Subject: PeopleSoft Requisition / Workflow Training

Overview:

Overview:

    The following is a base document to be used for training purposes. It contains various topics related to PeopleSoft Requisitions and Workflow, and these topics may be selectively combined in order to provide a variety of customized training modules. The topics of How to Create a Requisition, How to Approve a Requisition, Routing vs. Approval Authority and How to Turn a Requisition into a PO are geared more towards end users, whereas Role of the Workflow Administrator, Workflow Objects, Technical Process Flow and Workflow Setup are geared more towards IT Support personnel. Developed but not Implemented and Comparison to Oracle Workflow are geared towards system architects and future implementors, and About Reusable Learning Objects is for MIS educators and directors. There may be some overlap as well. For example, power users may be interested in some of the technical topics, and functional IT support personnel may be interested in the requisition creation and approval topics.

    This document is compliant with CanCore standards regarding Learning Object Metadata (LOM).

How to Create a Requisition

Creating a Requisition

    Follow these steps to create a requisition:

    1. Navigate to the requisitions page and click the 'Add' button (Images\Req01.jpg). You may also click the 'Find an Existing Value' hyperlink (Images\Req01a.jpg) followed by the 'Search' button (Images\Req01b.jpg) to work on a requisition that has already been started. However, the only ones you can see are requisitions that relate to you in some way (i.e. created by you, requested by you, or submitted to you at one time for approval).
    2. Requestor: This field will default to you. If you are preparing this requisition on behalf of somebody else, use this field to indicate who that person is. This determines who the requisition will be approved by, as well as which department it will be coded to (Images\Req02.jpg).
    3. Description: On the first line of the requisition, enter a description of what you are requesting (Images\Req03.jpg).
    4. Quantity: Enter how many of this item you are requesting (Images\Req04.jpg).
    5. Unit of Measure: This will default to 'Each'. Feel free to select another unit of measure from the drop down list (Images\Req05.jpg).
    6. Category: Select a category that best fits the item. This helps to determine what account the item will be coded to (Images\Req06.jpg).
    7. Price: This is the unit price of the item (Images\Req07.jpg). The total value will be calculated for you by multiplying the price times the quantity.
    8. Use the + or - signs to add or delete lines respectively (Images\Req08.jpg, Images\Req08a.jpg, Images\Req08b.jpg). Be careful when combining many lines on a requisition as requisitions may not be partially approved.
    9. Comments: Use this field to add any other information related to your requisition (Images\Req09.jpg).
    10. Save: You may save this requisition and continue working on it later (Images\Req11.jpg).
    11. Documents: Please save your requisition before proceeding. If you have documents in Documentum that you want to associate with this requisition, you may go to the 'Supporting Documents' page (Images\Req10.jpg). Click on the magnifying glass and log in to Documentum. Remember to use your case sensitive network user ID and password (Images\Req10a.jpg). A query page will open (Images\Req10b.jpg), allowing you to select a document. Only documents with titles are allowed. Select a document (Images\Req10c.jpg) and click 'OK'. This will return you to PeopleSoft with a link to your document (Images\Req10d.jpg). Now go back to the first page and save. If you forget, you will be reminded with the following message: (Images\Req10e.jpg).
    12. Submit: This button will save the requisition and then submit it to the appropriate approver (Images\Req12.jpg). Once it is submitted, you will not be able to make changes to it, unless an approver 'Recycles' it back to you. (Notice how the 'Submit' button is greyed out in the diagram.)
    13. Cancel: You may cancel a requisition at any time, regardless of its approval status (Images\Req13.jpg). Once you cancel a requisition, it will no longer be visible to you. You will receive a warning to this effect (Images\Req13a.jpg). Also, if any unread worklist items sent to approvers are cleaned up.
    14. Approval Notification: You will be notified by e-mail once your requisition is fully approved (Images\Req14.jpg).
    15. Recycle Notification: An approver may send a requisition back to you for changes. This is called recycling. When this happens, you will receive an e-mail (Images\Req15.jpg). You will also receive a worklist item (Images\Req16.jpg) which displays the approver's comments to you. You may then access the requisition via the worklist, or directly as described in Step 1 above. Once you make these changes, you must then resubmit the requisition for approval (Images\Req12.jpg).

How to Approve a Requisition

Approving a Requisition

    Follow these steps to approve a requisition:

    1. Open your worklist (Images\Appr01.jpg) and choose a requisition to work on by clicking on its hyperlink. Notice that the hyperlink contains 3 pieces of information (Images\Appr01a.jpg): From left to right, the Worklist Item #, Business Unit (i.e. country), and Requisition #, the latter being the most important.
    2. An approval page will open (Images\Appr02.jpg) where you may review the details. You may also click on the 'Requisition' hyperlink to jump directly to the requisition page (Images\Appr02a.jpg). However, you will not be able to make any changes.
    3. If you click the 'Approval History' page (Images\Appr03.jpg), you can see an audit trail including everyone connected in some way with this requisition. You may sort on an column by simply clicking on the column heading.
    4. Approver's comments: You may enter your own comments in this section (Images\Appr04.jpg). The next person to whom this requisition is routed will see your comments.
    5. Notice that the 'Approval Action' defaults to 'Approve' (Images\Appr05.jpg). The moment you save this page (Images\Appr05a.jpg), you will have approved this requisition. It will be removed from your worklist, and if further approval is required, it will be routed to the next approver.
    6. If you select 'Deny'(Images\Appr06.jpg) and save, the requisition will be cancelled, and no further processing of this requisition may occur.
    7. If you select 'Recycle' (Images\Appr07.jpg) and save, the requisition will be sent back to its originator, along with an e-mail notification, indicating that changes are required. The originator will then have to resubmit this requisition for YOUR approval.

    If this requisition was routed to you in error, and you know who should approve it, simply open your worklist and 'Reassign' it to the correct approver (Images\Appr08.jpg, Images\Appr08a.jpg). This can happen if you change departments, for example, and a former employee of yours submits a requisition to you prior to HR updating their records. If you do not know who should approve this requisition, you may also 'Recycle' it back to its originator, or 'Deny' it.

    If you are going on vacation and expect to receive worklist items, you may delegate authority to another user (Images\Appr09.jpg). You must select a 'From' and 'To' date. During this time, all worklist items will be rerouted to whomever you select. Notice that when you click on the drop-down list, the only options available to you are your peers and your supervisor. If you delegate to a peer, for example, and he does not have sufficient approval limits to approve a requisition, it will be routed afterwards to his supervisor, and so on.

