Oracle Approvals Management (AME) had first published over ten years ago, and also big question is “Why isn’t it so popular”. I think this is all about supporting unnecessary extra extensibility which is not required for traditional approval processes. AME includes many advantages for more flexibility/extensibility/functionality on approval processes. If we would like to check some of these advantages; you can create custom transaction types ,approval groups , approval types. These are definitions called rules, attributes, conditions, approval groups, action types.
Most featured functionality that AME provides us is action types like paralel or serial voting. You can use approval types like consensus (all approvers have to approve to end approval process) , first responder wins (first approver finishes all process). And you can define these approvers dynamically , It supports;
- HR Organization Hierarchy
- Roles
- Users
- Most important one: your custom approval processes with your custom rules
For further information about AME you can check these document for AME implementation : Metalink Note 336901.1 and Note 282529.1
In this case, We created a simple custom WF and PL/SQL package for AME rules and notification process. Custom WF contains two processes a main and a subprocess;
In main Workflow process we call AME process with only a return type approved or rejected. So! We are focussing only AME sub-process in this practice . Now check two notifcations and what function look like ;
These three functions use following package ;
CREATE OR REPLACE package apps.xx_ame_approval_pkg is
procedure getAmeTransactionDetail (x_transaction_type in out varchar2 , x_application_id out number );
procedure getNextApprover(itemtype in varchar2,
itemkey in varchar2,
actid in number,
funcmode in varchar2,
resultout out NOCOPY varchar2) ;
procedure updateAmeWithResponse(itemtype in varchar2,
itemkey in varchar2,
actid in number,
funcmode in varchar2,
resultout out nocopy varchar2) ;
END;
/
CREATE OR REPLACE package body apps.xx_ame_approval_pkg is
procedure getAmeTransactionDetail (x_transaction_type in out varchar2 , x_application_id out number )
is
cursor c1 is
select fnd_application_id as application_id,
transaction_type_id as transaction_type
from ame_transaction_types_v
where transaction_type_id = x_transaction_type;
begin
for crec in c1 loop
x_transaction_type:=crec.transaction_type;
x_application_id := crec.application_id ;
end loop ;
end ;
procedure getNextApprover( itemtype in varchar2,
itemkey in varchar2,
actid in number,
funcmode in varchar2,
resultout out NOCOPY varchar2) IS
E_FAILURE EXCEPTION;
l_transaction_id number;
l_next_approver ame_util.approverRecord2;
l_next_approvers ame_util.approversTable2;
l_next_approvers_count number;
l_approver_index number;
l_is_approval_complete VARCHAR2(1);
l_transaction_type VARCHAR2(200);
l_application_id number;
l_role_users WF_DIRECTORY.UserTable;
l_role_name VARCHAR2(320) ;
l_role_display_name VARCHAR2(360) ;
l_all_approvers ame_util.approversTable;
cursor c1(p_user_name varchar2) is
select papf.full_name from fnd_user fu ,
per_all_people_f papf
where fu.employee_id = papf.person_id
and fu.user_name = p_user_name
and sysdate between papf.EFFECTIVE_START_DATE and nvl(papf.EFFECTIVE_end_DATE,sysdate+1)
and sysdate between fu.start_date and nvl(fu.end_date,sysdate+1) ;
begin
if (funcmode = 'RUN') THEN
-- l_transaction_id := TO_NUMBER(itemkey);
l_transaction_id:= wf_engine.getItemAttrNumber( itemtype => itemtype,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'AME_TRANSACTION_ID' );
l_transaction_type := wf_engine.getItemAttrText( itemtype => itemtype,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'AME_TRANSACTION_TYPE' );
getAmeTransactionDetail ( l_transaction_type,l_application_id );
