Background

After a PeopleSoft FSCM implementation Pennsylvania Treasury users were frustrated the transactional reports they used to perform their jobs could not be automated with the existing run control design. Every morning they had to configure each report run control to reflect the date of the previous banking day and then manually run each report. Manual report execution was time-consuming and error-prone. However, proposed solutions involved modifying run controls in a manner that limited their ability to run ad hoc reports and recreate historical reports – an unacceptable compromise.

Implementing Dynamic Run Controls

Treasury was already an ezApps ezSoftware Development Kit user. When they learned Dynamic Run Controls could be implemented very economically and would provide the ability to schedule reports on a recurrence without inhibiting their ability for ad hoc execution, Treasury made the decision to retrofit their existing reports. Once the retrofitting process was mastered, developers could modify a report to use ezDynamic Run Controls in approximately one hour. Developing new reports with ezDynamic Run Controls required about the same level of effort as with traditional run controls. Treasury was able to extend the substitution variable set with a variable for the previous banking day, ensuring all reports implement this functionality consistently.

Outcome

ezDynamic Run Controls allow Treasury to configure scheduled reports using substitution variables that are resolved at run-time, so no ongoing run control maintenance is necessary. Users now have their transactional reports ready for review when they get to work, allowing them to spend their time more productively. To recreate an historical report or run an ad hoc report users can select static parameter values. Dynamic Run Controls are easy to master so users can automate execution for the reports they utilize without requiring support. Employing a consistent methodology for run control development saves Treasury time and money when developing and maintaining reports.