WorkCenters for Research and Higher Ed

Session Number 4880

March 26, 2018

Tamar Dorfman CFO

Public Heath Institute

tdorfman@phi.org

Jessica Mann Grants Management Practice Director

SpearMC Consulting

jessica.mann@spearmc.com

Public Health Institute, SpearMC, & Oracle

Public Health Institute Started in 1964, the Public Health Institute (PHI) generates and promotes research, leadership and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices.

PHI manages $100M in annual funding for over 200 programs. Funders include the Federal, State, and Local government, Foundations, Universities, and Other.

PHI’s financial model is based on a federally approved indirect cost rate.

PHI & Oracle

• PeopleSoft Financials 9.2 (6/2016)

• ePro, PO, AP

• GM, PC, CA

• AR, BI

• GL, KK

• PeopleSoft HRMS 9.2 (1/2018)

• NA Payroll, Time & Labor

• Core HR, Benefits

• Absence Management

• Employee Self Service, Manager Self Service

• PeopleTools 8.53.18

• SQL Server

Applications PeopleTools

Founded in 2004, SpearMC specializes in:

About SpearMC

Our History

High Ed and Research organizations using the Grants suite of modules in PeopleSoft will find a role specific WorkCenter helpful in managing the quality of data, billing, and reporting for grants. WorkCenters make validating Grant set up more efficient, help keep Project Costing and GL in sync, and can assist in the month end close process. Come see how WorkCenters can be configured to proactively and systematically check for errors as well as bring reconciliation and close tools together into one work area.

Overview

• Reconciliation Overview

• WorkCenter Overview

• PHI WorkCenter Goal and Approach

• WorkCenter Set up

• Other Tools: Pivot Grids and Drilling URLs

• Lessons Learned/Tips

Agenda

• Various reconciliation are performed to ensure transactions are properly recorded in each module:

• Submodule Reconciliation (PC, AP, EX, AR)

• Expenses = Revenue

• KK (e.g. GL to KK, PC to KK for Budgets)

• Unbilled A/R

• Deferred Revenue

Reconciliation Overview

• Determine Scope

• Identify Variances at Summary Level

• Identify Cause of Variances

• Determine How to Correct Existing Errors

• Determine How to Prevent Future Errors

• Visit http://spearmc.com/insights/ for a detailed example of PC to GL reconciliation

Reconciliation Steps

WorkCenters have been added to specific applications to help users to quickly identify and resolve user specific exceptions. Within a WorkCenter, users can perform related actions and drill into details.

WorkCenters (introduced in PeopleTools release 8.51) are also available in GL, AP, AR, BI, CA, GM, Staffing, Buyer Administration, Supplier Administration, Supply and Demand (Inventory), Performance Management, and T&L.

WorkCenter Overview

My Work: Critical Exceptions/Work you need to complete

Work Area: Workspace to do your work

Links: Other links you may need to use to complete work

Other important Reports/Queries

WorkCenter Overview

• WorkCenter Goal: One-stop-shop for reconciliation errors and a consolidated work area for monitoring billing status, month end close, and performing PC to GL reconciliation

• With the WorkCenter intended as Phase II, at go-live started with queries to identify errors and work to be completed

• Queries and business process tweaked and enhanced after go-live

• Then WorkCenter created using both queries and delivered links

Goal and Approach

Set Up Exception Query Example

Goal and Approach

PC to GL Recon

Summary Example

Goal and Approach

PC to GL Recon Drill to Journal Detail Example

Goal and Approach

PC to GL

Recon

Drill to

Journal

Detail

Example

Goal and Approach

My Work only

reports those

items requiring

immediate

attention (grant

set up errors or

transactions that

have errors)

“Contracts with BIL Rows” provides a billing status as of an Accounting Date prompt (which can be changed.)

Goal and Approach

Goal and Approach

Before: Identifying and correcting Exception Errors using standard navigation and queries

1. Navigate to Query Viewer

2. Search for an exception query

3. Run the selected query

4. Review results and determine if there are exceptions

5. Navigate to the relevant page to correct the exception error

6. Repeat the above process for all exception queries; note that you have to run all of the exception queries to determine if corrections are needed

After: Identifying and correcting Exception Errors using the Finance WorkCenter

1. Navigate to the Finance WorkCenter and see list of exception queries

2. Run a query that shows an exception error and drill down to the relevant page to correct the error

3. Repeat the above process only for those queries that show an exception error

Goal and Approach

WorkCenter Set Up

• Create WorkCenter Shell

• Define WorkCenter Page Layout

• Configure Pagelets

• Define Filtering Options

WorkCenter Set Up

PeopleTools -> Portal -> WorkCenter -> Manage WorkCenter DashBoards

WorkCenter Set Up - Shell

WorkCenter Set Up - Shell

PeopleTools -> Portal -> WorkCenter -> Manage WorkCenter DashBoards

WorkCenter Set Up - Shell

WorkCenter Set Up - Shell

People Tools -> Portal -> WorkCenters -> Manage WorkCenter Pages

We chose to use a structure similar delivered WorkCenters (My Work, Links, Queries and Reports)

Add WorkCenter to Create a WorkCenter with a starting page based on the dashboard created above.

