Heuristics are planning functions that execute planning for selected objects, such as products, resources, operations, or line networks, using a specific procedure. Heuristics are used in interactive planning, the SAP S/4HANA Digital Core MRP_live or in the Advanced Planning (PP/DS) production planning run. In the Advanced Planning, you can execute several heuristics, which belong to both production planning and detailed scheduling, for the same products in one planning run. Heuristics can help you to solve planning problems for defined objects, such as creating feasible production plans, scheduling operations, assigning resources, or leveling capacities. Heuristics can also consider various constraints and parameters, such as lead times, lot sizes, setup times, priorities, or alternative modes12.

References:

• 1: SAP Help Portal: Heuristics
• 2: SAP S/4HANA Production Planning and Manufacturing Certification Guide, Chapter 4: Advanced Planning

 A line hierarchy in repetitive manufacturing represents the structure of a production line that consists of multiple work centers. A line hierarchy is a master data object that defines the sequence and the relationship of the work centers that are involved in producing a material. A line hierarchy can be split into different levels, such as line segments, processing stations, or takt areas, to reflect the complexity and the variability of the production line. A line hierarchy can be used for planning and scheduling operations, controlling material flow, and monitoring production performance12.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• A production line with prioritized work centers (B): This is not correct. A line hierarchy does not define the priority of the work centers, but the order and the dependency of the work centers. The priority of the work centers can be determined by other factors, such as the capacity availability, the production rate, or the scheduling parameters.
• A production line with a parallel sequence in the routing ©: This is not correct. A line hierarchy does not represent the parallel sequence in the routing, but the linear sequence of the work centers. A parallel sequence in the routing means that two or more operations can be performed simultaneously on different work centers for the same material. A parallel sequence in the routing can be modeled by using alternative sequences or parallel sequences in the line hierarchy3.
• A production line with an alternative sequence in the routing (D): This is not correct. A line hierarchy does not represent the alternative sequence in the routing, but the main sequence of the work centers. An alternative sequence in the routing means that there are different options for performing an operation on different work centers for the samematerial. An alternative sequence in the routing can be modeled by using alternative sequences or parallel sequences in the line hierarchy3.

References:https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_ON-PREMISE/48b24fbadbee4e0b9dae0e2b72762e68/db8151ba8ca14106bf037a1546cde6a9.html

https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_ON-PREMISE/f899ce30af9044299d573ea30b533f1c/9231f9504a62eb5ee10000000a44538d.html

 The alert monitor in Advanced Planning allows you to monitor and analyze the planning situation and identify any problems or deviations from the desired state. To use the alert monitor, you need to configure the following elements:

• Overall profile: This defines the scope and content of the alert monitor, such as the planning objects, the alert types, the alert categories, and the alert levels. You can assign one or more alert profiles to an overall profile to specify the alerts that you want to monitor.
• Alert profile: This defines the criteria and parameters for generating alerts, such as the time horizon, the planning version, the planning mode, and the alert threshold. You can create different alert profiles for different planning scenarios or objectives.
• Authorization profile: This defines the access rights and restrictions for the alert monitor, such as the planning objects, the locations, the products, and the resources that a user can view or edit. You can assign an overall profile to an authorization profile to control which alerts a user can see or process.

Therefore, to set up the alert monitor, you need to assign the alert profile to the overall profile (B) and assign the overall profile to the authorization profile (D). Creating an object selection variant for priority-category-related alerts (A) or production-planning-related alerts © is not a configuration step, but a selection option in the alert monitor to filter the alerts by different criteria. References:

The graphical planning table is a tool for capacity planning and scheduling that displays the operations and the work centers in a time-oriented view. You can use the graphical planning table to create, change, or dispatch operations manually or automatically. The planning direction determines whether the operations are scheduled from the start date or the finish date of the order. If the planning direction is forward, the operations are scheduled from the start date of the order1.

