AME

With Requisition Approvals

How To Setup And Use AME For Purchase Requisition Approvals

Purchase Requisitions can be routed for approval using the AME Approval Management Engine. This whitepaper describes how to setup AME for use with requisition approvals, and shows how a requisition approval list is built based on the AME setup. Approvers in the AME based approver list are assigned to the requisition based on the AME rules setup for the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction. Similar setup can be done for Requester Change Order Approval and for Internal Requisition Approval, although those are not specifically covered in this whitepaper. The screenshots provided are based on 11i.AME.B, and some of the navigation details are specific to 11i.AME.B. However, most of the details provided are applicable to 11i.AME.A and higher including R12.

Assign AME Roles and Responsibilities

AME responsibilities in 11i.AME.A are assigned directly to the users. However, In R12 or 11i.AME.B and higher, AME responsibilities are assigned indirectly to users through roles. The roles are assigned to the users by the SYSADMIN user using the User Management responsibility. Once the roles are assigned, the AME responsibilities are automatically available to the users without specifically assigning the AME responsibilities to the users. Here are steps to assign the roles: 1. Login as System Administrator user

2. Select the responsibility "User Management". (NOTE: User Management data is stored in the UMX schema)

3. Select "Users" menu option

4. Search for the user to whom you wish to grant AME roles

5. In the results table, click on update icon (shown in screenshot above)

6. In the update user page, user details can be seen along with a list of roles available to user

Click on "Assign Roles" (shown in screenshot above) 7. Search for Approval% and Select roles from the resulting LOV. Choose the roles that are applicable (proper authority) for the user, and click the Select button.

8. Specify justification and relevant dates for the newly assigned roles, and click Apply to assign the roles to the user.

Reference <<Note 413300.1>> Oracle Approvals Management Not Enabled? What Does It Take To Enable It?

Grant Transaction Type Access to Users

AME restricts access to transaction types using Data Security. Grant users access to the transaction types using the Grants page. Set up user access as follows: 1. Navigate to the Personal Home Page.

2. Select Functional Administrator Responsibility

3. From the Grants page, press on the Create Grant button

4. Create a grant with the following information: Name <specify a descriptive name> Grantee Type = Specific User Grantee = <The user which you just created> Object = AME Transaction Types

5. Click Next and select the Object Data Context Data Context Type = All Rows

6. Click Next to define the object parameters and Select Set Set = AME Calling Applications

7. Click Next, review the setups and then Finish the process.

Review and Modify AME Setup

AME is designed to provide approval logic for many transaction types. Transaction types used for Purchase Requisitions include the following:

Purchase Requisition Approval, Internal Requisition Approval, and Requester Change Order Approval. This whitepaper focuses on Purchase Requisition Approval, however, many of the concepts are applicable to the other two requisition transaction types as well. Likewise, some examples and comments in this paper are written in iProcurement context, but the same AME concepts apply to core apps requisitions also. 1. Navigate to the Approvals Management Business Analyst, Standard responsibility

2. Choose the Business Analyst Dashboard menu from the responsibility (see image above) 3. Use the Transaction Type LOV to search and select the transaction type = Purchase Requisition Approval

4. Use the links on the right in the Approval Process Setup region to set the components (Attributes, Conditions, Action Types, Approver Groups and rules) or to use the test workbench in AME.

1. Action Types 1. An action type is a collection of actions having similar

functionality. Every action belongs to an action type. Action types are enabled or disabled for a particular transaction type. AME may give an error when attempting to enable an action type for a transaction if the transaction is not designed to allow that action type. Reference <<Note 293315.1>> 11.5.10 FAQ for Approvals Management (AME) Integration For iProcurement and Purchasing - for a list of action types allowed for requisition transactions in AME. In addition, <<Note 404152.1>> Release Content Documents for EBusiness Suite R12 - provides a link to the Procurement Family RCD which clarifies (Section 3.4.2.14) that requisition approval with Oracle Approvals Management (AME) in R12 allows use of Position Hierarchy based Approvals, Parallel Approvals, and Support for FYI Notifications.

