I completed testing of the OTL functionality to import timecard data in a .csv format without any issues. I do need to make a note that a user helping out with testing this feature experienced intermittent issues. The issues seemed to center around "expenditure type class combinations". I need to do some additional investigating since I didn't run into these errors. From the screen prints below, you can see one of my test imports into OTL. I was able to save and submit this timecard without any problems.
Recent Timecards screen with "Upload Timecard" button.
Select the time period and browse to the location of the .csv file.
The .csv file is loaded.
After a small workflow related issue was resolved, I was able to complete the majority of OTL testing with no additional issues to report. The one function left to test is the timecard import from a .csv file. Although the import functionality is not rolled out to all users at KBACE, I am told it does come in handy for our back office people who often work multiple projects in the same week. I'll test that early next week and hopefully be able to report that import works as expected.
My OTL testing is nearly complete. The only real issue encountered so far was a problem with workflow. The test script I was executing required that the approver reject the timecard, sending it back for correction. Logged in as the approver, I rejected the timecard and then logged in as the submitter. Unfortunately, when I logged in as the submitter, the timecard was still showing a status of "Submitted". I waited a few minutes to be sure the background process had time to run, and checked again. The timecard remained in "Submitted" status, never showing the "Rejected" status I was expecting.
I logged back in as the approver and was able to see that an error had occured and that "Applsys.Wf_deferred_r" had errors. I sent the error message over to our technical side and they were able to track down the issue, noted in Metalink document 577875.1. I was then able to retest and everything worked as expected.
Running through OTL test scripts is not exactly exciting work, but the error showed why it is important to have good test scripts. The submit and approve steps worked fine. It was only when testing a submit/reject scenario that the issue with workflow appeared. Take the time to test every possible combination of steps that might occur. It is the only way you can be (mostly) sure of no big surprises once the applications goes into production.
In version 12.1, Oracle made some changes to the user interface. One of those changes was the merge of the "Time Entry -> Recent Timecards" screen with the "Timecard Search" screen.
The old version of the OTL menu appears below:
The old version of the screen for Recent Timecards (Navigation Time and Expenses -> Time Entry ) appears below. Note the sub tabs labeled Time Entry and another for Timecard Search.
In 12.1, we now get a slightly modified menu with "Time Entry" and "Timecard Search" replaced by "Recent Timecards":
Selecting Recent Timecards brings us to the new merged screen. Notice that the sub tabs for "Time Entry" and "Timecard Search" have been replaced by the "Recent Timecards" sub tab.
The merged screens are meant to provide for a cleaner user interface. Although you don't really save any time in navigation, it appears to be one of those small changes that slowly make for a more mature product.
One of the new OTL features in Release 12.1 that I am looking forward to is the default pay period preference.
In previous versions of OTL, the self service timecard defaults to the current pay period, or the first available pay period. For situations where employees commonly do their timecards on Monday for the previous week, this means that the timecard always defaults to the week after the one the employee actually wants. This can lead to errors where the employee accidentally fills out their whole timecard for the wrong week.
The new default pay period preference will allow OTL administrators to set the week/pay period to which the self service timecard defaults to the week that makes the most sense for their users.
Posted by: Paul Beatty in Release 12.1, OTL on
May 3, 2009
The R12.1 upgrade for OTL contains several enhancements. The change to the timecard search functionality will be one of the most obvious for users.
The timecard search function has been rolled into the "Recent Timecards" page. Users can now search and edit timecards from the same screen. Multiple timecards can also be selected and deleted as a group.
Another new feature is the ability to sort your search results based upon the status of the timecard.
These changes should make the navigation and management of timecards easier in OTL. I'll post some screen shots of the new search functionality, as well as cover the other enhancements as I get a chance to try them out.