ame_api2.getNextApprovers4(applicationIdIn=>l_application_id,
transactionTypeIn=>l_transaction_type,
transactionIdIn=>l_transaction_id,
flagApproversAsNotifiedIn => ame_util.booleanTrue,
approvalProcessCompleteYNOut => l_is_approval_complete,
nextApproversOut=>l_next_approvers);
l_next_approvers_count:=l_next_approvers.count ;
if (l_is_approval_complete = ame_util.booleanTrue) then
resultout:='COMPLETE:'||'APPROVAL_COMPLETE';
return;
-- Incase of consensus voting method, next approver count might be zero but there will be pending approvers
elsif (l_next_approvers.Count = 0) then
ame_api2.getPendingApprovers(applicationIdIn=>l_application_id,
transactionTypeIn=>l_transaction_type,
transactionIdIn=>l_transaction_id,
approvalProcessCompleteYNOut => l_is_approval_complete,
approversOut =>l_next_approvers);
end if;
l_next_approvers_count := l_next_approvers.Count;
if (l_next_approvers_count = 0) then
resultout:='COMPLETE:'||'NO_NEXT_APPROVER';
return;
end if;
if (l_next_approvers_count > 0) then
resultout:='COMPLETE:'||'VALID_APPROVER';
--return;
end if;
if (l_next_approvers_count = 1) then
l_next_approver:=l_next_approvers(l_next_approvers.first());
wf_engine.SetItemAttrText( itemtype => itemType,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'APPROVER_USER_NAME' ,
avalue => l_next_approver.name);
wf_engine.SetItemAttrText( itemtype => itemType,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'APPROVER_DISPLAY_NAME' ,
avalue => l_next_approver.display_name);
/*role name is user name here */
for crec in c1(l_next_approver.name) loop
l_role_display_name:=crec.full_name ;
end loop ;
-- l_role_name:=
resultout:='COMPLETE:'||'VALID_APPROVER';
--return;
end if;
l_approver_index := l_next_approvers.first();
while ( l_approver_index is not null ) loop
l_role_users(l_approver_index):= l_next_approvers(l_approver_index).name ;
l_approver_index := l_next_approvers.next(l_approver_index);
end loop;
wf_directory.CreateAdHocRole2( role_name => l_role_name
,role_display_name => l_role_display_name
,language => null
,territory => null
,role_description => 'AME ROLE DESC'
,notification_preference => null
,role_users => l_role_users
,email_address => null
,fax => null
,status => 'ACTIVE'
,expiration_date => null
,parent_orig_system => null
,parent_orig_system_id => null
,owner_tag => null
);
wf_engine.setitemattrtext(itemtype => itemtype,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'RECIPIENT_ROLE',
avalue => l_role_name
);
return;
end if; -- run
exception
when others then
-- The line below records this function call in the error
-- system in the case of an exception.
wf_core.context('xx_ame_approval_pkg',
'getNextApprover',
itemtype,
itemkey,
to_char(actid),
funcmode);
raise;
end getNextApprover;
procedure updateAmeWithResponse(itemtype in varchar2,
itemkey in varchar2,
actid in number,
funcmode in varchar2,
resultout out nocopy varchar2) is
e_failure exception;
l_transaction_id number;
l_nid number;
l_gid number;
l_approver_name varchar2(240);
l_result varchar2(100);
l_ame_status varchar2(20);
l_original_approver_name varchar2(240);
l_forwardeein ame_util.approverrecord2;
l_transaction_type varchar2 (200 byte);
l_application_id number ;
begin
l_transaction_type := wf_engine.getItemAttrText( itemtype => itemtype,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'AME_TRANSACTION_TYPE');
getAmeTransactionDetail (l_transaction_type,
l_application_id);
l_transaction_id:= wf_engine.getItemAttrNumber( itemtype => itemtype,
itemkey => itemkey,
aname => 'AME_TRANSACTION_ID');
if (funcmode = 'RUN') then
-- l_transaction_id := itemkey;
l_gid := wf_engine.context_nid;
select responder,notification_id
into l_approver_name,l_nid
from wf_notifications
---where group_id=l_gid
where group_id=l_gid
and status = 'CLOSED';
l_result := wf_notification.getattrtext(l_nid, 'RESULT');
