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.
Sample Interview Questions
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 timeout
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
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