Routing vs Approval Authority

Routing vs. Approval Authority

    In PeopleSoft, it is important to differentiate between routing and approval authority. Routing only refers to where the requisition will go next. Approval authority refers to the dollar limit for which the current approver is authorized (based on position in the company). The following describes how a requisition is routed:

    1. First, a requisition is prepared and submitted for approval.
    2. Once it is submitted for approval, it is routed to the requestor's supervisor.
    3. As she approves it, her approval authority is checked. If it is not sufficient, it is then routed to her supervisor for further approval.
    4. The same thing happens with the approver's supervisor, and so on, until somebody with sufficient authority approves it.
    5. Also, if it is a high dollar requisition (e.g. $100,000), it is also routed to the Chief Accounting Officer prior to the requestor's Vice President.

    The following describes how approval authority is determined each time somebody receives a requisition to approve:

    1. The approver's employee ID is used to determine their job code, and therefore the approval role to which they belong. There are 10 approval levels at SeeBeyond: Employee, Non-Manager, Supervisor, Manager, Director, Managing Director, Vice President, Sr. Vice President, President and CEO. Each role has a corresponding dollar limit (some are zero). These dollar limits are consistent throughout the organization, with the exception of the Products group where different limits apply to each position below the level of Vice President.
    2. An approver cannot approve his own requisition, regardless of his approval authority.

    There are some additional rules which we have chosen to implement procedurally since they occur infrequently.

    1. IT Acquisitions: These must be approved by the VP of IT, regardless of who requested them. Since the VP of IT is already approving all PO's (to segregate duties), this is already being accomplished.
    2. Furniture and Fixtures: These require approval from the Director of Corporate Services. To accomplish this, all requisitions for furniture and fixtures should name a member of the Facilities department as the requestor. Alternatively, a requisition may be manually reassigned to the Director of Facilities for approval.
    3. Donations: Donations require the approval of the Chief Accounting Officer. To accomplish this, all requisitions for donations should name a member of the Finance department as the requestor. Alternatively, a requisition may be manually reassigned to the CAO for approval.

How to Turn a Requisition Into a PO

Converting a Requisition into a PO

    The following steps are followed to turn a requisition into a purchase order.

    1. Select the requisition (Images\PO01.jpg). This puts it in the staging table PO_DISTRIB_STG. This process can also be scheduled to run automatically (Images\PO01a.jpg).
    2. Source the requisition (Images\PO02a.jpg, Images\PO02b.jpg, Images\PO02c.jpg).
    3. Run the PO Calculation process (Images\PO02.jpg). This populates PO_ITM_STG_UD. This step is automated, but it may also be run manually at any time. If any requisitions were not sourced in the previous step, they will be flagged in error when you run this process. Simply return to step 2, source them, and change the status from 'Error' to 'Recycle' and continue. Note: For requisitions under a certain threshhold (e.g. $3,000), this process will be run with the 'Create Approved PO' option checked (i.e. internal PO's) (Images\PO02d.jpg). When requisitions are saved, their 'Origin' field is updated automatically based on the dollar amount.
    4. Run the PO Creation process (Images\PO03.jpg). This populates PO_LINE_DISTRIB. This step is automated, but it may also be run manually at any time.
    5. Now if you review this requisition (Images\PO04.jpg), the 'Show PO' hyperlink will be available.
    6. Your PO is now created (Images\PO05.jpg). At any time, you can click on the Requisition hyperlink and drill back to the original requisition. You may also access your PO directly. All new PO's are created with a status of 'Open' (Images/PO06.jpg).
    7. Once a voucher is created, you can drill back to the PO and/or the requisition.

Role of the Workflow Administrator

Role of the Workflow Administrator

    Timeout notification occurs as a result of running the process illustrated (Images\Admin01.jpg). When you run this process, e-mails will be sent to both requestors and approvers, indicating that their request has not been approved within 3 days (Images\Admin01b.jpg, Images\Admin01c.jpg). This process will be scheduled to run periodically throughout the day, but the Workflow Administrator may also run it manually at any time. The administrator can also choose to manually time them out one at a time (Images\Admin01a.jpg), even if 3 days have not lapsed.

    The Administrator can also set limits and monitor the level of worklist activity (Images\Admin02.jpg). The monitor can be scheduled to run periodically (Images\Admin02a.jpg).

    The Administrator has complete control over the status of a worklist item. First, a query page is used to find the worklist in question (Images\Admin03.jpg). After clicking the 'Search' button, navigate to the 'Worklist Entries' page.

    • The Context button provides information about each worklist item, including the requisition # (Images\Admin03a.jpg).
    • The Transfer to Panelgroup button (Images\Admin03b.jpg) brings the Administrator to the approval page. This would rarely be used since the Workflow Administrator will generally not have access to approve requisitions directly (Images\Admin03c.jpg).
    • The Update Worklist button (Images\Admin03d.jpg) allows the Administrator to change the worklist status or route it to somebody else as desired (Images\Admin03e.jpg). This will be used to perform an 'administrative approval', where an approver is unable to access PeopleSoft, but has notified us to proceed.

    Worklist items can also be accessed via the context page (Images/Admin04.jpg), or directly from the 'Update Worklist Entries' page (Images/Admin05.jpg). The latter is by far the most direct approach, but it requires knowledge of the worklist #.

    Approval limits can be reset via the following page: Images/Admin06.jpg.

    A complete audit trail for a requisition, from initiation to final approval, can be seen from the following page: Images/Admin07.jpg.

    Here are the steps to perform an administrative approval (i.e. where the approver does not have access to PeopleSoft).

    1. Open the context page (Images/Admin08.jpg), type in S_APPROVAL and the requisition # (10 characters) as illustrated, and click Search.
    2. Navigate to the worklist page (Images/Admin09.jpg), and confirm that this is the right item. Click on the U button to continue.
    3. The worklist update page will open in a separate window (Images/Admin10.jpg). Click on the Get Supervisor hyperlink to find out whom to route this item to (Images/Admin10a.jpg).
    4. Type this person's ID into the User Assigned field, your comments, and Save (Images/Admin11.jpg). This will transfer the item to the next approver's worklist.
    5. When the subsequent approver examines the approval history, he will see that it was forwarded rather than approved by the previous approver (Images/Admin12.jpg).
    6. Note: The Workflow Administrator may not actually approve a requisition. He may only forward it to somebody else for approval. Saving it as Worked only removes it from an approver's worklist, but it does not set the requisition status to Approved.

Workflow Objects

Workflow Objects

    The following objects are used to configure PeopleSoft Workflow.

    TriggerBusinessEvent() methods are used to initiate a workflow process. These are PeopleCode functions that tell Activities to fire. As input parameters, they accept the name of the activity, and they return a boolean which indicates whether the activity fired successfully. This method is executed when a user submits a requisition for approval, for example, or when a requisition is approved, or denied, or recycled. This code can appear just about anywhere (e.g. The FieldChange event associated with a push button). It does not have to be part of the 'Workflow' event, although this is customary.

