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Chris Solomon

Chris Solomon   SAP Mentor
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Christopher Solomon has been working with SAP since late 1995/early 1996 when he got his first taste of R/3 3.0d as an interface developer...VB to SAP via remote automation (yep, the beginnings of the BAPI days and RFCs were in full swing). When the rest of the world finally took notice of the "Web" and the business world realized there was a buck to be made there, the Internet suddenly became *THE* interface, and Chris was well positioned to help in any and all ways that this related to SAP. In addition to his work, he also managed to build and maintain two SAP fan sites...the early ABAPcentral.com and the later, SAPwired.com...during those days (maybe you have seen his “SAP Tables Relations document” that has been proliferated about, linked on several sites, discussed in forums, and many times hawked by others as their original work...grrrr!) Presently, not a lot has changed. Chris is still a consultant, still voraciously absorbing all things “tech”, still loves SAP, and is still having fun. Much of his work now centers around all things portal related (both Enterprise Portal and competitive products...yes *gasp*...SAP does have competition) as well as HR related web services (ESS/MSS).

HAPPY PROGRAMMER DAY!!!!
It's officially the 256th day of the year....that can only mean one thing...it's PROGRAMMER DAY!!!! Is it a coincidence that it also happens to be the official start of TechEd in Vegs? I think not. I'm onto you SAP...you sneaky sneaks! Sep. 13, 2011
Comments: 4   Rank: 15236   Page Views: 1161 (Stats updated nightly)

Fear and Loathing.....at SAP TechEd 2010?
There and back again...recollections of yet another amazing SAP TechEd adventure in words and photos. A savage journey through the heart of SAP's annual gathering of techies. The story follows its protagonist, Chris Solomon, as he descends on Las Vegas to chase the latest in SAP technology information through a haze of buzz words, double-speak and marketing.  Oct. 29, 2010
Comments: 24   Rank: 11872   Page Views: 1926 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms:There’s gold in them there Processes and Self-Services! (Data and BI Analytics)
Is there really gold in your HCM processes and self-services? Well, yes, if by "gold" we mean the data. But finding the way to that gold, now there's the challenge. This blog details my search for this information which felt most like climbing down the rabbit's hole. And of course, as the deeper I went, things got curiouser and curiouser! Apr. 20, 2010
Comments: 3   Rank: 7472   Page Views: 3376 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: The Mystery of the Initiator Role
Who is this "initiator" and where do I find them in HCM Processes and Forms? Why do security people go nuts when we mention this new "initiator role"? How can I become an "initiator"? The mysteries are all revealed here! Feb. 25, 2010
Comments: 3   Rank: 4395   Page Views: 4684 (Stats updated nightly)

