Tips and Tricks to Troubleshoot and Support Your SAP CRM Mobile Sales System

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Case Study: Tips and Tricks to Support and Troubleshoot Your SAP CRM Mobile Sales SystemTom LeddyAndrew Corporation

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What We’ll Cover …

• Introduction

• Andrew Corporation / CRM Implementation Overview• Installation and distribution of Mobile Sales• Setting up a training environment• Troubleshooting common Mobile Sales issues• Designing a custom configuration tool for Mobile Sales• Wrap-up

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Introduction

• Supporting SAP CRM Mobile Sales is not difficult, but it requires a wide range of skills, which the typical help desk person (or even SAP Developer) may not always possess.

• Users often like to use trivial support issues as excuses for why they can’t do their work, and without an expert support team, this can lead to abandonment of the application.

• For a large user base, support can not be placed in the hands of one person, even if that one person does happen to be the only one in the organization with all of the required skills.

• With a little effort, tools can be developed quickly to help aid in the support and troubleshooting of the Mobile Sales application, even by less experienced individuals.

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In This Session ...

• You will learn how to write a custom installation script that will install all of the Mobile Sales components at the same time.

• You will learn what some of the most common technical problems are with the Mobile Sales application, along with how to fix them.

• You will learn how to design your own configuration program to help make troubleshooting and supporting Mobile Sales easier.

• You will receive a copy of the configuration program written by Andrew Corporation, along with the source code, which you can use to make your own modifications as needed

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• Introduction

• Andrew Corporation / CRM Implementation Overview• Installation and distribution of Mobile Sales• Setting up a training environment• Post – Install: Troubleshooting common Mobile Sales

issues• Designing a custom configuration tool for Mobile Sales• Wrap-up

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Andrew Corporation Overview

• Global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of communications equipment, services, and systems with around $1.9 billion in sales

• In business for over 60 years with 11,000+ employees servicing customers in over 100 countries

• Customers include OEMs (Motorola, Ericsson) and carriers (Cingular, Verizon)

• Products include: earth station antennas, microwave antennas, transmission line systems, power amplifiers, and in-building wireless coverage systems

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CRM Implementation Overview

• Current CRM Modules Contact Management Activity Management Opportunity Management – Forecasting

• Coming in 2007 Customer Interaction Center Marketing / Lead Management

• We have a total of about 260 sales people worldwide who are currently using Mobile Sales for Contact, Activity, and Opportunity Management.

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• Introduction


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Installation and Distribution of Mobile Sales

• Overview• Depending on how your organization is set up, installation of

Mobile Sales may require coordination of multiple departments.• Business Unit – Approve user access, determine which

subscriptions a user should have, determine mobile client security role.

• Help Desk / IT Staff – Set up Mobile Client Site, Create User BP Record, Create Employee Specific Subscriptions, Install Software.

• Security – Set up Mobile Client Role (AMT).

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• Required Software Components• Java Virtual Machine version 1.3.1.12 (Note: this is the only

version of the JVM that will work).• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 or later.• Microsoft Office 2000 or later.• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or MSDE.• Internet Explorer 6 (Note: this is currently the only version of IE

that will work).

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• Installing Each Component Separately JVM

Uninstall ALL existing versions of the JVM on the users’ machine. Follow the standard install process for version 1.3.1.12 If newer versions of the JVM had to be removed prior to the installation, ensure that the following

registry keys are set correctly: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment\CurrentVersion=1.3 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime

Environment\1.3\JavaHome=C:\\Program Files\\JavaSoft\\JRE\\1.3.1_12 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime

Environment\1.3\RuntimeLib=C:\\Program Files\\JavaSoft\\JRE\\1.3.1_12\\bin\\hotspot\\jvm.dll HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment\1.3\MicroVersion=1 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime

Environment\1.3.1_12\JavaHome=C:\\Program Files\\JavaSoft\\JRE\\1.3.1_12 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime

Environment\1.3.1_12\MicroVersion=1 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime

Environment\1.3.1_12\RuntimeLib=C:\\Program Files\\JavaSoft\\JRE\\1.3.1_12\\bin\\hotspot\\jvm.dll

You will receive a registry script file on your CD that will set these values automatically.

