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Oracle Diagnostics – Period Closing Overview

Marijo Erickson
Project Manager, Oracle Diagnostics
Agenda

• Diagnostics Overview
• Test Sets
• Period Close
• Q&A
• Appendix
Overview
Defined

• A free tool provided to ease the gathering and

analyzing of data from your E-Business Suite in a
secure manner.

• The tool is simply a set of tests, organized by product,

that execute within a diagnostic framework (ODF).

• Some of these tests examine the collected data,

provide feedback on this data and suggest resolution
steps to solve identified issues.
Overview
How it All Fits Together
• Oracle Diagnostics provides the ability to quickly identify and
resolve problems by executing diagnostic tests
Oracle
Diagnostics
Framework PRO Active

Executes

RE-Active

Diagnostic Tests
Oracle Diagnostics
 Overview
Defined

• No updates, inserts, or deletes

• Rule of thumb: Tests do NOT collect or display sensitive
customer information
– In the rare case where sensitive data needs to be collected:
• These tests will only be available to high-privileged users
• Input option to mask the sensitive data is provided
• Example: RDA

• Security model restricts access to information based on the FND

security model (Role-based)

• Execution of Oracle Diagnostics is easy because

– Central location of all tests
– No special technical knowledge required
– No special SQL*Plus/operating system access required
Overview
Reasons For Usage

• Oracle Diagnostics aid in

– Problem Avoidance
– resolving configuration and data issues that would
cause processes to fail

– Self Service Resolution

– resolving problems without the need to contact Oracle
Support

– Reduction in Resolution Time

– minimizing the time spent to resolve an issue by
increasing Support Engineer efficiency
Overview
How Things Were

Several
Customer Support
Iterations
Overview
How Things Are With Diagnostics

Customer Runs Diagnostic

Downloads Report
Test

Solution Support
Overview
Content Organization

• Tests are organized by product

• Some tests may be available in more than 1 product

(cross product functionality)

• Each test is further grouped for improved findability

• The groups available may vary by product, but all

follow the same organization methodology
Overview
Content Organization

• Setup
• gather information about setup relevant to a particular product /
functionality / issue, examine that information, provide feedback,
and suggest appropriate actions

• Activity
• gather information about data and configuration relevant to a
particular functionality / issue, examine that information, provide
feedback, and suggest appropriate actions

• Collection
• gather information relevant to a particular product / functionality /
issue

• Functional Groupings
• typically align with the product menu structure and include both
activity and data collection tests
Overview
Delivery

• Primary Delivery Method for E-Business Suite Diagnostic Tools

is through a standard Oracle patch
• Includes:
– Oracle Diagnostics Framework (ODF)
– All available product-specific tests that execute in the ODF
• Downloadable from MetaLink
• Patches & Updates
• Note 167000.1

Note: in 11i, a small number of command line tests are available

that are designed to run in SQL*Plus or UNIX shell environment;
these tests are noted in the Release 11i catalog
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Oracle Diagnostics
Overview Demo
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Oracle Diagnostics
Test Sets
Test Sets
Overview

• Allow for the ability to execute multiple tests from

multiple products in one execution
• designed to simplify the execution of diagnostics
performed on a regular basis or with a high degree of
frequency
• may be saved for reuse with or without selected
parameters
• By grouping one or more tests based on a functional
purpose into test sets, troubleshooting is simplified
• Period / Year end Close Activities - Note 402237.1
Test Sets
3 Pre-Defined Categories

• Pre-production
• Tests relevant to gathering/analyzing setup details,
grouped by product family
• Used primarily when setting up a new instance/product,
upgrading or applying major patches, revising setup, etc
• Period Closing
• Tests Grouped by product family
• Used prior to closing a period to identify problems before
the actual close and deadlines are an issue
• Seeded
• Adhoc groups of tests that make functional sense
• Determined by development to help customers by pre-
grouping tests that may be helpful in troubleshooting
common problems for a specific functional area
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Oracle Diagnostics
Test Sets Demo
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Oracle Diagnostics
Period Close
Period Close
What the Customer Is Saying

"GE experienced the smoothest Year-End

close in our history”

Tom Grimes, General Electric

Global Oracle Leader for ERP - Center of Excellence (COE)
Period Close
Case Study Excerpt

GE Case Study Highlights

(Complete white paper available in Appendix)
– In 2005 GE experienced more than 75 high severity issues
during the last two weeks of the year making their year-end
close challenging.

– During the last two weeks of 2006, GE reduced Severity 1

Service Requests by 95% as compared to 2005.