    Activities (Images\Obj07.jpg) are the fundamental building blocks of workflow routing. An activity is called by a TriggerBusinessEvent() method, and is used to direct what will happen next. Activities can contain many objects, but at a minimum, they must consist of the following:

    • Step: The cube that you see on the left is called a Step (Images\Obj08.jpg), and its attributes are used to indicate what page will open when a recipient selects a worklist item. In this example, since we are implementing PeopleSoft Requisitions, we want the Requisition Amount Approval page to open (Images\Obj09.jpg).
    • The Lightning Bolt is required to link steps to worklists and/or e-mails, but does not require any configuration.
    • Worklist or E-mail: The icon on the right is known as a Worklist. Its attributes are used to indicate the table name for the worklist (Images\Obj10.jpg), control the appearance and functionality of the worklist page itself, and define some timeout processing options. The Worklist also contains field mapping attributes (Images\Obj11.jpg) which determine the content and destination of the outgoing worklist message. Note the OPRID field about half way down. This is the recipient of the worklist message, and we want this to be dynamically generated. If you click on this field, you will see that its value can be either a RecField (i.e. a record field value from the triggering panel), a Constant value that never changes, or a Role Name. In this case, we have chosen the Role Name of S_SUPERVISOR, which is a dynamic role that uses a role query called S_SUPERVISOR that prompts the user for an OPRID. If you click on this field (Images\Obj12.jpg), you can define what field to take from the triggering page and pass to the query prompt (Images\Obj13.jpg). (In this case, the field called OPRID on the REQ_APPROVAL_WR table) Different activities are used for different purposes.

    The S_SUPERVISOR activitiy that you just saw was to route worklist items from the submitter to the supervisor. To recycle an activity back to the originator, the S_RECYCLE activity is used (Images\Obj14.jpg). Notice that it also contains an E-mail object, which has many of the same properties as a worklist object, but sends an e-mail message instead. A Timeout activity is delivered with PeopleSoft (Images\Obj15.jpg), and is used to notify both recipient and approver in the event of timeout processing (our only change to this object was to customize its message content). The Notify Requestor Activity is also delivered (Images\Obj16.jpg), and is used to notify the requestor in the event of final approval or denial.

    Business Process: A business process is simply a group of activities (Images\Obj17.jpg). When referring to an activity in a TriggerBusinessEvent() method, you must know what business process the activity belongs to. Activities can be associated with more than one business process. Also, although we have used only one business process at SeeBeyond, it is possible to build a workflow model which utilizes multiple business processes and activities, forming a directed graph structure. For requisitions, the starting point of this directed graph is defined at the Purchasing Business Unit level (Images\Setup11.jpg).

    Approval Rule Set: Approval rule sets are used to determine if a given approver has authority to approve a particular requisition (Images\Obj01.jpg). Each object on the approval rule set is called an approval step (see below). This should not be confused with routing. Worklist items are not necessarily routed to individuals in this order. Rather, the approval rule set can be viewed as a decision tree that is used each time an approval takes place to determine whether the approver was authorized. An approval rule set contains certain properties (Images\Obj05.jpg) that control whether it is active, whether self-approval is allowed, the name of the associated business process (Images\Obj06.jpg), as well as some optional features that are not used at SeeBeyond.

    Rule Steps: Each icon on the approval rule set is called a rule step. A rule step can be viewed as a node on a decision tree, where the tree is used to decide whether a particular user is authorized to approve an item (as previously mentioned). Notice that each step definition (Images\Obj02.jpg) lists all subsequent steps as 'Equally Authorized'. This means that if a MANAGER is authorized, then so is a DIRECTOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VICE PRESIDENT, etc. Thus, we have configured each step to include all subsequent steps as equally authorized. Notice also that in the lower left corner, each step has a 'Step Number', which starts at zero and increases by 1 for each subsequent step. The 'Path Number' is always 'A' since we do not have any parallel paths, though this is also possible. The Rules tab (Images\Obj03.jpg) is used to specify the dollar limits for this step. Quantities can also be specified, as well as more complex rules in the Route Control section (such as chartfield values), though this has not been implemented. Finally, the 'Events' tab specfies which activity to fire when somebody at this step approves, denies or recycles the item (Images\Obj04.jpg). (Note: The 'Approval' section only applies when the approver is not authorized.)

    For example, suppose that a MANAGER approves a requisition for $5,000. The following logic would be used to determine whether she is authorized:

    1. Go to the first rule step, which is EMPLOYEE.
    2. Is the approver an EMPLOYEE? No.
    3. Is MANAGER equally authorized to approve? Yes.
    4. Go to the MANAGER rule step.
    5. Are MANAGER's authorized to approve $5,000? Yes.
    6. Change status of requisition to 'Approved'.
    7. Fire the 'Notify Requestor' activity.

Technical Process Flow

Technical Process Flow

    The following is a technical description of the requisition workflow process flow. The intent is to aid IT personnel in troubleshooting workflow-related cases.

    1. First, the user enters a requisition. (Images\Fig1.gif)
    2. The user then submits it for approval. (Images\Fig2.gif)
    3. PeopleSoft then figures out which routing query to run. (Images\Fig3.gif) The S_SUPERVISOR query uses fields in the PS_JOB table, which is updated by HR and migrated to Financials using a SQL script. (Images\Fig4.gif).
    4. A custom Application Engine process reads the PS_JOB and PS_PERSONAL_DATA tables (sent from HRMS), adds new users, and updates their security roles accordingly (Images\Fig5.jpg).
    5. Using data from the Amount Approval page, it passes prompts to the query, runs it, and routes a worklist item to that person. (Images\Fig6.gif)
    6. Once She approves it, PeopleSoft checks her approval authority. (Images\Fig7.gif)
    7. If she is authorized, the Amount Approval is complete, and an e-mail is sent to the originator (Images\Fig8.gif). If not, the requisition is recycled to the next approver, and the process is repeated (Images\Fig9.gif).

Workflow Setup

Workflow Setup

    The following is a list of workflow setup instructions. The intent is to aid IT personnel in modifying workflow rules, or in troubleshooting workflow-related cases.

