Interview Question on ORACLE APP HRMS PAYROLL

Oracle HRMS Payroll Interview Questions

Dear Learners and Job hunters for Oracle HRMS and Payroll. Please find some basic level questions that you
might be asked in an Interview.


Qns 1. Can you call pl/sql package functions from within a Fast Formula?
Ans 1. Yes you can
-->How do we do this?
-->There is a Define Function screen in HR. In this screen you will register the pl/sql as “External Function”.

-->If we want to pass a parameter PAYROLL_ID to this external pl/sql Function, how do we do it ?
-->The “Define Function” screen has a button named “Context Usage”. This button opens up a window in which you can
register the parameters.


Qns 2: P35 report is run after the “End Of Year (EOY)” process.
Do you know which tables does EOY process populate.
P35 and P60 reports uses these tables which get populated by EOY
Ans2: FF_ARCHIVE_ITEMS
FF_ARCHIVE_ITEM_CONTEXTS

Qns 3: How do you Debug a Fast Formula?
Ans 3: You can create a message variable in Fast Formula.
This message variable must also be registered as a Formula Result( In “Formula Result Rule” window).


Qns 4: What are the various levels where you can Set up Payroll Costing Accounts?
Which levels take the highest precedence? **Assume Labor Distributions is not implemented**
Ans4;
Element Entry => Highest
Assignment => Second Highest
Organization => Third Highest
Element Link => Fourth Highest
Payroll => Fifth Highest


Qns5: Technically speaking, how do you know from tables that an Employee has been terminated?
Ans 5:
(a) The Person_Type_ID in PER_PERSON_TYPE_USAGES_F will correspond to System Person Type EX_EMP
(b) A record gets created in table PER_PERIODS_OF_SERVICE with Actual_Termination_date being not null

Qns6: How can you make Employee Number generation Automated based on business rule etc.
Ans6: Use Fast Formula.

Qns7: What is the difference between per_people_f and per_all_people_f
Ans7: PER_PEOPLE_F is a secured view on top of PER_ALL_PEOPLE_F. The secure view uses an API hr_security.show_person.
This API internally checks for an entry in table PER_PERSON_LIST for the logged in person's security profile. A concurrent
program named "Security List Maintainence program" will insert records in PER_PERSON_LIST



Oracle HRMS Self Service Interview Some Simple Questions
Qns 1 :
If you do personalization at both FUNCTION level and Responsibility level, which personalization has higher precedence?
Ans 1:
Responsibility level. Responsibility level will override FUNCTION level personalizations.

Qns 2:
Say you have done a lot of Personalizations to Self Service Screens.
But all these Personalizations were done in DEVELOPMENT environment.
How will you migrate these personalizations to PRODUCTION environment?
Ans2:
Before 11.5.7…Use AKLoad
This is a java program given by Oracle. This is the only way you can script it.
In DEV you will do è akdload DOWNLOAD ( & other parameters)
In PRD you will do è akdload UPLOAD ( & other parameters)
On or after 11.5.10 Use responsibility “Functional Administrator”, then click
on Personalization Tab, and then click on Import/Export.
Next select the documents to be exported.
Go to the unix box and tar the personalizations into a .tar file.
On the Production environment unzip this tar file in location as entered in profile “FND: Personalization Document Root Path”.
Setting up of this profile is mandatory or else Oracle Framework would’nt know where to search for the files to be imported.








What are the minimum classifications to create a Business Group?
(i) Business Group
(ii) GRE/Legal Entity
(iii) HR Organization

What are the Pre-Requisites for creating a Business Group?
(i) Value Sets
(ii) Key Flexfields
(iii) Location

What is the use of HR Organization?
If we want to assign the employee information to a Business Group then we need to have HR Organization classification under a Business Group.

What is People Group?
(i) It is a Flexible area for holding user-defined assignment data.
(ii) Data can be used for Grouping sets of assignment together.
(iii) People group can be used for Element eligibility.
(iv) This information is used by the Payroll Run.
(v) The data will be held in PAY_PEOPLE_GROUPS.
(vi) GROUP_NAME field holds the concatenation of Segment data.

What is the KFF structure for SIT?
Personal Analysis Flexfields.

What is the DFF structure for EIT?
(i) Extra Person Information
(ii) Assignment Extra Information
(iii) Extra Location Information
(iv) Extra Position Information
(v) Extra Job Information
(vi) Organization Developer DF

How to enable EIT?
Switch Responsibility to ‘Human Resources, Vision Enterprises’
Double click on ‘Security’
Click on ‘Information Types’
Create your own ‘Information Types’ under your ‘Responsibility Name’.

How to enable SIT?
Switch Responsibility to ‘Human Resources, Vision Enterprises’
Double click on ‘Other Definitions’
Click on ‘Special Information Types’

What is the use of Date Track?
1) It is used to maintain the record history by creating a new record when the date track mode is UPDATE and override on the existing record when the Data track mode is CORRECTION.
2) The value of the Data Track record depends on the date.
3) Tables ending with _F are date track tables.
4) To control data tracked rows, every Date Track table must include Effective_start_date & Effective_end_date.
5) The Effective_Start_Date indicates when the record inserted.
6) The Effective_End_Date indicates when the record updated or deleted.

