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Define Reports

Step 73 Write New Reports

A number of standard reports are supplied with Oracle HRMS. These reports have been written using Oracle Reports V.2 and registered as concurrent programs with the Standard Requests Submission (SRS) feature of Oracle Applications.

You can use these Standard Reports or write your own reports and register these as additional reports which users can request from the Submit a New Request window.

See also: Overview of Printers and Printing, Oracle Applications System Administrator's Guide.

Step 74 Register Reports as Concurrent Programs with SRS

After you have written your new reports and saved them in the correct subdirectory, you must register the report as a concurrent program. You also register the parameters which can be submitted with the report. For example, you may have written a report to display personal details and you want to submit employee name to limit the output to include one person at a time.

Note: Use the Concurrent Programs form.

Step 75 Define Report Sets

You can define sets of Reports:

• To restrict user access to specific reports.

A set of reports can be linked to a Responsibility.

• To simplify requesting a report

You can run a report set in one request, rather than a request for each report.

Note: Use the Request Set form.

Standard Letter Generation

Oracle HRMS provides you with two different methods to create standard letters:

• Online using Application Data Export (ADE)

• Concurrent Processing

See: Setting Up Standard Letters

Step 76 Create Standard Letters for use with Concurrent Processing

There are two methods of using concurrent processing to create your standard letters:

• Using word processors

• Using Oracle reports

See: Using a Word Processor

As an alternative to using a word processor to produce standard letters, you can use the Standard Letter and Label features of Oracle Reports. Use this method if you do not want use word processors to print your letters (or if you do not have word processors).

See: Using Oracle Reports

Concurrent Processing - for use with Word Processors

1. Plan

One of the first tasks you need to perform is to identify which data you want to extract from the database to include in your standard letters. You need to identify the select statements to use to provide you with the the data as the content of your letters. Oracle HRMS supplies you with SQL*Plus scripts as templates to help you do this. You also need to identify the text that you want to include as the body of your letters.

The next decision you need to make is to decide whether or not you want to associate your standard letters with student enrollment or applicant assignment statuses.

See: Planning

2. Write SQL*Plus script

The next step is to write the script that extracts the event and enrollment details from the system. This SQL*Plus file must use the correct delimiter for your word processor to recognize in the mail merge routine.

See:

Writing a SQL*Plus Script for MultiMate or WordPerfect

Template SQL*Plus Script PERWPWUK

3. Register SQL*Plus script

After you have written the file to extract the data, you must register it so that it can be run as a concurrent program. Name the files PERWP***. You must use this prefix for the system to recognise it as a type of letter.

Note: Use the Concurrent Programs form.

See: Concurrent Programs Window

4. Linking the SQL*Plus script with a letter

The next step is to link your SQL*Plus script to one or more applicant or enrollment statuses.

Note: Use the Letter form.

See: Linking the SQL*Plus Script With a Letter

5. Write skeleton letter

You now need to write a skeleton letter using your word processor.

See: Writing a Skeleton Letter

6. Request Letter

You now run the SQL*Plus script to extract the data from the database. You activate the SQL*Plus script through the Letter Request window.

Note: Use the Request Letter form.

See: Requesting Letters for MultiMate or WordPerfect

7. Merge Data File with standard letter

You need to merge the data in the data file with your skeleton letters to create your standard letters.

See: Merging the Data File With the Standard Letter for MultiMate or WordPerfect

Concurrent Processing - for use with Oracle Reports

1. Plan Content and Layout

One of the first tasks you need to perform is to identify which data you want to extract from the database to include in your standard letters. You need to identify the select statements to use to provide you with the the data as the content of your letters.

The next decision you need to make is to decide whether or not you want to associate your standard letters with student enrollment or applicant assignment statuses.

See: Planning the Content and Layout

2. Write Report

The next step is to write the report that extracts the event and enrollment details from the system. You also need to write your skeleton letter text and select statements.