    1. First, create your role queries (Images\Setup01.jpg). These define who will be notified, and under what conditions (i.e. based on bind variables).
    2. Then, create dynamic roles, which point to the role queries (Images\Setup02.jpg).
    3. Also, create any needed dynamic roles. A SQL script will assign these to users (Images\Setup03.jpg).
    4. Make sure employee ID is correctly entered in each Security profile (Images\Setup04.jpg). Also, make sure PS_JOB has up-to-date values in the EMPLID and SUPERVISOR_ID fields. (We will use this data in one of our role queries.)
    5. Add Requestors (Images\Setup05.jpg). Note: This step is automated by a custom Application Engine program S_USER_SAVE (Images\Fig5.jpg).
    6. Update user preferences for everyone who can either create a requisition or approve one (Images\Setup06.jpg).
    7. Next, create your Activties (Images\Setup07.jpg). This is for routing purposes only. It does not affect approval levels.
    8. Map each worklist to its role (Images\Setup08.jpg).
    9. Create the Approval Rule Sets (Images\Setup09.jpg). This determines who is authorized to approve. (It is independent of routing.) It also determines which Activity will be executed if an authorized approval has taken place.
    10. Define each approval step (Images\Setup10.jpg).
    11. Make sure that your Purchasing business unit points to your approval rule sets (Images\Setup11.jpg).
    12. Finally, make sure workflow is turned on (Images\Setup12.jpg).

Developed but not Implemented

Developed But Not Implemented

    The original prototype included both amount-based approval and chartfield-based approval. In the final prototype, only amount-based approval was implemented. The following section describes the chartfield-related configuration which was not implemented.

    First of all, amount-based approval refers to workflow that differentiates beteween approval authority purely based on dollar limits. This is the simplest of all workflow to implement. Chartfield-based approval is a more complex, generalized approval methodology. The term 'chartfield' in PeopleSoft refers to a financial field, such as 'Account' or 'Department'. However, chartfield-based approval can include other criteria, such as amount. We chose not to implement chartfield-approval because it would have applied to less than 10 approvers, whereas amount-based approval applies to literally hundreds of approvers. The costs of implementing chartfield-approval outweighed the benefits.

    The following setup was part of the original prototype, but not implemented:

    1. First, create your role queries (Images\CF01.jpg). These define who will be notified, and under what conditions (i.e. based on bind variables).
    2. Then, create dynamic roles, which point to the role queries (Images\CF02.jpg).
    3. Also, create any needed dynamic roles. A SQL script will assign these to users (Images\CF03.jpg).
    4. Next, create your Activties (Images\CF04.jpg). This is for routing purposes only. It does not affect approval levels.
    5. Map each worklist to its role (Images\CF05.jpg).
    6. Create the Approval Rule Sets (Images\CF06.jpg). This determines who is authorized to approve. (It is independent of routing.) It also determines which Activity will be executed if an authorized approval has taken place.
    7. Define each approval step (Images\CF07.jpg).
    8. Make sure that your Purchasing business unit points to your approval rule sets (Images\CF08.jpg).

    When implemented, the following chartfield-approval path was followed by each requisition (in parallel to the amount-based approval path).

    1. The user submits their requisition for 'Chartfield' approval (i.e. Legal / Finance) (Images\CFA01.jpg). If chartfield approval is not necessary, 'Delete Me' will appear in the comment section (see above), and it will skip chartfield approval and no additional worklist items will be created. It does this by running the S_CATEGORY query via PeopleCode (i.e. by getting the query's expression). If no results are returned, it eliminates the Chartfield Approval requirement for this requisition (Images\CFA02.JPG). Don't ever delete the S_CATEGORY query. You may modify this query by changing the expression (i.e. the CASE statement).
    2. PeopleSoft figures out which Chartfield Approval query to run (Images\CFA03.jpg). Note: Although the 3 activities above appear to be in parallel, the 3 queries associated with them are designed to be mutually exclusive. i.e., only 1 query may return results at a time due to the CASE statements in each.
    3. Using data from the Chartfield Approval page, it passes prompts to the query, runs it, and routes a worklist item to that person, who then approves it (Images\CFA04.jpg). If further chartfield approval is still required, the status will remain as 'In Progress', and the worklist item will disappear from his list.
    4. PeopleSoft determines this by checking the approval rules (Images\CFA05.jpg).
    5. If further approval is required, PeopleSoft figures out the next query to run (Images\CFA06.jpg). Note: In this example, only the S_DEPTID query will return data, due to the way in which the 3 queries are designed.
    6. Again, PeopleSoft runs the query and routes it to the appropriate person, who then approves it (Images\CFA07.jpg). If further chartfield approval is still required, the status will remain as 'In Progress', and the worklist item will disappear from his list.
    7. Again, PeopleSoft determines this by checking the approval rules (Images\CFA08.jpg).
    8. PeopleSoft finds the next query to run (Images\CFA09.jpg). Note: In this example, only the S_AMOUNT query will return data, due to the way in which the 3 queries are designed.
    9. PeopleSoft runs the query and routes it to the appropriate person, who then approves it (Images\CFA10.jpg). In this example, no further approval was required. So, the Approval Status changed to 'Complete', and an approval e-mail was sent to the originator.
    10. PeopleSoft determined this by checking the approval rules (Images\CFA11.jpg).

Comparison to Oracle Workflow

Comparison to Oracle Workflow

    At the time of this writing (March 2005), Oracle has recently acquired PeopleSoft and announced its plans to merge the two ERP applications into one 'super-application' by 2013 (known as Project Fusion). Oracle has not yet provided deals of its development path. The Oracle E-Business application is written in Java, whereas PeopleSoft is written in its own proprietary development language (i.e. PeopleSoft Application Designer). Eventually, Application Designer will go away and be replaced by Java. We don't know yet how this will occur. However, there are at least three general approaches that could be taken:

    • Replace Module: Discard the PeopleSoft module and replace it with the Oracle equivalent, providing clients with upgrade scripts. Make whatever changes are necessary to the Oracle module so that there are no functionality gaps. This may be preferable when there is significant overlap in functionality between the two. (e.g. General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, etc.)
    • Recreate Module: Recreate all of the PeopleSoft objects in Java, with the same methods, properties, etc. Leave the table structure in tact, and migrate all code into Java, leaving it fundamentally unchanged. This may be preferable if there many modules have little or no overlap in functionality. Developers should also see the newly created objects as a good fit with existing Oracle objects. (e.g. Possibly Student Administration)
    • Rewrite Module: Redesign the PeopleSoft module using existing objects and tables. This may be preferable for modules which have no overlap in functionality and are highly integrated with other existing Oracle modules, and the PeopleSoft equivalent is not a good fit.

    In many cases, first option may be cheaper, provided it can be done successfully. The second option may require a significant development effort since it would require a virtual reproduction of the PeopleSoft tool set into Java, and would only be worthwhile if a large number of modules were recreated. Oracle may find it cheapest to replace modules where it can, and rewrite them where it cannot.

    The following is a brief comparison between PeopleSoft and Oracle Workflow. Although I am not intimately familiar with Oracle Workflow, it would appear from their documentation that it has a very high degree of overlap with PeopleSoft Workflow. The implication is that it may be replaced by Oracle (meaning that we will have to re-implement). There appear to be no functionality gaps, so we should be able to support our existing approval processes.

