Workflow SIG Meeting Collaborate

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Workflow SIG MeetingCollaborate08

• John Peters, Workflow SIG Coordinator

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Please attend the OAUG Annual Meeting of the
Members for more information. Wednesday, April
16, 2008 at 100 p.m. Wells-Fargo Theatre
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Introduction

• John Peters, JRPJR, Inc.Workflow SIG Coordinator
• Karen Brownfield, Solution Beacon
• We do not work for Oracle. The Oracle
  Development and Support that support Workflow
  were unable to attend. I have worked with them
  to create this presentation.

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Agenda

• Future of Workflow
• Some information from Oracle
• Workflow Builder and MS Vista
• Workflow SIG Discussion
• Other sessions of possible interest at
  Collaborate08
• Other resources for Workflow Information

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Versions of Apps People Are On

• Pre-11.5.9
• 11.5.9
• 11.5.10 dont know RUP version
• 11.5.10, pre ATG H, RUP4
• 11.5.10, ATG H, RUP5
• 11.5.10, ATG RUP6
• Pre-12.0.4
• 12.0.4

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Future of Workflow

• Desupported as an Oracle product for standalone
  use.
• No longer part of the 11G DB install. Will be
  installed as part of the Apps Tech Stack.
• Still heavily used in R12 and will be supported
  by Applications Technology Group.
• Will not be used in Fusion.

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BPEL - Business Process Execution Language

• BPEL is the primary replacement for Workfow
  Technology.
• You can use BPEL today with your 11i and R12
  Applications.
• Attend some of the BPEL sessions at
  Collaborate08 to get some exposure to this
  powerful tool.

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Workflow Replacements

• Process Navigator Flows
• Migrated to ADF Task Flows
• In Oracle AS11 a new feature, Activity Guides, is
  planned to target these use cases
• Page Flows
• Migrated to ADF Task Flows
• Simple Deferred Activities (DML activities)
• Database Events
• BPEL can also be used
• XML Transaction Flows
• Transformations capabilities of E-Business Suite
• BPEL can also be used
• Business Processes
• Orchestration of system services and human tasks
• BPEL can also be used
• Account Generators
• - SubLedger Accounting

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Workflow Blackberry Devices

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Vijay Shanmugam, both in Oracle Development
• It should be clarified, that we do not
  support/certify Blackberry directly.
• ML Note 459342, Blackberries Can Approve The
  Workflow Notifications
• Workflow notifications can be approved from
  Blackberry in 11.5.10 ATG PF.H RUP 7 through bug
  6242825, but at this stage it not available for
  the customers and not yet certified by the
  Development.
• To function in 11.5.10 ATG PF.H RUP 7 it also may
  need a different e-mail template such as
  OPEN_MAIL_OUTLOOK. Which may cause trouble for
  the e-mail approvals to work well in Outlook
  Express.

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Workflow Blackberry Devices (cont)

• ML Note 459353.1, External Tracking Note For
  Bugs On Top Of 11i.ATG_PF.H.delta.6 (RUP6)
  5903765
• Patch 6802716, can be applied on top of
  11i.ATG_PF.H.RUP5 and 11i.ATG_PF.H.RUP6
• You need to contact Oracle Support for the
  password to download this patch
• Patch 6344618, is a backport which can be applied
  on top of 11i.ATG_PF.H.RUP5
• requires password from support
• Strongly suggest 6802716 because if a client
  applies 6344618 and later goes to 11iRUP5 or
  11iRUP6, this will be broken until they apply
  6802716.

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Bulk Notification Response

• Allows users to select like notifications and
  provide the same response
• Patch 6722406 is one-off for11i.ATG_PF.H.RUP6
  (requires password from support)
• This will also be available on 12.0.5

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Mass Retry Errored Activities

• This is implemented as a Concurrent Program to
  mass retry errored activities.
• Available in 11iRUP6, 5903106
• Available in 12.0.2, 5934464

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Workflow Directory

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Gary Grant, from Oracle Development and Support
  respectively
• How many of you have had trouble trying to
  activate a responsibility that was assigned to
  the user and deactivated in the past?
• ML Note433473.1, Unable To Activate a User
  Responsibility Assignment that Existed Before
  Upgrade
• This note has both a patch fix from 11i and R12
  as well as instructions for a workaround.
• This works I have implemented this at two
  different clients!!!

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Framework Regions in Notifications

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Gary Grant, from Oracle Development and Support
  respectively
• Advanced Topologies that do not allow callback by
  load balancers from the Apps Tier which so far as
  I can tell is all of them.
• Set the profile option WF Workflow Mailer
  Framework Web Agent (WF_MAIL_WEB_AGENT) to an
  actual Apps Tier web server.
• This profile is only used to pull framework data
  in so it can also be embedded in the body of an
  email.

