window will pop-up and from there we switch to the "Worklist" Tab:

In the Worklist, all assignments allocated to the user are shown in the list. The name of the PPM Task is displayed, in this case the two tasks Material Procurement, Material Delivery, as well as the Receiver WBS elements respectively:

We choose the relevant assignment from the suggestions by clicking on it. A new window will open automatically, and the assignment (1) is directly copied to the “Time Sheet”.

By clicking on “Attributes” one can check the details/description of this Assignment (Task ID and WBS Element) (2), however, to permanently show the details of the Assignment as a text under each entry, the BADI: HRFIO_B_TSH_FUNCTIONAL with the Method: HRFIO_IF_TSH_FUNCTIONAL~GET_ATTRIBUTES_LIST can be used. This enhancement displays the description of the Attribute for each entry permanently below each of the Assignment Entry Fields.

We will proceed now by switching the View to the Horizontal Time Entry View (3).

This view might be a preferred one among users familiar with the CAT2 transaction. This view provides a weekly overview (1) to the entered Assignments and enables the direct entry of values throughout the whole week. From here one can simply add multiple assignments for the week and accordingly record the required time (2):

This might enable a better overview for the user and ensure that our required target hours (set in TA:PA30) are not exceeded.

In the case where the target hours are exceeded, a warning will pop-up to inform the user:

 I will now enter the time spent on this Task, a total of 11 hours, as follows:

After submitting the Entries, we want to transfer them into the Project Task (PPM). In order to do that we need to run the report DPR_CATS_CPR_TRANSF. This report can also be set up to run automatically. In this case we will run it manually:

Upon running the report, the hours recorded are transferred into the Task and made visible. Once all hours are recorded the Task can be closed/confirmed in the PPM Project. The confirmed time-recordings can also be transferred as actual costs in CO.

In order to display actual costs, we use the transaction: CJI3N. Other transactions are also available. 

As a conclusion, the updated Fiori App "My Timesheet" (Version 4) provides an alternative to the traditional CAT2 transaction for time reporting in PPM Projects. It offers a user-friendly interface with flexible views and multiple methods for time entry, making it easier for users to manage and record their time. Key configurations and settings ensure seamless integration with PPM Projects, allowing for automatic creation of project elements and efficient transfer of recorded hours. This enhances overall project management and cost tracking, streamlining the time-reporting process.

For additional resources regarding Configuration, setting up the app, or more information on the topic please refer to the following links:

• Link to the Fiori app Library
• Link to App Implementation and Configuration (SAP Help portal)
• Link to Data Entry Profile Settings Blog Entry
• Link to Information on Assignment and Assignment Group (SAP Note)
• Link to supported features in the data entry profile (SAP Note)
• Link to Relevant configuration in My Timesheet V4 (SAP Note)