WorkCenter Set Up – Page Layout

Menu on the Portal

Dashboard associated to this WorkCenter

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

Set the options which allow the user to Personalize their display options or add additional links.

The personalize display options controls items such as: Hiding links Setting a page as the start

page Expanding/collapsing link

groups. Opening Pages in new

Windows

Links can be organized into groups. Groups of links can be sequenced by the Display order and the Groups can be expanded or collapsed at the time the WorkCenter is opened.

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pageletss

For each My Work Link, we evaluated if there was a delivered link we could utilize.

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets For those exceptions either not delivered or delivered but didn’t meet PHI’s needs, we created “User-Defined” links.

Their functionality is supported by a set of custom Application Classes that must be specified in the Enterprise Components Pagelet Configuration definition.

For certain User-Defined links, we also created a custom Filter ID.

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

The non-”GM Set Up Exception” User-Defined Links are:

• Based on PS Queries.

• Do not need to support Filters

Because each link is based on an existing Query and no Filter support is required, the data set represented by the link is always exactly equivalent to the Query result set.

The design is implemented via a set of Application Classes.

Each Query-based link has its own Application Class, but all of these Application Classes share the same superclass:

MyWorkPageletQueryItem (in Application Package PH_UTILITIES).

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Enterprise Components -> WorkCenter/Dashboards -> Configure Pagelets

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

PHI Custom -> WorkCenters -> PHI Finance Recon WorkCenter

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

PHI Custom -> WorkCenters -> PHI Finance Recon WorkCenter

WorkCenter Set Up - Pagelets

Other Tools

• Pivots grids are based on PS Queries and can display the results in a grid format, a chart format, or both.

• You use the Pivot Grid Wizard (Reporting Tools, Pivot Grid, Pivot Grid Wizard) to design how the page is displayed to the user.

• Pivot Grids can be added as pagelets (on a user’s Home page or Dashboard) and to the Queries tab in a WorkCenter

Other Tools – Pivot Grids

Reporting Tools -> Pivot Grids -> Pivot Grid Wizard

Other Tools – Pivot Grids

Reporting Tools -> Pivot Grids -> Pivot Grid Wizard

Other Tools – Pivot Grids

Reporting Tools -> Query -> Query Manager

When you execute a query with Drilling URLs the query results page shows results as links, which you can click to be redirected to a different page in a new browser. Depending on how drilling URLs are defined, the new browser is either:

• A PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture page

• Another query result page • Or an external page

Other Tools – Drilling URLs

Reporting Tools -> Query -> Query Manager

Other Tools – Drilling URLs

Reporting Tools -> Query -> Query Manager

Other Tools – Drilling URLs

• WorkCenters can be built for various roles and goals

• WorkCenters can help reducing the complexity of a robust/flexible/complex ERP system

• Determine your WorkCenter naming convention upfront

Lessons Learned/Tips

PHI Grants and Contracts WorkCenter

• Goal: Provide a more business friendly alternative to

the delivered worklist and replace a tri-weekly email

sent from AP to the Grants and Contracts team to

alert them about pending workflow items.

• Approach: Create a One-stop-shop for members of

the Grants and Contracts team to easily manage and

execute their workflow review and approval. The

queries in the “My Workflow” section provide more

information and easier access than the traditional worklist.

Lessons Learned/Tips

From any of the pending workflow queries, team members can navigate to the:

• Workflow Approval page

• The Workflow Transaction Detail query

• The primary entry or viewing page

for the given transaction

Lessons Learned/Tips

PHI Grants and Contracts WorkCenter

• Similar to the Finance WorkCenter there are links to frequently used pages, queries, and reports.

Lessons Learned/Tips

PHI Program WorkCenter

• Goal: Improve the Program user experience by providing a single point of entry for Program Directors and their staff to run queries and reports that pull data specific to their awards and transactions. Provide a platform to quickly roll-out specific program focused queries without providing organization-wide access to Query Viewer.

• Approach: Create a One Stop Shop that provides access to all Program reports and queries. In addition, use the Program WorkCenter in tandem with PS security roles/permission lists to roll-out queries that are created for only certain programs.

Lessons Learned/Tips

PHI Program WorkCenter

Lessons Learned/Tips

WorkCenter Demo

Questions?

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