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Oracle Workflow Best Practices Release 12 and
Release 11i

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Gary Grant, from Oracle Development and Support
  respectively
• ML Note 453137.1
• Topics
• Running Agent Listeners for Oracle Applications
• Choosing Not to Use E-mail Notifications
• Running a Notification Mailer Only for Oracle
  Alert
• Defining Dedicated Notification Mailers
• Cleaning Up the WF_NOTIFICATION_OUT Queue
• Maintaining Mailer Parameters in AutoConfig
• Assigning Workflow System Administrator
  Privileges
• Running Workflow Control Queue Cleanup
• Purging Workflow Data Troubleshooting

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Workflow Status Diagram Failure

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Gary Grant, from Oracle Development and Support
  respectively
• ML Note420704.1
• The workflow status diagram is failing on
  environments where 11i ATG_pf.h.RUP4 4676589 or
  later has been applied. In the Workflow form
  "Status Monitor", while selecting a Workflow Type
  and clicking the button "View Diagram" the user
  receives the message "Page can not be found" in
  the client browser.

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Status Diagram Not Working After 11.5.10 or R12
Upgrade

• The following is from Robert Wunderlich and
  Gary Grant, from Oracle Development and Support
  respectively
• ML Note 304685.1, After upgrading to 11.5.10 or
  R12, going into Workflow Administrator and try to
  view "Status Diagram"
• You receive the following errorYou have
  encountered an unexpected error.  Please contact
  the System Administrator. 
• Set the profile option Server Timezone.
• Bounce the Apache Server.

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WF Queue Backup Rebuild

• The following is from Gary Grant, from Oracle
  Support
• Patch, 6405534, 11.5.10.21OFF611377011.5.10.21
  0.2.0.2.0WFAQBACK.SQL AND WFAQRENQ.SQL MODIFIED
  TO WOR (ATG CU2)
• Patch 6640470, 11.5.91OFF4185444SCRIPTS TO
  BACKUP QUEUE CONTENTS, DROP QUEUE REENQUEUE MSGS
  (OWF G RUP7)
• Both patches require passwords from Oracle
  Support to download them

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Note from Gary GrantOracle Support

• Users should be aware that one-off patches in
  the future will require a password from Support. 
  It is the same for interim patches from Server
  Tech so the experience should not be new.

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Workflow Builder Client and Vista

• Has anyone other than me attempted to install the
  Workflow Builder Client on Microsoft Vista?
• ML Note 551484.1, Unable To Install Workflow
  Builder On Microsoft VistaThere is plan as of
  now to certify it. This is due to the desupport
  notice (Note.391546.1) of all standalone workflow
  installations. Workflow is now an exclusively
  Applications 11i technology. All customers
  requiring the functionality of Workflow are
  encouraged to upgrade/migrate to Oracle BPEL
  Process Manager for new and future projects.

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• What can I do to make this SIG more useful to
  the OAUG Members?

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Workflow SIG Web Site

• After many months of promises here it iswell
  almost. I was unable to load it due to an
  unknown change on the server.
• Send me feedback on changes you would like to
  see
• john.peters_at_jrpjr.com

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Workflow List Server

• Should I setup a list server? We have Yahoo
  groups (oracleworkflowsig Oracle Workflow SIG),
  but it is not really active.
• Only 181 members.
• Historically seen very light usage.

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Workflow SIG Board

• The Workflow SIG currently only has me as the SIG
  Coordinator.
• Should we create a Board and have elections for
  the Workflow SIG?
• Is anyone interested in assisting with the
  Workflow SIG?

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• Any recommended SIG improvements?
• What would you like to see?

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Collaborate08 Workflow Sessions

• Care and Feeding of Workflow What's New
• Thurs 830 Room 407
• Fueling the Workflow Engine Writing Custom
  PL/SQL To Be Called From Your Workflow Processes
• Tues 945 Room 304
• Implementing Customizations in the Trading
  Community Architecture using Workflow Business
  Events
• Tues 445 Room 405

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Collaborate08 Workflow / BPEL Sessions

• Using BPEL and Workflow to Build Integration
  Components for the EBusiness Suite
• Tues 445 Room 406
• BPEL for Workflow Developers
• Mon 330 Room 405

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Collaborate08 AME Sessions

• Oracle Approvals management (AME) Case Studies
  for AP, PO and HR
• Wed 315 Room 405
• Oracle Approvals Management (AME) Drives Email
  Approvals of Invoice Images
• Mon 215 Room 405
• Customers as Approvers Through AME and TCA
  Hierarchy
• Tues 945 Room 407

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Collaborate08 AME Sessions (cont)

• Using the Approvals Management Engine (AME)
• Wed 430 Room 406
• Get What You Want Designing Approvals Management
  Engine (AME) Rules for Your iProcurement
  Approvals
• Thur 945 Room 403
• Using AME (Approvals Management Engine) for
  Requisition Approvals in Release 12
• Wed 945 Room 109

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Available at www.solutionbeacon.com
Order or Reserve Your Copy Today!
Installing, Upgrading and Maintaining Oracle
E-Business Suite Applications 11.5.10.2
The Release 12 Primer Shining a Light on the
Release 12 World
The ABCs of Workflow for Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 11i and Release 12
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My Contact Information

• John PetersJRPJR, Inc.
• John.peters_at_jrpjr.com
• Copies of the presentation will be on
  http//jrpjr.com/

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• Questions Answers