configuring and maintaining a multi- language sap erp...

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Configuring and Maintaining a Multi-Language SAP ERP HCM Environment

Ben MarshHR Focal Point

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In This Session

• Understand the options available in SAP for translation, including new Web Dynpro component configuration tables, role configuration, long text messages, general text, and OTR texts

• Learn discrete steps to configure translated content within SAP’s Employee Self-Service (ESS) and Manager Self-Service (MSS)

• Discover lessons learned from real-life translation efforts• Obtain tips on how to avoid common pitfalls in delivering and

testing translated content

This session was co-authored by my colleague, Sarah Loconto

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What We’ll Cover

• SAP Self-Service Offerings• Why Translate your Content?• Different Types of Translatable Content• Planning Your Translation Effort• A Guide to Translation Methods: Tools of the Trade• Lessons Learned from Translation Projects• Wrap-Up

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SAP’s Employee and Manager Self-Service

• SAP Employee Self-Service Empower your people to be more self-sufficient, while

increasing operational efficiency Manage personal and career information Employee profiles, time recording, leave requests, benefits

and payments, talent profiles, and appraisal documents• SAP Manager Self-Service Equip your managers with tools to better understand and

manage employees Initiate HCM Processes and Forms (HCM P&F) such as

promotions and transfers Perform tasks, such as time recording or leave requests, on

behalf of employees

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What We’ll Cover


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Why Translate?

• The nature of business today is more globally distributed than ever before

• Companies employ resources around the world to better address global demand for products and services With this global reach come challenges to ensure messaging,

communications, and services are delivered optimally across the organizations’ geographic footprint

In employing online self-service functionality, companies are providing 24x7 access to employees for managing their essential information A seamless user experience for self-services is important for

this to work Local language support is key to this user experience

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User Experience Without Translation

• Imagine that you are a US-based employee of a French company• What if all of your online resources were only available in French?

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Regulatory Requirements for Translation

• Translation is not just a “nice-to-have”• While local language support is optional in many countries, others

mandate that companies translate online employee-centric content into the local language Policies and communications delivered without translation can

subject the company to fines and/or lack of enforceability Examples of countries with language requirements: France Canada Belgium

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What We’ll Cover


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User Menus/SAP NWBC Navigation

• Navigation entries in the user menus rendered by the SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC)

• Maintained via TCode PFCG

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Launchpad Navigation

• Web Dynpro applications use the Launchpad Configuration for navigation between various applications

• Maintained via TCODE LPD_CUST

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Pop-Up Messages

• Informational pop-up message display information based on user actions

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Instructional Content

• Translatable text objects embedded inside Web Dynpro screens provide instructional text near editable screen elements

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Interactive and Print Forms

• Adobe Forms, Smart Forms, and SAPscript are used to display pixel perfect forms that mimic the layout of traditional paper forms

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Drop-Down Values

• Translating drop-down values for end users provides a consolidated list of options in the user’s native language

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Benefit Plans and Options

• Benefits plans offered by employers vary widely based on country• Translating these plans ensures employees can easily understand

medical, savings, and other plans available

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Errors, Warnings, and Success Messages

• Errors, Warnings, and Success Messages displayed during use of a self-service application provide immediate feedback to the user

• Ensure message are clear and concise• Many message maintained via T-code SE91

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What We’ll Cover


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Planning Your Translation Effort

• The following represent the high-level translation project steps you’ll want to include:1. Determine the scope of translation2. Determine the level of translation3. Staff the team with appropriate translation resources4. Implement required Language Packs from SAP5. Catalog all content to be translated6. Obtain translations in local language from translation resources

in a centralized template7. Provide translated text to the development/configuration team8. Test, test, and test!

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Planning for Translation – Key Questions

• There are a few questions that you need to think through before beginning: Which languages are required? Tip: Ensure that all self-service scope receives the same

translation treatment (i.e., if the user can see Benefits and Payroll Services, then both areas should be translated)

Which user roles should be translated? Will you translate only roles applicable to countries that have

regulatory requirements or all countries (i.e., Spanish translation in the USA)?

Which level of translation is desired? How far do you need to take your translation effort in order to

satisfy your requirements?

