BIP Report Parameters and Payroll Flows

A BI Publisher report is shipped with a data model that contains a set of parameters that you must enter when you run the report.

The parameters for the report are either:

List of values dependent on an SQL query to retrieve information from the application database, or
List of view objects defaulted directly from the application

The data model includes adequate security and you can edit the data model or a parameter only if you have appropriate privileges.

The parameters in the library are in a predefined order. Don't change the order in the data model. When you copy a delivered BI Publisher report and include it in a flow, the flow parameters map to the BI arguments.

Parameter Dependency

When you submit a report, the report engine executes the SQL query to retrieve the predefined list of values for the report parameters. The report performance gets impacted by these factors.

The SQL query references from a table that has a large volume of data
The report is run very frequently
The report is run concurrently by multiple users

To avoid this, the first parameter in the parameter model is used as a base or dependent parameter, such that the subsequent parameters in the list are dependent or restricted by the value of the previous parameter in the table.

For example, for all payroll reports, the first argument or parameter is the Payroll ID. The SQL query retrieves the list of payroll IDs for the LDG you have selected to submit the report.

The values for the rest of the parameters in the data model is sourced from the view objects defined in the application. The predefined parameter model for each report includes a table that lists the view objects for the report parameters. Each payroll report is shipped with a library of ten predefined list of predefined view objects.

The list of values for a parameter is restricted and filtered by the value you select for a previous parameter on which this parameter is dependent on. For example, the list of values for the Payroll Period parameter is dependent on the Payroll ID parameter. When you first select a value for the Payroll ID parameter, the list of values for the dependent Payroll Period view objects are filtered for the selected Payroll ID. This table illustrates parameter dependency.

Example of Parameter Dependency

Predefined Value Object (PVO)	Dependency	Description
`PayrollStatutoryUnitPVO`	Legislative Data Group (LDG)	The values for the Payroll Statutory Unit (PSU) is filtered based on the LDG you select while running the report.
`TaxReportingUnitPVO`	Payroll Statutory Unit	The values for the tax reporting unit is filtered based on the LDG and the PSU you select while running the report.

From this table, it's imperative that you must first select a PSU value and based on your selection, the TRU values are filtered. Hence, when you run the report, the PSU parameter must be presented to you before the TRU parameter.

When you edit the data model to configure your report, or add a new parameter to a report, consider the parameter dependency, data source, and order of the parameter.

Base Flow Parameter Name

Flow parameters supply the information required to successfully run the flow. The parameter values are either retrieved from the application database tables using a SQL query or defaulted directly if the parameters are configured correctly.

A parameter is defined in the application database using a Base Flow Parameter Name. If the report parameter name, exposed in the UI at the flow-level, matches the Base Flow Parameter Name, then the list of values are defaulted directly. The Base Flow Parameter Name isn't exposed on the UI.

This table shows how you define a parameter so that the correct value objects are available for you to select, when you run the report.

Base Flow Parameter Names

Report Parameter	Base Flow Parameter Name	Display Format	Lookup Value
Payroll Statutory Unit	PAYROLL_STATUTORY_UNIT	Smart LOV	`PayrollStatutoryUnitPVO`
Tax Reporting Unit	TAX_REPORTING_UNIT	Smart LOV	`TaxReportingUnitPVO`