Best Approach for Scheduled Trigger with User Credentials Input in SAP BPA

[NathanCHB]

Hello everyone,

I am working on an automation in SAP Business Process Automation (SAP BPA) that connects to SAP S/4HANA using client-specific credentials. Currently, I am using environment variables to store login details, but I would like to improve the process by allowing my client to enter their own credentials before execution.

Additionally, I want this automation to be scheduled to run daily. The challenge is ensuring that the client enters their credentials once, and then the automation continues to run daily using those credentials, while keeping the process secure and user-friendly.

My current setup:

• The automation connects to SAP S/4HANA using environment variables for credentials.
• I fill those environment variables when deploying my project
• I created a trigger to run my automation daily (from the control tower).
• I want to replace hardcoded credentials with a way for users to input their login details (e.g., via a form).

Questions:

1. What would be the best approach to allow users to input their credentials securely before execution?
2. Is there a way to prompt users via a form before the scheduled job runs?
3. Would creating a process with a form be a good alternative (if so, how would I make it so that it runs daily), or is there another recommended approach?

Any guidance or best practices would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[manish_09 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can use Windows Credential Manager for this.

• Create a generic credential in Credential Manager.
• Call that credential in BPA using the "Get Local Agent Credentials" activity.
• This credential can be updated using the "Set Local Agent Credentials" activity. For this, you can create a form trigger process that the user will trigger to update the credential on your VM/local machine where the unattended agent is running.
• To notify the user, you can create a simple automation scheduled to run at the start of the day. This automation can send an email containing a form link in the body using the "Send Email" activity.

Regards,

Manish

[NathanCHB · Accepted solution]

This solution is actually very viable, since the user can change the credential as he wishes without interrupting the flow. Thank you Manish !

[Sankara1]

Hello Manish,

To add a scheduled trigger, you must have the ProcessAutomationAdmin and ProcessAutomationDeveloper roles assigned. For more information, see Authorizations

Procedure

1. Create a Scheduled Trigger:

   • In the process editor, choose Add a Trigger and then choose Scheduled Trigger.
   • Enter a name and if required a description. The identifier is prefilled, but you can change it.
   • Choose Create.
   • Choose Release. For more information, see Release a Project 
   • Choose Deploy. For more information, see Deploy a Project 

2. Activate and Configure the Trigger:

   • Activate and configure the trigger in the runtime environment. For more information, see Activate and Configure a Scheduled Trigger 

Additional Information

• Scheduled Trigger: With a scheduled trigger, the user does not need to start a process or an automation manually. The execution will be triggered based on the trigger configuration. For more information, see Scheduled Trigger 

User Credentials Input

For user-triggered actions, the user triggering the action in Process Workspace must have the ProcessAutomationParticipant role collection assigned. For more information, see Authorization Configuration