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Planning for Translation – Key Questions (cont.)

• There are a few questions that you need to think through before beginning: (cont.) Do you have adequate translation resources on the team? One fluent local language translator per language to provide

text One fluent local language speaker for testing Configuration/development resource for implementation

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Level of Translation

• Clearly defining how far to take translation is very important to do early in the project

• Gaining up-front agreement among the various stakeholders is key to a successful translation effort

• SAP defines its translation levels as follows: User Interface All elements of the SAP system that are necessary to operate

it in the user’s language (screens, messages, menus, and interactive PDF forms)

User Interface and Selected Help All elements of the User Interface level, plus selected help

(F1 online help for system messages, data elements, reports, and authorization profiles)

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Level of Translation (cont.)

• SAP defines its translation levels as follows: User Interface, Selected Help, and Forms All elements of the User Interface and Selected Help level,

plus forms (SAPscript forms and PDF print forms) Complete Translation All application texts are available in the respective language.

This includes, for example, Payroll-specific documentation and Release Notes.

Complete Translation with Technical Texts All elements that are language-dependent are available in the

respective language

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What We’ll Cover


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Tools of the Trade

• There are many different translation options available for SAP’s Self-Service functionality

• It is important to understand each option so you can select the appropriate tool for the content you wish to translate

• Different options are applicable for different types of content Work with an experienced translation

configuration/development resource to select the best options

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Available Translation Tools

• General Text• Messages with Long Text• PFCG Role Updates• Launchpad Customizing• OTR Texts• Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text• Back-End Configuration Text• Others

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Tools of the Trade – General Text

• General Text Use this for pop-ups that contain a large amount of text (i.e.,

Benefits Terms and Conditions) as well as stand-alone text within services

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Tools of the Trade – General Text Instructions

1. Establish the new text in SE61

2. Use the Full Screen Editor to create and format the text

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Tools of the Trade – General Text Instructions (cont.)

3. Save and ACTIVATE the General Text4. Go to transaction SE63 to perform the translation:

5. Select Object Type TX – General Text from under the F1 Help grouping

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6. Search for the Object created in SE61. Set your Source and Target Language in the fields below and then click edit.

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7. The Text will open in the screen below. Be sure to click on the Full Screen Editor in order to make your edits.

Full Screen Editor

Do not edit in this area!

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8. Save your changes9. Upon returning to the translation screen, activate the text It will prompt you that this cannot be reversed. That is ok. You want to end up with a status of “Translated” If your status shows red or yellow, the translation will not be

picked up

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text

• Messages with Long Text Use this for the the various pop-up text messages that have

been added to ESS and MSS

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text Instructions1. Execute transaction SE912. Select the message class to be used

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text Instructions (cont.)3. In opening the Long Text, the system will prompt you to name the

modification. Make note of this name as you will need it when you get into SE63.

4. Use the Full Screen Editor to input the text5. Save and Activate6. Execute SE63 and bring up the new text element

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text Instructions (cont.)7. Select Object Type TX – General Text from under the F1 Help

grouping:

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text Instructions (cont.)8. Search for the Object created in SE91. Set your Source and Target

Language in the fields below and then click edit.

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Tools of the Trade – Messages with Long Text Instructions (cont.)9. The Text will open in the next screen. Be sure to click on the Full

Screen Editor in order to make your edits.10. Save your changes11. Activate the text It will prompt you that this cannot be reversed. That is ok. You want to end up with a status of “Translated” If your status shows red or yellow, the translation will not be

picked up

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Tools of the Trade – PFCG Translation

• Use this for translation of NWBC menus in the user roles Within the ESS and MSS roles, most navigation items (tabs,

nodes in the menu’s, etc.) as well as Service descriptions must be translated within the Role configuration in transaction PFCG

SAP Portal and certain Web Dynpro navigation is set up outside of PFCG See section on Launchpad Customizing and Others

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Tools of the Trade – PFCG Translation Instructions1. Open transaction PFCG2. Select the Role to be updated3. Select Menu4. Navigate to the Node in need of translation

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Tools of the Trade – PFCG Translation Instructions (cont.)5. Select Other Node Details6. Select Additional Activities > Translate Node