See: Writing the Report

3. Register Report

After you have written the report, you must register it so that it can be run as a concurrent program. Name it PERWP***. You must use this prefix for the system to recognise it.

Note: Use the Concurrent Programs form.

See: Concurrent Programs Window

4. Linking the report with a letter

The next step is to link your report to one or more applicant or enrollment statuses.

Note: Use the Letter form.

See: Linking the Report With a Letter

5. Running the Report

You now run the report to extract the data from the database. You run the report by creating a pending letter request in the Letter Request window.

Note: Use the Request Letter form

See: Running the Report

Step 77 Create Standard Letters Online for use with Application Data Export (ADE)

You can generate your standard letters online, using ADE. ADE comes with its own set of documentation and online help.

See: Letter Generation Setup

Step 78 Create Standard Letters Online for use with Microsoft Word

If you use Microsoft Word as your word processor, not only can you use the concurrent processing method to produce your standard letters, but you can also generate letters online.

You can use either of two methods:

• Generate Microsoft Word letters using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)

• Application Data Export (ADE)

Attention: In future releases of Oracle HRMS, generating Microsoft Word letters using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) will be replaced by ADE.

ADE comes with its own set of documentation and online help.

See: Setup Overview.

If you are setting up standard letters using the concurrent processing method, follow the same sequence as for MultiMate or WordPerfect.

See: Flowchart for Setting Up Standard Letters Using MultiMate or WordPerfect

If you are generating Microsoft Word letters using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), see Writing a SQL*Plus Script for Microsoft Word

Define User Security

Any system that holds human resource and payroll information must be secured against unauthorized access. To reach employee information you need the correct security clearance.

The responsibility for defining and maintaining the internal security of your system is usually given to your system administrator.

Defining the access limits of each user is a multi-stage process which defines which records a user can see and which forms and windows they can see and use.

• A security profile limits access to records and is based on the work structures you define in the system. These restrict access to data using organization hierarchies, position hierarchies, and payrolls.

Note: You can use security profiles to restrict the data visible to people who use Oracle reporting tools to access the Oracle HRMS database, as well as those who use forms. To do this, you must create a new ORACLE User ID for each security profile.

• The Main Menu determines the forms a user can see in a Responsibility. Forms may be called in Query-Only mode which will allow a user to inquire and see information but will not allow any changes to be made.

• The HR:Query Only Mode user profile option restricts access to view-only for all HR and Payroll forms on a menu.

• Form Customization lets you restrict the types of information a user can access in a specific form or window.

• Task Flow lets you define the sequence of windows you want to use when performing specific tasks.

Step 79 Create New Oracle IDs

If you want reporting users to have the same restricted access to records as your online users, ask your ORACLE Database Administrator to create a new ORACLE User ID.

Reporting Users have read only access to data. This can be useful if you want to permit access to the data from another system. For example, reporting users might use Oracle Discoverer to report on HRMS information.

Note: You need to inform Reporting Users of their Reporting Username and Password.

Step 80 Register ORACLE IDs

This is a task for your System Administrator.

After the DBA has created the ORACLE IDs you must register them with Application Object Library.

Note: Use the Oracle Usernames form

• Enter the username and password of your ORACLE ID.

• Enter the logical database details, for example, Application Object Library, STANDARD.

• Enter Restricted in the Privilege field.

Step 81 Define Security Profiles

Change to your 'View-All' Responsibility to define restricted security profiles within a Business Group.

Note: Use the Security Profile form.

See: Defining Security Profiles

The security profile defines the employees AND the applicants you can see in a single responsibility. For example, when you define a profile to have access to the records of one department you can say whether this is for:

• employees to that department and all applicants, or

• applicants to that department and all employees, or

• employees and applicants to that department only

Step 82 Run Generate Secure User Process (SECGEN)

The Generate Secure User process will grant permissions to the new Reporting User ORACLE ID. Until you run this process, reporting users cannot access Oracle HRMS data using this security profile.

Note: Use the Submit a New Request form.

See: Running Oracle Applications Reports and Programs

• Select Generate Secure User.

