Configurable Matrices as Mapping Tables

There was a discussion in ITToolbox on using Configurable Matrices to act as mapping tables. This is one utility we have used successfully for maintaining mapping values in PeopleSoft without the need to develop custom records, components or pages.

So, what are Configurable Matrices?
Configurable Matrix is a delivered functionality in PeopleSoft to maintain a matrix of input values and their corresponding results. This is very similar to the concept of Brackets in Global Payroll and Absence Management. You can easily define a Configurable Matrix by defining the input fields, the result fields and the data correlation between the input and result fields.

Can you give an example where Configurable Matrices can be used?
Here are some examples where we have used configurable matrices as mapping tables:

1. In a multi-country implementation, one customer wanted to control the open period of Timesheet based on the country and role. For example - in Country A, the timesheet had to be open for only the current period for employees and current and past period for managers. While, in Country B the timesheet had to be open for the current and past period for employees and managers.
Rather than hard-coding this logic in peoplecode or creating a custom table, we simply created a Configurable Matrix definition with country and role as the input fields and the open periods as the result field. In the peoplecode customisation to control the timesheet open periods, we queried the Configurable Matrix data to get the appropriate open period based on the country and role of the user.

2. One customer wanted to maintain default work schedules per company. We suggested the use of Configurable Matrices to maintain this relationship.

What are the advantages of using Configurable Matrices?
Configurable Matrices are an out of the box solution. This means that the use of CM will help implement a vanilla solution and eliminate the need to create custom records, pages and components. Coupled with this, we have found that the development time can also be significantly reduced by using this option.

Would you suggest using Configurable Matrices for all mapping requirements in PeopleSoft?
No. We recommend using Configurable Matrices to maintain mapping values that remain mostly static. For example, in the ITToolbox example we quoted earlier, the requirement was to maintain the mapping between a Department and the HR Representative of the department. This is something that requires to be tightly coupled to the Department component, needs constant maintenance and has to be effective dated. For such requirements with dependency on effective dates and those that require constant updates are best maintained as custom objects. But, for mapping tables that do not change frequently, the cost of creating custom objects far outweigh the benefit achieved and we strongly recommend the use of Configurable Matrices.

I want to try this out. Where can I find Configurable Matrices setup in PeopleSoft HCM?
Here you go - Setup HRMS > Common Definitions > Configurable Matrices.
Have fun!

To GP or not to GP, that is the question!

One of the most prevalent configurations in a combined Time and Labor/Absence Management implementation is to have payroll processed by a third party vendor. So, in this configuration Time and Labor and Absence Management will be processed in PeopleSoft, while payroll will be handled by a third party payroll system. For the sake of argument, let's assume that the Workforce Administration related data is passed to the payroll vendor using a custom process. The question we are discussing in this post is, what should be the Pay System chosen for assignment in Job data for employees in such a configuration? Should we assign Payroll Interface as the Pay System or should it be Global Payroll?
Common wisdom might suggest to use Payroll Interface, as the customer is not implementing PeopleSoft Global Payroll per se. But, our recommendation is to use 'Global Payroll' as the Pay System in Job data for employees. The reason behind this is many folds:
1. It eliminates the need for extra configurations to get Payroll Interface up and running.
2. Assignment of paygroup at Job data level becomes much easier as extra fields related to Payroll Interface paygroup need not be populated.
3. Integration between Absence Management and Time and Labor is possible only with pay systems of Global Payroll and Payroll for North America. Probably this is one of the most compelling reasons to choose Global Payroll as the pay system in such a configuration.

So, we strongly recommend implementations to use Global Payroll as the pay system of employees in Job data in configurations with T&L and Absence Management implemented in PeopleSoft and payroll housed outside PeopleSoft and not utilising the PI engine to send workforce administration/benefits data to the payroll vendor.

This post is authored by HRoi Consulting - The PeopleSoft Time and Attendance experts.

T&L New Features: Templates Made Available

Oracle is rolling out the feature to create new Time and Labor rule templates as part of PeopleSoft HCM9.1 Feature Pack 2. PeopleSoft Time and Labor has a number of delivered rule templates that allow business users/functional consultants to create time related rules with minimum effort. One limitation of this feature was that it was never possible to create user defined templates which could be reused (Do not confuse this with the ability to create new rules. T&L has robust tools that can be used to create custom time and labor rules). Dubbed as "Templates Made Available", the new features allows the creation of new rule templates. Significant technical effort is required though in create a new template, including creation of a new record/page which will be used as the template's UI as well as additions to the TL_RULETEMPLATES application package. One real good enhancement I saw was the flexibility to use a number of Application Engine actions while define the steps of a rule. Earlier, we were constrained by the use of only SQL while creating a rule, but now actions like Do Select, Do While etc. are supported by the Templates Made Available Framework.
This is a great feature from the point of view of a consultant/consulting organization - this tool can be used to create re-usable templates which can be used to enhance the service offering as well as reduce the time of implementation. Visionary organizations should be creating templates for common Time and Labor rule requirements that are not catered by the delivered templates and should make it part of their service offering.
But, from the point of view of a customer and general product strategy, I am really looking forward to better features from Oracle for Time and Labor.

Reference:
http://blogs.oracle.com/peoplesoft/entry/new_peoplesoft_time_and_labor