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Tools of the Trade – PFCG Translation Instructions (cont.)7. Enter your translated text

8. Save your changes9. Transport the role

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Tools of the Trade – PFCG Translation Instructions (cont.)• Common Pitfalls and Gotchas: The team responsible for translation must have access to

transaction PFCG in order to execute these steps This will likely spark a spirited conversation with your security

team If PFCG is not an option for your Configuration/Development

resources, then a Security Team resource needs to be allocated to the effort

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing

• Launchpad Customizing SAP Portal and certain Web Dynpro navigation is set up outside

of PFCG

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing Instructions1. Set user parameters in transaction SU3 LPD_EXPERT = XX LPD_TRANSPORT = X

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing Instructions (cont.)2. Open transaction LPD_CUST Without LPD_EXPERT and LPD_TRANSPORT set

With LPD_EXPERT and LPD_TRANSPORT set “Delivered” designates SAP delivered, blank designates a

customer modified version Entries can be deleted

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing Instructions (cont.)3. Select the role, then click edit

4. Select Launchpad > Textkeys/Translation

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing Instructions (cont.)5. A list of translatable customer texts will appear. Select the text

key and click Translate short Texts.

6. You are now in SE63. Follow the same steps outlined in previous lessons.

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Tools of the Trade – Launchpad Customizing Instructions (cont.)• Common Pitfalls and Gotchas: The are numerous SAP Notes available that fix problems with

menu text element and translation generation in LPD_CUST 1642420 – Transport of Launchpad 1916095 – LPD: Translation does not open from LDP_CUST

Creation of Z-menus is not straightforward. Follow best practice steps outlined below. 1943809 – How to create a custom launchpad and assign the

custom launchpad to FPM in ESS WDA

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Tools of the Trade – OTR Texts

• OTR Texts Quite a few of the text elements in the ESS and MSS area are

facilitated by OTR Texts. An example is included below:

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Tools of the Trade – OTR Texts Instructions

1. Execute transaction SOTR_EDIT 2. Search for a portion of the text to be translated

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Tools of the Trade – OTR Texts Instructions (cont.)

3. If found, the text will open in the following screen:

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4. Navigate in the menu to Goto > Translation

5. Select the target language for translation6. Insert the translated text into the orange field

7. Save and exit

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• Common Pitfalls and Gotchas: Cached OTR texts can invalidate the test cycle and cause

unnecessary rework Run command“/$OTR” after transport


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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text• Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Within the ESS services themselves, the field labels may

need translation from time to time SAP delivers many of the translations, but when a Z-version

of the service is created, new updates to translations provided by SAP do not carry over into the Z version

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions1. Position your mouse on the service and right-click to bring up the

help menu. Select Technical Help:

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)2. From the technical help screen, identify the Component

Configuration in use:

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)3. Go into the back end and execute SE16N with the table

WDY_CONFIG_COMPT selected4. Enter the name of the Component Configuration from the

Technical Help Screen

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)5. All text elements in all languages stored for the service will

appear. Identify in English the text ID that you want to update. There may be more than one Text ID in place for the text that

you’re working on

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)6. If SAP delivers a standard version of the service, you can locate

SAP’s translated values by searching for the standard service in this table This is useful if none of the Z-version text elements have been

translated and you need to start with the SAP delivered translations

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)7. To add translations to your Z version, bring up the rows for your

Z-Service in SE16N again8. Use the Add Row button to add new lines. Enter your translations

and click SAVE. This will not automatically add the new rows to a transport This must be done as a separate step

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Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)9. Highlight the rows to be transported and select Table Entry >

Transport

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• Common Pitfalls and Gotchas If the Web Dynpro Component uses OTR texts, ensure linkage

is correct and OTR cache is cleared before testing

Tools of the Trade – Web Dynpro Component Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)

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Tools of the Trade – Back-End Configuration Text

• Back-End Configuration Text Some values seen in ESS/MSS are based on configuration from

the back end Examples would include Benefit Plan Names, Communication

Types, Family Member/Dependents, etc. In these cases, you have two choices for translation:

1. Log in to SAP in the target language (i.e., French) and perform translation in that language

2. Log in to SAP in English and make use of the Translate option to perform these translations

The second option is illustrated in the next slides

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Tools of the Trade – Back-End Configuration Text Instructions1. Navigate to the configuration node that corresponds to the object

to be translated2. Select the object(s) to be translated:

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Tools of the Trade – Back-End Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)3. Navigate to Goto > Translation:

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Tools of the Trade – Back-End Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)4. Select the target languages:

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Tools of the Trade – Back-End Configuration Text Instructions (cont.)5. Enter the translations and save

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Tools of the Trade – Others

• Additional tools exist for translating content in other areas SAP Portal Portal Roles iViews, Pages, and General PCD content Knowledge Management

SuccessFactors Text Replacement Company Dictionary

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What We’ll Cover


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Lessons Learned – Planning

• Inclusion of native speakers in the project team is a must One fluent local language speaker per language for

translation One fluent local language speaker per language for testing Ideally, these should be separate resources (translation vs.

testing) to ensure the best result• Translation is an important part of your detailed Project Plan Include distinct tasks associated with the cataloging,

translating and testing of each piece of content Scheduling translation after the bulk of development

is complete will save you time in re-work A sample project plan is included on the SAPinsider Web site

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Lessons Learned – Planning (cont.)

• Use of online translation tools will not deliver the same quality as that of a native speaker Google Translate, Babylon, and others are helpful in

everyday translation but miss local nuances that may be significant for your successful rollout

• There is no one right answer for the translation method The right tool depends on the type of content to be

translated Work with an experienced translation

configuration/development resource to save time and effort in selecting the right options

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Lessons Learned – Planning (cont.)

• Utilize a single template to gather and track translated text Adjust the template to fit the needs of your content Include your source language text as well as columns

for translated text For configuration entries, be sure to check the length of

the translated text to ensure that the entries will fit into the available configuration tables

Track completion of translation in this template Avoid the temptation to pass translations back and forth

via email!

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Lessons Learned – Nuts and Bolts

• It is important to be on the latest version of the Language Pack Be sure to check/upgrade your Language Pack prior to making

Z-Versions of Services• Some ESS/MSS services are delivered in local versions which are

translated by SAP for certain languages Some of these local versions will only contain the languages

that SAP has elected to deliver You may need to translate them yourself if your particular

language is not delivered but is desired Be sure to test as an employee in the country for which

translation is required (i.e., use a France-based Employee to test the Address service’s French Translation)

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Lessons Learned – Nuts and Bolts (cont.)

• Translation of Z-Versions of SAP ESS/MSS services is not necessarily carried over when you copy the standard service to the Z-Version Be sure to check each and every field for translation When updates are delivered for standard services, new

translations do not automatically flow to your Z-Versions These must be configured separately when this occurs

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What We’ll Cover


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Where to Find More Information

• SAP Globalization & Localization: Country and Language Information Site http://service.sap.com/languages *

• SAP Service Marketplace Workshop: Globalization with the mySAP ERP Business Suite https://websmp107.sap-

ag.de/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000293952&_SCENARIO=01100035870000000112&_OBJECT=011000358700011690812001E *

• SAP instructions: Translating Objects Directly http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw73/helpdata/en/43/9d21a4ecf5419b8c4

b46af0f63d875/content.htm• Justin Morgalis and Brandon Toombs, SAP ERP HCM Processes and

Forms (SAP PRESS, 2012). * Requires login credentials to the SAP Service Marketplace

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7 Key Points to Take Home

• Include local language speakers on the project team• Establish your scope for translation early and clearly• Avoid the use of online translation tools• Choosing the right tool for translation depends on the type of

content to be translated Work with an experienced translation

configuration/development resource to select the right tools• Establish the translation effort clearly in the project plan• Remember that Z-versions of SAP services need special care• Keep detailed records of text elements! Huge time saver when adding future countries and languages

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Your Turn!

How to contact me:Ben Marsh

[email protected]@Ben_Marsh_SAP

Please remember to complete your session evaluation

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Disclaimer

SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver®, Duet®, PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Wellesley Information Services is neither owned nor controlled by SAP.

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