My UNOFFICIAL underground SCN promo fan video
A little video I put together prior to TechEd 2009 about my view on SCN and what it means to me. Enjoy! Feb. 17, 2010
Comments: 8   Rank: 19209   Page Views: 524 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Security? Have your cake and eat it too!
What if you need to restrict a user's access to certain HR information in all cases except when they are involved in a HCM P&F process? That's like saying "we want to stop them in all cases except when we don't". Sounds like a Catch 22 to drive your security friends crazy, eh? (haha) But what if you can you do both, restrict and allow? What if you can truly have your cake and eat it too? SAP provides a little known and often underutilized security feature for HCM Processes and Forms. Interested? Read more! Feb. 2, 2010
Comments: 7   Rank: 4265   Page Views: 4762 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: The Many Faces and Frustrations of the Start Application
Starting a HCM P&F process should be easy enough, right? Well, it is not so easy as you might think. There is much more going on under the hood than the end user might see. However, as the developer/config expert, you might be all too painfully aware of just how frustrating and confusing this can be. Allow me to attempt to ease that pain. Feb. 1, 2010
Comments: 12   Rank: 2008   Page Views: 6851 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Making the case for Case Management
If you are new to HCM P&F, one of your first questions will often be "but how does the magic happen?" Where is the data stored? How does one form know what to pass to another? Where can I see the data before it gets saved? Those familiar with HCM P&F will enjoy having another tool at their disposal for support and auditing. This is the "magic" behind HCM P&F, better known as Case Management. Sep. 28, 2009
Comments: 7   Rank: 1281   Page Views: 8334 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Pest Control 101 (debugging)
When a HCM Processes & Forms process is working, it's a full orchestra making beautiful music. When it is not working, it's like watching a 12 car pile up and determining who was to blame...or worse yet, what little valve, gasket, hose, plug, or bearing in which part of which car caused the wreck. The purpose of this blog is to help provide pointers to more quickly sort through the "wreckage" and find our culprit. In a nutshell, this is debugging 101 for HCM P&F. Sep. 22, 2009
Comments: 2   Rank: 1266   Page Views: 8374 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Start Object?...we don't need no stinkin start object!
What if you want to start a HCM P&F process but don't need, want, or have an employee to select? How can you skip to part 2 or 3 without jumping through hoop 1? Well, learning to build a process to launch without a start object will allow you to do just that! And here's how it's done... Aug. 3, 2009
Comments: 0   Rank: 2624   Page Views: 6052 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Processes in the Process Selection List...how do it know?
Ever wonder why or how those processes show up in your process selection list for HCM Processes & Forms? More importantly, ever wonder how YOU can control what's in that list? Well, ponder this "magic" no more! Lucky for you, there are a number of options at your disposal! Jul. 22, 2009
Comments: 2   Rank: 2030   Page Views: 6822 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Why HCM P&F often fails before it even has a chance
Every conference or sale call I attend here lately, HCM Processes & Forms is always the biggest buzz. It's the latest and greatest. The "must have". So why has HCM Processes & Forms not taken off? For once, it's not about the technology. It's about the dollars. In my opinion, this could be the death knell for HCM P&F before it ever really got it's time to shine. Jul. 8, 2009
Comments: 29   Rank: 1854   Page Views: 7117 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: The Evolution of Necessity to Enhancement Pack 4 and beyond
How has HCM Processes and Forms evolved through Enhancement Packages and why was this so necessary so quickly? It's all part of evolution and product maturity pushed by customer demand and expectations. Jun. 30, 2009
Comments: 8   Rank: 1142   Page Views: 8787 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: User Exits, Dynamic Actions & Change Pointers.....Please check your expectations at the door!
I have yet to be on a project, talk to a client or prospective client, or hear about other projects where at least one person was not under some kind of assumption that HCM Processes and Forms simply worked "just like regular HR" especially in regards to user exits, dynamic actions, change pointers, and the like. Please check those expectations at the door! Jun. 24, 2009
Comments: 8   Rank: 1850   Page Views: 7125 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Required fields aren't what they use to be!
To me, a "required" field means it is required to have some entry in it before you move forward with anything. Apparently for Adobe Interactive Forms within the HCM Processes and Forms Start/Form application, that's not quite true...and here's why... Jun. 22, 2009
Comments: 8   Rank: 2872   Page Views: 5822 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: You spin me right round, Baby, right round, like a record, Baby, right round, round-round
What better way to start a blog than with a "cheesy" 80's song? (1985 by Dead or Alive) But it fits right in with this "cheesy" little problem that often stumps HCM Processes and Forms developers.....the never ending spinning wheel! Jun. 18, 2009
Comments: 5   Rank: 3164   Page Views: 5520 (Stats updated nightly)

MSS: Delegation....the final frontier?
Delegation (also known to some as “substitution”) seems to be one of those last unexplored frontiers for SAP in the area of self-services. However, it comes up in almost every MSS project. The obvious question then is "why has SAP not provided a standard solution?" Oct. 24, 2008
Comments: 5   Rank: 2366   Page Views: 6354 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Getting Attached to Attachments
Ever get sick as a child at school and needed to bring in your doctor’s excuse to your teacher? Ever quit a job and needed to hand in a formal resignation? I am sure we have all been part of scenarios like this which required additional information along with our request. Well, HCM Processes & Forms takes this into account and even does it one step better! Aug. 25, 2008
Comments: 14   Rank: 1533   Page Views: 7752 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: BlackBerry-ize your Processes !!!
HCM Processes and Forms is great for building your own Adobe Interactive Form-based and workflow processes for users to access via the portal, but what happens when your user base of managers is more comfortable with using their BlackBerrys? Aug. 21, 2008
Comments: 4   Rank: 11710   Page Views: 1977 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Tips and Tricks for a Successful Project
Want to get up and going with HCM Processes & Forms fast and successfully? Here are a few tips and tricks I learned from going through a real world project.  Aug. 13, 2008
Comments: 11   Rank: 427   Page Views: 13037 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: Gotchas, Bugs and Other Curiosities
HCM Processes & Forms offers a world of possibilities for automating HR and other employee related processes. However, as the old maps of the uncharted seas would note "Here there be monsters". Jun. 30, 2008
Comments: 18   Rank: 276   Page Views: 16084 (Stats updated nightly)

