An Oracle Red Paper

October 2014

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Introduction ......................................................................................... 1
Disclaimer ....................................................................................... 1
Structure of This Red Paper ........................................................... 2
Related Materials ............................................................................ 2
Overview ............................................................................................. 4
Who Should Read This Paper? ...................................................... 4
Before You Begin ............................................................................ 4
Using Delivered Functionality ............................................................. 5
Transaction Details ......................................................................... 5
Approval Routing / Definitions ......................................................... 6
Changing the Decision Support Text .............................................. 6
Transaction Questions .................................................................... 8
Guided Process (Train Stop) Labels ............................................. 12
Extending Delivered Functionality ..................................................... 13
Creating New Transactions ........................................................... 13
Customizing Transactions ............................................................. 19
Authors .............................................................................................. 24
Revision History ................................................................................ 24

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Introduction
This red paper is a practical guide for technical users, installers, system administrators, and
programmers who implement, maintain, or develop applications for your PeopleSoft system. In
this red paper, we discuss guidelines on how to configure and customize Guided Self Service,
including PeopleSoft Internet Architecture and Portal configuration. This document does not
cover configuring batch processes.
Much of the information in this document originated within the Oracle Global Support Center
and is therefore based on real-life problems that have been encountered in the field.
Although this document does not address every conceivable problem that one could encounter
with [list products and technology], the issues that appear in this document are the problems
that prove to be the most common or troublesome.

Disclaimer
This material has not been submitted to any formal Oracle test and is published as is. It has
not been the subject of rigorous review. Oracle assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or
completeness. The use of this information or the implementation of any of these techniques is
a customer responsibility and depends on the customer's ability to evaluate and integrate them
into the customer's operational environment. While each item may have been reviewed by
Oracle for accuracy in a specific situation, there is no guarantee that the same or similar
results will be obtained elsewhere. Customers attempting to adapt these techniques to their
own environments do so at their own risk.
Information in this red paper was developed in conjunction with use of the products specified
and is limited in application to those specific hardware and software products and levels.
Oracle may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter in this
document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents.

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Structure of This Red Paper

This red paper provides guidance for PeopleSoft HCM Guided Self Service.
Oracle updates this document as needed so that it reflects the most current feedback from the
field. Therefore, the structure, headings, content, and length of this document may vary with
each posted version. To see if the document has been updated since you last downloaded it,
compare the date of your version to the date of the version that is posted on My Oracle
Support.

Related Materials
This paper is written for experienced IT professionals with a good understanding of the
PeopleSoft Internet Architecture. To take full advantage of the information in this document,
you should have a basic understanding of system administration, basic internet architecture,
integration technologies, relational database concepts and SQL, and know how to use
PeopleSoft applications.
This document does not replace the PeopleTools 8.4x or 8.5x product documentation. Before
you read this document, you should become familiar with the PeopleSoft Internet Architecture
information in the PeopleTools product documentation to ensure that you have a well-rounded
understanding of the technology.
Note. Much of the information in this document may eventually be incorporated into
subsequent versions of the product documentation.
The following product documentation discusses many of the fundamental concepts that are
related to the PeopleSoft Internet Architecture:

PeopleTools: Getting Started with Enterprise PeopleTools

PeopleTools: System and Server Administration

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

PeopleTools: PeopleSoft Application Designer Developers Guide

PeopleTools: PeopleSoft Integration Broker

PeopleTools: PeopleSoft Integration Broker Administration

PeopleTools: PeopleCode API Reference

PeopleTools Installation for your database platform

PeopleTools Hardware and Software Requirements

Additionally, you should be familiar with the documentation that is delivered with Oracle
Tuxedo, Jolt, and WebLogic.

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Overview
This Red Paper discusses PeopleSoft HCM Guided Self Service (GSS) feature administration and
configuration options, and provides an in-depth review of the design architecture involved.
This section includes the following topics:

Who should read this paper?

Before you begin

Who Should Read This Paper?

Administrators, Technical Staff, and Consulting Organizations who need a deeper understanding of
PeopleSoft Guided Self Service

Before You Begin

You should be familiar with PeopleSoft Fluid architecture, which was introduced with PeopleTools
8.54.

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Using Delivered Functionality

This section describes PeopleSoft Guided Self Service functionality as delivered. The menu navigation
path for setting up Guided Self Service is Setup HCM > Common Definitions > Guided Self Service
> Transaction Configuration.

Transaction Details
Each Guided Self Service transaction is keyed by a Transaction ID and Effective Date. The
Transaction ID used here must be the same as the Transaction Name used in the Workflow
Transaction setup. On the Configuration page, enter the Title text to use as the page title during the
transaction. Use Comments to provide more details about the transaction.

