Oracle A.I.M. Methodology – template list

Oracle A.I.M. Methodology encompasses a project management methodology with documentation templates that support the life cycle of an implementation. The life cycle methodology and documentation templates allows A.I.M. to be a very useful tool for managing implementation projects successfully. This is a depiction of the A.I.M. methodology life cycle:

Application Implementation Method is a proven approach for all the activities required to implement oracle applications. there are eleven processes of implementation.

1. Business Process Architecture [BP] – This phase outlines:

• Existing Business Practices
• Catalog change practices
• Leading practices
• Future practices

BP.010 Define Business and Process StrategyBP.020 Catalog and Analyze Potential Changes

BP.030 Determine Data Gathering Requirements

BP.040 Develop Current Process Model

BP.050 Review Leading Practices

BP.060 Develop High-Level Process Vision

BP.070 Develop High-Level Process Design

BP.080 Develop Future Process Model

BP.090 Document Business Procedure

2. Business Requirement Definition [RD] - This phase explains about the initial baseline questionnaire and gathering of requirements.

RD.010 Identify Current Financial and Operating Structure RD.020 Conduct Current Business Baseline RD.030 Establish Process and Mapping Summary RD.040 Gather Business Volumes and Metrics RD.050 Gather Business Requirements RD.060 Determine Audit and Control Requirements RD.070 Identify Business Availability Requirements RD.080 Identify Reporting and Information Access Requirements

3. Business Requirement Mapping [BR] – In this phase the requirements of business are matched with the standard functionality of the oracle applications.

BR.010 Analyze High-Level GapsBR.020 Prepare mapping environment

BR.030 Map Business requirements

BR.040 Map Business Data

BR.050 Conduct Integration Fit Analysis

BR.060 Create Information Model

BR.070 Create Reporting Fit Analysis

BR.080 Test Business Solutions

BR.090 Confirm Integrated Business Solutions

BR.100 Define Applications Setup

BR.110 Define security Profiles

4. Application and Technical Architecture [TA] – This outlines the infrastructure requirements to implement oracle applications.

TA.010 Define Architecture Requirements and StrategyTA.020 Identify Current Technical Architecture

TA.030 Develop Preliminary Conceptual Architecture

TA.040 Define Application Architecture

TA.050 Define System Availability Strategy

TA.060 Define Reporting and Information Access Strategy

TA.070 Revise Conceptual Architecture

TA.080 Define Application Security Architecture

TA.090 Define Application and Database Server Architecture

TA.100 Define and Propose Architecture Subsystems

TA.110 Define System Capacity Plan

TA.120 Define Platform and Network Architecture

TA.130 Define Application Deployment Plan

TA.140 Assess Performance Risks

TA.150 Define System Management Procedures

5. Build and Module Design [MD] – This phase emphasizes the development of new functionality (customization) required by the client. It mainly details how to design the required forms, database and reports.

MD.010 Define Application Extension StrategyMD.020 Define and estimate application extensions

MD.030 Define design standards

MD.040 Define Build Standards

MD.050 Create Application extensions functional design

MD.060 Design Database extensions

MD.070 Create Application extensions technical design

MD.080 Review functional and Technical designs

MD.090 Prepare Development environment

MD.100 Create Database extensions

MD.110 Create Application extension modules

MD.120 Create Installation routines

6. Data Conversion [CV] – Data Conversion is the process of converting or transferring the data from legacy system to oracle applications. Ex. Transferring customer records from the legacy to the Customer Master.

CV.010 Define data conversion requirements and strategyCV.020 Define Conversion standards

CV.030 Prepare conversion environment

CV.040 Perform conversion data mapping

CV.050 Define manual conversion procedures

CV.060 Design conversion programs

CV.070 Prepare conversion test plans

CV.080 Develop conversion programs

CV.090 Perform conversion unit tests

CV.100 Perform conversion business objects

CV.110 Perform conversion validation tests

CV.120 Install conversion programs

CV.130 Convert and verify data

7. Documentation [DO] – Documentation prepared per module that includes user guides and implementation manuals.

DO.010 Define documentation requirements and strategyDO.020 Define Documentation standards and procedures

DO.030 Prepare glossary

DO.040 Prepare documentation environment

DO.050 Produce documentation prototypes and templates

DO.060 Publish user reference manual

DO.070 Publish user guide

DO.080 Publish technical reference manual

DO.090 Publish system management guide

8. Business System Testing [TE] – A process of validating the setup’s and functionality by QA(functional consultant) to certify status.