– Early in November of 2006, Oracle and GE began an initiative

to utilize diagnostics to proactively expose potential issues
and rectify them in advance of year end.
 Period Close
Challenges/Capabilities/Value

CHALLENGES

• Doesn’t fix the issues

• Must remember to
schedule/execute the relevant
period close tests regularly
• New data issues won’t be
identified
 Period Close
Challenges/Capabilities/Value
CHALLENGES
• Doesn’t fix the issues
• Must remember to
schedule/execute the relevant
period close tests regularly
• New data issues won’t be
identified
CAPABILITIES
• Period Close testsets are
predefined and delivered with
each patch
• Period Close testsets can be
updated/created to personalize
your needs
• Batch processing enables the
testsets to execute multiple tests
in one run
• Can easily integrate into period
closing process
 Period Close
Challenges/Capabilities/Value
CHALLENGES
• Doesn’t fix the issues
• Must remember to
schedule/execute the relevant
period close tests regularly
• New data issues won’t be
identified
CAPABILITIES VALUE
• Period Close testsets are • Proactively find data issues that
predefined and delivered with may cause a delay in closing the
each patch books
• Period Close testsets can be • Proactively identify other errors
updated/created to personalize that may be waiting for the most
your needs inopportune time to emerge
• Batch processing enables the
testsets to execute multiple tests
in one run
• Can easily integrate into period
closing process
Period Close
Financials

• Use prior to closing Assets, General Ledger, Payables,

and Receivables
• Other internal tests may be added and saved in a
custom test set
• Included Tests:
• OFA Period Closing Activity Test (Note: 260334.1)
• SQLGL Period Closing Activity Test (Note: 260031.1)
• SQLAP Period Closing Activity Test (Note: 180165.1)
• AR Period Closing Activity Test (Note: 255941.1)

• Test Set Name = IZU_IZU_FIN_CLOSING

• Related Metalink Note: 260334.1
Period Close
Distribution/Manufacturing

• Use prior to closing Inventory

• Other internal tests may be added and saved in a

custom testset

• Included Tests:
– INV Period Closing Activity Test (Note:206576.1)
– CST Period Closing Activity Test (Note: 285064.1)

• Test Set Name = IZU_IZU_DIST_CLOSING

• Related Metalink note: 402192.1

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Oracle Diagnostics
Period Close Demo
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Appendix
Appendix

• Note 368109.1: Test Sets

• Note 402237.1: Period / Year end Close Activities

• Note 167000.1: Installation Guide

• Note 235307.1: FAQ

• Note 232116.1: Training

• Note 342459.1: Support Diagnostics Overview

Appendix
Period Closing White Paper Excerpts

Executive Summary
As the industry leader in data management and business applications, Oracle is committed to providing the
most innovative and effective support tools. One of our most valuable tools, Oracle eBusiness Suite
Diagnostics, combines a user-friendly interface with a powerful set of tests designed to avoid downtime and
increase performance and productivity.

Oracle’s eBusiness Suite Diagnostics are part of the Oracle Diagnostics Pack, which consists of hundreds of
tests in one consolidated patch. These diagnostic tests gather and analyze information from eBusiness
Suite as well as other Oracle product sets.

Test results enable easier administration of Oracle Applications by exposing issues before they become a
problem. They provide detailed system intelligence and recommend proactive actions. Diagnostic tests do
not alter data or system setup.

This White Paper analyzes a case study, where General Electric Corporation was able to significantly reduce
the number of year-end critical issues as a result of Oracle Diagnostics. During the last two weeks of 2006,
GE reduced Severity 1 Service Requests by 95% as compared to 2005.
Appendix
Period Closing White Paper Excerpts

General Electric Corporation – Case Study

General Electric Corporation is one of the largest Oracle customers globally, with thousands of users. In 2005
GE experienced more than 75 high severity issues during the last two weeks of the year making their year-
end close challenging. In 2006, Oracle partnered with GE to implement methods to rectify the
situation. This prompted a change in the GE business model to proactively run diagnostics each month in
preparation for month-end close.

Early in November of 2006, Oracle and GE began an initiative to utilize diagnostics to proactively expose
potential issues and rectify them in advance of year end.

By utilizing Oracle Diagnostics, GE was able to eliminate and/or resolve hundreds of potentially detrimental
issues, thus resulting in significant cost savings and the successful close of all financials without incident in
December 2006.

Oracle Period-End Diagnostics have now been instituted globally as the standard monthly process to help
ensure GE’s financial success.
Appendix
Period Closing White Paper Excerpts

Integrating Diagnostics into Standard Practice

Typically, administrators have a structure in place to manage and monitor their line(s) of business. Each
functional area has formal or informal processes in place designed to capture, monitor and report on system
performance and issue management. Oracle Diagnostics are a critical tool for any administrator to manage
milestones and avoid mission critical problems. It is within this system management structure that an
administrator can decide which diagnostics will be run and when.

