PeopleSoft Forms and Approval Builder · •Details on DMS script for Forms Migration can be found...
Transcript of PeopleSoft Forms and Approval Builder · •Details on DMS script for Forms Migration can be found...
Prepared by:
Session ID:
PeopleSoft Forms and Approval Builder
Steven Canter
Director, Global Service Delivery
Smart ERP Solutions
Now Better with Fluid
100350
Agenda
• Overview of Approval and Forms Builder
• How to design a form
• Linking a form to a PeopleSoft transaction via Component Interface
• Filling out and approving the form
• Limitations and other considerations
• Wrap-up/Questions
About Smart ERP Solutions, Inc
Achieve Best-In-Class PerformanceOur mission is to provide innovative, configurable, flexible, cost-effective solutions
to common business challenges, enabling our clients to save time, increase productivity, minimize costs, and maximize their return on investment.
SolutionsBusiness applications that offer organizations an end-to-end solution providing
the right design and implementation from start
to finish.
ServicesA 24/7 seasoned and
experienced staff of experts to help you implement your
business solutions efficiently and effectively at
a cost-effective rate.
CloudCloud applications provide solutions built on proven
enterprise class architecture that enable high configurability and
ease of monitoring.
What is the Forms and Approval Builder?
• Enables organizations to replace paper forms and emails with electronic forms
• Forms are configuration by business analysts – no writing of code required
• Forms are enabled for approval workflow
• Developers can map data collected on forms to PeopleSoft Component Interface to allow form data to be copied to a PeopleSoft transaction.
Quick History
• Forms and Approval Builder was introduced in PeopleSoft 9.1 as an Enterprise Component
• Fluid Support added in FSCM Image 20 and HCM Image 20.
• Fluid makes forms easier for casual users and allows forms to be filled out and approved on mobile devices
• Forms created with Classic UI and those created in Fluid are not interchangeable
Why Use Forms Builder?
• Does your organization have paper-based or Excel-based forms that must be filled out?
• Do you have things that need to be circulated for approvals outside of standard PeopleSoft transactions?
• Are there simple PeopleSoft transactions for which you desire approvals where there is no standard workflow?
• Do you have a need for a document repository of forms?
• Do you need to maintain an audit trail of forms approval history?
Key Features
• Forms can be designed with both data fields and text information.
• Form Instructions can be included (Classic UI Only)
• Forms can contain various types of data including Date, Yes/No, Text, etc.
• Prompts can be defined to constrain entry of fields to only valid values
• Support is provided for attachments to forms
• Form access is controlled by Role (Fluid UI only)
Example Business Cases
• Permission to bring in a temporary worker
• Request for employee payment outside of normal expenses (Example: tuition reimbursement)
• Requirement for computer or office equipment for an employee
• Request to add new master data configuration (Examples: Carrier ID, Commodity Code, Item Group, etc.)
Delivered Security Roles
• FORM_USER – User has the ability to complete and submit forms
• FORM_DESIGNER – All abilities of FORM_USER but can also add/update forms for which they are the owner
• FORM_ADMIN – All abilities of FORM_DESIGNER but with permission to access all forms regardless of ownership
• FORM_CI_DEVELOPER – All abilities of FORM_ADMIN but can also perform integration to PeopleSoft transactions by mapping form data to Component Interface
Example Business Case
• All managers in the company have the ability make a request for a capital expenditure
• All requests must be circulated for approval before the expenditure can be made
• Many people that might have the need to make a capital expenditure request are not regular PeopleSoft users
• The Forms and Approval Builder will be used to create a form and workflow for these requests
Adding Prompt Records
• Navigation is Enterprise Components > Forms >Define Prompt Records (Classic only)
• Define records here that are available as Prompt records in Forms Builder
Notes on Approval and Lockdown
Approval
• Approved User List is defined at Enterprise Components > Approvals > Approvals >User List Setup
• Approval paths are sequential – no branching is allowed
Lockdown• Do not lockdown:
changes can be made at any time
• Lockdown after submit: After the form is submitted, it cannot be changed
• Lockdown after approval: After the form is approved it cannot be changed
Activate the Form
Note: Form can be saved at any point along the way and edited. Must Activate the form before it can be used.
Linking to Component Interface
• Can use either delivered CI or create your own
• Limited to simple transactions (Example: each form can only add one row in a scroll level)
• Can only add new values – cannot update existing rows
• Prompts and XLATS must match between the form and the CI properties
• Details on creating new CI are beyond the scope of this presentation
Add a Commodity Code via Form
• Commodity Codes are used on Bills of Lading to group and identify products for freight rating and insurance purposes
• Commodity Codes in PeopleSoft often correspond to Freight Classes
• Items are assigned a Commodity Code
• For this example, we want to create a form that will allow a user to request the addition of a new Commodity Code and then for that code to be automatically added to PeopleSoft when approved
Workflow Considerations
• Approver lists are same as AWE engine.
• Only simple in-sequence workflow allowed – No ability to have parallel approvals or branching
• Approvers cannot be data driven (Example: different approvers depending on dollar value)
• Approvals are designed into the process, requires workarounds to have a form that does not require approvals. Must create an AWE workflow that is always True to emulate auto-approval.
Forms Design Considerations• Inflexible in regard to forms design and layout
• Can only specify forms sequence, not specific positioning • For Classic, can specific one-column or two-column design• For Fluid, it auto-sizes to fit
• Limited scales available for Text and Numeric fields• Cannot auto-fill data into form or constrain entries based on
user or previously entered data – Example: cannot enter Employee ID and have the Employee Name appear on the form
• Attachments, Description, and More Information fields cannot be controlled
• CI interfacing is Add Only, cannot be used to update existing data
Fluid Form Security
• Any Fluid user can see all Form tiles
• Security will prevent unauthorized users from filling a form – Fill out a new form box will be greyed out
Other Potential lssues
• In Fluid UI, Instructions are not available
• In Classic UI, Security by Form is not available
• When designing form, there is space for detailed field information, but it is not displayed on the form.
• Limited capabilities for CI integration – Add mode only and limited to a single row per scroll level
• No automated recovery if CI update is unsuccessful
• Fluid version is very new – don’t be surprise to find a bug or two
Tips for Testing/Deploying Forms
• Only status available for a form are In Design, Active, and Inactivated – there is no Test mode
• Make sure to test forms thoroughly in a test environment before deploying in Production – Once activated, existing fields cannot be deleted or modified
• Details on DMS script for Forms Migration can be found on My Oracle Support under Doc ID 1379385.1
• FORM_TYPE: Contains 1 row for each defined form• Includes Form Name, Description, Owner
• Indicates whether or not Form is Fluid
• FORM: Contains 1 row for each submitted form. • Includes OPRID for Submitter and Last Updater
• Includes Submitted Date/Time and Last Update Date/Time
• Includes Status
• For more detailed information on approval status, needto query the AWE tables.
Key Records for Reporting
Wrap Up
• Use Forms and Approval Builder when you have simple paper-based or email forms that need circulation for approval
• Useful for simple PeopleSoft transactions, particularly for set-up and configuration steps that don’t have delivered approval workflow
• Most things can be done by a Business Analyst. Developer may be needed for CI work or migration of forms between environments
• Worth trying out in your organization – but don’t set expectations too high