Part-2
Oracle Workflows interview Questions
· Workflow
processes represent business process flows and information routing.
· Each workflow
process consists of a set of activities and transitions.
· Activities can
be process activities, notification activities, and function activities.
· The business
process flow in Oracle Workflow can have decision points (branches), parallel
flows, and loops.
· The Workflow
Builder is a graphical interface for diagramming the workflow process.
· The Workflow
Engine enforces and executes the workflow process and drives items through the
workflow processes.
· The Workflow
Monitor displays any instances/items and their status within a workflow
process.
· The Workflow
Definitions Loader loads the workflow definition from a flat file or from
another database.
· Workflow
Directory Services obtains the email addresses for roles from the directory
repository.
· The
Notification System sends out messages and solicits responses.
· The Workflow
Engine is a PL/SQL program that resides on the server and drives items through
workflow processes defined in Oracle Workflow.
· Each item has a
set of attributed values that contains information about the specific item.
Each one of these items, with its own set of attribute values in the middle of
the workflow process, is referred to as one instance of the workflow process.
· Valid states of
an activity are Active, Complete, Deferred, Error, Notified, Suspended, and
Waiting.
· If the state is
Error, the changes will roll back to the last savepoint and the error-handling
process will be initiated.
· Active
activities are deferred to the background Workflow Engine if the operating cost
is higher than the threshold specified in the Workflow Engine.
· If an activity
is completed, the Workflow Engine will issue a savepoint and the activities
that depend on the completed activity will be set to Active, if appropriate.
· If Loop
Reset is on and the Workflow Engine comes to an activity that has been
executed, then all of the activities will be reversed; otherwise, the
transition will be ignored.
· Workflow Engine
APIs are found in the WF_ENGINE package.
· The
CreateProcess API creates a new runtime process for an item of an instance.
· The
StartProcess API begins execution of the workflow process.
· The
CompleteActivity API notifies the Workflow Engine that an activity has been
completed for an item.
· GetItemAttrInfo
obtains type information about an item attribute.
· Oracle Workflow
obtains information about a role from three views: WF_USERS, WF_ROLES, and
WF_USER_ROLES.
· Groups of
users, as well as individual users, are assigned to roles.
· The Email field
in WF_ROLES is used if Expand Role is not checked; otherwise,
the Email field of the users in the role will be used.
· To add more roles
and users, you can use the three local tables: WF_LOCAL_USERS, WF_LOCAL_ROLES,
and WF_LOCAL_USER_ROLES.
· An item type
consists of six components/objects: attributes, processes, notifications,
functions, messages, and lookup types.
· The internal
name of Workflow Builder components must be unique, typed in uppercase, and
should not contain spaces.
· If there is
more than one process attached to an item type, a selector is needed to select
the correct process.
· Each
notification activity must have an attached message.
· A message can
have its own attributes, and a respond attribute will solicit users to select a
valid respond value.
· You can attach
a time-out to the notification activity. If time passes and a response is not
received within the specified time, a <Timeout> transition will be executed.
· Lookup types
are used to define lists of lookup codes. Result types must be lookup types.
· To monitor
workflow and to view its progress, you can use either the Workflow Status form
in Oracle Applications or the Java-based Workflow Monitor tool.
· There are two
modes for both forms: ADMIN and USER.
· To diagram a
workflow process, drag and drop activities into the Process window and draw
lines between them by holding down the right mouse button.
· Fill in the
performer for a notification activity.
· The Continue
Flow function and Wait for Flow function work together to coordinate the
master/detail process flow.
· The Oracle
Applications Implementation Wizard—wizard for short—is a module in Oracle
Applications that guides you through the setup steps of Oracle Applications.
· The Oracle
Applications Implementation Method (AIM) is a methodology that guides you
through every phase of the implementation process and is complemented by the
Implementation Wizard.
· The process
hierarchy ensures that the common setups are finished before the specific
setups.
· Primary
processes are common processes that span the entire application, requiring
setup steps that cross multiple modules across the financial, distribution, and
manufacturing product families.
· Secondary
processes are common processes that cross modules within the product family.
· Final processes
are processes that are specific to an individual module and have no
cross-module dependencies. Enter the context for setup steps that are dependent
on organization context. Organization contexts are Business Group, Set of
Books, Operating Unit, and Inventory Organization. Start the implementation
process by launching it through the Implementation Wizard form.
· If you are
assigned a setup step through the wizard, you will receive notification through
Workflow, and you can see the notification in the Notifications Summary form.
· You can
complete the setup and respond with a Done result.
· You can respond
with a Skipped result and ask the wizard to skip the setup steps.
· You can
reassign the setup steps to another role.
· You can run the
wizard installation process to ensure that the wizard is installed correctly.
1. When will an activity be
deferred?
A. Activity cost = 0
B. Activity cost <
Workflow Engine threshold
C. Activity cost >
Workflow Engine threshold
2. What is the primary purpose of
a workflow?
