Service Management and Joule have advanced their integration. After release of the first Joule case for service confirmations with OP2023 FPS3, the Joule release 04/25 now delivers first capabilities to manage service orders. We provide now a
- Fast navigation to a service order
- Search service orders
- Release a single service order
- Release a single service order item
Motivation and Scope
Joule is the central AI assistant provided by SAP. Joule enables users to execute tasks using fluent, easy-to-use language. The capabilities in Joule for managing service orders are a first basic step for a more simple, faster way to navigate, search and release single service orders and single service order items.
This is especially interesting for users like managers which are not very confident with the more detailed Manage Service Orders app in the Fiori Launchpad.
The capabilities for service orders are assigned to the role SAP_BR_SERVICE_MANAGER (Service Manager). The ODATA API for service orders which is called by Joule handles all authorizations as of now.
Starting Screen
The starting screen provides provides a button which opens up the Search Manage Order screen in the background.
Fast Navigation
Joule allows users to open service orders with simple prompts like ‘Display Service Order [Service Order ID]’. This feature displays essential details such as service order ID, description, and Sold-to-Party, with an ‘Open’ button for direct access.
If the button is chosen, the service order object page opens up directly.
Search Service Orders
Searching for service orders is now streamlined. Users can employ prompts like ‘Display service orders [search criterion] [value]’ to find orders based on criteria such as Posting Timeframe, Created By, and Changed At.
The currently supported search criteria are:
- Posting Timeframe
- Created By (System User)
- Created At
- Changed By (System User)
- Changed At
The search results are organized by the newest posting dates, enhancing efficiency. The button opens up the service order in the background as described in the navigational case.
The number of all displayed and existing service orders, e.g. 6/18 (6 out of 18 found) is displayed.
The five delivered search criteria—Posting Timeframe, Created by, Created at, Changed by, and Changed at—can be combined. But in the prompt currently a search criterion can be used only once.
A complex prompt example like ‘Display service orders created by VOLLMERMI and created at 11.05.2022 and changed by ZHANGBOWE1 and changed at 12.09.2022’.
The search with the criterion Posting Timeframe allows to search for a specific year, month or day.
Examples are posted last year, this year’, in 2022, current month, today, yesterday, etc.
Release of a Service Order
A prompt like ‘Release service order [service order ID]’ asks for confirmation to release this specific service order. If the user confirms, it checks first if the service order is already released.
If it is not released, Joule attempts to release this specific service order. After the execution, a feedback and the Open button for navigation is given. Below is an example of a successful release.
The example below shows an error case. The first error message of the transaction is displayed as feedback.
The example below shows a release of a service order which is already released. As can be seen, Joule checks this first and reacts accordingly.
Release of a Service Order Item
A prompt like ‘Release item [item number] of service order [service order ID].’ asks for confirmation to release this specific service order item. If the user confirms, it checks first if the service order item is already released.
If it is not released, Joule tries to release this specific service order item. After the execution, a feedback and the Open button for navigation is given. Below an example of a successful release is given.
The error case and an already released service order item are handled similar as with a service order release.
Capability Limitations
While Joule offers significant improvements, there are limitations, Currently there are the following limitations.
Direct Navigation:
Prompts like ‘Open up service order 800023831 directly’ are currently not supported. The provided open button must always be pressed. It is not possible to open up the service order object page via prompting only.
Search service orders:
Same criterion cannot be used multiple times. ‘Example: Search service orders created by VOLLMERMI and created by ZHANGBOWE1.’
Release of service orders and service order items:
Releasing multiple service orders in one prompt is currently not supported.
Releasing multiple service order items in one prompt is currently not supported
Release of service orders and service order items together in one prompt t is currently not supported.
Direct release without confirming the change. The current concept of Joule is that the user should get a summary of the change and has to confirm it before execution.
Joule is currently not able to differentiate between header and item errors. This means the release of a service order item is currently an error case as well if there is an error in the transaction on the header or another item.
Outlook
Future updates aim to expand search criteria. We also aim to add additional fields to the search result list. We are thinking as well about additional info sections to drill down for further information by another click. Last but not least additional status changes ands a create service order use case is looked upon.
Conclusion:
Joule is paving the way for a more intuitive and efficient service management experience. As SAP continues to refine and expand Joule's capabilities, users can look forward to even more streamlined processes. Your feedback is invaluable, so feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions.
Thank you for exploring the new features with us. We hope this makes your service management tasks a little easier and more enjoyable.
Last but not least if you liked this blog and found it helpful, I am happy to receive your kudos.
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