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•Installing Each Component Separately.NET Framework

Included automatically with newer versions of Windows and as part of Windows Update

For older machines that do not already have the .NET Framework, the latest version can be downloaded and installed from http://download.microsoft.com

Whereto

FIND it

http://download.microsoft.com/

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• Installing Each Component Separately SQL Server 2000

Make sure there is not already an instance of SQL Server installed on the user’s machine (you can verify this by making sure that the default checkbox is not greyed out on the instance name screen of the install):

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• Installing Each Component Separately SQL Server 2000

Mixed Mode Authentication may not be required, but it can save headaches later since the SQL Server services are not automatically updated when users change their Windows passwords.

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• Installing Each Component Separately Other Components

Microsoft Office 2000 (or later) and Internet Explorer 6 are usually already installed on most users’ machines as part of a standard setup by their IT departments.

If a later version of Office is installed, you’ll get a warning message during the install, but you can ignore it.

Currently, version 6 of Internet Explorer is the only version of IE that is compatible with Mobile Sales. If a later version is installed on the user’s machine, the mobile sales install may finish without any errors, but the application will not run afterwards.

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• Installing Each Component Separately Mobile Sales

As long as the other components have been installed correctly, the Mobile Sales install itself is pretty straightforward.

Start the install by running setup.exe from the MobileClient\Setup directory on the installation CD.

Select the options that correspond to your organization’s needs. You will have the option to save your settings to an .ini file during the install so that they don’t have to be re-entered each time.

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• Creating A Custom Install Script Rather than installing all of the individual components

separately, an install script can be created using any standard installation program (Installshield, WiseInstall, etc) that will package everything together and install all of the components at the same time.

Advantages: easier to train others, no need to worry about memorizing settings or making sure that all of the components got installed at the end.

Disadvantages: less control over the individual parts of the install, if something goes wrong in the middle, it’s more difficult to troubleshoot.

You will receive an example WiseInstall script on your CD

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• Creating A Custom Install Script – Example Step 1 – Check for Prerequisites

Free disk space must be at least 3,145,728 bytes (3GB) to install all components.

Find the Current Version of Internet Explorer by checking the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version (should be greater than 6 and less than 7)

Get the current version of Microsoft Outlook from the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windwos\CurrentVersion\App Paths\outlook.exe (should be greater than 9)

Get the current JRE Version from the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\JavaSoft\Jave Runtime Environment (should be 1.3.1.12)

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• Creating A Custom Install Script – Example Step 2 – Installing the JVM and .NET Framework

These two files get installed through a single executable, so you just need to execute them: Setup.exe for the jvm Install.exe for .NET

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• Creating A Custom Install Script – Example Step 3 – Installing SQL Server

Check to see if SQL Server is already installed by looking for the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\sqlserver.exe (any value at all means that an instance already exists).

Execute the file \sqlserver2K\x86\setup\setupsql.exe with a parameter of –s (silent install: run in the background).

Execute the batch file \sqlserver2k\x86\setup\startsqlserver.bat to start the SQL Server service.

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• Creating A Custom Install Script – Example Step 4 – Install Mobile Sales

A configuration file can be created with all of the basic settings during an initial install of the mobile client, and then re-used in all subsequent installs.

Execute the file MobileClient\Setup\setup.exe with the following parameters: INI_DIRECTORY = <the directory you are storing your

configuration file in> INI_FILENAME = <the name of the configuration file>

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• Technical Issues No Unicode Support in SQL Server 2000. Mobile Sales may not work

correctly with foreign versions of Windows. If an instance of SQL Server is already installed, trying to create a new

instance during the mobile sales installation will cause the application to function incorrectly once the install is complete.

Mobile Sales may overwrite .dll files that are used by other applications with different versions when it is installed; likewise other applications may overwrite .dll files that are used by Mobile Sales when they are installed (commonly referred to as .dll hell).

Other applications may require different versions of the JVM than Mobile Sales, which leads to similar issues as with .dll files.

