PSPA Tech has developed a comprehensive suite of utilities to assist PeopleSoft Pension Administration implementation teams and facilitate quicker implementations. These utilities complement a rapid implementation methodology to distinguish PSPA Tech as a premier implementation services provider. These utilities allow PSPA technical consultants to operate efficiently when called upon to maintain unfamiliar systems. In practice, these utilities help implementation teams work smarter. These utilities enable team members to efficiently complete tasks that would have required more experienced resources and/or a more laborious work effort.
Why PSPA Tech Utilities?
PeopleSoft Pension Administration is a parameterized pension calculation and administration system. To implement the application, setup data is entered into numerous pages in the system, each representing a specific set of instructions for a small unit of work. Each set of instructions, or parameters, is identified with a name and description. These parameters can then be referenced by other parameters for applying progressively more complex plan rules. Parameters make up the building blocks of a complete plan implementation. The umbrella term parameter is used here to represent any of the specific instruction sets used in the application, such as Function Results, Definitions, Options, Methods, and Aliases. In fact, the PSPA Tech Utilities have been programmed to recognize over fifty types of parameters.
The flexibility and complexity of the Pension Administration product presents obstacles for implementation teams. Implementation project teams face the challenges of a steep parameterization learning curve, debugging faulty parameterizations, laborious parameter documentation efforts, parameter migration, and parameter changes and maintenance. All these challenges can cause resources to be diverted from design efforts and extend project timelines.
Over twenty years of PeopleSoft Pension Administration implementation consulting experience have been incorporated into the PSPA Tech Utilities. Once familiar with the operation of these utilities, your implementation team will likely save more than just a few hours a week by leveraging their power to perform implementation and maintenance tasks.
Who Can Use PSPA Tech Utilities?
PSPA Tech Utilities are designed for PeopleSoft Pension Administration implementation and maintenance activities. Anyone with these responsibilities can leverage the product in their work assignments. The PSPA Tech Utilities are designed as an easy-to-use application that simplifies and clarifies otherwise technical tasks. Technical information is provided for more advanced users where applicable.
For over twenty years, trained PSPA Tech Implementation Consultants have confidently used the PSPA Tech Utilities. Increasingly, other implementation team members on PSPA Tech projects have expressed interest in leveraging PSPA Tech Utilities to perform their implementation and maintenance tasks. With the introduction of this User Guide, more implementation team members can get training on how to use the application effectively.
If you want to license PSPA Tech Utilities for use on your project, contact us today.
Overview of PSPA Tech Utilities
There are three broad categories of parameter and customization management tasks supported by the PSPA Tech Utilities:
- User experience enhancement utilities provide visual representations, documentation, and navigation tools for managing complex relationships of application setup and customization data.
- Parameter data maintenance utilities automate the Deletion, Backup, Change Management, and Migration of parameter data.
- Problem identification (proactive) and debugging (reactive) tools help teams minimize implementation time and maximize system uptime.
The cornerstone of the PSPA Tech Utilities is a process that exhaustively investigates every parameter and builds a complete hierarchy of parameters used by each implemented pension plan. As a result, a parameter hierarchy or tree is created that visually displays the parameter relationships and assists user navigation. At a more detailed level, we can see where a parameter is used by another, helping to debug problems or understand the impact of a pending change. A byproduct of identifying all used parameters is that all unused parameters can be identified and safely deleted.
Other aspects of the utility help refine the assembled parameter hierarchy, such as when the effect of COBOL customizations on particular parameters is included in the parameter hierarchy due to the COBOL documentation tool. Yet others use the data collected, such as when the Array Analysis tool uses the parameter hierarchy to compute estimated array sizes for some of the more complex array groups.
Some utilities depart entirely from the parameter hierarchy cornerstone and simply support one of the tasks identified above.