For example: Financials must close at set intervals (monthly, quarterly and annually). To accomplish this, a
process is defined that outlines tasks that need to be completed. This process may include defined cutoff
dates for invoices and payments, enabling accounting to be completed at a predetermined point in time (e.g.
last day of month). As this milestone nears, it is ideal to include period close diagnostics, to identify possible
problem areas and outstanding issues. Potential problem areas for data fixes and missing data can now be
addressed prior to the formal close.
Appendix
Period Closing White Paper Excerpts

Observations/Best Practices
Period-end tests can be executed at any time for any existing period. By using the batch process and the test
set functionality, appropriate tests can be combined into a test set with constant parameters predefined and
variable parameters (e.g. Period Name) entered at run time.

Month/Year-End Diagnostic benefits include but are not limited to:

· Predefined Test Sets for Financials and Distribution help to accurately identify which products have
available period close tests
· Proactive diagnostic testing can be performed on demand prior to a set schedule or known deadline.
Multiple diagnostics can be executed with the aid of the batch process.
· Easy identification of potential issues such as errors or warnings, and suggestions for corrective actions
are presented as part of the testing process. This enables you to proactively determine corrective action for
your environment before a critical date, such as last day of the closing period.
Pertinent details are readily available from the diagnostic tests in the event Oracle Support assistance is
required. As a result of running diagnostics prior to contacting Oracle Support, valuable time is saved and
the interaction with Oracle is likely to be much more productive.
Appendix
Period Closing White Paper Excerpts

Observations/Best Practices
Period-end tests can be executed at any time for any existing period. By using the batch process and the test
set functionality, appropriate tests can be combined into a test set with constant parameters predefined and
variable parameters (e.g. Period Name) entered at run time.
Month/Year-End Diagnostic benefits include but are not limited to:
– Predefined Test Sets for Financials and Distribution help to accurately identify which products have available period close
tests
– Proactive diagnostic testing can be performed on demand prior to a set schedule or known deadline. Multiple diagnostics
can be executed with the aid of the batch process.
– Easy identification of potential issues such as errors or warnings, and suggestions for corrective actions are presented as
part of the testing process. This enables you to proactively determine corrective action for your environment before a critical
date, such as last day of the closing period.
– Pertinent details are readily available from the diagnostic tests in the event Oracle Support assistance is required. As a
result of running diagnostics prior to contacting Oracle Support, valuable time is saved and the interaction with Oracle is
likely to be much more productive.

System Resources and Performance

These diagnostics are retrieval only, hence they will not have any impact on your application response times.
If you have concerns about running a test and tying up your browser, executing the tests in batch mode or
using test sets will free up your screen to perform other tasks.

Security
Oracle Corporation and Oracle Global Customer Support respect your preferences concerning the collection
and use of your personal and/or business information ("data"). In support of Oracle Privacy Policy
(http://www.oracle.com/html/privacy.html) we do our utmost to ensure the data provided, as part of Oracle
diagnostics, is stored in an internal secure location for use in helping to resolve your service request.
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• OFA Period Closing Activity Test

– analyze the depreciation status of a given book for a given
period
• If the period is closed the test will check if all transactions
in this book/period have been posted to General Ledger
• If the period is open the test will analyze data in this
book/period for known issues that cause depreciation to
fail.
• Integrity of the data related to this book and period is
checked in both cases. The depreciation status of
corresponding reporting books will also be analyzed.
– Related Metalink note: 260334.1
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• OFA Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Asset Book (LOV), Period Name (LOV)
– Optional Parameters:
• Check Multiple Active Book Records (LOV)
– Output:
• Product Installation Status and Patchset Level
• Key Profile Options
• System Controls
• Primary Asset Book
• Depreciation Calendar Period
• Data Integrity Analysis
• Depreciation Status of Primary Book
• Reporting Asset Books
• Depreciation Status of Reporting Book - Set of books
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• SQLGL Period Closing Activity Test

• This diagnostic test will assist with checking that a set of
books period is ready to close in General Ledger

• This test should be executed prior to running the Open

Periods program (GLOOAP) to open the next period

• Related Metalink note: 260031.1

Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• SQLGL Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Period Name (LOV)
– Output:
• Set of Books
• Chart Of Accounts
• Overlapping Child Ranges
• Retained Earnings
• Accounting Calendar
• Accounting Calendar Year
• Period Details
• Subledger Details - Period Statuses
• Journal Closing Details
• Balance Closing Details
• Consolidation Details
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• SQLAP Period Closing Activity Test

• This diagnostic test will help in determining if a period can
be closed and if not, why it cannot be closed

• This test should be used prior to period close to determine

if outstanding issues will prevent the actual closing of the
period. If problems occur while closing the period, this test
should be executed to help troubleshoot and pinpoint the
reason

