The BCV is a framework that enables SAP Business Suite applications to integrate various types of extra information into the context of their current application. BCV appears in the side panel of your application. The side panel is the starting point for analyzing your business data using BCV.
Various components are needed to enable BCV:
Configuration Center - Central point of entry for BCV Configuration and Administration
BCV Configuration - You can configure BCV only if the following applies: You have activated the FND, Business Context Viewer Main Application (/BCV/MAIN) business function. Secondly, that you have the necessary authorizations (Role: SAP_BCV_ADMIN ). On the SAP NetWeaver portal you have the role com.sap.pct.bs_fnd.BCV_ADMIN .
Data Providers and Data Provision Technologies - Closely tied to Search Connectors. E.g. Searching through Workflows would use Search Connector "WF search connector" (Data Provision Technology: "Workflow") to search data from the Data Provider "Workflow Object Type".
BCV Objects
Search Connectors - establishes the connection between the data provision technology and the BCV by providing search access to a specific data provider at a specific destination (logical system) or list of destinations.
BCV Queries - Anaytical tool that collects data from Data Providers (multiple) -> Pass this data to the UI in the form of a query view. The system processes queries every time you perform one of the following actions:
Opening the side panel
Changing the focus object in the hosting application
Enlarging a quick view from the side panel
Starting a query view or dashboard from the side panel
Changing the input data of a query view
Performing a drill-down on a query view
Testing a query, query view, or dashboard
Query View - format of the query result to present to the user - e.g. list, chart, form
BCV Dashboard - used to display several Query Views to "tell a story" / visualize a problem or opportunity
Overview - list of query views displayed in the side panel
Query view hierarchy - links Query View in a hierarchy
Meanings - Meanings describe the content of a field of a search connector, query, and query view
User Group - groups that can be used in access control lists
Access Control Lists (ACL) - assign authorization to perform specific activities on objects in BCV to users, user groups, roles, or organizational units. An advantage of using access control lists (ACL ) is that they provide a flexible authorization framework. There is no need for a central administrator to grant and deny authorizations - users can do this themselves.
Launchpad -
User Interface
User Interface (UI) - BCV leverages ABAP Web Dynpro UI - Note: Side Panel - provides additional context-sensitive analytic and supplementary information to the main application