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Examining the Pricing Engine Log File

If you want more details about how the pricing adjustments were applied in this test, check the Pricing Engine Log file.

When you run tests using the Quote Pricing Model Validation or Order Pricing Model Validation, Siebel ePricer will create a log file whenever you process new products or click the Reprice or Reprice All button.

This file is located in the Siebel server installation directory in a TEMP file titled Pricing_Engine_Log_<username>.txt, where the username is your login name.

This log file is a simple text file to which records are appended each time the Siebel ePricer engine attempts to execute a pricing adjustment. It provides information about how ePricer executed or attempted to execute pricing adjustments.

Make arrangements with your Siebel Systems Administrator so that you have immediate read and write access to this file, which is crucial for testing and validation purposes.

Save a copy of the log file under another name to preserve the information in it. Give the copy a name that identifies the session, and add text to the beginning of the copied file to define the testing parameters, if appropriate.

After you have saved a copy of it, delete the original log file.

If you continue the testing session without renaming the log file and deleting the original log file, Siebel ePricer will continue to append data to the original log file, which can make it too large to be useful for troubleshooting. If you rename it, Siebel ePricer will create a new Pricing Engine Log file the next time you attempt to execute a pricing factor. By renaming the log file, you can create a separate log file for each test.

If you exit the testing session, and then begin testing again, the log file for the new test data will overwrite the existing log file. You can preserve the log file by renaming it as soon as each defined test is completed.

Example: Sample Results in the Pricing Engine Log File

You can see an example of a Pricing Engine Log File in Figure 12. The current price at the beginning of each entry shows the result of a price adjustment, and the details below it describe that price adjustment.

Figure 12.  Using the Log File to Detect a Pricing Factor Error

In the first entry in this sample, there was an error. The name of a product, Game Pod, was incorrectly entered as Game Pad, so a match did not occur and the pricing adjustment was not applied. Notice that Game Pod appears in the Left Side Value field and Game Pad appears in the Right Side Value field. The row that says Rule Applied? = N indicates that the pricing adjustment was not applied.

In the second entry in this sample, there was not an error. The Left Side Value and the Right Side Value are the same: both are Computers R Us. The row that says Rule Applied? = Y tells us that the pricing adjustment was applied, and the pricing factor executes. The Action Type is Discount Amount, and the Action Value is 3.500000, so we know that a $3.50 discount was applied. The Reason field says CP.Name, which means that a customizable product name field was used to set up the condition for firing this factor.

All the fields in the Pricing Engine Log file are explained in Fields in the Pricing Engine Log File.

Typical Problems in the Pricing Engine Log File

Using the Pricing Engine Log file, you may be able to identify the typical problems described in Table 43.

Fields in the Pricing Engine Log File

Table 44 describes the fields in the Pricing Engine Log.