• In the Parameters window, enter the security profile you created for the ORACLE ID.

• Submit your request.

A concurrent request ID appears in the ID field. You can check the progress of your request on the View Concurrent Requests window.

Step 83 Run Security List Maintenance Process (LISTGEN)

Oracle HRMS uses the Security List Maintenance process to generate the lists of organizations, positions, payrolls, employees and applicants that each security profile can access.

Attention: When you initiate the Listgen process you must enter the resubmission interval to run Listgen every night.

You must do this so that the system will automatically update the lists with the data changes you make every day.

If a power or computer failure should disrupt this process, you can initiate it manually from the Submit a New Request window.

Note: Use the Submit a New Request form.

See: Running Oracle Applications Reports and Programs

When this process has completed successfully you can sign on to the system using the new username and responsibility.

Step 84 Define Form Customizations

Form Customization lets you restrict the types of information a user can access in a specific form or window.

The list of forms that you can customize is given in your User's Guide.

Note: You can define your own form titles for any form customization option. Remember that the user guides and the online help use the default form names to identify forms.

Note: Use the Form Customization form.

See: Defining Customized Forms

Attention: You can call the customized form in two ways:

• define a customized node in a task flow

• add the customization as an argument to the menu function which calls the form

HR_CUSTOMIZATION = "customization name"

Step 85 Define Task Flow Nodes

A task flow defines the selection of windows you want to use when performing a specific task. These can be arranged in sequence or as branched groups of Nodes, and you can include 'customized' windows as nodes in your task flow.

Note: Use the Define Task Flow Nodes form.

See: Defining Task Flow Nodes

Suggestion: If you want to use a customized form as the first node in a task flow you should define this as a new node.

You could add both the task flow and the customization as arguments to a single menu function but this may be more difficult to maintain.

Step 86 Define Task Flows

Arrange the nodes of your task flows in sequential or branched groups

Note: Use the Task Flow form.

See: Defining Task Flows

Suggestion: When defining the navigation buttons in your task flows:

• Don't have long sequences where you cannot go back to the previous step

• Use the same button names for the same nodes

• Use different button names for customized nodes

Note: Before you can include the task flow in a menu, you must define a new menu function with the following argument in the Argument field:

WORKFLOW_NAME = "task flow name"

Step 87 Define Menu Functions

This is a task for your System Administrator.

Menus are composed of submenus and functions and all Oracle Applications are supplied with default functions and menus to give you access to all of the available forms.

Function Security helps you to control the menu options you make available to each responsibility. When you define a responsibility you can restrict the submenus or functions for that responsibility.

In Oracle HRMS a function can be:

• a form

• a form called in query-only mode

• a form called with a customization

• a form called with a task flow

Warning: You should not modify the default functions and menus supplied with the system. On upgrade, these defaults will be overwritten.

If you want to add form customization options or task flows you should define your own menus.

Note: Use the Form Functions form.

Consider whether you want to define your own 'supermenus' to contain all of your task flow and customization 'functions' as well as the standard forms. The alternative is to define many menus.

Step 88 Define Menus

This is a task for your System Administrator.

The supplied menus give you access to all of the available submenus. However, a number of seeded functions are not enabled on these menus. You need to add them for the responsibilities that should have access to these functions:

• HR View Medical

This function causes the Medical Information alternative region to display in the People window.

• HR View Background

This function causes the Background Information alternative region to display in the People window.

• HR View Rehire

This function causes the Rehire Information alternative region to display in the People window.

• Salary Administration: Approve

This function enables the user to approve salary proposals in the Salary Administration window and the Salary Management folder.

Note: Use the Menus form.

See: Setting Up Navigation Menus

Warning: Oracle HRMS with DateTrack and task flows does not fully support multiple active forms. When you define a new menu for use with Oracle HRMS the top menu must include the following function as a separate menu option:

Disable Multiform, Multisession

Step 89 Define Report Security Groups

This is a task for your System Administrator.