If you want to insert an operation at a certain time on a work center in the graphical planning table, and the planning direction is forward, and the desired dispatching time coincides with an operation that has previously been dispatched, the insertion takes place as follows:

• The new operation is inserted at the desired time; the previously dispatched operation is moved backward (B): This is the correct answer. The system inserts the new operation at the specified time and shifts the previously dispatched operation to a later time, so that the sequence and the capacity requirements of the operations are maintained. The system also adjusts the start and finish dates of the order and the subsequent operations accordingly2.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• The new operation is inserted at the desired time; the previous dispatched operation is moved forward (A): This is not correct. The system does not move the previously dispatched operation to an earlier time, as this would violate the planning direction and the capacity constraints of the work center. The system only moves the previously dispatched operation to a later time, as explained in option B.
• The previously dispatched operation stays as is; the new operation is inserted after the dispatched operation ©: This is not correct. The system does not insert the new operation after the previously dispatched operation, as this would not match the desired dispatching time specified by the user. The system inserts the new operation at the desired time and moves the previously dispatched operation backward, as explained in option B.
• The previously dispatched operation stays as is; the new operation is inserted before the dispatched operation (D): This is not correct. The system does not insert the new operation before the previously dispatched operation, as this would violate the planning direction and the capacity constraints of the work center. The system inserts the new operation at the desired time and moves the previously dispatched operation backward, as explained in option B.

References: 

 Dependent requirements are the requirements for components that are derived from the requirements for the finished product or assembly. They are created when an independent requirement is created for the finished product or assembly, such as a planned independent requirement, a sales order, or a stock transport order. They are also created on assembly level during the planning run, when the system explodes the bill of material (BOM) of the finished product or assembly and calculates the requirements for the components based on the BOM structure and quantity. Dependent requirements can be created for multilevel or single-level BOM structures, depending on the planning strategy and the BOM explosion level. References: Dependent Requirements | SAP Help Portal, Material Requirements Planning (PP-MRP) | SAP Help Portal.

The control cycle is the master data object that governs the relationship between supply source and demand source in the Kanban process. The control cycle defines the following data for Kanban production:

• The number of Kanban containers and the quantity per container or per call item
• The basic data required for automatic Kanban calculation, if necessary
• The replenishment strategy, which determines how the supply source replenishes the demand source, such as in-house production, external procurement, stock transfer, or assembly
• The print control, which determines how the Kanban cards are printed, if necessary
• The delivery address, which determines where the Kanban containers are delivered, if necessary
• The process control, which determines the status sequence, the goods movement, the packing instruction, and the production call profile, if necessary1

The control cycle is created and maintained using the app Manage Kanban Control Cycles or the transaction PKMC. The control cycle is assigned to a material and a plant, and can be split into different segments for different supply sources or demand sources2.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• Replenishment strategy (A): This is not a master data object, but a field in the control cycle that specifies the type of replenishment for the Kanban process. The replenishment strategy can be in-house production, external procurement, stock transfer, or assembly1.
• Production supply area (B): This is a master data object that represents a physical or logical area where materials are supplied for production. A production supply area can be assigned to a material, a work center, or a production line. A production supply area is not directly related to the Kanban process, but it can be used to group materials or work centers for planning or reporting purposes3.
• Rate routing (D): This is a master data object that defines the sequence of operations and the work centers for producing a material in repetitive manufacturing. A rate routing canbe assigned to a material and a production version. A rate routing is not directly related to the Kanban process, but it can be used to calculate the production rate and the lead time for in-house production.

References:

https://blogs.sap.com/2016/06/20/kanban-process/

https://blogs.sap.com/2018/04/11/kanban-process-in-s4-hana-1709/

The duration of an operation for production is determined by the combination of data maintained in the routing and the work center. The routing defines the sequence of operations, the work centers, and the standard values for each operation, such as setup time, processing time, and teardown time. The work center defines the capacity, the formulas, and the scheduling parameters for each operation, such as base quantity, operation rate, and queue time. The system calculates the duration of an operation by multiplying the standard values from the routing by the factors from the work center formulas and adding the scheduling parameters from the work center. For example, if the routing specifies a processing time of 10 minutes per unit and the work center formula is processing time = (processing time / base quantity) * operation quantity, and the base quantity is 100 units, then the duration of the operation for 50 units is (10 / 100) * 50 = 5 minutes.

The bill of material (BOM) © and the material master (D) are not data objects that determine the duration of an operation for production. The BOM defines the components and the quantities that are required for producing a material. The material master defines the general and specific attributes of a material, such as the material type, the unit of measure,the MRP data, and the production data. These data objects are relevant for planning the material requirements and the production costs, but not the operation duration. References:

https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_ON-PREMISE/c00ad2cac7be4ef29a4461ba114e4f91/051ebf53d25ab64ce10000000a174cb4.html

https://learning.sap.com/learning-journeys/manage-production-orders-in-sap-s-4hana-manufacturing/scheduling-production-orders_cc390d5f-b87c-4c4d-9472-8bb10ea4f476