TE.010 Define testing requirements and strategyTE.020 Develop unit test script

TE.030 Develop link test script

TE.040 Develop system test script

TE.050 Develop systems integration test script

TE.060 Prepare testing environments

TE.070 Perform unit test

TE.080 Perform link test

TE.090 perform installation test

TE.100 Prepare key users for testing

TE.110 Perform system test

TE.120 Perform systems integration test

TE.130 Perform Acceptance test

9. Performance Testing [PT] - Performance testing is the evaluation of transactions saving time, transaction retrieval times, workflow background process, database performance, etc

PT.010 – Define Performance Testing StrategyPT.020 – Identify Performance Test Scenarios

PT.030 – Identify Performance Test Transaction

PT.040 – Create Performance Test Scripts

PT.050 – Design Performance Test Transaction Programs

PT.060 – Design Performance Test Data

PT.070 – Design Test Database Load Programs

PT.080 – Create Performance Test TransactionPrograms

PT.090 – Create Test Database Load Programs

PT.100 – Construct Performance Test Database

PT.110 – Prepare Performance Test Environment

PT.120 – Execute Performance Test

10. Adoption and Learning [AP] – This phase explains the removal of the legacy system and oracle application roll out enterprise wide.

AP.010 – Define Executive Project StrategyAP.020 – Conduct Initial Project Team Orientation

AP.030 – Develop Project Team Learning Plan

AP.040 – Prepare Project Team Learning Environment

AP.050 – Conduct Project Team Learning Events

AP.060 – Develop Business Unit Managers’Readiness Plan

AP.070 – Develop Project Readiness Roadmap

AP.080 – Develop and Execute CommunicationCampaign

AP.090 – Develop Managers’ Readiness Plan

AP.100 – Identify Business Process Impact onOrganization

AP.110 – Align Human Performance SupportSystems

AP.120 – Align Information Technology Groups

AP.130 – Conduct User Learning Needs Analysis

AP.140 – Develop User Learning Plan

AP.150 – Develop User Learningware

AP.160 – Prepare User Learning Environment

AP.170 – Conduct User Learning Events

AP.180 – Conduct Effectiveness Assessment

11. Production Migration [PM] – The process of “decommissioning” of legacy system and the usage(adoption) of oracle application system.

PM.010 – Define Transition Strategy

PM.020 – Design Production Support Infrastructure

PM.030 – Develop Transition and Contingency Plan

PM.040 – Prepare Production Environment

PM.050 – Set Up Applications

PM.060 – Implement Production Support Infrastructure

PM.070 – Verify Production Readiness

PM.080 – Begin Production

PM.090 – Measure System Performance

PM.100 – Maintain System

PM.110 – Refine Production System

PM.120 – Decommission Former Systems

PM.130 – Propose Future Business Direction

PM.140 – Propose Future Technical Direction

thanks – Shivmohan Purohit

Oracle Purchasing – Purchase Order FAQ

What is 2-way, 3-way, 4-way matching? How is this set-up?

Answer

2-way matching verifies that Purchase order and invoice information match within your tolerances as follows:

Quantity billed <= Quantity Ordered
Invoice price <= Purchase order price
(<= sign is used because of tolerances)

3-way matching verifies that the receipt and invoice information match with the quantity tolerances defined:

Quantity billed <= Quantity received

4-way matching verifies that acceptance documents and invoice information match within the quantity tolerances defined:

Quantity billed <= Quantity accepted.
(Acceptance is done at the time of Inspecting goods).

Whether a PO shipment has 2-way, 3-way or 4-way matching can be setup in the Shipment Details zone of the Enter PO form (character)

Receipt required  Inspection required       Matching

Yes                            Yes                                         4-way

Yes                            No                                           3-way

No                              No                                           2-way

In GUI, Shipments block, alternative region, click on More…this brings up a region with ‘Invoice matching’ column where you can choose 2-way, 3-way or 4-way match.

