From Input Tasks to Calendar Tasks

Learn how to organize your data collection process with SAP Analytics Cloud calendar tasks instead of using input tasks.

What You Should Know

In optimized story experience, input tasks are not supported. We recommend to use calendar tasks instead.

How to Proceed

We recommend to use the Generate Events wizard in the calendar that lets you generate tasks from a driving dimension, similar to your experience with input tasks.

Alternatively, you can manually create composite tasks, or you can create general tasks and review tasks, and group these tasks by a process.

Processes are used to structure groups of tasks. They link together the calendar events they contain, these can be tasks or other processes. That way, you can model complex planning processes.

For more information about the different calendar events, see Get to Know the Different Calendar Events.

Video: How to Create Planning Events Using the Calendar

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In this video, you will create the events for a planning process using the integrated calendar in SAP Analytics Cloud.

Video: How to Complete Planning Workflows Using the Calendar

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In this video, you will explore how different users can complete tasks designated in the calendar to complete a typical planning workflow.

Learning Tutorial

Click through the interactive tutorial illustrating how to create a process and generate child events such as tasks and processes in step-by-step instructions (5:00 min); the tutorial is captioned exclusively in English:

[To start the interactive tutorial, click here or on picture]

Input Tasks and Calendar Tasks: A Comparison

When you generate tasks in the calendar, many functions are similar to the creation of input tasks, but there are also some differences and further possibilities with calendar tasks.

Creating Input Tasks	Generating Calendar Tasks and Processes
You create input tasks from within a story.	You generate the tasks within the calendar using the Generate Events wizard that guides you through the different options. There you can add a work file to the tasks. It can be a story, an analytic application, or a Web page. To start the wizard, choose (Create) Generate Events with Wizard.
When creating an input task, you and the people you assign to the task work on a private version of the story. The original story won't be affected, changed data will only be visible to others after the input task has been completed and you've published the private version.	When creating calendar tasks, you decide if you use a story or an analytic application as work file. You can also decide, if you'd like to use a private version or a public version. When you use a private version, you need to share it with the involved people. All assignees work in the same private version and can see each other's data changes. When you use a public version, data changes are immediately visible to all users who have access to the story or analytic application once the assignees submit their work or publish their data changes.
The input task is modeled as one entity with several input forms for the assignees.	The tasks are always grouped by a parent process. You can use an existing calendar process to generate child tasks, or you can generate the parent process with the child tasks in one go.
The input task starts directly once created. You can only define a due date.	You can schedule the tasks by defining a start and a due date.
You select a planning model the input task should be based on. Note The model has either one or more dimensions with responsible users assigned to the dimension members, or it has at least the Responsible setting enabled so that a user can be set as responsible on the input task Summary page by selecting a substitute under Available Assignees.	You select a planning model as the basis for the task generation. In addition, the filters that are applied to the attached work file (story or analytic application) for the assignees and reviewers are based on the model definition. Note The model needs to contain at least one dimension with responsible users defined in the dimension properties.
You select a dimension with the Responsible option turned on.	You select a driving dimension that defines the task generation. For example, Region or Product. You select the dimension members. For example, Europe, Germany, Spain, or a specific product. The calendar will generate tasks or processes for each selected member, depending on the dimension hierarchy: Members that are defined as nodes in the dimension hierarchy will generate processes. Members that are defined as leaves in the dimension hierarchy will generate tasks. For example, a process for Europe and tasks for Germany and Spain would be generated. Similarly, a process for a product group and individual tasks for specific products would be created.
You select assignees from a list that is filled by the Responsible property of the dimension.	You select the dimension property that defines the users or teams you would like to set as assignees. Note With the calendar, you can add multiple assignees to a task or a process. One of them submits the task. Depending on how your modeler has defined the dimension properties, you can assign either single or multiple users or teams per member.
You can decide if the assignees working on different dimension members can see each other or not. For example, the assignee working on the data input for Germany can see the assignee working on the data input for Spain.	The assignees working on different dimension members don't see each other because they work in separate tasks. For example, the assignees working on the data input for Germany can't see the assignees working on the data input for Spain. They are not aware of the task for Spain. Within the same task, all assignees can always see the other assignees. The assignees can use the Discussions panel to collaborate on their task.
You as the owner of the input task review the work of the assignees. It's not possible to skip the review step.	You select the dimension property that defines the users or teams you would like to set as reviewers. Note With the calendar, you can add multiple reviewers to a task. One of them approves the work of the assignees. Depending on how your modeler has defined the dimension properties, you can assign either single or multiple users or teams per member. If required, you can add multiple review rounds. Tip You can also leave this property empty and assign the reviewers after the task generation. Open the Details panel of a generated task and set yourself as reviewer, for example. Select multiple tasks and define the reviewers using the Edit Events wizard. For details, see Edit Multiple Calendar Events. If you don't set any reviewers, the tasks will be completed without any review.
Result: Input forms are created either for dimension nodes, or for dimension leaf members. It's not possible to have input forms for both nodes and leaf members in one input task.	Result: Composite tasks are created for dimension leaf members, and processes are created for dimension nodes. All events are grouped by an overall parent process.
After the input task creation you can assign the input task to a substitute or remove assignees. You can't add other people to the task as viewers.	After the event generation you can add viewers to the tasks and processes using the Details panel of an event or the Edit Events wizard for changes in multiple events. There you can edit also other settings, or even change the task type or the hierarchical structure, if needed. For details, see Work with Calendar Events You Created.
The assignees can directly start to work once the input task is created. For details, see Plan Data in Input Tasks Assigned to You.	Before the assignees can start their work, you need to activate the process and its generated child events, either automatically or manually after the event generation. Choose Activate events at start date automatically in the wizard. Open the Details panel of the parent process and choose Activate or Activate & Notify. The assignees can start their work at the defined start date. For details, see Work with Calendar Events Assigned to You.
Accessing the task: The assignees are notified by email and notification in SAP Analytics Cloud. They can access their tasks from there, from the calendar, or from the Input Forms folder on the Files page.	Accessing the tasks and processes: When you activate the process manually using the option Activate & Notify, the involved people are notified by email and notification in SAP Analytics Cloud. They can access their tasks from there, from the calendar, or from the Calendar Highlights tile on the home screen.
Data access for assignees: The story data are automatically filtered for the respective dimension member in the corresponding input form.	Data access for assignees and reviewers: The story or analytic application data are automatically filtered for the respective dimension member once the assignees and reviewers open the work file.

For more information how to generate tasks and processes in the calendar, see Generate Tasks and Processes with the Calendar Wizard.