if (l_result = 'APPROVED') then -- this may vary based on lookup type used for approval
l_ame_status := ame_util.approvedstatus;
elsif (l_result = 'REJECTED') then
l_ame_status := ame_util.rejectstatus;
else -- reject for lack of information, conservative approach
l_ame_status := ame_util.rejectstatus;
end if;
--set approver as approved or rejected based on approver response
ame_api2.updateapprovalstatus2( applicationidin=>l_application_id,
transactiontypein=>l_transaction_type,
transactionidin=>l_transaction_id,
approvalstatusin => l_ame_status,
approvernamein => l_approver_name);
elsif ( funcmode = 'TIMEOUT' ) then
l_gid := wf_engine.context_nid;
select responder,notification_id
into l_approver_name,l_nid
from wf_notifications
where group_id=l_gid;
--and status = 'CLOSED';
l_result := wf_notification.getattrtext(l_nid, 'RESULT');
if (l_result = 'APPROVED') then -- this may vary based on lookup type used for approval
l_ame_status := ame_util.approvedstatus;
elsif (l_result = 'REJECTED') then
l_ame_status := ame_util.rejectstatus;
else -- reject for lack of information, conservative approach
l_ame_status := ame_util.rejectstatus;
end if;
--set approver as approved or rejected based on approver response
ame_api2.updateapprovalstatus2( applicationidin=>l_application_id,
transactiontypein=>l_transaction_type,
transactionidin=>l_transaction_id,
approvalstatusin => l_ame_status,
approvernamein => l_approver_name);
elsif ( funcmode = 'TRANSFER' ) then
--l_transaction_id := itemkey;
l_forwardeein.name :=wf_engine.context_new_role;
l_original_approver_name:= wf_engine.context_original_recipient;
ame_api2.updateapprovalstatus2(applicationidin=>l_application_id ,
transactiontypein=>l_transaction_type,
transactionidin=>l_transaction_id,
approvalstatusin => 'FORWARD',
approvernamein => l_original_approver_name,
forwardeein => l_forwardeein );
end if; -- run
resultout:= wf_engine.eng_completed || ':' || l_result;
exception
when others then
wf_core.context('xx_ame_approval_pkg',
'updateAmeWithResponse',
itemtype,
itemkey,
to_char(actid),
funcmode);
raise;
end updateAmeWithResponse;
END;
/
What we had done in package above is simple ;
in getNextApprover : we used AME engine to find existing situation of our notification and approvers. Then we created a role for the current approver then set it as notification performer .
in updateAmeWithResponse : we updated current notification status using AME engine(ame_api2 package) and control if it is in timeout period or not , also if it is final approver of AME approver group.
Now we begin to start this WF process from this following package below for Orders which have holds (startApprovalWF procedure) . We can log this process (insertLog procedure) . We set document type attribute to set a custom OAF page for notification content. We also have custom business rules like timeout for notification process just in case our approver doesn’t give a response to it . (getTimeoutDay function). In this case our AME transaction type has the same name as Workflow item type . Package ;
CREATE OR REPLACE package xx_ame_start_appr_pkg is
procedure startApprovalWF(errbuff out varchar2,
retcode out number,
p_order_number in number,
p_hold_type in varchar2 ,
p_comment in varchar2
) ;
function getTimeoutDay (p_header_id in number) return number ;
procedure insertLog (itemtype IN VARCHAR2,
itemkey IN VARCHAR2,
p_log in varchar2
) ;
end ;
/
CREATE OR REPLACE package apps.xx_ame_start_appr_pkg is
/*This procedure starts our Approval WF via setting AME transaction types and
required information (this can be also called as Concurrent Program)*/
procedure startApprovalWF(errbuff out varchar2,
retcode out number,
p_order_number in number,
p_hold_type in varchar2,
p_comment in varchar2
) is
cursor c1 is
select oh.header_id ,
oh.order_number