    Oracle Workflow has a very similar look and feel to PeopleSoft. Both allow browser access. Both provide a graphical development tool (Images\Oracle01.jpg) to build workflow models. Both provide notification using e-mail (Images\Oracle06.jpg) and worklists (Images\Oracle05.jpg), where the worklist item is a pointer to a data item, not the data item itself. Both are highly configurable, allowing loops and branches in the process flow, as well as time-out escalation. Both provide a workflow processing audit trail. Both applications support the XML standard for messages, and both support LDAP compatibility.

    Oracle Workflow can be implemented as part of the Oracle9i Integration package (Images\Oracle02.jpg), which includes Oracle9i Advanced Queuing (providing support for Oracle Net as well as HTTP and HTTPS communication protocols), as well as Oracle9i Messaging Gateway (which enables integration between Oracle Workflow and other messaging solutions such as IBM MQSeries and TIBCO Rendezvous). It can also be implemented independently. Similarly, PeopleSoft Workflow can be implemented along with Application Messaging or independently. Since SeeBeyond has not implemented Application Messaging, this section addresses only the workflow component.

    Both Oracle and PeopleSoft have built in workflow trigger code into their various ERP, CRM and HRMS applications (Images\Oracle03a.jpg), so that all you have to do is turn them on.

    One difference to note is that Oracle contains a separate application development environment for its workflow, whereas PeopleSoft treats its workflow objects just like any other object within its Application Designer. This may imply some limitations on Oracle's ability to customize its workflow, though I cannot be certain without access to the Oracle application.

    Oracle documentation touts the ability to modify business processes without changing application code. However, it is not clear to me what this means. i.e., Is turning on workflow considered a change in the process? Does this statement just apply to business processes where trigger code has already been built into the application? If so, the same could be said for PeopleSoft Workflow. Also, both applications allow you to introduce modifications to the workflow process without stopping production.

    Like PeopleSoft, Oracle Workflow is message-based, triggered by 'business events'. In both cases, synchronous messaging is used. Asynchronous messaging is provided through Oracle9i Advanced Queuing and PeopleSoft Application Messaging using publish / subscribe methodology (Images\Oracle03.jpg).

    Both applications use 'Activities' to control the routing of worklist items. In both cases, activities can be used to model content-based routing and error handling. Also, in both cases a workflow process can be triggered by an inbound message, can send an outbound message, or trigger another event.

    Another difference is that Oracle uses XML documents to trigger activity branching (Images\Oracle04.jpg), whereas PeopleSoft its own proprietary tools (i.e. role queries, PeopleCode).

    Both allow notifications to include dynamically generated content (i.e. personalized messages). Also, both allow you to delegate approval to others using from-to dates. Both use role-based notification, allowing notifications to change dynamically as people change positions.

    One difference is that the Oracle Workflow Monitor is implemented as a Java applet, whereas PeopleSoft implements it using JSP. This could have some performance impact.

    Also, Oracle can apparently allow users to configure which items are delegated and which items should sit in their worklist. This is something that PeopleSoft would have to be customized to do.

    Both provide for a Workflow Administrator who can intervene to help reroute worklist items (Images\Oracle07.jpg). However, Oracle does seem to be more powerful in its ability to Stop or pause a process, retry, skip an activity, rewind and re-execute (Images\Oracle08.jpg). In PeopleSoft, this would have to be accomplished through reassignment. It is not clear whether this would benefit SeeBeyond.

About Reusable Learning Objects

About Reusable Learning Objects (RLO)

    Introduction:

    This learning module is compliant with CanCore standards regarding Learning Object Metadata (LOM). CanCore is a set of best practices for interpreting and implementing IEEE LOM standards. The CanCore initiative has been coordinated by Athabasca University and funded by Industry Canada/CANARIE, Alberta Learning, Netera Alliance, TeleCampus.edu, and the Electronic Text Centre at the University of New Brunswick. CanCore is used throughout the U.S., Canada, U.K. and France. Some examples include Athabasca University (http://adlibx.athabascau.ca/ADLib/LOR/args0/ADLib/args1/Home/?text=about), BC Campus (http://www.bccampus.ca), CELTS (China), Desire2Learn (http://www.desire2learn.com), Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (http://www.enc.org/), Canadian Treasury Board, National Science Digital Library (http://www.nsdl.org/), and UK LOM Core (http://www.cetis.ac.uk/profiles/uklomcore/).

    Meta data refers to information that describes the characteristics of the learning object. IEEE (p1484) identifies the following LOM categories: General, Life Cycle, Meta-Meta Data, Educational, Technical, Rights, Relation, Annotation and Classification. The IEEE standard does not define how a learning technology system will represent metadata. The purpose of the standard is to facilitate interoperability. By providing a common taxonomy, users can more easily search, evaluate, acquire, catalog, inventory and use learning objects across organizations and cultures. Learning technology systems should be able to automate this process. A sample of metadata, implemented using the CanCore LOM standard, is illustrated in the Metadata section of this document. (The underlying XML of this metadata can be found in RLO.XML). For a detailed description of the CanCore standard, complete with definitions and examples, see http://www.cancore.ca/en/dynamic/.

    A Reusable Learning Object (RLO) is an entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used and reused for educational purposes. RLO's (also known as lessons) are viewed as data structures made up of smaller objects called Reusable Information Objects (RIO's, also known as topics). These RIO's may be reassembled as desired to provide customized RLO's. The following is a sample hierarchy developed by Cisco for the Canadian Navy RLO project:

    • Curriculum
    • Unit
    • Module
    • Lesson (RLO)
    • Topic (RIO)

    The document you are currently reading (i.e. entitled PeopleSoft Requisitions / Workflow Training) has been implemented as an RLO, and each of the topics (including this topic of About Reusable Learning Objects (RLO)) have been implemented as RIO's.

    We have chosen to use XML as the format to store content, with DTD to enforce data structure, and XSL to define presentation format. Some of the advantages of this approach are as follows:

    • XML is an international standard, which helps protect our investment in electronic information.
    • XML is strong in describing educational metadata
    • Allows separation of content (XML) from presentation format (XSL)
    • Machine readable. Most languages and databases now offer XML support.
    • Data structure can be enforced using DTD files, including multiple DTD's per document.
    • XML is human readable and similar to HTML

    RDF is another good alternative. RDF represents data using a directed graph structure, whereas XML represents data using a tree structure. Just as a tree strcture is one possible configuration of a directed graph, XML is one possible syntax of RDF.