A. Routes information
B. Sends notifications
C. Creates audit trails
D Defines process
rules
3. What job does the
SetItemUserKey API perform?
A. Sets the unique
identifier for an item
B. Sets the role to be
notified
C. Sets the user-friendly
identifier for an item
D. Sets the activity ID for
an item
4. How will you define the
possible results of an activity in order to drive different transitions?
A. As item attributes for an
item
B. As lookup codes for a
lookup type
C. Separate the activity
into two
D. Use a process activity
5. Time-out parameters apply to
which activity?
A. Function
B. Process
C. Notification
D. All of the above
6. What will solicit responses
from a notification activity?
A. Having a time-out
parameter
B. Having a performer
C. Having a Send message
attribute
D. Having a Respond message
attribute
7. Which Work Engine API should
you use to begin execution of an activity?
A. CreateProcess
B. StartProcess
C. ResumeProcess
D. BeginActivity
8. Which implementation process
group comes before the product family processes?
A. Common application
processes
B. Product family processes
C. Product-specific
processes
D Common financial
9. What is the proper format for
an internal name in the Workflow Builder component?
A. Uppercase
B. No spaces
C. Unique within item type
D. All of the above
10. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Role can be created in
Workflow Builder.
B. A user is a role if it
has at least one active responsibility.
C. A role can only have one
user.
D. A user must be a role.
11. Which component in Oracle Workflow is the graphical
interface for workflow processes?
A. Workflow Builder
B. Workflow Engine
C. Workflow Monitor
D. Workflow Definitions
Loader
12. When do you need a selector for an item type?
A. When you must perform
role resolution
B. When performing a voting
activity
C. When more than one
process is associated with an item type
D. When multiple result
codes are possible
13. What does the Workflow Engine do when a function
activity has finished?
A. Issue a savepoint
B. Issue a commit
C. Generate a log file
D. Notify the user
Answer to the above Questions
1. C. Activity cost > Workflow
Engine threshold
Explanation An activity is deferred when the activity cost is
greater than the Workflow Engine threshold. If the activity cost = 0 or if the
activity cost is less than the Workflow Engine threshold, the activity will
become Active.
2. A., B., D. Routes information,
Sends notifications, Defines process rules
Explanation The primary purposes of a workflow are to route
information, send notification, and define process rule. Although some history
is maintained automatically by Oracle Workflow, it will not be considered as
creating audit trails.
3. C. Set the user-friendly
identifier for an item
Explanation The SetItemUserKey API is used for setting a
user-friendly identifier for an item.
4. B. As lookup codes for a lookup
type
Explanation You define the possible results of an activity to
drive different transitions using lookup codes for a lookup type. You cannot
use item attributes. Separating the activity into two does not make sense since
you want to drive two transactions with the same activity, but with two result
codes. A process activity will not help in this scenario.
5. C. Notification
Explanation A time-out parameter only applies to a notification
activity since the time-out parameters are used to measure when a notification
expires. It does not apply to a function activity or a process activity.
6. D. Having a Respond message
attribute
Explanation Having a Respond message attribute will solicit
responses from a notification activity. The display name will become the prompt
and the description will be the instruction. Nothing else, such as a time-out
parameter, a performer, or a Send message attribute, will have
an affect in soliciting responses.
7. B. StartProcess
Explanation The StartProcess API begins the execution of an
activity. The CreateProcess API creates a new runtime process for an item. The
ResumeProcess API resumes a suspended item. The BeginActivity determines if the
specified activity may currently be performed on the item.
8. A. Common application processes
Explanation Common application processes come before the product
family processes, which come before product-specific processes. Common
financial is one of the product family processes. It does not come before
product family processes.
9. D. All of the above
Explanation An internal name for a Workflow Builder component
must be in uppercase, have no spaces, and be unique within item type.
10. D. A user must be a role.
Explanation A user must be a role. A role cannot be created in
the Workflow Builder. Having one active responsibility is not a requirement for
a user to be a role. A role can have more than one user.
11. A. Workflow Builder
Explanation The Workflow Builder in Oracle Workflow is the
graphical interface for workflow processes. The Workflow Engine drives items
through workflow processes. The Workflow Monitor allows you to view and monitor
workflow process instances and the Workflow Definitions Loader loads workflow
definitions from a text file or database.
12. C. More than one process associated with an item type
Explanation When you have more than one process associated with
an item type, you need a selector to select a process. You use the Role
Resolution standard activity to perform role resolution. Voting is another
standard activity. Multiple result codes drive different transitions, but this
is not related to the selector.
13. A. Issue a savepoint
Explanation The Workflow
Engine issues a savepoint when a function activity is completed. The Workflow
Engine never issues a commit; the calling application issues a commit. The
Workflow Engine does not generate a log file or notify users.
