AME SSHR - Part 2 - How AME relates to Self Service HR

Written by Anil Passi

Wednesday, 29 April 2009 23:04

In this article we will discuss basic tech stack used in Self Service HRMS. We will also see how
AME is related to SSHR Workflow. The concept covered in this article must be understood
before you can begin using AME in Self Service HRMS. In Self Service Oracle Human
Resources there is a workflow named "HR". The short code of this workflow is HRSSA. This
workflow is initiated as soon as any business activity is initiated in Self Service HRMS. Steps
within this Workflow process can be mapped to a specific screens in OA Framework. Therefore
the HR workflow guides which screen the user navigates through when making changes to data
in self service HRMS. At this stage you might wonder why such an approach is required.
Well there is no official explaination from Oracle for usage of a workflow to drive the flow of the
screens. However prior to using OA Framework in Self Service HRMS, SSHR was built using
PL/SQL Web Cartridges and latter AK Developer was included. Those days OA Framework did
not exist in the current form. When the very first version of SSHR was built by Oracle, back then
the methodology of transaction state management of web based applications was not
standardised across eBusiness Suite modules. Use this link to understand how OA Framework
evolved
. Therefore Oracle
HRMS Product Development team decided to use a "Workflow process" to keep all the loose
bits of screens tied together into one single transaction. If you open the HR [HRSSA] workflow,
you will notice that there are many Workflow Activities that are mapped to PL/SQL Function
named HR_WORKFLOW_SERVICE.BLOCK. These activity/steps in workflow correspond to a
screen. This is how user navigation from one screen to other is controller in Self Service HRMS.
How does WF Activity know which OA Framework page to open
The Workflow activity is mapped to the OA Framework page via an AK Region. In earlier days
of SSHR, AK Regions were used for developing the screens in SSHR [Self Service HR]. Latter
these AK Regions were migrated to OA Framework pages. A file named regionMap.xml exists
in the $PER_TOP/mds where this mapping exists. regionMap.xml is also loaded into the
Database into MDS. Therefore, when a user logs into SSHR page, a Workflow Process fires.
Within that WF Process there is an activity with Function
"HR_WORKFLOW_SERVICE.BLOCK". To this activity the AK Region name is passed as
parameter. The AK region is mapped to an OA Framework page. All these steps are explained
in the image below

1/4

AME SSHR - Part 2 - How AME relates to Self Service HR

Written by Anil Passi
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 23:04

The image shown above uses a workflow process named Person Information. However, for
each distinct menu item in Self Service HRMS, there exists a corresponding Workflow Process.
Thus there are numerous processes within this HRSSA workflow. For example there is another
workflow process that starts when user navigates to "Extra Information Types" screen.
How does Oracle know which workflow process to initiate when a user enters "Person
Information" screen in SSHR
When user clicks on SSHR Menu Item, the name of the workflow process is passed as a
parameter to the form function. Therefore, the sequence of events are
- User clicks on a menu in SSHR responsibility
- Form Function attached to Menu is invoked.
- This Form Function invokes AK Region HR_CREATE_PROCESS_TOP_SS [See Web
HTML of Form Function HR_PERINFO_SS]
This AK region is mapped to OAF Page /oracle/apps/per/selfservice/workflowservice/webui/Cr
eateProcessPG
In some cases SSHR Function directly invokes an OA Framework page, specifically holds true
for pages developed post-AK-Developer era
- Parameter pProcessName is read and the Workflow Process named "Personal
Information" is initiated
- All these steps are illustrated in image below

2/4

AME SSHR - Part 2 - How AME relates to Self Service HR

Written by Anil Passi
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 23:04

How does Oracle know which AME Transaction Type to use for that screen
As shown in image above, two parameters named pAMETranType and pAMEAppId are passed
as parameter to the Form Function. This tells which AME Transaction Type will be used by the
SSHR screen. However the decesion of whether AME is switched ON or OFF is decided by a
Wokflow Activity named "Review Page". Every SSHR Workflow Process as a step named
"Review Page". As shown in image below, when you double click on activity Review Page you
will notice that this Workflow Function is passed a parameter named
HR_APPROVAL_REQ_FLAG. If this WF Activity parameter is Yes or "Yes - Dynamic Approval"
then the AME is called for Approval processing. To change the standard Approval processing in
Oracle Self Service HRMS, you can customize this property to enable or disable the Approval
Processing for specific screen in HRMS.

Further details of how you can implement differing AME logic for different SSHR screens will be
covered in a future article.
Note- It is in Self Service HR [HRMS] that the AME Trx Type is passed as passed as parameter
to the screen function. Every calling module can have its own specific way using which the AME
Trx Type to be used is configured.
For example, in iRecruitment we have the following profile options that dictate the AME
Transaction Type being used
IRC: Vacancy Approval Transaction Type -Identifies the vacancy approvals
transaction type to be is used.
IRC: Offer Details Approval Transaction Type -Offer Details Approval Transaction Type
IRC: Extend Offer Duration Transaction Type -Extend Offer Duration Transaction Type

Do we directly customize the Workflow Process to change the AME behaviour for a
screen?
Not really. You will copy the existing workflow process and create a new workflow process. For

3/4

AME SSHR - Part 2 - How AME relates to Self Service HR

Written by Anil Passi
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 23:04

example a new workflow process named XX will be created. The review page property within
this workflow process will be modified to use/remove AME. Thereafter you will create a new
custom Form Function and attach that Custom Form Function to the Menu. This Custom Form
function will be passed in the parameter pProcessName with Custom Workflow Process Name.
This function must also be included within the menu named
"HR_GLOBAL_SS_FUNCTIONS_CUSTOM". This will facilitate usage of the custom Form
Function in SSHR.

Some further info

When a user makes changes to the data via SSHR, the following tables are populated.
HR_API_TRANSACTIONS
HR_API_TRANSACTION_STEPS
HR_API_TRANSACTION_VALUES
The table HR_API_TRANSACTION_VALUES contains the old and the new values of the each
possible column/attribute that was changed by the user.

4/4