Figure 1. Transaction Details

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Approval Routing / Definitions

Each transaction requires a unique Approval Process ID. The Approval Workflow Engine (AWE)
framework is utilized for this and will link the Guided Self Service transaction with the workflow and
AWE frameworks.

Figure 2. Approvals Configuration

Changing the Decision Support Text

Decision Support functionality, which is available on the Questionnaire page, is also configured
through the Guided Self Service > Transaction Configuration menu option.
One or more Decision Support entries may be specified by selecting Message Catalog values. As
shown in figure 3, sample data is provided in Message Set 18031, values 10001004. There is no limit
on the number of message catalog entries you can include for Decision Support, though scrolling may

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

be introduced depending on the form factor displaying the data.

Figure 3. Decision Support configuration

Use HTML tags to provide formatting for the decision support text in a Message Catalog entry. You
can include HTML tags for bold, italics, line breaks, font color and size, hyperlinks, and so on. See
Figure 4 for an example of the HTML tags used in the sample data entries. If you choose to include
hyperlinks in your text, you must remember to include a target=_blank attribute to enable the link to
open in a new tab or window.
As Message Catalog does not provide a formatting preview, to display and view your formatting,
either use an external tool or use the Decision Support display.

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 4. Decision Support sample formatting

Transaction Questions
Two of the delivered transactions, Promote Employee and Transfer Employee, are delivered with
questions that must be answered before continuing to the transaction data pages.

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

The other two transactions, Request Ad Hoc Salary Change and Change Full/Part Time Status, are
delivered with hidden questions only. For these two transactions, you do not need to view the
Questionnaire page before continuing to the transaction data page.
You can reconfigure questions for the delivered transactions, to rephrase the questions, reorder them,
add additional questions, or hide them.
Question Text

Define text for questions on the Transaction Configuration, Questionnaire page, shown in figure 5.
The text that you define on this page is stored in the HCM Text Catalog.
The Question Text ID is a reference to the text catalog entry. The pencil icon beside the Question
Text ID, launches a modal popup where you can modify the text for that question. Do not use HTML
within the question text. The system is not designed to look for HTML tags here.

Figure 5. Editing question text

The question text is found in the Text Catalog with the following standard values:

Object Owner ID: HELM

Sub ID: CT

Usage: Page Instructions

PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Hiding Questions

You can hide a question from the user by setting its Default Response field to Yes and selecting the
Hide Question check box. When all of the questions for a transaction are hidden, the system assumes
answers of Yes and does not display the Questionnaire page for that transaction. When hidden,
questions continue to determine which fields appear as part of the transaction, and which Action codes
are written to the Job record as if the questions had been answered Yes interactively.
Subpage and Subpage fields

HCM Guided Self Service includes a set of delivered transaction subpages.. The Page Name field on
the Transaction Configuration, Questionnaire page shows the transaction page that is associated with
the Transaction ID. For phase one, Oracle delivers the following transaction subpages:

HR_MSS_CT_JOB_SBF for job data,

HR_MSS_CT_COMP_SBF for compensation data, and

HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF for creating additional fields related to Job Data (see Customizing
Transactions, at the end of this document). You can use each transaction page as delivered or, as
shown in figure 6, you can access the Transaction Configuration to control which fields are visible on
the transaction page.
Note, that the Position Number field has special logic built into the transaction such that the field is
visible only when the employee is currently in a position. It is hidden otherwise, even if marked Visible
on the setup.
Also, note that two fields exist for Full/Part Time Status. The Change Full/Part Status field is an
editable dropdown field, while the Full/Part Time field is a read-only field. It would not make sense to
put both of these on the same transaction, though the configuration does not prevent it. You must
consider your own business use and determine which field appropriate for the transaction.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 6. Subpage and Page Field setup

The delivered functionality enables you to configure HCM Guided Self Service questions and
transactions to best suit your business needs. For example, perhaps instead of having the answers to
questions determine what appears on a transaction page, you want all of the fields to appear on the
transaction page to enable the manager to determine which fields to change. If so, you could create a
single hidden (on the Questionnaire page, set the questions Default Response field to Yes and select
the Hide Question check box) and select the Visible check box for all of the fields on the

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

configuration. Set up this way, the transaction will not display the questions page and available fields
will be available on the transaction page.
Action and Action Reason Setup

The question setup also contains a specification for the Action and action Reason for each question.
The Action used is important for the transaction because it drives how the question is displayed and
how rows are inserted into Job Data. Each unique Action will result in a separate row being inserted
into Job Data. While the Action is not modifiable during the transaction, the default action Reason is.

Figure 7 Action and Action Reason setup

Guided Process (Train Stop) Labels

At the top of Guided Self Service transaction pages, the application shows a numbered train stop for
each step and a description of the step below. The train stops are shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Train stops in Guided Self Service header.

