BCS Blueprint

Question

Hi all,
Can anyone provide me BCS blueprint and design documents? My company is planning to implement BCS in near future, and we are working on the sandbox for different scenarios.
Best Regards,
Kaan

Answer 1

Dear BCS Gurus..
I am currently on the BCS blue printing and requirement gathering project ,need some real good tips or links or documents which talks abt these phase and the important points to know...
thanks
Moini..
   Re: BCS - Modelling requirements   
Posted: Feb 24, 2007 4:49 PM    in response to: moini kembly       Reply      E-mail this post 
Basics of BCS modelling -
Key figures -
You are generally not permitted to change any properties of the key figures used in SEM-BCS. The only exceptions to this are options that affect the display in Business Explorer and the "Characteristic is document property" setting.
If you want to use your own InfoObjects as key figures for totals records in the InfoCube, consider the following conditions:
1. SEM-BCS supports four roles for key figures in the data stream for totals records: Value in group currency, value in local currency, in transaction currency and quantity. You can assign a maximum of four key figures in the data basis accordingly. If you include additional key figures in the InfoCube, these cannot be processed in the consolidation. You are not permitted to assign other roles, such as 'subassignment,' to key figures either.
2. In SEM-BCS, the values are always stored periodically in the database. Furthermore, year-to-date values or non-cumulative values are not managed separately but result from cumulation in each case over the periods of the current fiscal year up to the current period. (This is a purely technical restriction. The consolidation functions greatly support the process with year-to-date values.) Therefore, you must define InfoObjects as cumulative values. Proceed according to the 0CS_TRN_GC, 0CS_TRN_LC, 0CS_TRN_TC, 0QUANTITY InfoObjects that are delivered.
3. You cannot use referencing key figures in SEM-BCS. If you want to define a key figure with a reference, to transfer the technical properties of the referenced InfoObject identically, you can simply create this with a template instead. However, if you want to use the special BW function linked with referencing key figures (see the online documentation in the BW), enter the referencing key figures in the InfoCube, but assign the referenced key figures to the data basis.
Characteristics
With the following characteristics, you are not permitted to make changes to the properties. Once again, the only exceptions here are the options that affect the display in Business Explorer:
0AC_DOCLN, 0AC_DOCNR, 0AC_DOCTEXT, 0AC_IVDOCNR, 0AC_IVPER, 0AC_IVYEAR, 0AC_OIDOCNR, 0AC_OIPER, 0AC_OIYEAR, 0AC_ORDOCNR, 0AC_ORPER, 0AC_ORYEAR, 0AC_RVDOCNR, 0AC_RVPER, 0AC_RVYEAR, 0BCS_AREA, 0BCS_AUTODL, 0BCS_BGPER, 0BCS_BGYEAR, 0BCS_COIACT, 0BCS_COIFUT, 0BCS_COIINA, 0BCS_COINRT, 0BCS_COIPGW, 0BCS_COITOA, 0BCS_CTFLG, 0BCS_DPER, 0BCS_DTEQI, 0BCS_GWLC, 0BCS_GWMAN, 0BCS_GWNEG, 0BCS_GWPROC, 0BCS_LCCMU, 0BCS_LCIC, 0BCS_OBJNR1, 0BCS_OBJNR2, 0BCS_OBJNR3, 0BCS_OBJNR4, 0BCS_OBJNR5, 0BCS_OBJNR6, 0BCS_OBJNR7, 0BCS_OBJNR8, 0BCS_ORGCH, 0BCS_ORGCHL, 0BCS_PRGRP, 0BCS_REFPER, 0BCS_REFYR, 0BCS_SEQNM, 0BCS_TASK, 0BCS_TASKGR, 0BCS_TASKTY, 0BCS_TAXSUP, 0CS_COIAC, 0CS_COINR, 0CS_PLEVEL, 0CURRENCY, 0DATE, 0UNIT, 0USERNAME
Compounding -
When you define the compounding of an InfoObject, some compound relationships are not supported:
You cannot compound subassignments to consolidation units.
You are not permitted to compound the document type and the (0CS_PLEVEL) posting level.
You cannot compound noncurrent assets and assets/liabilities to 0BCS_ALTYPE. In addition, you cannot compound to a characteristic from the totals cube, with the exception of consolidation units, partners, and so on, and their higher-level characteristics.
