Enterprise Portal Resource Finder Overview

This chapter provides an overview of PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal, Resource Finder, and the chapters in this PeopleBook.

Getting Started with PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal

Essential information about getting started with your overall implementation of PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal appears in a companion volume of documentation called PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal 9 PeopleBook: Enterprise Portal Application Technology.

See Getting Started With PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal.

"Getting Started with PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal" provides information about using PeopleSoft Setup Manager to review a list of implementation tasks based on the products and features your organization is implementing. This list provides information about the components you must set up, the sequence in which you must enter data into the component tables, and links to relevant PeopleBook documentation.

Understanding Resource Finder

Resource Finder is a highly flexible repository that you can configure to receive data loads containing information about any organizational resource, along with links that relate these resources to each other. These resources are typically things like customers, suppliers, employees, departments, locations, companies, and business units, but can also be easily expanded to include things like products and projects, for example.

Resource Finder is inherently flexible, allowing you to configure and track any of these resources based on your own business requirements. Resource Finder is also designed to promote the discovery of interrelationships between your resources, based on your resource configurations.

You can locate these enterprise resources, or participants, in the repository using a variety of tools, including the Resource Finder simple search pagelet, which can be added to portal homepages; the Resource Finder - Advanced Search page, which offers search options that can be tailored to the specific resource the user is looking for; or by drilling down through the organizational chart and related links on resource profile pages. You can also relate resources to business processes directly by leveraging the Related Resources pagelet that works with the Intelligent Context Manager™. Resource Finder search functionality utilizes Verity for indexing and searching the resource metadata.

Resource Finder searches this metadata to return matching resource results, which you can use to access profile pages. Resource profiles are dynamically generated based on profile definition settings. You can use these resource profiles to view and access various details configured to display for Resource Finder participant types.

Security options allow you granular control over the information about resources that different users can access, as well as who in your organization can manage resource information.

Getting Started with Resource Finder

This PeopleBook contains the following chapters:

Setting Up Core Tables

Resource Finder core table objects work together to provide you with a highly configurable repository that can receive data loads containing information about any organizational resource, along with links that relate these resources to each other.
Setting Up Data Sources

The majority of data in Resource Finder is loaded from external data sources. These external data sources need to be defined in Resource Finder so that they can communicate with the application by way of data feeds using incremental batch and real-time updates.
Setting Up Participant Profiles

Once you have defined core objects, including participant types, use Resource Finder profile definition pages to determine how you want Resource Finder to display information about your organization's participant resources to your end users.
Setting Up Resource Finder Searches

Resource Finder brings diverse information about your enterprise resources together into a single repository and backs it with a single search engine. You can configure your end-user search experience to include specific search parameters and search results, as well as set default participant references for the display of organization charts.
Importing Participant Data

You load Resource Finder with participant data imported from disparate data sources using the Resource Finder Data Import Service. To use the Data Import Service to load participant data directly into Resource Finder, you must first format your data to fit the Resource Finder XML schema definition. You then feed the formatted data to the Data Import Service using the File Import Application Engine process (EPX_FILE_IMP). To use the Data Import Service to load participant data from outside applications (such as HR), you set up Integration Broker messages and make any changes to the Resource Finder XSL definitions.
Using Participant Profiles and Organization Charts

Participant profiles are dynamically generated based on profile definition settings. Use these resource profiles and their associated organization charts to view and access various details configured to display for resources. You can modify user-editable attributes on your profile, which may require review by designated profile managers. Designated super users also have access to profiles for maintenance purposes.
Using Resource Finder Searches

Resource Finder search options include the Resource Finder search pagelet and the Resource Finder - Advanced Search page where you can personalize resource search display options.