Demystifying MSS 1.0 (ECC6) Dynamic Navigation
The MSS 1.0 business package presents some fairly large changes to the previous MSS structure and layout. This new design makes use of some fairly new portal objects and parameter settings to make all of the "magic" happen. Find out how this works through the discoveries I made as I stumbled around to figure it all out! Apr. 2, 2008
Comments: 14   Rank: 1134   Page Views: 8818 (Stats updated nightly)

HCM Processes & Forms: What's new and cool in Enhancement Pack 2 ?
Learn about some of the major improvements to HCM Processes and Forms, the Adobe Interactive Forms driven replacement to PCRs in MSS/ESS and large part of the new HRAS services that are available as of Enhancement Pack 2. Mar. 26, 2008
Comments: 12   Rank: 235   Page Views: 16710 (Stats updated nightly)

My TechEd 2007 experience....a photo tour!
Check out a quick "tour" of sorts of my whirlwind 5 day experience at TechEd 2007 in Las Vegas told through pictures. Oct. 18, 2007
Comments: 8   Rank: 4761   Page Views: 4467 (Stats updated nightly)

Hacking the new Portal iView Personalization Feature
What do you do when the new iView Personalization does not expose the parameters and styles you need? You hack it, of course! Aug. 20, 2007
Comments: 18   Rank: 637   Page Views: 11094 (Stats updated nightly)

Customize the Homepage Framework with Custom HTML Content
Want to add some style and content to your Homepage Area pages with custom HTML content? Here's how! Mar. 6, 2007
Comments: 11   Rank: 597   Page Views: 11451 (Stats updated nightly)

Customize Icons for the Homepage Framework
Want to add your own spiffy images for icons in the Homepage Framework? Here's how! Mar. 1, 2007
Comments: 16   Rank: 566   Page Views: 11704 (Stats updated nightly)

Rapid Portal Content Creation using the Homepage Framework
Create portal content quickly and easily using the *new* Homepage Framework ! Jan. 18, 2006
Comments: 15   Rank: 992   Page Views: 9280 (Stats updated nightly)

Is MDM in the future of EP / KM?
MDM is still evolving and so is everyone’s' ideas of how to utilize it best. In a very "stream of consciousness" weblog, I walk you through an idea that came to me while studying up on EP and KM for certification. Where does MDM fit in? Why not use MDM to manage unstructured data as well? Is it possible? Could it be? Here's my thinking at least... Nov. 1, 2004
Comments: 4   Rank: 3750   Page Views: 5071 (Stats updated nightly)

Who is the master of your master data?
Just wanted to share my first thoughts/reactions/experiences/etc about working with MDM for the first time and "seeing" what it is and what it can be... Sep. 21, 2004
Comments: 0   Rank: 7094   Page Views: 3508 (Stats updated nightly)

Design, Usability, Branding and more Buzzwords Inside!
Millions of dollars in SAP funding can not be wrong, eh? Usability, "look and feel", branding, etc. are more than just nice buzzwords....let SAP's hard work help you! Mar. 24, 2004
Comments: 4   Rank: 6145   Page Views: 3867 (Stats updated nightly)

Dynamic Roles : Maybe I'm a Visionary or Maybe I am just blissfully unaware....
Dynamic portal roles? Mmmmm now there's a thought....or at least a thought I thought to myself....huh?. Ok Follow me here.... Feb. 20, 2004
Comments: 6   Rank: 13790   Page Views: 1458 (Stats updated nightly)