    Design:

    This learning module contains the following files:

    • RLO.XML: Used to store actual content
    • RLO.XSL: Used to define the format of the final presentation
    • RLO.DTD: Used to ensure the validity of the content of the RLO.XML file

    When RLO.XML, RLO.XSL and RLO.DTD are placed in the same directory as XLAN.BAT and XLAN.BAT is executed, the final presentation in HTML format is created. Contents.HTML is the table of contents and RLO.HTML is the learning material itself. There is also a subdirectory called Images which contains all of the JPEG files to which the hyperlinks in RLO.HTML point.

    In RLO.XML, educational content is organized using the following tags:

    • <RLO>: Root tag for the entire learning module
    • <TITLE>: The title of this learning module
    • <OVERVIEW>: An overview of the entire learning module
    • <RIO>: A topic or lesson. There may be many RIO's within an RLO.
    • <SECT>: A major section within an RIO
    • <PARA>: A paragraph within an RIO. Paragraphs do not need to be part of sections, but they can be.
    • <LIST> and <ITEM>: A list of items within an RIO, either numbered or bulleted.
    • <LINK>: A hyperlink to some other data source, such as a JPEG file. It can also be used as an anchor for other hyperlinks, as in the case where we place a <LINK> as an immediate child of an <RIO>.
    • <SUMMARY>: A summary of what was covered in the learning module.
    • <QUIZ>: A quiz, consisting of questions and answers.
    • <Metadata>: The metadata for this learning module (CanCore compliant).

    This design approach helps to organize content, so that it may easily be referenced or reused, while still providing curriculum designers the flexibility to organize it as they wish. Material may be reorganized or combined with other material by simply copying and pasting <RIO> sections of text from one XML document to another. The XSL file does all the work of modifying the presentation format.

    The RLO.XSL file is the design template for the final HTML presentation. As long as the XML file follows the above structure, a single XSL file will work on all XML files, regardless of their content. Thus, there is no hard-coding of content into the XSL file. All references to content are dynamic, not static. This allows users to enforce a common look and feel for all presentation materials, without having to change each individual module. To accomplish this, the following are some of the techniques that were used in the XSL file:

    • Template match: (e.g., <xsl:template match="/RLO/TITLE">) All of the formatting within this tag will fire only when the XML content specified is encountered. In this example, the formatting would apply only to the TITLE section of your content.
    • Apply Templates: (e.g., <xsl:apply-templates select="SECT|PARA|LIST|NOTE"/>) This is used to support the use of tags within tags (e.g. a <PARA> within an <RIO>, or a <LIST> within a <PARA>). Each of these tags, in turn, requires a template match as described in the previous bullet.
    • Anchors: (e.g., <a NAME="OVERVIEW">Overview:</a>) These are used to define anchors that hyperlinks can point to. In this example, a hyperlink in the table of contents can now be used to take the user directly to the OVERVIEW section. Anchors can also be dynamically created based on XML content, as in the following example. (e.g., <a><xsl:attribute name="name"><xsl:value-of select="LINK/@VALUE"/></xsl:attribute><xsl:value-of select="LINK"/></a>). This example uses the NAME attribute associated with the <LINK> tag in the XML document and creates an anchor with that same name.
    • xsl:if (e.g., <xsl:if test="@target">) This is used to conditionally apply formatting if certain content is present in the XML. In this particular example, a previously specified XML tag is searched to determine if a target attribute is present, and if so, follows additional instructions to create a hyperlink.

    XSL is an open standard, which protects our investment, and saves time when formatting large quantities of educational material.

Summary:

Summary:

    Creating a Requisition:

    Requisitions are created by openning the requisition page, specifying the Requestor (i.e. the person who requires the item), Description, Quantity, Unit of Measure, Category (e.g. Computer, Furniture), Price, and Comments. The Requestor determines the department and the Categogry determines the account number. Use + or - to add or delete lines. Save your requisition. Go to the Supporting Documents page if you want to link to a document in Documentum. When you are ready, Submit your requisition for approval. Once it is submitted, you cannot change it unless an approver 'Recycles' it back to you. You may Cancel a requisition at any time, regardless of its approval status. You will be e-mailed when your requisition is approved. If changes are required, an approver will 'Recycle' it back to you. You will be e-mailed and the requisition will appear in your worklist, along with the approver's comments. You must then resubmit the requisition for approval or cancel it.

    Approving a Requisition:

    Requisitions are approved by openning your worklist and select an item, reviewing the approval page, clicking on the Requisition hyperlink as needed to jump directly to the requisition, reviewing the Approval History page, and filling in the Approver Comments section. The Approval Action field defaults to 'Approve', so do not save unless you approve. Once you approve, it will be removed from your worklist and routed to the next approver if required. If you select 'Deny' and save, the requisition will be cancelled, the originator will be e-mailed, and no further processing will occur. If you select 'Recycle' and save, the requisition will be sent back to its originator along with an e-mail. The originator will then have to resubmit. If you do not take action, both you and the originator will be e-mailed after 3 days as a reminder.

    Routing vs. Approval Authority:

    The term Routing refers to where the requisition goes, whereas Approval Authority refers to the approver's dollar limit. Routing follows the chain of command, whereas Approval Authority is based on each individual's dollar limit, determined by their job code. Requisitions are routed first to the Requestor's supervisor. As she approves it, her approval authority is checked. If insufficient, it is then routed to her supervisor for further approval, and so on, until somebody with sufficient authority approves it. High dollar requisitions (e.g. $100,000) are also routed to the Chief Accounting Officer for approval.

    Approval Authority is checked each time somebody approves a requisition. The approver's employee ID is used to determine their job code, and therefore the approval role to which they belong. There are 9 approval levels at SeeBeyond, each with its own dollar limit. An approver cannot approve his own requisition, regardless of dollar amount.

    Approvers should remember that IT Acquisitions must be approved by the VP of IT, Furniture and Fixtures require approval from the Director of Corporate Services, and Donations require the approval of the Chief Accounting Officer.

    Converting a Requisition into a PO:

    Once requisitions are approved, they are turned into PO's. Purchasing selects the requisition, runs the PO Calculation process (scheduled), and the PO Creation process (scheduled). This will create a PO, and a hyperlink will allow you to drill down from the PO to the requisition.

    Role of the Workflow Administrator:

    The role of the Workflow Administrator is to intervene when requested to resolve routing problems, or to change the configuration of PeopleSoft Workflow. The timing, frequency and wording of timeout notification, monitoring of worklist activity, changing the status or routing of a single worklist item, researching the routing and approval history of a requisition, or the setting of dollar limits for each position, are among the acitivities a Workflow Administrator may undertake, when authorized to do so. (Such requests are to be documented and approved in accordance with SOX, as with all MIS requests.)