Use the Message Catalog to customize these descriptions using the Message Set number 18031.
Values used are:
1100 Work and Job Information
1101 Compensation Details
1102 Review and Submit
Also, for accessibility mode, instead of numbers 1, 2 and 3 for the steps, the system uses the following
Message Catalog entries:
1111 Step 1
1112 Step 2
1113 Step 3

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Extending Delivered Functionality

This section describes how to extend the delivered functionality.

Creating New Transactions

You may want to create additional transactions beyond the four that are delivered, such as a Reporting
Change or a Location Change transaction.
The components used to create a new transaction are:
1.

Approval Transaction Registry

2.

Approval Transaction Configuration

3.

Approval Process Setup

4.

Approval Monitor Configuration

5.

Workflow Transactions

6.

Workflow Configurations

7.

Guided Self Service Transaction Configuration

8.

Portal Structure and Content

Enabling New Transaction for Mobile Approvals

The mobile approval framework requires that an Application Class matching the name of the Approval
Process ID exists. When a new Approval Process ID is created, which would be the case for a new
GSS transaction, it is necessary to use App Designer to clone an existing Application Class and change
the naming as required for the new approval process.
In App Designer, open the Application Package HR_MSS_CT_APPR. The structure of the application
package is shown in figure 9.
When cloning these application classes, do not modify this application package as you will want to
avoid losing your changes during future updates. Instead put them in your own custom package, but
maintain the same structure within the package as HR_MSS_CT_APPR.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 9. HR_MSS_CT_APPR application package structure

It will be necessary to create a DataHandler, a DetailDocument and a SubPage class for your new
approval process ID.
Use the GSSPromoteEmployee as an example for the DataHander, open
HR_MSS_CT_APPR:DataHandler:GSSPromoteEmployee and copy the code within.
Then, in your new DataHandler application class for your approval process, paste in this code and
make the changes to the areas indicated in figure 10, replacing the code indicated in the figure with the
name of your Approval Process ID.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 10. DataHandler class for cloning

Next, repeat the same technique for the DetailDocument using GSSPromoteEmployee as an example.
Open HR_MSS_CT_APPR:DetailDocument:GSSPromoteEmployee, and copy the code within.
Then, in your new DetailDocument application class for your approval process, paste in this code and
make the changes to the areas indicated in figure 11, replacing the code indicated in the figure with the
name of your Approval Process ID.

Figure 11. DetailDocument class for cloning

Next, repeat the same technique for the SubPage using GSSPromoteEmployee as an example. Open
HR_MSS_CT_APPR:SubPage:GSSPromoteEmployee, and copy the code within.
Then, in your new SubPage application class for your approval process, paste in this code and make
the changes to the areas indicated in figure 12, replacing the code indicated in the figure with the name
of your Approval Process ID.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 12. SubPage class for cloning

After you have created the new code, you can then add your transaction to the Mobile Approvals setup
pages. Access the setup pages by navigating to Enterprise Components > Approvals > Approvals >
Mobile Approval Options.
Select the Transactions tab, and add a new row for your transaction. Again, you can use the row for
GSSPromoteEmployee as an example. Remember to specify your new Root Package ID as the
application package you created for your DataHandler, DetailDocument and SubPage code.

Figure 13. Mobile Approval Options setup component

Adding New Transaction to the Menu or Related Actions

Once a new transaction is configured, you need a means by which to access it. The delivered
transactions are accessed through the classic menu using conditional navigation tied to the existing
Manager Self Service transactions. You can also access the delivered transactions through the Related
Actions framework, which also uses conditional navigation.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

It is not a requirement to use conditional navigation, though it makes sense when creating a GSS
transaction that is a virtual equivalent to an existing MSS transaction. With conditional navigation you
will not see the same transaction twice on the menu instead letting the system decide whether to
display the Classic PIA transaction, or the Fluid GSS transaction. Refer to Conditional Navigation
documentation for more information.
When adding a GSS transaction to the menu, within the Content Reference you must include the
TRANS_NAME= parameter in the Additional Parameters section as shown in Figure 14. The value
specified will be the transaction name that you created in the Guided Self Service setup. Note also that
the Menu Name = EL_MANAGER_FL and the Component = HR_MSS_CT_FL.

Figure 14. Content Reference (CREF) for Guided Self Service

For a Related Content reference, the delivered transactions are linked to many different components.
Using the Fluid My Team component as an example, each transaction is defined four times, once for
each tab of the My Team page. Because the My Team related content definitions for Guided Self
Service use conditional navigation, you will not find a reference to the Transaction Name within the

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

definition. Instead, a CREF used by conditional navigation contains the TRANS_NAME parameter as
was shown in figure 14.
Figure 15 shows an example of the existing configuration for the Change Full/Part Time Status service
from the My Team page. Notice here that the Service ID value being referenced is
HR_MGR_FULL_PART, which is the existing classic service.