• Related Metalink note: 180165.1

Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• SQLAP Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Period Name (LOV)
– Output:
• Primary Set of Books
• Reporting Sets of Books
• Global Accounting Engine Posting Sets of Books
• Period
• Period Closing Analysis
• Unaccounted Invoice Distribution Lines
• Unaccounted Payments
• Unaccounted Payment History
• Unaccounted Events
• Untransferred Journal Headers
• Unconfirmed Payment Batches
• Matured Future Dated Payments
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• AR Period Closing Activity Test

• This diagnostic test tracks down and reports unposted items for a
given period in the primary book and its associated reporting
books if any

• Run this test if after the transfer from AR to GL Close Period fails
with APP-AR-11332 : you must post all transactions in this period
before you close it. Do note that Receivables only allows a period
to close if there are no unposted items in ANY of the
organizations that use the same primary set of books. As such
this test will not only list unposted items for the organization you
are working in but it will also check any other organization
sharing that same primary set of books for unposted items.

• Related Metalink note: 255941.1

Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• AR Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Period Name (LOV)
– Output:
• Product Installation Status and Patchset Level
• PatchList.xml
• Receivables Recommended Patches
• Key Profile Options
• Primary Set of Books
• Reporting Sets of Books
• Global Accounting Engine Posting Sets of Books
• Period
• Calendar Period Status - Receivables
• Calendar Period Status - General Ledger
• Unposted Items Analysis
Appendix
Period Closing For Financials

• AR Period Closing Activity Test

– Output Continued:
• Unposted items in AR_CASH_RECEIPT_HISTORY_ALL
• Unposted items in AR_MC_CASH_RECEIPT_HIST
• Unposted items in AR_MISC_CASH_DISTRIBUTIONS_ALL
• Unposted items in AR_MC_MISC_CASH_DISTS
• Unposted items in RA_CUST_TRX_LINE_GL_DIST_ALL
• Unposted items in RA_MC_TRX_LINE_GL_DIST
• Unposted items in AR_TRANSACTION_HISTORY_ALL
• Unposted items in AR_MC_TRANSACTION_HISTORY
• Unposted items in AR_RECEIVABLE_APPLICATIONS_ALL
• Unposted items in AR_MC_RECEIVABLE_APPS
• Unposted items in AR_ADJUSTMENTS_ALL
• Unposted items in AR_MC_ADJUSTMENTS
• Unposted items in AR_INTERIM_CASH_RECEIPTS_ALL
Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• INV Period Closing Activity Test

– This diagnostic test checks all mandatory and recommended
requirements necessary to allow a successful Inventory
period close

– This test should be run prior to period-end close. It will gather

and display information that would prevent a period close for
a given Inventory period. This enables easy identification of
known period close issues along with detail information on
how to resolve. The report format can be created in summary
or detail.

– Related metalink note:206576.1

Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• INV Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Inventory Organization Id (LOV), Inventory
Period Name (LOV) , Information Level (Summary or Detail) (LOV)
– Output:
• Patchset level and installation status of related products
• Period Information
• Organization Information ( e.g. Standard-Costing, WMS-Org )
• Summary and detailed Information about :
• Unprocessed material transactions (
MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS_TEMP )
• Uncosted material transactions (
MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS )
• Records with invalid period_id in MMT
• Pending WIP costing transactions (
WIP_COST_TRANSACTION_INTERFACE )
Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• INV Period Closing Activity Test

– Output Continued:
• Uncosted WSM transactions (
WSM_SPLIT_MERGE_TRANSACTIONS )
• Pending WSM interface transactions (
WSM_SPLIT_MERGE_TXN_INTERFACE )
• Pending receiving transactions (
RCV_TRANSACTIONS_INTERFACE)
• Pending material interface transactions (
MTL_TRANSACTIONS_INTERFACE )
• Pending Shop Floor Move transactions (
WIP_MOVE_TXN_INTERFACE )
• Incomplete Work Orders
• Unprocessed Shipping Transactions ( WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS )
Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• INV Period Closing Activity Test

– Output Continued:
• Material and WIP Batches not transfered to GL
• Batches (MTA) still in GL_INTERFACE
• Sanity checks
• Invalid period_id in MMT
• Invalid reference_account in MTA
• MTA Batches still in GL_INTERFACE
• Untransferred Distributions ( 11.5.10 )
• Setup and Status of Interface Managers
• Setting of INV Profiles
• Setting of MFG Debuging/Tracing Profiles
• Setting of Costing Profiles
• References and Solution Notes
Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• CST Period Closing Activity Test

– This diagnostic test will verify pre-requisites for a successful
inventory period close related to costing.

– This test can be used proactively to identify possible issues

that prevent the period from closing. It can also be used
reactively to help resolve issues that may occur during the
period close.

– Related metalink note:285064.1

Appendix
Period Close For Distribution/Manufacturing

• CST Period Closing Activity Test

– Required Parameters:
• Responsibility Id (LOV), Accounting Period (Lov)
– Output:
• Product Installation Status and Patchset Level
• Period Close Processing
• References