Special HCM Configuration Maintenance Considerations

Because the HCM module is designed differently than many of the other SAP modules, there are some things you need to be aware of regarding your configuration. It is important to note a couple cautions related to configuring an InfoSet in the HCM module:

It is important to create as few InfoSets as possible to eliminate redundancy. You should create a master InfoSet specific to each logical database that you will use. For example, many organizations have three main InfoSets for HCM reporting: one for each logical database depicted in Table 16.1. Each time you make a change to an InfoSet, you have to propagate the changes to all others. Having a master source for each is ideal.
Just because you can add tables to an existing InfoSet based on a logical database does not mean you should do so. For example, Chapter 17, "Special Considerations for HR and Payroll Reporting in the HCM Module," discusses data sources and how you can add extra tables. Unless you are trained in programming ABAP within the HCM module and have a firmly established understanding of the hierarchy of relational data within the HCM database, plus a distinct understanding of the effective dating relationships, you should not add tables to an existing InfoSet.
You should not place fields in field groups other than those for their infotypes. For example, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, field groups are already created for HCM reporting, with fields already in them. You should not move the fields into other field groups. For example, you should not move the Last Name field from Field Group 0002: Personal Data to Field Group 0008: Basic Pay, because doing so would confuse the indexing of the database engine that is annexing the report data for retrieval and presentation.

Adding Infotypes to an InfoSet

After you create an InfoSet, you can return to it at any time to add infotypes. To do so, you follow these steps:

Navigate to the InfoSet: Initial screen by using the transaction code /nSQ02.

Ensure that you are in the appropriate query area by selecting Environment, Query Areas and selecting Standard Area. (Best practice dictates that you maintain query areas in the standard area.)

Type in the InfoSet name you will be creating (for example, ZTEST_HR) and click the Change button. Your InfoSet should look similar to the one shown earlier, in Figure 16.4.

Select Edit, Change Infotype Selection. A dialog box like the one shown during the InfoSet creation process (refer to Figure 16.3) appears, listing all the infotypes.

In the Infotype Selection dialog, use the small arrows to the left of each infotype category to see a list of all the infotypes included in each. Then select the small box to the right of each infotype that you want to be available within your data source.

Click the green check mark Continue button to return to the main screen of the InfoSet, which should now include your added infotype(s) in the Field Group list on the top-right side of the screen.

By default, these field groups are prepopulated with the most popular fields from each of the infotypes. Ensure that the fields you want are included in the new field groups on the top-right side of the screen. Keep in mind that only the fields you include in your field groups will be available for field selection in your query reporting tools that use this InfoSet as their data source.

Click the Save button on the toolbar. A message appears in the status bar, saying that the InfoSet was saved.

10.

Generate the InfoSet by clicking the Generate (red beach ball) button on the Application toolbar. A message appears in the status bar, saying that the InfoSet was generated.

Adding Custom Infotypes to an InfoSet

As just mentioned, after an InfoSet is created, you may return to it at any time to add infotypes. SAP provides infotypes that can be activated for custom company-specific use. These Personnel Administration infotypes are in the 9000 namespace. Adding these infotypes to an existing InfoSet based on a logical database is easy. You add them by using the process just detailed, although the infotypes will likely be listed at the bottom of the group in the dialog box labeled Further Infotypes.

Reporting on Data from Two Modules in the Same Query

To report based on any data from the Personnel Development module, you must perform evaluations according to your company's organizational structure. In other words, the Personnel Development submodule of the SAP HCM module evaluates objects in a hierarchy. So, unlike with basic reporting using the PnP Personnel Administration submodule logical database, you need to define a report based on a hierarchical structure. To be able to create an SAP query that contains data from infotypes within SAP's Personnel Administration submodule plus data from the Personnel Development submodule, you need to evaluate persons, not objects. You need to be able to include only data that functionally can be reported along a hierarchical line. Being able to report on data from the Personnel Development and Personnel Administration submodules within a single query-based report is one of the most popular challenges for users creating reports in the SAP HCM module, regardless of the tool used. With regard to query-based reporting, SAP describes two possible solutions, as described in the following sections.

Using an InfoSet Based on the PnP Logical Database

The logical database PnP enables you to access HR master data infotypes from the Personnel Administration submodule of HCM. Specifically, it includes infotypes 00000999 and 20002999, payroll result and custom 9000-series infotypes, and infotypes for personnel planning objects that can be related to persons. In other words, you can report on data from the Personnel Development submodule of HCM that is traditionally stored in the PcH logical database within your InfoSet based on the PnP logical database only if that data is related to a person. From a technical perspective, this means you can use the logical database PnP to report on all the infotypes that exist for objects (Infotype 1000) that have a direct relationship (Infotype 1001) with the Person object.

For example, if you wanted to use an InfoSet based on logical database PnP to include Personnel Development data such as a list of organizational units and the default cost centers associated with each, you couldn't, because none of the fields mentioned (organizational unit or cost center) includes the Person object. They do not tie back to a person, so trying to use an InfoSet based on PnP with additional fields from PcH for this scenario would be unsuccessful.

However, you could create an InfoSet using PnP and include fields from PcH if you were running a report to evaluate the costs, number of attendees booked, and instructor for a business event on which an employee is booked. In this scenario, you have data that is related to a person, so it would work.

You activate the Personnel Development infotypes from within an InfoSet based on logical database PnP by using the same method outlined earlier in this chapter, in the section "Adding Infotypes to an InfoSet." The Personnel Development infotypes are listed at the very bottom of the list of infotypes in the Infotype Selection dialog box (refer to Figure 16.2).

Using an InfoSet Based on the PcH Logical Database

The preceding section discussed creating an InfoSet based on logical database PnP from the Personnel Administration submodule of HCM and then adding to it fields from the PcH logical database to include fields from the Personnel Development submodule of HCM. Now let's think about the opposite: creating an InfoSet based on logical database PcH and then adding fields from the PnP logical database.

The inclusion of the Personnel Administration infotypes in the PcH logical database was not in place until SAP version 4.0. You activate the Personnel Administration infotypes from within an InfoSet based on logical database PcH by using the same method outlined in the section "Adding Infotypes to an InfoSet." The Personnel Administration infotypes are listed at the very bottom of the list of infotypes in the Infotype Selection dialog box.

Now here is the difficult part: When you create a report that is based on an InfoSet that was built using logical database PcH but that includes fields from the Personnel Administration submodule, you are presented with a traditional Personnel Development-based selection screen. Traditional Personnel Development selection screens work differently than almost all other selection screens in that they are object-based. They require you to specify an object type (because Personnel Development is based on objects such as organizational units, positions, and so on) and enter an evaluation path to execute a report. An evaluation path represents the hierarchical relationship between objects (for example, path O-S-P represents the relationships between organizational units, positions, and persons). When you select persons and infotype records, the conditions of the underlying logical database apply. The time period selection refers only to the validity period of the infotype records. If the beginning or end of the validity period falls within the selected period, the length of the validity period is given when you output the data. Otherwise, the time interval of the selection is displayed.

In other words, you have to be savvy about what you are trying to report. In Personnel Development object-based reporting, you are evaluating an object, such as an organizational unit. You can run a report of all associates and their race and gender based on the organizational units. The report will list each organizational unit and then the Personnel Administration information under each.

Helpful Hint

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to use evaluation paths in SAP Personnel Development reporting at http://sap.help.com, in the library under Evaluations According to a Company's Organizational Structure.