Oracle Open World Which PeopleSoft Reporting Tool Best Fits Your Needs? Presented by: Millie Babicz Todd Kummer. SpearMC Consulting

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1 Oracle Open World 2009 Which PeopleSoft Reporting Tool Best Fits Your Needs? Presented by: Millie Babicz Todd Kummer SpearMC Consulting

2 Agenda SpearMC Solutions Overview Reporting Tools Overview New Release Highlights for PeopleTools 8.5 2

3 SpearMC Solutions Overview

firm with specific focus on Oracle/PeopleSoft Applications Our

Technical Leads, Developers and Project Managers keep travel

4 About SpearMC Who is SpearMC? SpearMC is a full-service consulting and technology services firm with specific focus on Oracle/PeopleSoft Applications Our Local and well-connected network of top-tier Business Analysts, Technical Leads, Developers and Project Managers keep travel related costs to a minimum It is our goal to provide top-tier professional services at competitive rates 4

5 About SpearMC Slide 5 SpearMC is recognized by the San Francisco Business Times and PriceWaterhouseCoopers as one of the region s fastest growing private companies in

6 About SpearMC SpearMC delivers Oracle/PeopleSoft services across numerous industry domains and markets Financial Services PeopleSoft Financials v8.9 Upgrade PeopleSoft Project Costing v8.9 Implementation Technology Ubisoft: PeopleSoft Financials v9.0 Upgrade NetApp: Oracle Data Warehouse & Reporting Consumer Products Financials v8.8 Global Implementation PeopleSoft Financials Long-Term Support Retail & Logistics 24 Hr Fitness: PeopleSoft Reporting Strategyt Bekins: PeopleSoft Billing v8.9 Implementation Higher Ed & Government Art Institute: PeopleSoft Financials Training City of Seattle: Chart of Accounts Redesign 6

7 Our Expertise Project Management Personal Service Professional Results Operations Improvement Business Intelligence Education IT Strategy/ Architecture Application Development ERP Integration Recruiting/Support 7

8 Reporting Tools Overview

9 Overview Tools bundled with PeopleSoft 9

10 Evolution of Reporting Historically I need a report meant you had to define Source data Audience Frequency Format Delivery Now you have to ask whether a report is the most productive solution What do you do with the data? How is your productivity measured? What actions do you intend to take? Assessment Enterprise data is meant to be accessed, analyzed, presented and used Technology has shifted and users demands and expectations have increased Rich Internet Applications provide personalized content t in context t 10

11 Questions to ask in Selecting a Reporting Tool Once y you have VERY detailed user requirements, you can sort through the tools 11

12 SQR (Structured Query Report) SQR is a family of report generators and development languages optimized for SQL database accessing, manipulating and reporting Apart from report generation, SQR is also used for the large-volume data movement in complex environments Great at extracting the information and displaying it in a printable format, but will not allow end users to manipulate/ work with the data Anything is possible through normal programming methods API calls to other programs which extend the 'power' of SQR Supports all the PeopleSoft Batch Server Platforms It can do data manipulation like insert, update create tables etc. Can open any type of databases in one program Continues to be reporting product of choice for highly programmatic needs Added support for platforms as certified with PeopleTools 11g 64bit operating systems stems 12

13 Query Continues to have benefits Ad-Hoc & Simple Tabular Reporting Capability Quickly puts operational information in the hands of decision makers Schedulable Output to Excel, HTML Power of SQL Database Platform Independence Introduced Web Service for Query in PeopleTools l 8.48 Embedding URLs into Queries Create SQL Expression in Query 13

14 nvision Not going away and being enhanced 14

15 nvision nvision is a good tool for reporting data from PeopleSoft in an end user 'usable' format Allows end users to retrieve information from the PeopleSoft database using ledgers, trees, and queries and to place it into an Excel spreadsheet Has been the reporting product of choice for financial reporting, but also used frequently with other modules, including HR nvision Bursting Delivered Security template and scopes in nvision Custom programmatic generation of rules Scopes and report requests Layouts and report requests 15

16 nvision Slide 18 Components Ledger Structure Ledger Data CFs & Trees nvision Layouts Report Requests Report Books nvision Scopes End-User Reports 16

