Old Value - New Value

The requirement of auditing the value changes in key fields is one of the common requirements. One can use audit trail or resort to activities for maintaining log. We also faced the same requirement of capturing the Old Value-New value pair in activities, whenever status of Service Request is changed.

There are multiple script less solution available for this. But the one which excited us was the introduction of "GetOldFieldValue" method of buscomp. As per bookshelf

"This method can be called by using a script in the PreWriteRecord event to retrieve an old field value if needed. This method takes an input parameter, which must be a valid field name, and returns a string containing the old field value."

Primarily this method is used for EBC's but one can use this method for any buscomp with effective use. We created a workflow which is used to read older value and new value and then create activity.

1 - Fetch Old Value

Business Service Name: SIS OM PMT Service

Business Service Method:Invoke BC Method

Input Argument

BC Name : Servcie Request

MethodName: GetOldFieldValue

Param 0: Status

OutPut Argument

Type: Output Argument

Output Argument : Return Property Name

Property Name: OldStatus (input property set created for storing Older Value)

2 - Fetch New Value

Business Service Name: Workflow Utilities

Business Service Method: Echo

Input Argument

OutPut Argument

Type: Business component

Business component Name: Service Request

Business Component Field: Status

Property Name: NewStatus

3 - Create Activity

Business Service Name: Inbound E-mail Database Operations

Business Service Method: InsertRecord

Input Argument

BusComp : Action

BusObj: Service Request

Field: SR Id : Object Id

Field: Description: "Status has been Changed from" + [&OldStatus] + "to" + [&NewStatus]

Echo still remains one of the most mysterious yet powerful method. This workflow can be invoked via runtime event on Service Request buscomp.

Happy Auditing!!

50 Up!!

“Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” - Aaron

As i write my 50th post, it feels good to be quantum of blogosphere. Here we will discuss one of my favorite topic "Workflows". A lot has been suggested about activating multiple workflows but vital thing in this post is importing/exporting multiple workflows from one repository to another and deploying and activating them in one go.

I have posted two workflows here. One is for multiple export of workflows and other is to import and activate the exported workflows. One can download from below links.

1 - Multiple Workflow Export

2 - Multiple Workflow Deploy and Activate

Usage:

Multiple Workflow Export -

Import this workflow in your tools. Modify following input process properties as per your need.

ExportFolder: This is the name of the directory where you want to keep the export of XML files.For eg, "D:\Workflow_Export"

Repository: Name of the repository from where Workflow should be exported.For eg, "Siebel Repository"

SearchSpec: Search criteria to identify what all workflows should be exported.For eg, [Process Name] LIKE 'SR*' AND [Status] = 'Completed'

Once these parameters are modified simulate the workflow and check the export directory. This directory will house all the XML export files of the Workflows given in the searchspec. Once simulation is over check the "NumOffWF" parameter which will give us the count of workflows exported. The only glitch here is it doesn't list the name of workflow which has failed during export operation.

Multiple Workflow Deploy and Activate -

Import this workflow in your tools where you want to import the extracted files. Modify following input process properties as per your need.

ImportFolder: This is the name of the directory where input files are housed.For eg, "D:\Workflow_Export"

Repository: Name of the repository where workflows should be created.For eg, "Siebel Repository"

ProjectName: Name of the project to which all workflows will be associated.For eg, "Service Request Workflow"

SearchSpec: This searchpsec is used to filter out workflows we want to deploy.For eg, "[Process Name] Like 'SR*' AND [Status] = 'In Progress'"

ActivateSearchSpec: This searchspec is used to activate workflows.For eg, [Process Name] Like 'SR *' AND [Status] = 'Completed'

Once these parameters are modified simulate the workflow. "NumOffWF" parameter after each step will give the number of workflows which are processed. The only issue is it doesn't list name of workflows which has failed during the operation.

If you are looking only for multiple workflow activation and comprehensive error logging then one can visit vinay's World. Once again thanking all for your support and comments.

Happy Deployment!!

AM for life

It can be real pain for users to sit and assign requests manually when loads of requests are bombarding system at regular intervals. For them Assignment Manager(AM) comes as boon. One can leverage AM features to ease out assignment overhead either in batch mode or in dynamic mode. For those who still want to assign request manually we have interactive feature available.

In this post i am going to primarily discuss dynamic assignment, comparison methods available and components involved. Dynamic assignment primarily performs assignments of records automatically as users and server programs create records or modify existing records. It makes use of database triggers for assignment of request.

Well written rules can help us win half the battle of assignment. The Most interesting part while defining the rules is the usage of comparison method. This defines how attributes should be compared and candidate should be evaluated. There are 5 methods available .

1 - Compare to Object

This comparison method is used to filter out the records for assignment. This method checks if the record attribute matches the value specified in the rule criteria.

Example: If any service request is created with status of "Duplicate" then it should be always assigned to Particular Employee.

2 - Compare to Person/Compare to Organization

This comparison is to filter out the Potential Employee/Postion/Organization. This method checks if the Person/Organization Skills matches the value specified in the rule criteria.

Example: If any Service Request is created of High Priority then it should be assigned to employee with Skill of type "Industry" and Value "Services".

3 - Compare Object to Person/Compare Object to Organization

This comparison directly compares the record attribute with the potential Employee/Position/Organization skills. There is no Value defined in the criteria values.

Example: If any service request is created of specific Product then it should be assigned to employee with skill of type "Product" and value as given in the product associated with SR.

There are more advanced configuration options avialable involving scoring mechanism and workload distribution for more complex assignments.