How do you reflect discount from a supplier on a Purchase orders?
Answer
The legal document is the Purchase order not the quote and therefore the purchase order should reflect agreed upon price.  Secondly if the discount comes after the PO then AP should handle it when invoicing.  If you are using a blanket Purchase order then you can use price breaks.


How do you change the created date on a Purchase Order?
Answer
The 'Created' date on the Purchase order is not an updateable field, due to it being a legal document once approved.


What is the sorting order for requisition lines in autocreation of a Purchase Order?
Answer
Requisition lines first meet search criteria determined by "find" screen, and then are grouped together by item and item category, then by need-by date. After you choose an action, enter any search criteria to narrow the selection of requisition lines.  Oracle Purchasing chooses requisition lines from the requisition pool that meet your search criteria.  All requisition lines for the same item and item category are grouped together, but they are not necessarily in order alphabetically.  Within each grouping of item and item category, requisition lines are ordered by need-by date.


What does the error ‘APP-50022: Oracle Human Resources could not retrieve a value for User Type profile option’ mean?
Answer
The profile HR: User Type needs to be set. Set the profile option ‘HR: User Type’ at the Responsibility level

When do you see the status of a Purchase order as Archived?
Answer
You must approve or print a specific purchase order before you can see it in the history information.


In Oracle Purchasing, where is the automatic numbering for Purchase Order defined and maintained?
Answer
The navigation path for GUI is:
Setup --> Organizations --> Purchasing Options, Numbering alternate region


Oracle Financials – A Case Study

Here sharing recent communication on options to implement oracle Apps, i like you all to share you thoughts on this below scenario

I need the list of points or concerns  we need to take care of at the time of migration from 11.5.9 to 11.5.10.2.

Also I am in need information for M&A (merger and acquisition) perspective.
Say Company A acquires Company B. Company A is on 11.5.10.2 and Company B is on 11.5.9
Now A wants to get B on the same instance (11.5.10.2) as a separate operating unit. In this case what are the areas we need to concentrate on.
e.g. Common Item Master, Customer base.., B’s interfaces with some 3rd party system, Transaction between A and B…… etc

It would be very great if you could help me with this information …

—————————————————————–

Here if we consider this M&A , where Company A on 11.10 is target/ parent and company B is on 11.9 as legacy / secondary.

This case is like adding new operating unit in 11.10 for Company A , where it has advantage that Company B is already on Oracle with a lower version. Now here I think few thought to start with
GL Chart Of Accounts – This need to review the COA structure between A and B , having more different will make things more complex , having same will be great benefit. COA structure will drive the complexity of whole exerercise.
SOB and MRC – need to review the kind of SOB and MRC setup in both A & B , this will drive the kind of impact it will have and complexity of whole exercise.

As point 1 and 2 will form the foundation for merging B in A , and will outline the base architecture for remaining transaction and mater data to move in Company A.
Supplier/ Party / Customer / Employee/ Item / Inventory – all these master data need to review for company B and see if it duplicating or it need some mapping/ merging / cleaning or translation etc ,
GL transaction / GL history / GL Balance – this need to bring in A , this will depend on GL COA and GL SOB structure changes happened from B to A
AP ( open Invoice, payment history ) – this will business decision if they like to bring , the strong advice is to close all open invoice and keep history transaction in kind of archinve database for Company B till legally it require, This need to review if these are really require to bring in Company A where they may or may not useful.
AR ( Transaction , receipts  , history etc ) – This is recommended to bring in A , because this is surely impact the cash flow and allow lot of benefit to make future analysis and drive cash operations. Company A having any kind of Datawahrehouse , then I would recommend to bring all AP and AR transaction and history there directly rather bringing them in Apps and then send to DWH.
For fixed assets – I don’t see it could be much issue, all assets need to bring in A , and surely this can be manually if they are less in volume or  in automated way if large enough.