from oe_order_holds_all ha ,
oe_order_headers_all oh
where ha.header_id = oh.header_id
and oh.ORDER_NUMBER= p_order_number
and ha.released_flag = 'N';
itemkey varchar2(240);
itemtype varchar2(8);
created_by_user_name varchar2(250);
l_seq number ;
is_entered boolean := false ;
begin
select xxxl.xxxl_wf_item_key.nextval into l_seq from dual ;
itemkey := l_seq||'-'||p_hold_type;
itemtype :='YOUR CUSTOM WF NAME';
for crec in c1 loop
insertLog (itemtype ,
itemkey ,
'startApprovalWF procedure has been called');
wf_engine.createprocess (itemtype,
itemkey ,
'YOUR MAIN PROCESS NAME');
select user_name into created_by_user_name
from fnd_user
where user_id = fnd_profile.value('USER_ID');
wf_engine.setItemAttrText(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'CREATED_BY_USER_NAME',
avalue=>created_by_user_name) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrText(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'HOLD_TYPE',
avalue=>p_hold_type) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrText(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'AME_TRANSACTION_TYPE',
avalue=>'YOUR CUSTOM WF NAME') ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrNumber(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'AME_TRANSACTION_ID',
avalue=>crec.header_id) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrNumber(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'ORDER_HEADER_ID',
avalue=>crec.header_id
) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrNumber(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'ORDER_NUMBER',
avalue=>crec.order_number
) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrText(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'START_COMMENT',
avalue=>p_comment) ;
wf_engine.setItemAttrText(itemtype =>itemtype,
itemkey =>itemkey,
aname =>'NUMBER_OF_WAIT_DAYS',
avalue=>getTimeoutDay(crec.header_id )) ;
wf_engine.setitemattrtext (itemtype,
itemkey,
'NTF_HOLD_CONTENT_DOC',
'JSP:/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?page=/xxxl/oracle/apps/xxxl/ame/webui/XxxlAmeNtfRN&xx_order_header_id='||crec.header_id
||'&xx_ntf_type='||p_hold_type
||'&xx_item_type='||itemtype
||'&xx_item_key='||itemkey);
wf_engine.startprocess (itemtype,
itemkey);
is_entered := true ;
exit;
end loop;
if (not is_entered) then
insertLog (itemtype ,
itemkey ,
'startApprovalWF no record has been found' );
fnd_file.put_line (fnd_file.LOG,'startApprovalWF no record has been found');
retcode := 2; --error
RETURN;
end if ;
end ;
/*This function defines our custom rules for timeout function in our AME WF*/
function getTimeoutDay (p_header_id in number) return number is
l_control number;
begin
begin
select 1 into l_control from oe_transaction_types_tl ott,
oe_order_headers_all ooh
where language='US'
and ott.name like 'Your Custom Transaction Type'
and ooh.header_id=p_header_id
and ott.transaction_type_id= ooh.order_type_id;
/*Your Custom Transaction Type Order if they wouldn't order until next day at 5:00pm approval process cancel*/
return round( ((24-to_char(sysdate,'HH24') ))+ 17 )*60; --dakika
--round( ((24-to_char(sysdate,'HH24') )/24)+ 17/24 , 2) ;
exception when others then
/*If it is not approved in 5 days it will be cancelled */
return 5*24*60 ; --dakika
end ;
end ;
procedure insertLog (itemtype IN VARCHAR2,
itemkey IN VARCHAR2,
p_log in varchar2
) is
PRAGMA AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION;
l_rec xxxl.xxxl_wf_log%rowtype ;
begin
l_rec.item_type:=itemtype ;
l_rec.item_key:=itemkey ;
l_rec.xlog:=p_log ;
l_rec.object_name:='xx_ame_start_appr_pkg' ;
l_rec.trnx_Date :=sysdate ;
insert into xxxl.xxxl_wf_log VALUES l_rec ;
commit;
end ;
END ;
I hope this will help to increase in demand for this productive Oracle Engine . We finished Creating Custom Oracle Workflow using AME process ! Thanks.