2. To disable or enable action types for the transaction, select the Action Types link

3. The Action Types page shows the action types that are
currently enabled for the transaction type (Purchase Requisition Approval). Use the Previous and Next links to scroll through the list of enabled action types. Select the Use Existing Action Type button to see other pre-defined action types available in AME. Some of these may or may not be applicable to the currently select transaction type; AME will give an error if the user tries to add a non-relevant action type for the selected transaction type.

4. Navigate to HR responsibility -> Work Structures -> Job -> Description - to assign a Level (Approval Authority) to a Job.

Query up the Job and enter the appropriate Job Level in the Approval Authority field. 5. In AME, select any or all of the following Action Types for JOB BASED approvals if applicable for your business requirements: 1. absolute job level / chains of authority based on absolute job level 2. final approver only / chains of authority containing only the final job-level approver 3. manager then final approver / chain of authority includes requestor's manager and then the final approver

4. relative job level / chains of authority based on

relative job level

5. supervisory level / chains of authority based on

number of supervisory levels

6. In AME, select any or all of the following Action types for

APPROVER GROUP approvals if applicable for your business requirements:

1. post-chain-of-authority approvals / group approvals

after the chain of authority

2. pre-chain-of-authority approvals / group approvals

before the chain of authority

3. approval-group chain of authority / chain of authority

includes an approval group

7. In AME, select any of all of the following Action types for POSITION BASED approvals (Only in R12 and higher) if applicable for your business requirements 1. hr position / chains of authority based on a particular HR position 2. hr position level / chains of authority based on HR positions 2. Attributes 1. Attributes are the base element for an AME Rule. Attribute
values are retrieved from the Oracle EBusiness Suite Applications database or derived from values in the database. AME is seeded with attributes relevant to the transaction type, and the user can create new attributes in AME for use in AME rules. 2. Select the Attributes link to view or add attributes for the selected transaction type

3. Use the Previous and Next links to scroll through the existing attributes. Some of the attributes relevant to Purchase

Requisition Approval include ITEM_CATEGORY, ITEM_NUMBER, and REQUISITION_TOTAL as well as other attributes. When AME approvals is enabled for purchase requisitions, these values are retrieved for the relevant requisition while navigating through iProcurement checkout or core apps requisition create, and AME uses this information to determine the appropriate AME rule(s) to use.

4. In addition to the seeded attributes, a customized attribute can be created. DAVE_CATEGORY_SEGMENT is an example of this. This attribute uses a query to capture SEGMENT1 of the Item Category flexfield. The Item Category flexfield may be setup to use one or more segments; this customized AME attribute captures only SEGMENT1 of the flexfield. This allows the users to setup conditions and rules that are dependent on a certain value in SEGMENT1 of the ITEM Category used on the requisition. NOTE: The new attribute DAVE_CATEGORY_SEGMENT1 uses the same sql query as the seeded ITEM_CATEGORY AME attribute, except it selects mck.segment1 rather than mck.concatenated_segments.

3. Conditions 1. Conditions identify values and value ranges for some or all
of the attributes available. AME rules refer to these conditions to determine if a particular rule is applicable for the specific document (requisition) being approved. For example, an AME rule can be setup to require certain approvers if $0 USD <= requisition total < $1000 USD. Since REQUISITION_TOTAL is a seeded attribute, the user can define a condition $0 USD <= requisition total < $1000 USD, and then use this condition in a rule to require certain approvers for the requisition. The rule cannot refer to this condition until it is defined in AME Conditions for the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction type.

2. Select the Conditions link from the AME Business Analyst

Dashboard after specifying the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction type.

Selecting the Conditions link will display the existing conditions defined for the transaction type, and also allow the user to create new conditions for the transaction.

3. Click the Create button to create a new condition 4. To define the new condition, specify whether the condition is ordinary, or an exception condition (which can only be used in an exception rule see the online Help for details). Use the Attribute LOV to choose the attribute on which the condition is based. The condition will specify a value or range of values for the attribute, so the attribute must be selected before the value(s) can be defined.

5. Define the allowed value or value range for the selected attribute. Click Apply to complete the condition definition.

4. Approver Groups 1. Approver Groups are optional. Setup Approver Groups if additional approvers are required for particular conditions, or to specify a dynamic sql query for additional approvers. The rules defined for the transaction can be based on Approver Groups, Jobs defined in HR setup, or Positions defined in HR setup (only in R12); the rules may also use a combination of Job, Position, and Approver Group basis. (See the Rules details later in this paper for more information about the rules) 2. Select the Approver Groups link from the AME Business Analyst Dashboard.