ODS objects / Virtual InfoProvider -
You can generate the ODS objects for additional financial data and the virtual InfoProvider from the data basis maintenance. However, you can also create these manually and enter them in the data basis. If you do this, create the ODS objects and virtual InfoProvider with the same characteristics and structure they would have had if generated by the data basis maintenance. You can only deviate very slightly from this.
You are not permitted to include the following InfoObjects in any InfoProvider, unless they are generated by the data basis automatically:
0BCS_AREA, 0BCS_REFPER, 0BCS_REFYR, 0BCS_TASK, 0BCS_TASKGR, 0BCSTASKTY
The following InfoObjects must not be contained in the InfoObject catalog, which is defined in the data basis:
0BCS_AREA, 0BCS_REFPER, 0BCS_REFYR, 0BCS_TASK, 0BCS_TASKGR, 0BCSTASKTY, 0FISCYEAR, 0FISCPER3
Time characteristics -
SAP consolidation SEM-BCS ignores changes with the 0FISCPER, 0FISCPER3, 0FISCVARNT and 0FISCYEAR time characteristics. If you make changes, for instance, if you create hierarchies or attributes, these are not taken into account by SEM-BCS. Therefore, there is no maintenance in the workbench, you cannot use the hierarchies or attributes in the functions of SEM-BCS for selections and so on, and you cannot use the attributes or hierarchies for selections in BW queries.
Characteristic values
The following InfoObjects may have the values set by default by SAP only . You are not permitted to change them, not even by using the BW master data maintenance:
0BCS_AREA, 0BCS_AUTODL, 0BCS_COISRT, 0BCS_CTFLG, 0BCS_DIDIEL, 0BCS_GWMEM, 0BCS_GWPROC, 0BCS_IPAAC, 0BCS_IPATTY, 0BCS_OBJNR1, 0BCS_OBJNR2, 0BCS_OBJNR3, 0BCS_OBJNR4, 0BCS_OBJNR5, 0BCS_OBJNR6, 0BCS_OBJNR7, 0BCS_OBJNR8, 0BCS_REPMOD, 0BCS_TASK, 0BCS_TASKGR, 0BCS_TASKTY, 0BCS_TAXSUP, 0BCS_TIMMOD, 0CS_COIAC, 0CS_PLEVEL
For these InfoObjects you can only use the tools of the master data service of the Financial Basis to synchronize master data, so the master data is transferred by the SEM-BCS tables to the BI tables, but not the other way round.
Predefined InfoObjects for individual roles
The system automatically uses most of the InfoObjects mentioned here to activate certain data streams. However, there also are some InfoObjects that you must manually enter in the cube for the totals records. Subsequently, you must assign certain roles to these InfoObjects. These roles are allowed for these InfoObjects only, you cannot assign these roles to other InfoObjects.
These are:
0CS_PLEVEL for the posting level role (required)
0BCS_CTFLG for the conversion role (optional)
0BCS_PRGRP for the product group role (optional)
Activate characteristics and key figures from BW Content
Before you create a data basis of SAP consolidation, you have to activate certain InfoObjects from BW Content.
1. You must always activate the following: 0CS_PLEVEL, 0FISCPER, 0FISCPER3, 0FISCVARNT, 0FISCYEAR.
2. If you use documents, you must also activate: 0AC_DOCLN, 0AC_DOCNR, 0AC_DOCTEXT, 0AC_IVDOCNR, 0AC_IVPER, 0AC_IVYEAR, 0AC_OIDOCNR, 0AC_OIPER, 0AC_OIYEAR, 0AC_ORDOCNR, 0AC_ORPER, 0AC_ORYEAR, 0AC_RVDOCNR, 0AC_RVPER, 0AC_RVYEAR
3. If you use the virtual InfoProvider, activate: 0BCS_REFPER, 0BCS_REFYR, 0BCS_REPMOD, 0BCS_TIMMOD also
4. If you use any data stream in addition to the totals records, also activate: 0BCS_OBJNR1, 0BCS_OBJNR2, 0BCS_OBJNR3, 0BCS_OBJNR4, 0BCS_OBJNR5, 0BCS_OBJNR6, 0BCS_OBJNR7, 0BCS_OBJNR8
5. If you use the data streams of the consolidation of investments, activate: 0ACQ_PER, 0ACQ_YEAR, 00BCS_BGPER, 0BCS_BGYEAR, 0BCS_COIACT, 0BCS_COIFUT, 0BCS_COIINA, 0BCS_COINRT, 0BCS_COIPGW, 0BCS_COISRT, 0BCS_COITOA, 0BCS_DPER, 0BCS_DTEQI, 0BCS_GWLC, 0BCS_GWMAN, 0BCS_GWMEM, 0BCS_GWNEG, 0BCS_GWOFFS, 0BCS_GWPROC, 0BCS_GWRED, 0BCS_LCCMU, 0BCS_LCIC, 0BCS_SEQNUM, 0CS_COIAC, 0CS_COINR