17 nvision Components Slide 19 Component Definition Chartfields Accounts, Project ID, Cost Centers (DeptID) Trees Ledger Structure & Data Layouts Graphical representation of chartfields Trees are used to present chartfield hierarchy via nodes, roll-ups and detail values Store GL summary balances by accounting period at the chartfield level Structure dictates how the ledger will store USD and Local currencies Excel-based templates that contain the rules or instructions that tell PeopleSoft how to retrieve and present ledger data All report formatting is done within the layouts Scopes Used to narrow or filter the amount of data that a report request retrieves Scopes allow for a limited set of layouts to be used repeatedly without having to go into the layout and hard-code criteria Report Requests Report Books End-User Reports Contain the report generation criteria such as Report Name, Report Layout, Scope, Reporting Date, Business Unit, Variables and Distribution Allow for several report requests to be grouped together th and run at the same time. Report Books are run via the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler either on an ad-hoc or scheduled basis Excel worksheets that are distributed to Financial end-users 17

18 Crystal If you want to design new Crystal reports, you must install Crystal Reports Bundled with PeopleTools Tabular Reporting with PS/Query Before you can generate formatted output in Crystal Reports, you need to create and save queries in PeopleSoft Query Crystal report definitions do not contain actual data from your database, so each time you use Crystal Reports, PeopleSoft Query retrieves ti the most recent tdata Pixel Perfect Reporting and Fonts are Ideal for Check Printing Embedding URLs into Crystal Use Query with Hyperlinks Embedded Set Hyperlink in Crystal (Field Property) Many delivered reports are in based on Crystal 18

19 XML Publisher XML Publisher is a template-based publishing solution that integrates familiar desktop publishing word processing tools with existing data reporting Available with 8.48 and newer releases of PT XML Publisher renamed BI Publisher with the release of Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition 10g Release 3 XML Publisher report formats can be designed using Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Availability: Part of the BI Suite Stand alone Embedded in PeopleSoft and Oracle E-Business Leverages PS/Query Leverages Application Engine No need to migrate from existing middleware 19

XML Publisher Historically Organizations often have numerous reports that have to be designed, developed, and then distributed to managers and employees that are located throughout large complex

20 XML Publisher Historically Organizations often have numerous reports that have to be designed, developed, and then distributed to managers and employees that are located throughout large complex business organizations; often in many different physical locations Organizations have used legacy reporting tools and publishing systems that are expensive and difficult to maintain These legacy reporting tools require specialized knowledge and skill sets to develop reports that meet end user requirements Today XML Publisher does not require a significant ramp-up of knowledge Examples of ideal uses of XML Publisher reports would include: Paycheck and direct deposit advices 1099s eperformance review forms Notification letters to employees, such as letters for training course confirmation Comprehensive employee benefit statements Replacement of Crystal-based reports where calculation formulas are required Applicant letters regarding closed positions they have applied for 20

it PS/Query Data Marts Balanced Score Card nvision Delivered

21 Reporting for Every Level of Organization To be effective and productive, users need their data where, when and how they want it PS/Query Data Marts Balanced Score Card nvision Delivered Inquiries, Reports Embedded Charting Export to Excel XML PUBLISHER 21

22 XML Publisher Additional Benefits You must have more than one layout for any given data set if the department needs a report to look different, simply create another layout rather than a whole new report At runtime, designed template files are merged with report data to create a variety of outputs to meet diverse business needs, including: Customer-ready PDFs, such as financial statements HTML output for optimum online viewing Excel output to create spreadsheets Completed third-party PDF documents, such as a form Flat text files to use with EDI or EFT transmission With XML Publisher, you can add role based security that limits which reports each user can access and run This added security gives you the control you need to address reporting needs of many different managers and users in a complex organization, without having to define many Query Tree definitions You can deliver your content via Fax, Printer, , or you can publish the report to a company Intranet/Portal website Report Bursting 22

23 XML Publisher Supported Data Sources PSQuery Query users can build data source Delivered page to run query-based XMLP reports End-to-end d report development without t a single line of code System generated XSD and sample XML Difficult to pass header information Rowset Provides developer with very dynamic data source Easy to create multiple levels Can be populated manually Can be populated from dynamic criteria XMLDOC Object Can be generated from a rowset Enables transformation with XSL Most dynamic option XML File Good for external sources of data PeopleBooks recommends XML files for moderate to large reports PeopleTools 8.5 Update: Rowset and XMLDoc have been disapproved as a data source. All existing reports using these data source type will continue to run, however you will not be able create a new Rowset or XMLDoc data source, use XML file instead. 23

24 XML Publisher Slide 26 Steps required to create a new XML Publisher report 24

25 XML Publisher Slide 27 Tips for developing reports Version Templates: It's very easy to change report layouts, do a Save As and try it a new way Add a Button: XML Publisher reports run to the browser, so add a push button to launch report from main components Burst By: Use the bursting feature to generate separate reports by manager or department or customer Leverage Delivered App Classes: The application package PSXP_XMLGEN provides good tools and good examples, including a Rowset-to-XmlDoc method XSD and Sample XML: For Rowset and XMLDoc data sources, use the App Class Tester plus the PSXP_XMLGEN package to generate XSD and sample XML Heavy Lifting with XSL: Apply custom XSL stylesheets with built-in function TransformEx Re-usable Sub-templates: This sub-reports feature enables you to define common elements once, then re-use them across templates 25

