Outlook integration for SAP UWL

Universal Worklist (UWL) is a software component, which is extensively used in SAP Portal and SAP Business Client solutions, replacing old SAP Business Workplace. From end-user point of view, it is a central place for gathering cross-system tasks and notifications. Lets review basic UWL functionality on example of HR Self-Services Lever Request process.

Figure 1 - UWL view for manager in SAP Portal

Leave Request is a process, which allows employee applying for or informing about an absence, such as sickness, vacation, etc. Usually employee’s application is due to approval by responsible person, e.g. direct manager. An approval task is created for the responsible person, when employee sends a leave request. The process flow is managed by SAP Business Workflow, which creates tasks (also called work items) and sends them to corresponding receivers.

Figure 2 - Simple leave request process with successful approval

Therefore, manager has an obligation to check UWL for employee’s requests, so they will be timely processed.
Despite SAP goal to make their solution a single cockpit, Microsoft Office is an industry standard de-facto. Often business processes and actions, such as communication, meetings, reservations, and task follow-ups, are handled in an integrated solution, represented by software components Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Outlook. This situation results in an additional time management load on approvers, who needs to incorporate UWL checking in their daily task list.
Receiving tasks directly to Microsoft Outlook will be beneficial. This can be possible by interfacing SAP Workflow via e.g. Microsoft SharePoint API. SAP Workflow tasks can incorporate links to SAP-specific actions and applications. Outlook tasks is a suitable place for placing a user presentation of SAP Workflow items.
There are products on market, which allow integration between SAP and Microsoft solutions (for example, Duet, Objectwin, Winshuttle). They offer complex and versatile solutions for carrying integration projects. However, these products are not based on specific business cases, and therefore requires extensive planning and implementation projects, which will align raw integration to serve business needs. A small and fast-forward solution could be beneficial for customers with small maintenance time frames or limited budgets.

Figure 3 - Integration diagram

A prototype implementation of integration for receiving SAP Workflow items in Microsoft Outlook task list is created, utilizing web-service interface in SAP Web AS and Microsoft SharePoint API. This prototype is planned to be enhanced to a simple packaged solution, which could be a basis for customized implementation projects. The design of the product targets rapid deployment on customer infrastructure with low-cost and fast customizing for customer needs.
Video demonstration of the prototype functionality is coming soon.

Oleksandr Shevchenko
Senior SAP consultant