Ame how to diagnose issues with the default approver list in purchasing when using approvals management (doc id 1437183.1)

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In this Document
Purpose
Troubleshooting Steps
How to Enable AME
For Requisitions
For Purchase Orders (starting in 12.1.3)
AME Setup
How the default approval list is built in AME
Approvals matrix
Approval process execution
Review default approval list using Test Workbench
Diagnostic Steps
1. Test Workbench
2. Transactions exception log
3. FND log
4. Approval Workflow
5. PO_WF_DEBUG messages
Example of an AME setup
1. Define attributes
2. Define conditions
3. Define action types
4. Define rules
Still Have Questions?
References
APPLIES TO:
Oracle Purchasing - Version 12.0.0 to 12.1.3 [Release 12 to 12.1]
Oracle iProcurement - Version 12.0.0 to 12.1.3 [Release 12 to 12.1]
Information in this document applies to any platform.
PURPOSE
Oracle Approvals Management, also known as the Approvals Management Engine (AME) lets you define approval rules based on
your business requirements. Whether you set up approvals in Oracle Purchasing or AME, the Requisition approval workflow in
Oracle Purchasing handles the approval. AME is designed to generate the approval list according to the conditions and rules
defined in the setup. This troubleshooting guide will help you understand how AME builds the default approval list for Purchasing
and help users find solutions for scenarios where the approval list fails to be generated.
TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS
How to Enable AME
In order to enable AME for requisitions, follow these steps:
Navigate to Purchasing responsibility > Setup > Purchasing > Document Types1.
Select Purchase Requisition (or Internal Requisition) as the document type2.
Specify Approval Transaction Type = PURCHASE_REQ (or INTERNAL_REQ) to enable AME approvals for Purchase
Requisitions (or Internal Requisitions) in the current operating unit. Here is a screenshot of the document types form
where AME is enabled for purchase requisitions:
3.
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Document Details
Type:
Status:
Last Major
Update:
Last
Update:
Language:
TROUBLESHOOTING
PUBLISHED
May 7, 2013
Mar 15, 2018
English
Related Products
Oracle Purchasing
Oracle iProcurement
Information Centers
Information Center: Purchasing
FAQ [1586684.2]
Information Center:
Procurement Suite Index
[1391332.2]
Information Center: Purchasing
[1391694.2]
Information Center: Oracle
iProcurement [1381102.2]
Document References
How to enable and collect
approval debug data in table
PO_WF_DEBUG? [1103068.1]
R12 Required Setups For
Purchase Order Approval Using
Approvals Management Engine
(AME) [1487713.1]
How To Engage And Retrieve
FND Logging Messages From
Within iProcurement?
[759359.1]
Running WFSTAT and
WFRETRY For Oracle
Purchasing Workflows
[134960.1]
How To Setup And Use
Approval Management Engine
AME For Purchasing and
iProcurement Documents
[434143.1]
Show More
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AME : How to Diagnose Issues With the Default Approver List in Purchasing When Using Approvals Management
(Doc ID 1437183.1)
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In order to enable AME for Purchase Orders, create a document style and associate the AME workflow. Refer to Note 1487713.1
Setups for Purchase Order Approval Using Approvals Management Engine (AME). This note has screenshots and detailed steps to
create the document style and enable AME for purchase orders.
Note: AME for purchase orders is available in Procurement rollup Patch 14254641:R12.PRC_PF.B or higher. See Note
1487661.1 AME : Approval, E-Review, E-Sign and Withdrawal Features for Purchase Orders to learn the scope, limitations and
features of AME for purchase orders.
AME Setup
Reference Note 434143.1 How To Setup And Use AME For Purchase Requisition Approvals to learn about AME setup and find
detailed documentation. For a simple testcase, refer to the section Example of AME setup.
Use the Setup report to view and print the approval setup details for your transaction type. To run the setup report:
Login using Approvals Management Business Analyst responsibility1.
Click Setup Report in the Quick Links on the Administrator Dashboard to open the Setup Report page.2.
Query the transaction type for which you want to run the Setup Report and click Go3.
Click Printable page to enable you to print the report.4.
Here is a fragment of the setup report. Notice it has different sections for each one of the setup categories including attributes,
conditions, rules, action types, approval groups etc.
How the default approval list is built in AME
The default approval list(s) is built based on the conditions (included in rules) that the document meets. Here is a sample of an
approvals matrix that includes rules for any requisitions whose amount is over $100000 and for those whose category is
subassemblies.
