ICM Part 3 – Objects Overview
In this blog we will focus on Objects, a master data category that is vital for the SAP-ICM POLE model.
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Cezary is one of our senior Business Analysts, he has experience in supporting businesses the transition from SAP ECC to S/4 HANA on Prem. or Cloud. Improving the UX of SAP Fiori applications by employing APIs, RPA technologies, AI & Machine Learning. |
Nitesh is one of our most experienced SAP Consultants. Having over 16 years of global experience in Solution Architecture, Customer Experience, Enterprise Information management, IT Delivery, and digital transformations. Nitesh prides himself in identifying and solving complex business problems across a wide range of industry verticals in both public and private sector.
Definition
Object is a globally unique tangible or intangible object that an agency finds relevant for the investigation.
Objects are not like materials. They can be uniquely identified and differentiated from others of the same category by at least one attribute. For vehicles this could be VIN / registration.
They are stored and protected as part of the investigation and often become evidence or support evidence during an investigation. Due to this fact the objects data and related functionality play a pivotal role in the SAP ICM Solution. SAP provides standard out of the box Fiori apps called “Manage Objects” to effectively manage the lifecycle of an Object as well as giving a 360-degree view to the Investigator. We will visit the Manage Object in the subsequent section of the blog in a bit more detail, however the 360-degree view around the Object empowers the investigator in the following way:
- View all the relationships of this object across various transactions including Incidents, Leads and Cases.
- View all the relationships of this object with other POLE entities including People, Organizations and Locations.
- View the reliability of this object across various transaction including Incidents Leads and Cases.
- Provide a detailed view of the Object including pictures and Notes.
- Categorize and Classify the Object effectively for better maintain and search.
Objects consist of data with control function, e.g.:
- Categories – Create Categories and Assign them to the ICM object
- Text Determination
- Partner Determination
and of data with descriptive function, e.g.:
- ID
- Alternative ID
- Name, notes
- Extended object type specific attributes. Refer to the ICM Object App Extensibility guide
In the table below there are some object examples that may be relevant to investigations:
| Tangible objects | Intangible objects |
| Vehicle with known or unknown licence plates, colour, model | Social media profiles |
| Firearms of certain characteristics | Cloud storage accounts |
| Tools or other evidence found on the crime scene | |
| Telephones, computers | |
| Chemicals, drugs, plants, equipment |
Object Search
Objects can be searched in the system by leveraging the HANA Enterprise Search which provides unified, comprehensive, and secure real-time access to enterprise data across business objects. Enterprise Search includes the following capabilities:
Provides unified, comprehensive, and secure real-time access to enterprise data across ICM objects and other related apps:
(a) You can enter your search requests (such as a full or partial reference ID)
(b) You receive the search results through a single browser-based user interface
(c) From the search results you can launch to any related application – such as SAP Fiori apps or classic UI – giving you direct access to associated applications and actions, and saves the user from having to return to the launchpad home page to use the result in an app.
Search results return both structured and unstructured data
(a) Structured data – e.g., Cases, Incidents, Leads
(b) Unstructured data – Attachments related to Objects, Links etc.
Object Relationships
Objects can be related to each other or other elements of the POLE model. Relationships can be viewed and edited in the respective sections, e.g., Locations, Staffs and Units. Existing relations can be easily navigated using the flexible layout offered by the Fiori Apps. Below are few examples of how objects can be related to other entities such as Location and Staff and Units.
Common types of relationships would be to:
- Locations, e.g., where the vehicle is registered, where it was found.
- Cases, incidents, events, e.g., what happened, was the same object involved in more incidents.
- Parties involved, e.g., who is the owner, who was driving when the incident happened.
- Staff and units: who leads the investigation.
This is a simplified graphical representation of the example above.
Full list of components that can relate to an object is below.
| Name: |
| Activities |
| Cases |
| Incidents |
| Leads |
| Locations |
| Objects |
| Parties Involved |
| Staffs & Units |
Full list of components that can relate to an object is below.
| Name: |
| Activities |
| Cases |
| Incidents |
| Leads |
| Locations |
| Objects |
| Parties Involved |
| Staffs & Units |
Activities
Activities are activities or system transactions that happen with relation to the investigation.
They may be recorded manually or automatically, e.g.,
- Towing away the vehicle to a police parking,
- Sending PDF notification to registered owner.
Usability
ICM is extremely flexible and capable of consuming and processing lots of structured and unstructured data. There are more than thirty standard Fiori apps available that are out of the box and ready to use offering comprehensive capabilities for an end-user.
Furthermore, the solution offers the platform to build any custom app on the ICM Data model to support the business users and process owners. This can include dashboards, overview pages, and non-SAP-based front end for instances where ICM information needs to be displayed in other customer applications.
It offers capabilities to enable inexperienced users to work mobile, access and update the system directly from where the incident happened. Work offline. Use mobile device capabilities to add photos, videos, voice recordings, location tags and other relevant details.
Extensibility
To extend the standard apps, the developer must understand the application type that needs the extension. When the application is FIORI based including Locations, Objects, then The Fiori Extension Guidelines should be followed. Both the above FIORI Apps come with the context that can be extended with customer-specific attributes.
In the case, where extensions are needed on the WEB Client UI applications including Activities, Leads, Persons, Organizations etc, the appropriate business contexts should be extended using the WEB Client UI Extension Guidelines.
