The Transaction Type Wizard guides you step by step through the process of configuring the posting and routing behavior for a selected Transaction Type. A Transaction Type is a group of like transactions (position transaction, budget worksheet, reallocation transaction) that you route and approve in the same manner.
The Transaction Type Wizard is divided into two separate setups, Standard and Advanced.
Standard Setup
Standard Setup is where you create the minimum information required for routing transactions. You define the default routing style and default approvers the application will use when routing and approval rules do not exist, or do not apply to the values in the current transaction.
On page 1, Select a Transaction Type:
Select the transaction type you want to configure.
Select your business group or choose Global, in which case your setup affects all business groups.
Use the Action field to view, edit, enable, or disable workflow configurations for the selected transaction type.
On page 2, Select Posting Preferences:
If you are submitting future-dated actions, user access to the new records depends on whether you choose Today or On Effective Date. If you choose:
Today, the application applies and validates the transaction immediately. Users can then access, edit, and use the new record to prepare other future-dated transactions. The application validates transactions posted in the interim against the data posted today.
On Effective Date, the application applies the transaction immediately, but waits until the effective date to validate it. On the Effective Date, users can access, edit, and use the records. The application validates the transaction on the future date against data posted in the interim.
For example, if you set the option to post today and process an action on January 15 that eliminates a position on February 15, and a few days later process an action that freezes the position on February 1, the application displays an error, because you cannot freeze a position that you are eliminating. If you set the option to On Effective Date and process the same actions, you freeze the position on February 1, and on February 15 the application displays an error, because you cannot eliminate a frozen position.
Specify how the application processes current and retroactive actions.
Process Immediately posts data as soon as you submit it, but you may have to suspend work during processing.
Defer Processing the Background Workflow Engine posts the data, freeing you to work during processing.
Specify how many days the application will wait for a user to take action on a transaction before returning it back to the initiator.
On page 3, Select a Routing Method:
Specify the routing style the application will use for this transaction type (Position Hierarchy, Routing List, Supervisory Hierarchy).
On page 4, Select a [Position Hierarchy] [Routing List] [Supervisory Hierarchy]:
Specify the default list/hierarchy the application will use when routing and approval rules do not select a list/hierarchy.
Designate an Override Approver.
Users can bypass routing and send a transaction to the Override Approver at any time for approval.
On page 5, Select Default Approvers:
Specify and enable/disable default approvers that the application will use when routing and approval rules do not select approvers.
See: Defining Routing Lists for Transactions
Advanced Setup
Advanced Setup refines transaction routing by defining rules based upon data in the transaction.
Using Advanced Setup, you can:
Select attributes for defining routing and approval rules
Related screens:
Select Routing Attributes
Define rules that select a list/hierarchy or Override Approver
Related screens:
Choose a Routing Rule Name
Define [rule name] for [list/hierarchy name]
Select approvers
Related screens:
Select Approver(s) from [list/hierarchy name]
Define Approval Rules for [role/user name]
Define [rule name] Rule for [role/user name]
Here are some key principles to keep in mind:
Define routing rules to select a list/hierarchy when conditions you specify are true
Define approval rules to choose approvers when conditions you specify are true
You link approval rules to a related routing rule that selects a List/Hierarchy
Note: Avoid overlapping rules, which generate errors that prevent you from choosing the list/hierarchy or approver you want and completing Advanced Setup. For example, if one routing rule specifies that Grade must be within a range of 100 to 300, and another routing rule (for another list/hierarchy) specifies a range of 200 to 400, the application cannot choose to enforce one rule or the other where values are between 200 and 300. Related to this, entering blank values (nulls) specifies "any value". The application evaluates "Grade = 100 to 300" as overlapping "Grade = <Null>" (all values).
When you route a transaction, the application compares the values entered in the transaction with the attribute values you defined in the routing and approval rules. The application identifies the appropriate routing list or hierarchy, and the next qualified user in the routing sequence.
Advanced Setup allows you to define any number of rules to select multiple list/hierarchies or approvers. Using the set of attributes you have chosen, define routing and approval rules for each list/hierarchy in turn. After choosing a list/hierarchy, define rules that select it, and (optionally) rules that select approvers associated with that list/hierarchy. After you define a rule or approver you can go back and add a new rule, a new approver, or begin the process again with a new list/hierarchy. The flexibility is as great as your capacity to imagine and create routing and approval scenarios.
The approval rules you define must fall within the ranges of values specified in the routing rules. The application does not check for this -- it will ignore out-of-range values and will not select the approver. For example, say you define a routing rule specifying that Grade equals 100 to 200, and another specifying that Grade equals 301 to 400. If either of these rules is true, the application uses Routing List X. If you add an approval rule to select Approver A when Grade equals 201 to 300 or 401 to 500, the application will not select Approver A -- moreover, it will not notify you of the logical error in the setup.
Note: The rules you create use the OR operator. Only one rule needs to be true in order to select a list/hierarchy or approver(s). Within a single rule, the AND operator is in effect All values must be true in order for the rule to be true.
Some additional guidelines:
Entering no value (null) in the From field of a range selects all values equal to or lower than the value in the To field. For example, "From <Null> To 100" specifies all values 100 or below.
The application does not validate the contents of the To field, unless the attribute uses a value set. It is up to you to see to it that values you enter are valid, according to your organization's unique implementation.
Entering no value (null) in the To field of a range selects all values equal to or higher than the value in the From field. For example, "From 101 To <Null>specifies all values greater than 100.
Note: With strings, situations may exist where the values do not follow an alphanumeric sequence, as they do with "Pay.1, Pay.2, Pay.3" (though this note illustrates why it may be a good idea to set things up that way). Nevertheless, you can select a list/hierarchy or approver by specifying a single string value instead of a range, repeating the same value in the "From" and "To" fields. For example, specifying "From Hourly To Hourly" for Salary Basis selects a given list/hierarchy or approver(s) when the Salary Basis is Hourly. With strings, the application sorts in ASCII order. For example, "Pay" comes before "pay" and "101" comes before "50". Add leading zeros to get the desired result ("050" comes before "101").
For examples and reference information about attributes available for defining routing and approval rules, see Routing and Approval Rules Reference.