Another aspect to look for is Third party integration, Customization , Extension, Custom Reporting – As company B is moving to higher version so it need to consider as upgrade for them , from that point of view, you need to review if any changes needed in integration, or enhance/decommission customization, any more reports or less report need to migrate from B to A.

All above thoughts are surely very high level and brief , based on complete study , it will be more than 200 action items or more will outline only for fianancials to bring from Company  B to A , so it is very much driven from GL Structure between B and A and IT strategy of organization.

Thanks – Please share you thoughts to help in outline better approach

Oracle Workflow – Account Generator Process

What does the Account Generator process do?
The Account Generator process builds charge, budget, accrual, and variance accounts for each purchase order, release, and requisition distribution based on the distribution’s destination type. It is a synchronous Workflow process.

What are the Pre-requisites to use Account Generator?
Before using the Account Generator you must:
- Define your Accounting flexfield structure for each set of books.
- Define flexfield segment values and validation rules.
- Set up Oracle Workflow.
- Decide whether you want to use the Account Generator processes as seeded in Oracle Purchasing, or you need to customize them to meet your accounting needs

What are the steps to generate the WFSTAT output for Account Generator?

A: 1. Set the following profiles:
- Account Generator: Run in Debug Mode=> Yes
- Account Generator: Purge Runtime Data=> No
PO: Set Debug Workflow On => Yes
2. Make sure that the concurrent program “Purge Workflow Obsolete Runtime Data” is NOT running.
3. Open Purchase Order/Requisitions form, go to the distributions window, enter necessary fields and click on charge account field to start generating the charge account. After the account generator has done building the account, or errors out, do the following from the toolbar (DO NOT exit the form or navigate to any other block or record, otherwise this information would be lost):

Help=> Diagnostics => Examine
Enter in 1st field => parameter
Enter in 2nd field => charge_acc_wf_itemkey

Then tab out. The Item key will appear in the third field.
4. Now save the purchase order/requisition. If you are not able to save, then clear the distribution record and navigate back to the shipment window and save the form. Saving the form is must, because a commit is required to save the workflow information in tables, for generating the wfstat output.
5. If step#3 could not give you an item key, then use the following query to identify the relevant item key:

Select item_key, item_type, begin_date
from wf_items
where item_type = ‘&item_type’
order by begin_date desc;

For PO, use ‘POWFPOAG’ item type in above query, and for requisition, use ‘POWFRQAG’.
6. To generate the WFSTAT output,
Run the sql in $FND_TOP/sql/wfstat.sql with above item_type and item_key. Spool the output.
7. To get the wf debug information, run the following query:

SELECT item_key, item_type, debug_message
FROM po_wf_debug
WHERE item_key = ‘&Item_key’
ORDER BY execution sequence;

How do you determine the WF Item Key value to run wfstatus.sql for Account Generator workflows?
The item key is required in order to run wfstatus.sql for account generator. The wfstatus.sql gives important debug messages, including error messages for processes that are erroring out. This provides the same information that the Workflow Monitor does, if the Workflow Monitor is setup.
Steps to determine the WF Item Key value:
The item key can be found in the Workflow–>Status form in Projects (Querying by item type and dates) or, more generally, via SQL*Plus from the table WF_ITEMS. A sample script for getting the key is below:

Select item_key, begin_date, end_date
from wf_items
where item_type = ‘PAAPINVW’
and begin_date between ‘&low_start’ and ‘&high_start’;

If this does not definitively identify your item you can query on the various items in the Workflow status form to give you more information about the activities associated with them.

How do I save my workflow definition to the database?
There are three options to use when saving your workflow definition to the database:

Option #1

If you have the file open in workflow builder select File -> SaveAs -> Database. Enter the apps username and password and provide the connection string (from the tnsnames.ora in the %ORACLE_HOME%\network\admin directory).
Option #2

The WFLOAD utility is used for loading and extracting workflow definition files to and from the database.

Command Line Syntax:
WFLOAD 0 Y {UPLOAD | DOWNLOAD | UPGRADE | FORCE}
[filepatch [item type]]</APPS pwd>

NOTE: The item type parameter is used only for the DOWNLOAD mode.
Option #3

Run the concurrent program, Workflow Definitions Loader. The system administrator will need to add this concurrent program to a request security group for the responsibility that you want to run this program from.