Condition Document total Action
Category in subassemblies Up to $10000 Require approvals up to at least level 1
Category in subassemblies Over $10000 and not over $100000 Require approvals up to at least level 3
Show More
2 of 9 12/17/2018, 6:23 PM

Category in subassemblies Over $100000 Require approvals up to at least level 4
Requisition total Over $100000 Requires approval from special audit
approval group
This table represents a simple business case and includes the possible approval actions based on the category and amount of the
requisition. Here is an example of a requisition that falls into this scenario.
User creates a requisition with product category Subassemblies and amount > $1000001.
AME validates the conditions against the requisition data2.
For each condition, AME performs the action associated to the condition in the rule3.
The document meets two conditions as the category is subassemblies and amount is over $100000. The requisition will
require approval from the users associated to the action 'Require approvals up to at least level 4' and the users included in
the 'Special audit' approval group. This will be the approval list that AME will communicate to the calling application
(Purchasing or iProcurement).
4.
The most common reason AME raises an exception (which typically results in the related application's stopping a transaction's
workflow) is that AME cannot ascend a hierarchy, either because a slot in the hierarchy is vacant, or because an approver's level
in the hierarchy is indeterminate. For example, in the case of the HRMS supervisory hierarchy, an approver may have a null
supervisor or a null job level. In this case, the missing data must be entered into the appropriate application before restarting the
offending transaction's workflow.
Purchasing communicates with AME when a requisition is submitted for approval and also each time an approver responds to the
application's request for approval of the transaction, until the transaction is approved. AME keeps track of each approval
transaction and recalculates the approval list for the requisition based on the approver's response. This ensures that any changes
in the conditions, rules or hierarchy are taken into account when an approval transaction takes place. These are the steps that
the application follows when managing a transaction's approval process with AME:
Ask AME for a transaction's entire approver list1.
Display the approver list to the requestor, optionally prompting them to suppress or add approvers2.
Communicate any approver suppressions or additions to AME3.
Ask AME whether the transaction's approval process is complete, and if not, what approvers (if any) to notify4.
If AME indicates that no further approvals are required, stop5.
Notify any approvers identified by AME in step 56.
Wait until an approver responds to a notification7.
Communicate the response to AME8.
Return to step 4 and repeat the process until completion.9.
Review default approval list using Test Workbench
Use the Test Workbench to validate that the approval list is correctly generated for the possible business cases. You can create
test transactions on AME's test workbench or use real transactions (requisitions). The test workbench will display the various
stages of the default approval list along with the applicable rules.
Steps:
Click on Business analyst dashboard2.
Select the transaction type 'Purchase Requisition Approval'3.
Click on Test Workbench4.
Click on Run Real Transaction Test (1)5.
For requisitions, type the transaction id (requisition header id) and click on Go to see the attributes and values
for the transaction. Use this script to identify the requisition header id:
6.
SQL > select hr.name, prh.segment1, prh.requisition_header_id
from po_requisition_headers_all prh,
hr_all_organization_units hr
where prh.org_id = hr.organization_id and
prh.segment1 = '&Enter_Req_Number';
For purchase orders, type the transaction id (ame_approval_id) and click on Go to see the attributes and values
for the transaction. Use this script to identify the ame_approval_id:
7.
SQL > select hr.name, poh.segment1, poh.org_id, poh.ame_approval_id
from po_headers_all poh,
hr_all_organization_units hr
where poh.org_id = hr.organization_id and
poh.segment1 = '&Enter_PO_Number';
Click on Run Test Case (2) to review the applicable rules and default approval list.8.
Here is an example of the default approval list for one requisition in the Test workbench for the business case of our approvals
matrix.
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The first region represents the rules that are applicable for the document or simulated test. You can expand on the rules to
review the conditions and actions associated. The final processed approval list region displays the default approver list in the
order that the approvers will be notified.
Note: AME does not have any test functionality that would let you update an approver's approval status such as a forward action.
To test how AME responds to a forward action, you must do the forward by responding to the approval notifications generated by
the approval workflow and then test with the transaction id using the run real transaction test.
Note: To access the test workbench tab, you must grant individual permission sets to your application user. See related functions
for the test workbench in Oracle Approvals Management - Implementation Guide Release 12 Part No. B31622-02 Page 2-17.