26 New Release Highlights Source: Oracle s Published Release Notes

27 PeopleTools 8.5 Oracle is committed to protect and extend the value PeopleSoft Key areas of investment include: Extending the PeopleSoft service-enabled architecture Improving the user experience Lowering your total cost of ownership Key areas and features of PeopleTools 8.50 are: Related content Improved integration technology Greater end-user productivity Supported platforms 27

28 XML Publisher Enhancements: Descriptive Names Deprecated Data Sources Deprecated Schema Files Connected Query Data Source Global Properties Settings Performance Enhancements PDF Full Path Mapping Alternate XML Preview Iterative Template Design Support for 28

29 Descriptive Names Issue: Every time you run a report it would output the exact same filename, thus overriding your existing file Solution The following variables are now supported: %ASD% will insert the As-Of Date %RID% will insert the Report ID %BTV% will insert the burst field value %field% where field is a the name of a field from the XML data that lies below the first repeating field Example: If you have an EMPLID field, use %EMPLID%, at runtime the value of that field will be used. All burst key candidates on the on the bursting page are eligible. 29

30 Global Properties Settings A new page has been added to define Global Properties Global Properties are shared by all reports and override the XDO engine default property values The following property groups are available from the dropdown box: Example Global Properties Page PDF Output FO Processing HTML Output PDF Security PDF Template RTF Output RTF Template 30

31 Support for has been added as an output option for XML Publisher reports 31

32 XML Publisher Additional Highlights Deprecated Data Source Connected Query Data Source Performance Enhancements Iterative Template Design Rowset and XMLDoc have been deprecated as a data source All existing reports using these data source type will continue to run, however you will be unable to create a new Rowset or XMLDoc data source, use XML file instead Connected Query has been added as a data source The data source must be created before you can use it in a report definition XML sample data can be system generated for a Connected Query data source XML generation for query data source is now in C++ which provides better performance and less memory usage A new XMLDoc to XML API has been created, this API provides better performance and less memory usage This can be used to replace your XMLDoc data source with XML file When defining the template in the report definition, it is no longer necessary to create a new effectivedated row when you change the template You can download and upload (override) the same effective dated template file 32

PeopleSoft Query Enhancements Query Access

results Drilling URL in PSQUERY Downloading

33 PeopleSoft Query Enhancements Query Access Service (QAS) has been enhanced New connected query Ability to develop in-tree criteria prompts Ability to application engine results Drilling URL in PSQUERY Downloading query results to XML file Security Join Optimizer option 33

34 PeopleSoft Query Access Services Standard Web Services to run and create PS/Queries Query Access Service (QAS) has been enhanced to take advantage of PeopleSoft Integration Broker and serviceoriented architecture QAS_QRY_SERVICE is published as a web service providing third-party applications the ability to create and execute PeopleSoft queries 34

35 Connected Query Connected Query provides the ability to create a single XML file based on a set of queries with parent-child relationships A Connected Query is a hierarchical object built with existing PeopleSoft Queries A parent query can nest n levels of child queries and any child query can have m sibling queries within a hierarchy The output for connected query is always an XML file Connected Query can be used as a data source for XML Publisher reports A new folder for Connected Query has been added under Reporting Tools 35

36 Ability to Add an In-Tree Criteria Prompt You can schedule queries that have In-Tree prompts using the Schedule Query component or using the Schedule links in the Query Manager and Query Viewer You are able to add in-tree criteria prompts to your queries, and define tree option in Expression 2 type 36

37 Querying Results with Drilling URLs When you access the Run page of a query that has a Drilling URL defined, its query results are shown as links Clicking these result links either: Runs the destination query with prompt key values if the source query has prompt criteria defined and prompt keys are mapped to source query result columns Launches the component with the search key values if the source query has search keys defined and search keys are mapped to source query result columns Redirects the external URL 37

38 Security Join Optimizer If this query contains multiple joins to the same query security record, define whether it should be run optimized Select to enable this query to join once to the first security record Clear to enable this query to join multiple times to the security record 38

39 PeopleSoft Query Additional Highlights Ability to Application Engine Results Downloading query results to XML file You are able to add as an output type for scheduled query (any Application Engine program) results With this option, you can schedule queries to run and have the results ed directly to recipients (not just a link to the Report Manager) After you click the XML link, query result will be downloaded to browser as XMLP format and there are options that enable you to open, save, or cancel the downloaded d d file If you click the Open button, XML formatted query result is downloaded to browser You can also select the XML option as the format of your query results in the Schedule Query page when schedule to run a query 39