What is the use of Object Version Number?
1) It is used to capture the latest record from the data base table.
2) When a row is inserted its number is set to 1.
3) If any updates performed on the row then the OVN is incremented.
4) Every API has the OVN parameter.
5) For create API this parameter is defined as an OUT parameter.
6) For update API this parameter is defined as an IN OUT parameter.
7) The APIs use it to check a row has been updated by another user, to prevent overwriting their changes.

What is the Element?
It is a Data Structure which is used to hold information for both Human Resources and Payroll.
In Human Resources elements may represents compensation types including Earnings such as Salary, Hourly Wages and Bonuses.
In Payroll, elements constitute all the items in the Payroll run process.

What are the Classification Priorities?
(i) Information
(ii) Non-Payroll
(iii) Earnings
(iv) Pre-Tax Deductions
(v) Tax Deductions
(vi) Employer Tax
(vii) Voluntary Deductions
(viii) In Voluntary Deductions


What the Element can represent?
Earnings --> such as Salary, Wages & Bonuses
Benefits --> such as employee stock & pension plans
Non-Payroll items --> such as Expenses
Absences from work
Voluntary and In-Voluntary deductions
Employer Taxes and other Liabilities.

What are the pre-defined Elements?
UK Payroll legislation provides many predefined elements
--Tax
--National Insurance (Employee/Employer)
--Court Orders
These Elements cannot be modified.

What are the Element Entry Concepts?
Recurring à Recurring Entries can exists over many Payroll periods
Non-Recurring à Non-Recurring Entries are valid for single Payroll period only.

What are the types of Element Entry?
There are four types
Normal Entry
Override Entry
Additional Entry
Adjustment Entry
--Additive Adjustment
--Replacement Adjustment
--Balance Adjustment

How can we add a new input value to an existing Element?
We can add an additional input values to an existing Element if the element has not been processed in a Payroll run and the Effective data is the same date of creation of the Element.

What is the use of ID_FLEX_NUM?
It is used to define the Structure Definition.
The Structure Definition is held in FND_ID_FLEX_STRUCTURES
The Structure Segment Definition is held in FND_ID_FLEX_SEGMENTS

What is the Element Link?
Links identify one or more assignment components that must be included in an employee's assignment for them to be eligible.Elements can, but they don’t have to, be linked by: Organization GroupJob PositionGrade LocationEmployment Category (i.e., Fulltime-Regular, Part-time-Regular)
Payroll Salary Basis


What is API?
Ø API is packaged procedure which can be used as an entry point into Application.
Ø The advantage of using an API is we can enter new information or alter the existing data without manual enters the information into the Application.
Ø APIs allow users to maintain HRMS information without using Oracle Application forms.

How do i use an API to upload the data?
Ø API package contains many procedures to insert/update/delete the application data.
Ø The API is not executed on its own, the API must be called or executed by other pl/sql program.
Ø The API package should never be modified for custom use, if modified Oracle will not be able to support them.
Ø None of the HRMS APIs issue commit, the calling module should manage the commit of the transaction.

How do i identify the Package name and version of the API?
SELECT text
FROM all_source
WHERE name like ‘HR_EMPLOYEE_API%’
AND text LIKE ‘%Header%’;

Where can i find information on an API and its parameters?
Review the package header file for the particular API file (.pkh).

What is Object version number and how do I assign values for it in an API?
Ø Object Version number is an assigned number to a row in a database table.
Ø When a new row inserted its number is set to 1
Ø If any updates performed on the row then the Object version number is incremented.
Ø Every API has the p_object_version_number control parameters.
Ø For create APIs this parameter is defined as an OUT parameter the API assigns the Object version number to be 1 for row inserts.
Ø For update APIs the parameter is defined as IN OUT, for update API the object version number is mandatory.

When the HR_7155_OBJECT_LOCKED raised?
The current value of object_version_number must be passed in the API call and it is compared to the version on the row in the table. If the versions are different then the HR_7155_OBJECT_LOCKED is raised.

What is the p_validate control parameter?
Every API has a p_validate control parameter.
When the parameter is set to FALSE then all the business function validation is performed.
If every thing is validated then row can be inserted/updated/deleted.
If p_validate is set to TRUE then only the actual operation is validated.
A savepoint is issued at the start of the call and a rollback is done at the end of the call.
Can I use an API on an application table on which an event-based alert is defined?
Ø No, if an event-based alert defined on an application table then the API will give error.
Ø To run API the alert has to be disabled and re-enabled after the API has been executed.

What is the difference between an API and a publicly callable API?
Ø An API is an alternative entry for data to be insert/update/delete from the application.
Ø The Oracle HRMS
Ø Publicly callable APIs engage in validation in the same manner as the forms do with in the application.
Ø Validation is performed in terms of data integrity, insuring that data relationship exist properly between related tables.
Ø Validation is also performed against business functionality as the application form would enforce it.
Ø Therefore, only publicly callable APIs should be used to insert/update and delete data from the application.