    Workflow Objects:

    TriggerBusinessEvent() methods are used to initiate a workflow process, telling activities to fire. Activities are the fundamental building blocks of workflow routing, and are used to direct what will happen next. At a minimum, activities consist of Steps, Lightning Bolts and Worklists or E-mails. Steps indicate what page will open when a recipient selects a worklist item. Lightning Bolts are required to link steps to worklists and/or e-mails. Worklist objects indicate the table name for the worklist entries, control the appearance and functionality of the worklist page itself, and define timeout processing options. The Worklist mapping attributes determine the content and destination of the outgoing worklist message, and often utilize dynamic roles in conjunction with role queries and bind variables to route dynamically. Some of the activities used by PeopleSoft Requisitions include S_SUPERVISOR and S_RECYCLE, as well as some delivered activities such as 'Notify Requester' and 'Find Timeout Worklists'. Activities are grouped together in Business Processes.

    An Approval Rule Set is like a decision tree that is used to determine if a user is authorized to approve a particular item. This should not be confused with routing as Worklist items are not necessarily routed to individuals in this order. Each icon on the approval rule set is called a rule step. Each step definition lists all subsequent steps as 'Equally Authorized', meaning that if a MANAGER is authorized, then so is a DIRECTOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VICE PRESIDENT, etc. Each step also contains a sequential 'Step Number'. The 'Path Number' is always 'A' since we do not utilize parallel paths. The 'Rules' tab specifies the dollar limit, and the 'Events' tab specfies which activity to fire when somebody at this step approves, denies or recycles the item. (Here, 'Approval' only applies when the approver is not authorized.)

    Technical Process Flow:

    The technical process flow of a requisition involves its initial creation, submission for approval, determining which routing query to run, using data from the Amount Approval page to pass bind variables to the query, running it to obtain a recipient list, and routing a worklist item to each recipient. Also, when an item is approved, PeopleSoft checks the approver's approval authority using the Approval Rule Set, and either updates the requisition status to 'Approved', or fires the routing process again to find the next approver. HR data is maintained up-to-date by a custom Application Engine process which reads the HRMS tables, adds new users, and updates their security roles accordingly.

    Workflow Setup:

    Workflow setup requires the Creation of role queries, dynamic roles, Activties for routing and notification purposes, mapping of worklists to roles, creation of Approval Rule Sets (which includes the definition of each approval step), configuration of Purchasing business units to point to the approval rule sets, turning on workflow, and finally, creating processes to update employee data, including members of dynamic roles, security profiles, Requestors and user preferences.

    Not Implemented:

    Chartfield-based approval was part of the original prototype, but was not implemented. Amount-based approval defines approval authority based on dollar limits, whereas chartfield-based approval is more general and complex. The term 'chartfield' refers to a financial field, such as 'Account' or 'Department', but chartfield-based approval can include other criteria as well. The exact same steps are followed when setting up chartfield-approval. However, chartfield approval occurs in parallel to amount-based approval (i.e. two sets of worklist notifications occur in parallel). A different approval page is used, worklist items are routed via separate role queries (multiple instead of just one, and more complex), and approval authority is determined using different approval rule sets with different criteria. The prototype worked, but since it applied to so few users, we felt that the added design complexity was not warranted.

    Comparison with Oracle Workflow:

    There is very little difference in functionality between the Oracle and PeopleSoft Workflow solutions. Given the degree of overlap, Oracle may keep its existing solution rather than rewrite PeopleSoft Workflow in Java. Oracle Workflow has a very similar look and feel to PeopleSoft, both having browser access, graphical development tools, e-mail and worklist notification, highly configurable, allowing loops and branches in the process flow, time-out escalation, audit trails, support for XML and LDAP, message servers for high-volume message queuing, integration with other messaging solutions such as IBM MQSeries and TIBCO Rendezvous, workflow trigger code built into the various ERP, CRM and HRMS applications, supporting both synchronous and asynchronous messaging, 'Activities' to control the routing of worklist items, content-based routing and error handling, workflow processes triggered by inbound messages, outbound messages, events that trigger other events, delegation of approval using from-to dates, role-based notification, and Workflow Administrator intervention. Oracle contains a separate development environment for its workflow, whereas PeopleSoft handles all objects within a single development environment. Also, Oracle uses XML documents to trigger activity branching, whereas PeopleSoft uses its own proprietary tools. Oracle Workflow Monitor is implemented as a Java applet, whereas PeopleSoft implements it on the server-side. Oracle delivers the ability for users to differentiate which items are delegated and which items sit in their worklist, whereas this would have to be customized in PeopleSoft. The most significant benefit to SeeBeyond may be the switch to a common Java / XML standard.

    About Reusable Learning Objects (RLO):

    This learning module is compliant with CanCore standards regarding Learning Object Metadata (LOM). CanCore is a set of best practices for interpreting and implementing IEEE LOM standards. A Reusable Learning Object (RLO) is an entity that may be reused for educational purposes. RLO's (or lessons) are made up of smaller objects called Reusable Information Objects (RIO's, or topics). These RIO's may be reassembled to provide customized learning content. e.g.:

    • Curriculum
    • Unit
    • Module
    • Lesson (RLO)
    • Topic (RIO)

    This document uses XML as metadata format, with DTD to enforce data structure, and XSL to define presentation format. Advantages include international standardization, strength in describing educational metadata, separation of content from presentation format, machine readability, enforcement of structure, and human readability of XML. RDF is another strong alternative. The IEEE standard defines a conceptual data schema for learning metadata, although it does not define how a learning technology system will represent metadata. The purpose is to facilitate interoperability by providing a common taxonomy. Cancore provides guidance in interpreting and implementing these standards. The metadata associated with this document is contained within a <Metadata> tag in the RLO.XML file.

Quiz:

Quiz:

    End User Training:

    Questions:

    1. When creating a requisition, what is the significance of the Requestor field?
    2. When creating a requisition, what is the significance of the Category field?
    3. When opening an existing requisition, which ones are visible to you?
    4. What are your options if you have created and submitted a requisition, but you want to change it?
    5. If you are an approver and you want to change a requisition that was submitted to you, what are your options?
    6. What are your options if you have changed positions in the company, and an employee whom you formerly supervised has submitted a requisition to you for approval?
    7. What are your options if you have submitted a requisition for approval, and it is sitting in 'Pending' status waiting for approval, but the approver is no longer with the company?
    8. If you are an approver, and are planning a vacation, what alternative arrangements can you make to approve requisitions?
    9. What will happen if you go on vacation and delegate approval to a peer who has no signing authority?
    10. What is the difference between routing and approval authority?
    11. What will happen if the organizational structure changes mid-approval?