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• Introduction


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Setting up a Training Environment

•Benefits of using the user’s own machine for trainingMost mobile sales users are just that – mobile. It is not always easy to coordinate schedules with users in remote locations when it is time for CRM training.

Allowing users to use their own machines for training gives them more flexibility to train where and when it’s convenient for them (i.e. from home or a remote office while following a WebEx presentation).

The switchdb program that gets installed with Mobile Sales can easily be used to switch the user’s local database back and forth between training and production environments.

Tip

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• Basic steps to allow a user to work in multiple environments Create a mobile client site for the user in both your testing / training

environment and your production environment. Make sure to point the user’s mobile client to the training environment during

the initial Mobile Sales installation, follow the rest of the standard installation steps, and your training environment will be all set up.

Have the user attend training at their convenience, allow them to play around with the system and enter any garbage data they would like into their own Mobile Sales application for their own testing purposes.

When the user is ready to start working in production, use the switchdb program that gets installed with Mobile Sales to replace their existing local database with a new empty one, change the comm station assignment to your production system, and reassign the user’s mobile client site.

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•SwitchdbThis program ships with Mobile Sales and can be found in the users’ program files\sap\mobile\bin\ directory.

Switchdb will allow you to uninstall the user’s current ides database (with an option for archiving in case you have a need to re-use it at a later time), and install a new blank database.

When you are ready to install a new ides database, you can find it on the Mobile Sales installation CD in the \databases\latin1\ides_empty directory.

If the ides database has already been accessed since the user’s last reboot (i.e. the user has logged into Mobile Sales), switchdb will give an error if you try to uninstall the database. This can be fixed by simply stopping and restarting the SQL Server service.

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•Changing Mobile Client Site AssignmentsThe comm station assignment can be changed by modifying the following Windows Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SAP\MSA\CRMLaptopAdapter\Host

The mobile client site can be unassigned on the client side by deleting the value for the following Windows Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SAP\MSA\MW\TL\SITE_ID (note: do not delete the entire key; just delete its value)

Once switchdb has been run and the registry keys have been modified accordingly, client console can be run and the mobile client site can be reassigned to the production environment.

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• Introduction


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Troubleshooting Common Mobile Sales Issues

•Conntrans IssuesAccount for most Mobile Sales issuesCan be caused by problems that are out of the control of the CRM team (i.e. excessive

network traffic, incorrect antivirus program settings, etc). Issues on the server side are beyond the scope of this presentation, but you can ensure

that things are working correctly on the client side by doing the following: Ensure that SQL Server is running (users sometimes turn it off either

intentionally or unintentionally and if it is not running, contrans will not work). Ping the comm station from the user’s machine to make sure that it is up and

running and that a connection can be made. Make sure that DCOM is enabled on the user’s machine (start -> run ->

dcomcnfg. Some applications turn this off and it may need to be restarted). Use the “Test Adapter Connection” option in Client Console Unassign and Reassign the user’s mobile client site.

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•Login IssuesThere are two types of errors that a user can get when trying to log into Mobile Sales:

“Incorrect Username or Password” usually means that the user’s password needs to be reset.

“You are not authorized to use this application” means that the user’s security settings are not set up correctly in AMT.

Mobile Sales passwords are not changed at the same time that passwords are changed in the Online system.

If a user continues to have login issues after their password has been reset and it has been verified that they have the correct authorizations, their security and employee related subscriptions may need to be re-extracted (Authorization I, Authorization II, Authorization III, User (by Employee), and Employee).

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•Miscellaneous IssuesGeneric “Starting Mobilesalesfailed” errors can often be fixed by re-registering the \Program Files\SAP\Mobile\app\msa\bin\msa.dll and \Program Files\SAP\Mobile\BOL\Apps\sfabol\vba\WBIT\sfabol\bin\sfabol.dll files

For internal problems within the application, ensure that the client has all of the latest BDOCs by using the MetaData Manager in the Mobile Sales Client Console

If you are not a middleware person, familiarize yourself with at least the basic concepts, so that you can monitor things like the user’s outbound queue, create data extracts, etc.

If all else fails – switchdb. Using the switchdb program to give the user a “clean” database, along with a complete data extract on the server side can fix many mobile sales issues that aren’t easy to troubleshoot.