3. View and edit existing approver groups, or Click the Create button to create a new approver group.

4. When creating the approval group specify all the mandatory values. 1. Give a name and description to the approval group. 2. Specify an order number (order number of this approver group relative to other approver groups). 3. Choose a voting regime only Serial is supported for Purchase Requisition Approval in 11.5.10 and 11.5.9. R12 does allow other voting regimes that use parallel routing. 4. Choose Static if approvers will be selected when defining the approval group, or choose Dynamic if a sql query is used to dynamically find the approvers for this approver group when the requisition approval transaction is being processed. 5. Click the Add Another Row button to add approvers to the approval group now. 6. Click Apply to save the approver group

5. The approval group members can be added as additional approvers to the normal chain of command approvers generated by AME.

5. Rules 1. Define rules to specify approvers that should be included in the approval list under specific conditions for the requisition approval transaction. 2. Select the Rules link from the AME Dashboard after selecting the transaction type Purchase Requisition Approval

3. Review the list of existing rules already defined for the transaction

4. Select the Create button to create a new rule for the transaction. (Optionally, if there already exists a similar rule choose the Duplicate icon or the Use Existing Rule button). 5. Step 1 of 4: Specify a name for the new rule and choose the rule type and effective dates.

Rule types are explained in the AME online help pages along with examples. The most common types are List Creation, Pre List Approver Group and Post List Approver Group. (NOTE: Some rule types may not be available if the corresponding action types have not been assigned to the transaction Purchase Requisition Approval. Use the Action Types feature to add or remove action types for the transaction) 6. Step 2 of 4: Specify one or more conditions that activate the rule. The Conditions are defined in the AME Setup, and they may be seeded conditions or user defined conditions.

7. Step 3 of 4: Choose the Action Type and then choose a specific action. The list of actions available is dependent

on the Action Type selected. The actions are related to Jobs, Positions (in R12), or Approver Groups. (Action Types are discussed previously in this whitepaper)

8. Step 4 of 4: Review the rule details and click Finish to complete the rule setup, or click Back to make changes.

6. Test Workbench 1. Use the Test Workbench to determine which AME Rule(s)
apply to a specific requisition, or to determine which AME Rule(s) apply for an adhoc combination of values specified at the time of the test. Select the Test Workbench link from the AME Dashboard

1. Specific Requisition test 1. Click the Run Real Transaction Test button.

2. Specify the value of REQUISITION_HEADER_ID from PO_REQUISITION_HEADERS_ALL as the Transaction Id value. Click Go to see the AME rules that apply to the requisition. 3. Adjust the rules setup to cause rules to be called differently based on the business requirements. 2. Adhoc test 1. Click the Create button on the Test Workbench page

2. Specify Name and Description for the test, and specify values for pertinent attributes (e.g. Requisition Total = $100 USD)

3. Click the Run Test Case button to see the applicable AME rules, and the resulting AME approval list that will be built based on the conditions specified for the attributes.

Enable AME for Requisition Approval

1. Navigate to Purchasing responsibility 2. Setup / Purchasing / Document Types 3. Select Purchase Requisition (or Internal Requisition) as the document type 4. Specify Approval Transaction Type = PURCHASE_REQ to enable AME approvals for Purchase Requisitions in the current operating unit

Test the Functionality

1. Create a requisition in Core Apps Purchasing or iProcurement and verify that the Approval List is built per the AME rules based on the conditions present on the requisition attributes.

View the AME Setup

1. Click the Setup Report link in the Quick Links section of the Dashboard

2. Select the appropriate transaction type (Example: Purchase Requisition Approval) and click Go.

3. Click the Printable Page button to view the complete setup for the selected transaction type (Attributes, Conditions, Rules, Approval Groups, and etc.)

4. Compare the AME setup to the requisition attributes and approval list generated for a specific requisition, or compare the AME setup to the business requirements.

NOTE: This document is not considered formal documentation of the product, but is a useful tool for applying the functionality described.