Figure 15. Manage Related Content Service My Team

If you are not using conditional navigation to create the related content, you would instead use the new
Service ID value HR_MSS_CT_FL, similar to what is shown in figure 16. When using this service
definition, you will specify the TRANS_NAME variable value within the related content definition
itself, rather than within a CREF.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 16. Related Content Service ID HR_MSS_CT_FL

Customizing Transactions
Oracle does not provide support for customizations made by a customer, or the impacts that
customizations have on the delivered feature. Customizations might or might not transfer in any future
HCM Guided Self Service updates, and may or may not require significant customer intervention to
reimplement. Given that, this section provides general guidance for customers who might still need or
want to enhance HCM Guided Self Service to include additional data fields beyond those that are
delivered.
Customer Job Details Subpage

Built into the Guided Self Service component, in the Job Details page, is a subpage
HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF.
This page is already included as a subpage in the HR_MSS_CT_PG1 fluid page.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

The goal of this page is to provide a place for customers to add additional fields related to Job Data for
displaying on the transactions.
Adding fields for display-only from the Job Data records can be accomplished without having to make
any changes to the data model.
Adding fields which may be editable, and are expected to be carried through the transaction for display
in approvals, and which are expected to be updated in the Job Data record will be a considerably larger
task.
Example of Adding Job Data Fields to Transactions

Here is an example of the process required to add existing fields from the Job Data (JOB) record as
display fields within Guided Self Service
The Derived/Work record HR_GSS_PG_FLDS is used by the transaction configuration to present
the list of which fields may be selected for display within GSS. You must first add your fields to this
record. In our example, we have added the JOB_ENTRY_DT field as shown in figure 17.

Figure 17. Adding a field to the HR_GSS_PG_FLDS work record.

Next, you can modify the HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF subpage to add your new fields as shown in
figures 18 and 19.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 18. Layout of HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF Subpage with JOB_ENTRY_DT

Figure 19. Field detail from the HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF Subpage with JOB_ENTRY_DT added

When adding details to this subpage, to get the display to look the same as the rest of HCM Guided
Self Service, you will want to follow the layout pattern used in the delivered HR_MSS_CT_JOB_SBF
subpage. This includes the added group box fields, Page Field Name values, and the Fluid attributes of
each field. If this is not done, the layout of the new data may not align properly with the existing fields.
The next step is to add the new field as part of the Transaction Configuration. In this example, we
have added a new hidden question after creating another Text Catalog entry for the question. The
hidden question specifies the HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF customer subpage, and then the new field is
set to be visible as in Figure 20.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 20. Transaction configuration for new question and Job Entry Date field

With this configuration complete, when you access the GSS transaction, the new Job Entry Date field
appears as shown in Figure 21.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 21. Promote transaction showing Job Entry Date field

Adding Editable Fields from Job Data

The process to add an Editable field from Job Data to your GSS transaction is similar to a read-only
field, though it is complicated by requiring a change to the GSS data model. Also, you need to be aware
of any business logic that may be tied to the fields that you are allowing to be modified during a
transaction. There is existing validation logic built into the Job Data page for many fields, thus you
need to be aware that any validations run by the Job Data Component Interface may cause issues when
your transaction is processed for update.
In addition to the steps already covered, you must add your data fields to the HR_MSS_CT_DAT data
record. You would also want to add the data field to Views:

HR_MSS_CT_PNDG,

HR_GSS_APDTL_VW,

HR_MSS_CT_APRVW, and

HR_MSSCT_DTL_VW.

Your changes to the customer job subpage HR_MSS_CT_JOBC_SBF would include the new fields
from the HR_MSS_CT_DAT record as editable fields, instead of the read-only example provided
earlier.
Should you need to display the additional fields as part of the Approval process, you must modify the
Mobile Approvals interface and the PIA Guided Self Service Approvals page.
Mobile Approvals requires changes to code in application class
HR_MSS_CT_APPR:DetailDocument:GuidedSelfService to display additional Before and After values
as in figure 22. The data that appears comes from the HR_GSS_APDTL_VW view that you modified
to include your changed fields.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

Figure 22. Mobile Approvals Before and After Values

Authors
PeopleSoft HCM Development Team

Revision History
TABLE [X]. REVISION HISTORY

DATE

CHANGE

Oct 30, 2014

Created document.

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Guided Self Service

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PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 GSS Red Paper

Copyright 2014, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

October 2014
Author: PeopleSoft HCM Development

This document is provided for information purposes only, and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document
is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law,

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