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• Introduction


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Designing a custom configuration tool for Mobile Sales

•PurposeWhile Mobile Sales is not a difficult application to troubleshoot, it does require a wide range of skills, along with the knowledge of where to find various settings within Windows.

While some help desk people have the skills mentioned above, others don’t, and we want everyone responsible for supporting the application to be able to provide the best service possible without having to constantly turn to the development team for assistance.

The easiest solution was to create a custom configuration program to house all of the most commonly changed settings in one place.

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•Installing the Mobile Sales ConfiguratorRun the setup.exe file, which can be found in the enclosed CD.The application will be installed to the SAP CRM Mobile -> Administration Tools Directory

This application consists of only a single executable file (MobileSalesConfigurator.exe), which gets written to the \program files\SAP\Mobile\Diagnostics directory during the install.

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – Application Settings TabThis tab contains basic information about the application itself

Whether or not it is installed on the user’s machine The current version A list of all of the upgrade packages that have been installed

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – SQL Server / IDES Database Settings Tab

Use the information and options on this tab to troubleshoot database issues. Easily run queries against the ides database by typing them in the box. Restart SQL Server and run some common commands against the ides

database from here too, as well as launching the Switchdb application.

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – Site / Contrans Settings TabUse the options on this tab to troubleshoot all communications issues between the mobile client site and the CRM Server.

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – dll Files / Services TabUse the options on this tab to re-register the main .dll files associated with Mobile Sales, and also to shut down or restart some of the services related to Mobile Sales as needed.

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – Login / Security Information Tab

This tab is read only and contains a list of all of the users who have been set up with access to the Mobile Sales application on this machine, along with their security role(s). If a username is having login issues, look here to make sure that their security information has been set up correctly.

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•Using the Mobile Sales Configurator – Custom Registry Values (Advanced) Tab

There are many other registry keys related to Mobile Sales and its associated components that are not mentioned in this presentation. If you would like to easily monitor any other value in the windows registry, you can do it here.

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•Distributing the Mobile Sales Configurator to UsersThe mobile sales configurator comes with an install script that will copy the required files to the user’s machine automatically, and you can use the SAP Upgrade console to create a mobile sales upgrade package (.mup file) that will allow the installation program to be sent out through contrans and executed automatically on your users’ machines during their next update.

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•Distributing the Mobile Sales Configurator to UsersStep 1 – Create a step in an upgrade package to copy the MSCSetup.exe file to a temporary directory on the user’s machine:

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•Distributing the Mobile Sales Configurator to UsersStep 2 – Create a step that will exectute the setup file once it has been copied over. Be sure to enter /s as the parameter so that the install script will run in the background.

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•Customizing the Mobile Sales ConfiguratorThe source code for the program is on the same CD as the executable.The program was written using Borland Delphi® 5, but the source code files can be opened with any text editor.

All commands used in the program are standard Windows API calls, so anyone with Windows Programming experience should not have a problem converting the application to a different language (if necessary) and modifying it as needed.

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• Introduction


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Resources

• Professional Help http://www.sap.com/services/consulting/index.epx http://www.tpcuc.com/index.htm mySAP CRM: The Official Guidebook to SAP CRM Release 4.0

Rudiger Buck-Emden and Peter Zencke SAP PRESS: ISBN 1-59229-029-9

http://Service.SAP.com/BI

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7 Key Points to Take Home

• Having a solid support system for Mobile Sales is necessary for the success of the application within your organization.

• There are several different software components required to make Mobile Sales “tick”, and knowledge of all of them is essential.

• Relying on one person to be the Mobile Sales “Guru” within your organization can create bottlenecks.

• Installing Mobile Sales can be a lot of work, but the process can be easily automated.

• Setting users up with a training environment on their own machines is a quick, painless process.

• Mobile Sales is not a difficult application to troubleshoot, but it requires a variety of different skills.

• With a little effort, additional applications can be created that will assist in the troubleshooting and support process.

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Your Turn!

How to contact me:Tom Leddy

[email protected]@gmail.com

Questions?

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Tips and Tricks to Troubleshoot and Support Your SAP CRM Mobile Sales System