Diagnostic Steps
Use the test workbench functionality to confirm that the default approval list is correctly generated. The screen will display error
messages when AME is unable to build the list. Review the error messages and do the appropriate changes in the rules or
attributes. In many of the cases, errors are self-explanatory and indicate the action to be taken. Examples of some messages
are:
No rules are applicable to this transaction. At least one rule must apply to this transaction when the value of the attribute
AT_LEAST_ONE_RULE_MUST_APPLY is true.
The action for this error is to define additional rules to ensure that there is at least one rule for all the possible business
scenarios. Alternatively you can change the attribute AT_LEAST_ONE_RULE_MUST_APPLY to false.
The transaction ID specified returned an incorrect number of rows for NON_DEFAULT_POSITION_STRUCTURE_ID. Ensure you
specify a valid transaction ID and the dynamic query of the attribute returns correct number of rows.
The action for this error is to ensure that the script associated to this attribute NON_DEFAULT_POSITION_STRUCTURE_ID
returns a valid value for the failed transaction. Retrieve the SQL script associated to this attribute and run it in SQL*Plus replacing
the parameters with the appropriate values of the transaction.
Here is an example of the result of running a test in the workbench against one requisition:
In this scenario for absolute job action type, the real transaction test finishes with error 'Acaccia, Mary lacks a supervisor, so AME
cannot complete the chain of authority'. The cause of the error is that the job associated to user Acaccia Mary is associated to an
approval authority 1. There is an active rule that requires approval from a user with at least level 4. AME cannot ascend the
hierarchy because a supervisor is not defined for user Acaccia, Mary.
4 of 9 12/17/2018, 6:23 PM

A transaction's exception log contains exceptions raised by AME when it processes the transaction. It can be useful to view the
log to determine exactly why the transaction's approval process has been interrupted.
To view the exception log:
Use the Transaction Exception page.
Click Exception Log in the Quick Links on the Administrator Dashboard to open the Transaction Exception Log page.1.
Query the transaction type to view the exception details for all the transactions in the specific transaction type. Otherwise,
query the specific transaction by entering the transaction ID (requisition header id) to view exception details of the specific
transaction.
2.
The log will include the package name and specific routine that failed with the exception. Here is the log information for the
testcase used in the previous step.
Once the approval list displays correctly in the test workbench proceed to submit the approval process from the integration
application, either iProcurement or Purchasing. It is then possible that further errors can occur. If further errors occur in the
submission and the list is not generated, obtain the FND debug log.
Reference Note 759359.1 How To Engage And Retrieve FND Logging Messages From Within iProcurement? for instructions to
enable the FND debug.
Here are relevant error messages for a testcase where iProcurement fails with message: Approval List could not be generated.
Please contact your System Administrator to review AME rules setup
Example of FND debug is:
Notice that for this testcase the error ora-6502 occurs after validating the information for user with orig_system_id 10008874.
First step to diagnose errors in the user data validation routines is to ensure that the approver has a valid employee associated to
the FND user record.
Note: If unable to submit the requisition via iProcurement, when possible test with the core Purchasing application submitting a
new requisition in order to see additional error messages in the workflow.
If the document is successfully submitted for approval but the error occurs before the document is approved, review the approval
workflow activity for possible errors.
Reference Note 134960.1 Running WFSTAT and WFRETRY For Oracle Purchasing Workflows to obtain instructions to run
wfstat.sql against the affected requisition.
Here is the relevant workflow activity for the testcase used in the previous step.
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The wfstat output confirms that the error is with the setup of the approver as the workflow is not able to identify the recipient of
the notification.
Follow the steps in Note 1103068.1 'How to enable and collect approval debug data in table PO_WF_DEBUG?' to enable workflow
debug. Once the debug is enabled, reproduce the issue and review po_wf_debug table for additional error messages that will
help to troubleshoot the issue.
Example of an AME setup
This testcase uses the absolute job level action type. This action type generates a chain of authority by ascending the HR
supervisory hierarchy starting at a given approver and continuing until an approver with a sufficient job level is found. In this
case, the rule will require approvals of a user with at least level 4 for a specific item category.
The attributes are business variables with a single value for a particular transaction. Following are the required attributes for the
absolute job level:
JOB_LEVEL_NON_DEFAULT_STARTING_POINT_PERSON_ID
INCLUDE_ALL_JOB_LEVEL_APPROVERS
TOP_SUPERVISOR_PERSON_ID
TRANSACTION_REQUESTOR_PERSON_ID
Steps to define the attribute values:
Click on attributes4.