    Answers:

    1. The requisition will be routed to Requestor's supervisor for approval rather than yours. Also, the cost will be charged to the Requestor's department rather than yours.
    2. It sets the default account number.
    3. Requisitions that you have created, or have named you as the Requestor, or have been routed to you for approval at any time.
    4. You may cancel the requisition and create a new one, or you may ask your approver to 'Recycle' it back to you.
    5. You may 'Recycle' it back to the originator with comments, you may 'Deny' it with comments, or you may cancel the requisition and ask the originator to create a new one.
    6. This can happen if HR's records have not yet been updated. If you know who the employee's new supervisor is, you may 'Reassign' the worklist to that person. You may also 'Recycle' it back to the employee and ask him to resubmit at a later date. You may also 'Deny' or 'Cancel' the requisition if you feel it should not be authorized.
    7. Contact the Workflow Administrator and ask him to 'Reassign' it to an alternative approver.
    8. You may assign a delegee for the date range that you plan to be away. This delegee must be a peer or your supervisor.
    9. Requisitions will be rerouted to your peer, and if approved, to your supervisor for further approval.
    10. Routing refers to where the requisition will go next (i.e. who will receive the worklist item). The fact that a requisition is routed to them does not mean that they have authority to approve it. Approval Authority refers to the signing dollar limit of an individual, based on their position in the organization. The two together are necessary to approve a requisition - it must ultimately be routed to somebody with sufficient approval authority.
    11. PeopleSoft will apply the rules that are in effect at the moment in time that each user submits and saves their work, whether it be a submission for approval or an actual approval. PeopleSoft will follow the routing and approval limits in effect (in the HR system) at that moment.

    IT Support Training:

    Questions:

    1. What are your options if a worklist originator complains that a worklist item is stuck in 'Pending' status because it was routed to the wrong person?
    2. What can you do if you know somebody is leaving the company with no immediate replacement?
    3. How would you troubleshoot a problem where a user complains that she submits a requisition for approval, but nobody receives a worklist?
    4. What are your options if a user complains that they approved a requisition, but changed their mind?
    5. Why might a user complain that yesterday they saw an item in their worklist, but today it is gone?
    6. How would you troubleshoot a problem where a new USERID was added in HRMS but not in Financials?
    7. How would you troubleshoot a problem where a user approved a requisition, and claimed that it was within her approval limit, but was still routed to her supervisor for further approval?

    Answers:

    1. We should try to help the system correctly route all worklist items, and manually intervene as little as possible. If the HR data can be corrected quickly, we should wait until it is corrected, and then 'Reassign' or 'Recycle' the worklist item back to the originator so that she may resubmit (or ask the incorrect recipient to do so). If the HR data cannot be corrected quickly, then the Workflow Administrator should 'Reassign' the worklist item to the correct approver.
    2. Modify her user profile so that all worklist items are delegated to an alternate approver, and leave her profile active but reset the password and remove all roles from her security profile.
    3. First, try running the S_SUPERVISOR role query and see if it returns a result when the submitter's USERID is entered at the prompt. Make sure that the query is associated with the S_SUPERVISOR role, and that this role is referenced in the S_SUPERVISOR worklist object of the S_SUPERVISOR activity. Make sure the activity has been activated. Check the worklist object to see how the bind variable is passed to the role query from the panel. Try unhiding this field on the approval panel so that you can open the panel and see what is passed to the query. Try submitting it for approval via the Amount Approval panel rather than the 'Submit' button (i.e. to rule out a problem with the component interface or the PeopleCode on the 'Submit' button). Finally, make sure that the recipient has one of the roles specified in the approval rule set.
    4. Have the user open the requisition directly and cancel it.
    5. Most likely the user cancelled the requisition after it was already submitted. This can be confirmed by conducting a search (of the S_REQ_APPROVAL_WL record) on all worklist items submitted to this user within the time period in question, and seeing if any of them were cancelled.
    6. Run a SQL trace on the S_USER_SAVE Application Engine program. Determine whether the problem is the SELECT or the INSERT. Determine which clause of the SQL statement is responsible for its exclusion.
    7. Check the user's security profile to see what roles are assigned to her, and compare these roles with those in the approval rule set. Find out what her maximum signing limit is, and compare that amount to the requisition amount. If she does not have the correct role, run a SQL trace on the S_USER_SAVE Application Engine program to see what specific HR data was responsible for the role misassignment. (Their signing limit should be determined by the MANAGER_LEVEL field in the PS_JOBCODE_TBL table.) Take corrective action as needed.

Metadata:

Metadata:

    General:

    Last Modified:

      2005-03-25T08:25:00.00Z

    Title:

      PeopleSoft Requisitions and Workflow Training

    Language:

      en-US

    Description:

      The following is a base document to be used for training purposes. It contains various topics related to PeopleSoft Requisitions and Workflow, and these topics may be selectively combined in order to provide a variety of customized training modules. The topics of How to Create a Requisition, How to Approve a Requisition, Routing vs. Approval Authority and How to Turn a Requisition into a PO are geared more towards end users, whereas Role of the Workflow Administrator, Workflow Objects, Technical Process Flow and Workflow Setup are geared more towards IT Support personnel. Developed but not Implemented and Comparison to Oracle Workflow are geared towards system architects and future implementors, and About Reusable Learning Objects is for MIS educators and directors. There may be some overlap as well. For example, power users may be interested in some of the technical topics, and functional IT support personnel may be interested in the requisition creation and approval topics.

    Aggregation Level:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: 3

    Key Words:

    • PeopleSoft
    • Requisition
    • Workflow

    Meta Meta Data:

    Meta Meta Data Identifier:

    • Catalog: SeeWithin
    • Entry: local source

    Contributor Role:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: Creator

    Contributor Entity:

      <VCARD> <N>Gates;Ashley</N> <FN>Ashley Gates</FN> <EMAIL TYPE=INTERNET>agates@seebeyond.com</EMAIL> <ORG>SeeBeyond Technology Corporation</ORG> <VERSION>1.0</VERSION> </VCARD>

    Contribution Date:

      2005-03-25T08:30:00.00Z

    Meta Data Language:

    • en-US

    Technical:

    Technical:

    • Format: text/html
    • Location: http://www.seebeyond.com/html/training/RLO.htm

    Educational:

    Learning Resource Type:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: Narrative Text

    Intended End User Role:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: Learner

    Intended End User Role:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: Teacher

    Educational Context:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: Corporate Training

    Typical Age Range:

    • Adult

    Rights:

    Rights Cost:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: no

    Copyright And Other Restrictions:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: no

    Rights Description:

    • none

    Relation:

    Kind of Relation:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: ispartof

    Relation Resource:

    • RLO.html

    Classification:

    Classification Purpose:

    • Source: LOMv1.0
    • Value: discipline

    Taxon Path source:

    • DDC

    Taxon:

    • ID: DDC
    • Entry: Information and Communications