You can define the groups of standard reports and processes that a user can run from the Submit a New Request window. Every responsibility can have access to one report group.

Note: Use the Report Groups form.

Step 90 Define Responsibilities

This is a task for your System Administrator.

Define a Responsibility to bring together all of your Security definitions:

Note: Use the Responsibilities form.

• Every responsibility has a unique Name.

• Select your customized Main Menu to restrict access to the forms.

• Select the Report Security Group for the Responsibility.

• Exclude any submenus or functions you want to restrict.

Note: Before you can log on to Oracle HRMS using your new secure Responsibility you must run the Security List Maintenance process.

Step 91 Define Application User

This is a task for your System Administrator.

You should define every user of the system with a unique username and password. You can give the same responsibility to many different users, but any data changes will be identified by the Application Username.

Note: Use the Users form.

• To create a new User, enter a username and a password with the correct Start Date.

Note: The first time you sign on as a new user the system will force you to select your own private password.

• Select the responsibilities you want this user to access. Use the Start and End Dates to control when each responsibility is available to the user.

Step 92 Define HR User Profile Options

This is a task for your System Administrator.

HR User Profile Options control some of the defaults which are used in the online system. You must define the following profile values for every new responsibility:

• HR:Security Profile

• HR:User Type

Note: The HR:Security Profile option determines the Business Group for the responsibility. If you do not define this profile, the setup business group will be used as the default.

In addition to these profiles you may want to set up other defaults for groups of users or even for an individual user. For example, you may want to set the default for the DateTrack:Prompt to always prompt new users with their effective date.

Note: Use the System Profile Values form.

See: Setting User Profile Options

• Select the new responsibility.

• Select the HR:Security Profile option and enter the name of your security profile.

• Select the HR:User Type option and enter the correct user type for this responsibility.

• HR User if you have access to Oracle Human Resources but not Oracle Payroll functions.

• HR and Payroll User if you have access to both Oracle Human Resources and Oracle Payroll functions.

• Payroll User if you have access to Oracle Payroll but not Oracle Human Resources functions.

Note: This option restricts the regions and fields that a user can use in the windows. For example, an HR User cannot see some of the payroll processing fields on the Element window. Also, if Oracle Payroll is installed, HR Users cannot assign employees to payrolls.

Define Audit Requirements

Step 93 Estimate File Sizing and Management Needs

Whenever you choose to audit the actions of users of the system you are deciding to keep the details of all the transactions which take place. This will include before and after details as well as the details of who made the change and when.

Turning Audit on has no noticeable effect on the performance of the system and users will not be aware of any extra delay in committing their transactions.

Warning: In normal use the auditing of data can soon generate large volumes of audit data, which even when stored in a compressed format will continue to grow in size until you reach the limits imposed by your environment. If you reach the limits during active use then users will be unable to use the system until you remedy the problem.

You are strongly advised to consider the scope of your audit activities and how you will use the data you accumulate. Also you should consider how often you will report on the audit data, and when you will archive and purge your audit data.

If you need more advice on this you should contact your Oracle Support representative.

Note: The following tasks are the responsibility of your System Administrator.

Step 94 Define Audit Installations

If you have installed more than one Oracle Application you can audit across multiple installations. For Oracle HRMS you should enable auditing for the HR user and the APPLSYS user.

Note: Use the Audit Installations form.

Step 95 Define Audit Tables and Columns

With Oracle Applications you can define the level of detail you want to audit. You define the individual fields of each record that you want to audit.

Note: Use the Define Audit Tables form.

• Query the Table you want to audit

• Enter the columns you want to audit for that table

Step 96 Define Audit Groups

You can define one or more Audit Groups for your installation. You might find this useful if you have more than one Oracle Application installed.

Note: Use the Audit Groups form.

Step 97 Activate AuditTrail Update Tables Process

To start the AuditTrail activity you must submit the Activate AuditTrail Update Tables Process.

Note: Use the Submit a New Request form.

See: Running Oracle Applications Reports and Programs