6. If you use organization changes, activate: 0BCS_ORGCH, 0BCS_ORGCHL
7. If you use data streams for stock and delivery data, activate 0BCS_PRGRP.
8. If you use data streams for assets/liabilities or noncurrent assets, activate: 0BCS_ALTYPE, 0BCS_DPER, 0BCS_DYEAR, 0BCS_IPADAU, 0BCS_IPALCM, 0BCS_IPATTY, 0BCS_RETBG
The list of the InfoObjects varies depending on the release. Of course, you do not have to activate InfoObjects that do not exist in your release.
You do not have to activate InfoObjects that are not explicitly specified. However, if you do not activate them, some functions may not be available to you. For example, if you do not activate the 0BCS_CTFLG InfoObject and do not use it for totals records in the InfoCube, the currency translation cannot display any currency translation differences on the initializing data records.
Attributes When you define the InfoObjects in BW, attributes can be assigned to InfoObjects. This results in the following restrictions:
In SEM-BCS 3.1B, 3.2 and 3.5, no InfoObjects that appear in the permanent parameters of a consolidation area or are fixed in a consolidation area may be attributes of an InfoObject used in SEM-BCS.
InfoObjects that are used as a consolidation unit must not have 0FISCVARNT as an attribute.
Note 727776 - Requirements of SEM-BCS for data model
Hope it Helps
Chetan
@CP..
Eugene Khusainov  
   Re: BCS - Modelling requirements   
Posted: Feb 24, 2007 10:56 PM    in response to: moini kembly       Reply      E-mail this post 
Hi,
On this phase you should determine and describe the following:
- sources of data to be consolidated (R/3, flat files, 3rd parties)
- methods of receiving/uploading these data into BW
- the appropriate BW objects (characteristics, key figures, cubes etc.)
- time characteristics to be used (is it enough to have only fiscal chars? do you need the calendar ones too?)
- is data upload to be directly into totals cube? if not - consider the intermediate cube. What kind of data transformation is to be done during upload of data from interim cube to the totals?
- methods of getting data into totals cube (flexible upload, reading from datastream, manual entries)
- will you need additional financial data? if yes, which ones and how will you load this data?
- what types of data you need to consolidate (actual, plan, forecast etc.)
- how many chars will be given the VERSION role?
- plan the number of consolidation areas. The best way is to have the only one. it will minimize the customization.
- how many consolidation units hierarchies do you have (for example, if you need consolidated reports according to management and IFRS structure of the group, then you have 2 hierarchies)?
- determine the structure of the group hierarchies.
- what is the group's currency? is it one currency or several ones?
- determine the currency translation methods for each data type.
- make sure that all consolidation units have the same chart of accounts. if not, consider the mapping or transformation of the numbering of accounts.
- consider the currency translation types for different groups of accounts in the balanse sheet (for example, fixed assets and equity - historical rate, retairned earnings - everage rate, non-monetary items - current rate etc.).
- consider the kind of translation - periodic/cumulative for different data types and reports.
- determine the set of consolidated reports as an output.
- which custom characteristics you need to bring to the totals cube in order to get the reports needed?
- which standard chars you'll have to customize and how exactly (bringing new attributes, customizing the std or creating the custom chars)
- if you'll replace a standard char with a custom one, consider that some another chars may depend on the char to be replaced. it's especially true for a company code. if you use a custom char for a company, then you have to use the reference chars for partner company, investee company, allocation company etc.
- will your consolidation units be one-dimension structure (by company) or it is a matrix one? if the latter, what is the second cons unit?
- will the BCS functionality cover all your consolidation needs? if not, consider the workarounds. reclassification is to be considered as a tool # 1.
It's just an incomplete introduction to the issues to be determined during a blue-print phase.
Hope it helps.
Best regards,
Eugene