Utility Inventory
The following is a current inventory of utilities is included:
| Utility | Description | More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Parameter Usage Hierarchy | Exhaustively explodes all parameter references. Over 50 parameter types are identified to construct the most detailed parameter hierarchy available. A process populates a proprietary hierarchy table and delivered PeopleSoft Tree Manager tables. PeopleSoft Tree Manager is leveraged to display the hierarchy of plan implementation parameters. This is a COBOL process that’s driven by parameter hierarchy setup data. | What is a Parameter? Overview of Parameter Hierarchy Utility Parameter Usage Process |
| Parameter Usage | Identify all references to a particular parameter. | Identify Where Parameter is Used |
| Online Navigational Short Cuts | Simplifies navigation to edit or display a parameter that uses, or is used by, a specific parameter. Implemented via the Tree Manager interface and push buttons on all utility panels. | Using Tree Manager to View and Navigate Parameter Hierarchy |
| Identify and Delete Unused Parameters | This feature simplifies navigation to edit or display a parameter that uses or is used by a specific parameter. It is implemented via the Tree Manager interface and push buttons on all utility panels. | Review and Delete Unused Parameters |
| Display Custom SQL Views | Includes custom SQL views in the parameter hierarchy. Searched custom SQL view syntax for hard-coded parameter references. | Review Custom SQL Views |
| COBOL Program Knowledgebase | Captures details of delivered and customized COBOL programs. | COBOL Program Knowledgebase |
| COBOL Documentation Tools | The page displays unused parameters. Parameters can be marked for deletion. Process deletes from all applicable setup tables for all parameters marked for deletion. | COBOL Documentation Utility |
| Array Knowledgebase | Logically group COBOL-defined arrays and maximum field values and provide descriptive information about their use. Over 75 parameter base array groups are included. | Array Knowledgebase |
| Array Analysis Utility | The message log view includes error messages and COBOL array knowledgebase information to resolve errors. | Array Analysis Utility |
| Error Message Knowledgebase | Capture detailed experiences related to problem resolution associated with error message occurrences. | Error Message Knowledgebase |
| Enhanced Message Log | Investigates parameter setup and employee data for the potential to exceed defined array sizes. Problems are identified with varying degrees of warning messages. Technical information is provided about the array groups and their use, and a prescription for problem avoidance/resolution is provided. Includes the ability to read current array sizes for COBOL source code. | Enhanced Message Log |
| Actuarial Factor Utility | Generates a table of factor results for specified age ranges using delivered PeopleSoft actuarial factor setup rules and COBOL modules. It allows for rapid testing of PeopleSoft actuarial factor calculations at numerous ages. The results can be used to create reference tables for pension administrators. | Actuarial Factor Utility |
| Parameter Set Backup/Revert Utility | Builds duplicate parameter set tables and provides the ability to create multiple parameter set backups and revert to saved backups as necessary. | Parameter Set Management Utility |
| Parameter Set Compare Utility | Compares two Parameter Backup Sets and identifies all differences. This is useful for identifying changes before migration and monitoring changes in large teams. | Parameter Set Management Utility |
| Share Knowledgebase Entries | Share your additions to the Knowledgebases with other PSPA Tech Utilities community members. Easy email submission buttons make it easy to share your experiences with others. | Error Message Knowledgebase Array Knowledgebase COBOL Program Knowledgebase |
| Utility Version and Processing Tracking | Track Utility Version and Activities. | About Utilities |
About Utilities
General information about this installation of the PSPA Tech Utilities can be displayed. The PSPA Tech Utilities are updated occasionally, and the currently installed version can be identified on the About Utilities page. A history of the last time each process was executed is also displayed on the About Utilities page. Additionally, problem reports can be submitted using the Send button on the page.
Pages
| Page Name | Object Name | Navigation | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| About Utilities | SM_ABOUT | PSPA Tech Utilities, Define, About Utilities | Display general information about this installation of the PSPA Tech Utilities. |
About Utilities
Access the About Utilities page.
Release
Release Date
Date of Release Availability.
Release
Name of Release.
Submit Problem Report
Submit Problem Report to PSPA Tech Utilities Development Team. Requires client email capability.
Clear Process History
Clears the PSPA Tech Utilities process history log. This will not affect the results created by the processes.
Most Recent Execution Details by Process Type
This section shows the most recent time a particular type of process was executed. Processes that have not been executed since the last time the process history was cleared are not shown.
Most Recent Execution Details by Process Type
Process Type
Displays the Utility sub-processes that have been executed since the last time process history was cleared, with details of the last time the job was run. The sub-processes are sorted in the order that they appear on the Utility Run Control pages used to submit the jobs.
User Id
The user that last executed this type of process.
Run Date/Time
Date and time of the most recent execution of this type of process.
Run Control
Run Control Id used to submit the job for this process the last time it was run. Note that the related Utility Run Control page may have been changed since this job was run.
Instance
Displays the Process Instance of the most recent execution of this type of process.
Release
Displays the PSPA Tech Utilities version installed when the process was executed.
Utility Design Considerations
The PSPA Tech Utilities were developed leveraging PeopleSoft technology for maximum familiarity, flexibility and maintainability. This means the application was developed entirely within PeopleTools, COBOL, SQR, and other tools provided with PeopleSoft applications. Delivering PeopleSoft applications’ familiar look and feel contributes to ease of learning and using the Utilities. PSPA Tech Utilities pages are clearly distinguishable from delivered application pages by the PSPA Tech footer. Even the documentation is provided in the familiar PeopleBooks format.
All Utility objects are prefixed with the “SM” naming convention for easy identification. No PS objects are modified with the installation of the utilities except one translate value added for OBJECTOWNERID. Due to the integrated functionality, however, the utilities depend on PS objects and should be installed in an instance containing PeopleSoft Pension Administration. The application was designed to minimize the impact of PeopleSoft upgrades/patches. Where applicable, the processing is parameter-driven for the easiest maintenance.
These design considerations may seem obvious, but by building the utilities in this way, the PSPA Tech development team has demonstrated skill in the same PeopleSoft technologies our clients use to implement, customize, maintain, and document the PeopleSoft Pension Administration application. Any other development platform would seem to distract from our primary service delivery and compromise the features added for ease of use.
Developing the application in PeopleSoft results in the closest possible integration with PeopleSoft Pension Administration (PSPA) application data. Due to installation restrictions, parameter data can be copied to a standalone utility instance for analysis if necessary. However, for ease of use, it’s recommended that the PSPA Tech Utilities be installed in the primary PSPA development and parameterization instance. There are no compelling reasons to install the application in instances further down the migration path, such as production, so it is unnecessary and not recommended.
The Utilities have been developed and tested on the Oracle Database platform.
Additional Resources
Implementation Management Utilities User Guide:
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