Primary components involved in the Dynamic Assignment are:

1 - Generate Trigger

2 - Workflow Monitor Agent

3 - Assignment Manager

In order to run dynamic assignment we should create a Assignment Policy for the Object we need to assign. This policy should belong to a Policy Group. Create Assignment rules with criteria and potential candidates. Release the assignment rules.

Once rules are released, run "Generate Trigger" job. This will recreate triggers to be used during assignment. Now run a WorkMon task for the assignment policy group and ensure Assignment Manager component is up and running. Two key points to debug dynamic assignment are:

1 - S_ESCL_REQ table - Entry in this table suggest that triggers are properly generated

2 - WorkMon Log - WorkMon log comprehensively lists out all the steps taken during the assignment of request including rule evaulation/Candidate assignment.

Alex has already given terrific H.U.G. to AM. If used effectively AM can really ease out assignment tasks. We will discuss more on the other assignment modes in the future.

Happy Assignment!!

JMS Messaging Configuration

"If everything else fails, try Java" . Going by the notion it is imminent for siebel to support Java business services. Being inherently generous, Siebel also extends its support to send and receive messages by way of JMS servers. I found a doucment which beautifully explains configuring JMS messaging using AQ between Siebel and Oracle SOA suite. This can be downloaded from below link:

JMS Messaging Service

All said and done Siebel Bookshelf still remains mother of all documentation but for a quick refresh or basic orientation this guide is worth a look.

S_SRM_TASK_HIST Table

One of my admin friend once told me that the problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back. In my on going quest for controlling multiple Login-Logout sessions in Directory authentication environment i landed up in situation where we required to know the list of naughty users who are working in multiple sessions. Instead of shooting back to admin friend i thought lets-hit-google and really found something worth sharing.

Issue: We set Flag on Login and unset the same on Logout in order to determine availability for assignment purpose. In multiple login/logout scenario this approach fails. We have to maintain the exact status of Employee in order for correct assignments.

Solution: This could be accomplished in two ways. First option is, We can have batch script which executes command to list the number of sessions currently logged in each application server.

List Active sessions for comp PsCcObjMgr_enu show SV_NAME,CC_ALIAS,OM_LOGIN

Above command will list the active sessions. Based on the active sessions we can update flag (Available/Unavailable) in db for logins by using stored procedure.

But being KISS(Keep it short and simple) follower an alternate and effective solution could be to query DB for active sessions and update the flag as required. Now the question arises is how to fetch active sessions from db itself. "S_SRM_TASK_HIST" table comes as life saver in this scenario. This table lists all the sessions on the object manager along with start and end date. So we can easily determine which is active and which one is dead.

select SRVR_START_TS,SRVR_END_TS,SRVR_COMP_NAME,SRVR_USER_NAME

from siebel.S_SRM_TASK_HIST where SRVR_COMP_NAME IN ('PSCcObjMgr_enu')

Order by SRVR_USER_NAME

S_SRM_TASK_HIST stores the task information for all the object managers. By default it is set to maintain history for 24 hours but it is configurable.

There are not many ways to control multiple login in siebel but each fails with some shortcomings. More ideas to control multiple logins are welcome here.

Happy Crunching!!

Inner Join Extension Table - User Property

Party business components are fundamental element of the application architecture. They are like piece of beautifully composed music crystallized together in order to reflect the complexities in business environment. Party model helps in the grouping of data according to business logic. The primary difference

between Party and Non-Party BC's is in the manner data is stored. For Non-Party BC's data is primarily stored in base tables while for party BC data is stored in extension tables. There are 8 prominent extension tables used for party data storage.

Now the question surfaces is how siebel determines which extension table to be used for Person-related BC or which extension table should be used for Organization-related BC. Where this mapping in the Account or Contact BC is given that decides which extension table to use? Answer lies in the Buscomp user properties. "Inner Join Extension Table n" user property specifies an extension table to S_PARTY for which the join to the extension table is an inner join. We can have multiple tables that are implicitly joined to S_PARTY extension table. Employee and Organization are examples of multiple extension tables.

Once we have discovered the source between S_PARTY and its extension tables how about creating Custom Party types(Bookshelf gives warning for these types though). A curious case here is can i create a custom table and use it as an extension table for my custom party type using this user property. Well, lets try this and extend the party group.

Happy Party-ing!!

Applet Message

Applet Messages are quite useful in scenarios where one has to display help text to end user in the applet itself. We do have ihelp also but ihelp's are view specific and if we have multiple toggles defined in applet with different operations on each applet then ihelp may not be a good option. One can also go for direct modification of applet WebTemplates but again it will include maintainence overhead. An applet message allows to combine static text and dynamic data which can be displayed on applet. With little bit of HTML one can also add zing to the message.

Siebel bookshelf has elaborated the usage and configuration of Applet Messages how ever one thing is missed there(correct HTML Type) that i will try to fill out here. Let's say we need to add some help text on the SR form applet. Following steps are required to add an Applet Message.

1 - The applet message is configured using the Applet Message and Applet Message Variable object types. Query for the applet you want to add message and navigate to Applet Message object type. Add message in the Text Message. We can use %1, %2 for dynamic data to be defined in Applet Message Variable.

2 - Once the message is confiured,time to create a message control. Following properties should be set:

Name = Any Name

Field = Name of the Applet Message

Field Type = Message

HTML Type = Plain Text (Make sure this is set to Plain text and not to text or text area)

HTML Display Mode = DontEncodeData (If HTML attributes are being used for color and font changes)

3 - Once control is created, we can expose this on the applet. We can map control anywhere on the template where we want to display the message.

The advantage of using Applet message is we can change this on runtime also using dynamic data, where date being displayed from calculated fields using lookup value. This is something which we can be used to enrich UI for end user assistance.

Happy Configuration!!!