 

How do I trace errors in my Workflow processes?
A: If a customized workflow process errors you should check the error stack (using the Workflow Monitor and/or wfstatus.sql script), if the procedure in error does NOT begin with WF_.. OR _… then you need to debug your own pl/sql procedures.
If standards in the Workflow Guide for exception handling have not been followed, you can still tell whether the problem is with your code, because Oracle Workflow traps external exceptions and reports these as

Activity Status: ERROR
Activity Result: #EXCEPTION

This is what would show up in the workflow monitor or any status report or form inquiry for the failing activity.

 

How do I customize the Account Generator Workflow process for my company?
A: Customers are expected to customize the Account Generator process. You can do this by editing the existing process or creating your own process, but this MUST be within the seeded ‘Item Type’. You should NOT create a NEW ‘Item Type’ as this would NEVER be run by Account Generator.
If you create a new process, you must ensure it is “Runnable.”
You must then assign the appropriate process to the Accounting Flexfield structure in the Account Generator Process window in Oracle Applications (login as System Administrator, Application -> Flexfields -> Key -> Accounts and query up the required Accounting flexfield structure).

ERP and SCM Knowledge through books

Books are the best way to acquire knowledge about a suject that interests you. Even if you are new entrant to a field and you start with reading a good book, the learning curve will be much steeper for you. I was asked by a friend of mine whose organization has started taking baby steps towards implementing an enterprise wide supply chain solution and they want to acquire little knowledge prior to start engaging consultants in this regard. I suggested them to grab two of my favorite books on supply chain management and enterprise resource planning which are:

•  Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 2nd Edition:- This is written by Michael H. Hugos and contains valuable tips, techniques, illustrative real-world examples, exhibits, and best practices in the are of SCM. This handy and concise paperback helps to stay up to date on the newest thinking, strategies, developments, and technologies in supply chain management. A quite useful possession indeed. This can be bought at most economical price here
• Modern ERP: Select, Implement & Use Today’s Advanced Business Systems:- This book is written by Marianne Bradford and what is unique about this book is that it contains contributions from organizations like NetSuite, Microsoft, SAS, GlaxoSmithKline and Deloitte Consulting. This makes this book a much practical document to read and implement in rela life. Incidentally, this is one of the best selling books on ERP these days on Amazon

Just to make things easier for the readers, let me share an online store where both the books are available online so go ahead and have a look if they suit your objectives and interests.

Accounts Payable Trial Balance – Reconciliation with GL

Q:  What formula should I use to balance AP to GL?

A:  Use the following as an example of how to balance. In this example, you are closing your accounting period for April and you have just posted your final invoice and payment batches to your general ledger system.

To reconcile your accounts payable activity for April, make the following calculation:

“Accounts Payable Trial Balance” as of March 31
+   “Posted Invoice Register” for the period between April 1 and April 30
-    “Posted Payment Register” for the period between April 1 and April 30
=   “Accounts Payable Trial Balance” as of April 30

Reconciling AP to GL is accomplished with the use of the following reports.

“Posted Invoice Register”

“Posted Payment Register”

“Accounts Payable Trial Balance” (current and last period)

These reports ensure that your Trial Balance accurately reflects your accounts payable liability by matching the Posted invoices and payments with the AP liability account. You can also compare your AP liability accounts to GL by doing a query of the accounts in GL to identify the account or accounts out of balance. The trial balance total should be the same as your GL liability account.

If not:

Run the GL “Account Analysis” report for the liability account and for the date range in question. Look for transactions with a source other than Payables. This can quickly pinpoint any transactions incorrectly charged to the account. Make sure that you have not made manual

journal entries to your liability account in General Ledger.When you identify the accounts you go back to AP and do a query on the account to find the invoices out of balance.

The last step is to create a journal entry in GL to balance the account or accounts that is out of balance.

Q: How is the as-of-date used in the “Accounts Payable Trial Balance” report?
A: The as-of-date is used to determine which invoices and payments should be included on the report.  Any invoices or payments with an accounting date AFTER the entered as-of-date will not be displayed on this report.