On the Web: Documentation for the SAP Financial System Robert Murray

Users of MIT's new financial software, SAP, can now take advantage of 
World-Wide-Web-based documentation, known as MIT SAP Online Support (MIT 
SOS), to guide them through the system. Developed for the Management 
Reporting/Financial Operations (MR/FO) Project by the DA Consulting 
Group, this documen-tation is accessible to anyone at the Institute with 
a computer connected to MITnet and a Web browser such as Netscape.
 
To open the MIT SOS Home Page, go to 
 
http://web.mit.edu/sapr3/

This home page has documentation for both the Windows and Macintosh SAP 
Graphical User Interface. It also has links to the SAP1HELP Desk, the 
SneAk Preview newsletter, and MR/FO Project bulletins.
 
System Tasks, Business Processes
MIT SOS integrates SAP system tasks within the framework of MIT's 
business processes, which combine electronic tasks with manual and 
paper-based steps.
 
Each business process document in MIT SOS contains an overview, followed 
by a step-by-step procedure for completing the process. Each system task 
document consists of
 
* An overview of the task

* The menu path and command-line transaction codes needed to access the 
  system task

* Graphics of all transaction screens 

* Key field definitions

* Type of data entry expected

* User options

* Steps needed to complete the task

Contextual hypertext links throughout the MIT SOS documentation take 
you to the appropriate next steps or to related information. You can 
choose particular business processes or system tasks by looking them up 
in the online table of contents, entering a transaction code, or using a 
search engine.

As with any Web-based publication, MIT SOS documents can be printed 
by users on their local printers.
 
Distribution
The use of online documentation is not new - Windows and Macintosh users 
will be familiar with the online help systems built into Microsoft Word 
and Excel. MIT SOS goes one step further. Instead of having the online 
documentation reside on each user's computer, it resides on a central 
file server. This approach saves the cost of distributing a 1000-page 
manual to each user, and removes the need to distribute documentation 
updates as new system tasks are added or old ones are updated.

Feedback
If you have comments about the Web-based documentation for SAP, send 
email to <mr-train@mit.edu> or use the Comments link at the bottom of 
the MIT SOS Home Page.