Click on update to modify the value for each one of the attributes. i.e. click on update for attribute
INCLUDE_ALL_JOB_LEVEL_APPROVERS
5.
Click on update6.
Set the value accordingly to your business requirements. For example, if INCLUDE_ALL_JOB_LEVEL_APPROVERS is set to
false, the chain includes and ends with the first approver with the required job level. If
INCLUDE_ALL_JOB_LEVEL_APPROVERS is true, then the chain includes and ends with the last approver with the required
job level
7.
Repeat steps 4-7 for the remaining attributes. Here is an example of the definition of attribute
INCLUDE_ALL_JOB_LEVEL_APPROVERS for this testcase:
8.
Note: To identify the required attributes for other pre-defined action types, see Oracle Approvals Management - Implementation
Guide Release 12 Part No. B31622-02 Page 5-5 Predefined Action Types.
6 of 9 12/17/2018, 6:23 PM

A condition is a statement that is either true or false, for a given transaction. For the rule to apply to a transaction, all of its
conditions must be true for the transaction.
Steps to define the conditions:
Click on conditions4.
Create conditions for your rules. For this testcase, a condition is defined to validate the item category ITEM_CATEGORY in
(PRODUCTN.SUBASSEMBL) and is shown in this screenshot:
5.
An action is an instruction to AME to modify a transaction's approval process in the manner you specify. An approval rule consists
of one or more actions.
Steps to enable an existing action type are:
If the action type to be used is not list, click on 'Use Existing Action Type' to enable the action type:4.
- Click on Use existing action type'
- Select the action type. Enable the Absolute job level action type (or the action type needed).
- Click on continue
- Click on finish
This scenario does not require approver groups, so this step can be skipped.
The rules consist of one or more conditions and one or more actions that apply for a specific business case.
Steps to create a rule are:
Click on rules4.
Click on Create5.
Type the rule name and start date6.
Add a condition7.
Add an action. Select the action type 'Absolute job level'. As it is required to have approvals of a user with at least level 4
for a specific item category, select 'Require approvals up to at least level 4' as the action for the rule
8.
Save changes9.
7 of 9 12/17/2018, 6:23 PM

Still Have Questions?
Join our growing Oracle Procurement Community and learn from your peers and Oracle on how to address your unique issues in Procurement.
You can access the main Oracle Communities page at http://communities.oracle.com (If you are enrolled, the Procurement community will be listed on
already enrolled in the Procurement community, you can do so by clicking on the link Edit Subscriptions).
OR
From "My Oracle Support" as follows:
Log into My Oracle Support1.
Click on the 'Community' link at the top of the page2.
Click in 'Find a Community' field and enter Procurement3.
Double click on Procurement in the list4.
Click on the 'Create a Community Post' button and submit your question.5.
REFERENCES
NOTE:1103068.1 - How to enable and collect approval debug data in table PO_WF_DEBUG?
NOTE:1487713.1 - R12 Required Setups For Purchase Order Approval Using Approvals Management Engine (AME)
NOTE:759359.1 - How To Engage And Retrieve FND Logging Messages From Within iProcurement?
NOTE:134960.1 - Running WFSTAT and WFRETRY For Oracle Purchasing Workflows
NOTE:434143.1 - How To Setup And Use Approval Management Engine AME For Purchasing and iProcurement Documents
NOTE:1487661.1 - 12.1.3, 12.2 AME : Approval, E-Review, E-Sign and Withdrawal Features for Purchase Orders [Video]
Didn't find what you are looking for? Ask in Community...
Attachments
ApproverList.jpg (97.92 KB)
Attributes.jpg (54.52 KB)
Conditions.jpg (53.54 KB)
ErrorWorkbench.jpg (63.49 KB)
ExceptionLog.jpg (108.4 KB)
FNDError.jpg (133.03 KB)
Rules.jpg (88.72 KB)
SetupReport.png (253.35 KB)
Wfstaterror.jpg (45.49 KB)
Related
Products
8 of 9 12/17/2018, 6:23 PM

Oracle E-Business Suite > Procurement > Procurement > Oracle Purchasing > Approvals - Req, PO > Approval Management Engine
Oracle E-Business Suite > Procurement > Procurement > Oracle iProcurement > Approval List and Workflow > Approval Management Engine
Keywords
AME; APPROVAL LIST COULD NOT BE GENERATED; TROUBLESHOOT
Errors
5-TEST; ORA-6502
Translations
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