40 nvision Enhancements Accepting tree effective-date at the time of criteria definition Supporting not-in criteria Ability to define the types of report requests Restoring query prompts to web version of nvision Drilling down PS/nVision reports using web services (nvisiondrill i ill VSTO add-in) 40

41 Accepting Tree Effective-Date These changes will affect only matrix layouts, as only in matrix layouts we have an option of selecting trees Tabular layouts are not affected The PeopleSoft nvision Filter Criteria dialog in nvision client is enhanced to include an As of Date field along with the tree name If this checkbox is selected, the As of Date for Trees specified in layout definition is overridden at the time of Report Request 41

42 nvision Supporting Not-in Criteria Beside adding, modifying, and deleting the nodes from the criteria, the PS/nVision Layout designer now includes a new feature called not-in, which allows Layout designers to include fields for building negative criteria; for example, selecting nodes for not-in clause part of the Query 42

43 nvision Restoring Query Prompts to Web Version of nvision The Define Report Request page of PS/nVision will include a new sub page called Query Prompts, where you are able to add all the required parameters for queries in that given report These parameters are stored as records in a new table called Query Parameters; and these records are identified by the Query name, report ID, and Business Unit as a primary key 43

44 nvision Additional Highlights Ability to Define the Types of Report Requests nvision Designer recognizes the concept of public and private report requests Currently, only the web-based version honors the public or private report requests security This enhancement enables the users of the Windows client of PS/nVision to: Have the flexibility of making report request either public or private Define whether to share the report with other users PS/nVision Drilldown Using Web Services You are able to use the web service capability when drilling from summarized to detailed nvision i reports using the nvisiondrill i ill VSTO addin To enable drilldown to use web services, these software items must be installed on the machine where drilldown is performed: Microsoft Excel 2007 Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Office SE Runtime (VSTO add-in) Microsoft Office 2007 Primary Interop assemblies. nvisiondrill add-in DrillToPIA and nvisiondrill VSTO add-ins do not coexist, you can use only one add-in at a time 44

45 Crystal Reports Enhancements BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 3.1 upgrade Crystal Reports 2008 upgrade Crystal Reports design / execution components Crystal Reports 2008 compatibility issues 45

46 Crystal Reports Design / Execution Components You first create queries using the PS/Query Designer, and then you design report layouts in the Crystal Reports 2008 sp1 Designer application referencing the fields defined in the queries that you created Crystal Report Engine is the default Crystal Reports execution environment, which is available when you install or upgrade PeopleTools BusinessObjects Enterprise XI is an optional Crystal Reports execution environment, which is available when you install or upgrade PeopleTools 46

47 Crystal Reports 2008 Compatibility Issues When you upgrade to Crystal Reports 2008, consider the following new compatibility issues: Crystal Reports 2008 can run a report that is saved in an earlier version of Crystal Reports format. However, if you save the report definition from the Crystal Report 2008 designer, the report will be saved in Crystal Reports 2008 format and cannot be opened by any version of Crystal Reports earlier than version 9 When you run reports using the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler in the PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture, they are created in the Crystal Reports 2008.rpt format and you cannot open them using any version of Crystal Reports earlier than version 9 If you are upgrading from a previous version of PeopleTools, your pre-peopletools 8.50 Crystal reports will need to be converted to the Crystal Reports 2008 format using the PeopleTools RPT Conversion utility pscvtrpt.exe 47

48 Crystal Additional Highlights BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 3.1 Upgrade For Enterprise PeopleTools 8.50, BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 3.1 is supported If you had used BusinessObjects Enterprise in previous releases, you need to upgrade Crystal Reports and Crystal Report Print Engine 2008 Upgrade Upgrades the version of Crystal Report and Crystal Report Print Engine from version 9 to version 2008 Crystal 2008 is the latest version of Crystal Reports. The Crystal 9 is not supported starting with PeopleTools

com Todd Kummer, Technical Specialist todd.

50 Contact Information Marcus Bode, Principal Todd Kummer, Technical Specialist Millie Babicz, Functional Specialist 50

Oracle Open World Go Beyond the Basics with PeopleSoft Query and nvision. Presented by: Millie Babicz

Oracle Open World Go Beyond the Basics with PeopleSoft Query and nvision. Presented by: Millie Babicz Oracle Open World 2010 Go Beyond the Basics with PeopleSoft Query and nvision Presented by: Millie Babicz SpearMC Consulting www.spearmc.com 1-866-SPEARMC Agenda SpearMC Solutions Overview PeopleSoft Query