Setting Up Participant Profiles

This chapter provides an overview of participant profiles and discusses how to:

• Configure participant profiles.

• Specify profile managers.

Understanding Participant Profiles

This section discusses:

• Participant profiles.

• Participant profile rendering logic.

• Profile layout considerations.

Participant Profiles

After you define participant types in the Resource Finder repository, you can use the profile definition pages to determine how Resource Finder displays information about your organization's participant resources for end users. You use display groups to organize attribute information about participants into logical groupings that emphasize important information to your end users.

Participant profile definitions provide a way to publish participant information in your organization. You can add or remove attribute information from profiles by modifying the profile definitions. Participant profiles are assigned by participant type and, therefore, affect how profiles appear for all individual participants within the participant type.

Participant profiles are based on dynamic data elements that cannot be bound to graphical user interface (GUI) controls on a page until they are rendered for display or editing. When a participant profile is requested for display or edit, GUI-related logic based on layout metadata that you have defined for the display group is applied to application data to create an object representation of a custom HTML page.

Participant profile definitions are also the basis for the detailed information for individual participants that is provided in the search results for end users who perform advanced searches in Resource Finder. In addition, when you use the Related Resources pagelet in the PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal Intelligent Context Manager, the details for the resources that are associated with your business processes in the portal are derived from the profile definition.

Participant Profile Rendering Logic

Participant profiles are generated from one or more display groups. Display groups contain specific attributes that you have defined for participants and external assets. They provide logical groupings of attributes for display on participant profiles. You associate display groups with participant types to determine the attributes that appear on the participant profile. The characteristics of each attribute determine how the attribute should appear on the participant profile.

Display groups, like attributes, are reusable elements. You can define a display group, such as CONTACT_INFO, and include all relevant attributes within the group. You can then associate this display group with multiple participant type profile definitions. Upon rendering the participant profile, Resource Finder displays only those attributes within the display group that you associate with the current participant type on the Define Participant Type page. The display of attributes on the participant profile also depends on viewer security that you define for the participant type attribute on the Define Participant Types - Set Viewer Security page.

See Configuring Participant Types.

For example, the CONTACT_INFO display group may contain the following attributes: STREET, CITY, STATE, ZIP_CODE, WORK_PHONE, and CELL_PHONE. The display group is associated with both EMPLOYEE and COMPANY participant type profile definitions. EMPLOYEE participant type definitions reference all of the attributes in the display group, while COMPANY participant type definitions reference all of the attributes except CELL_PHONE. Upon rendering the participant profile, although both participant types reference the same display group, Resource Finder displays all of the attributes in the display group on the EMPLOYEE participant profile, while it displays all of the attributes except CELL_PHONE on the COMPANY profile. This diagram illustrates the participant profile rendering logic:

Profile rendering logic based on participant type, viewer security, display group, and profile definitions

Another piece of rendering logic for profiles is viewer security that is defined at the participant type level. Suppose that the CELL_PHONE attribute that is associated with the EMPLOYEE participant type has viewer security that enables only users with the EMPLOYEE role to view the attribute on the EMPLOYEE profile. If a user with the EMPLOYEE role accesses an EMPLOYEE profile, the CELL_PHONE attribute appears. However, if a user with a GUEST role accesses an EMPLOYEE profile, the CELL_PHONE attribute does not appear.

See Understanding Using Participant Profiles.

Profile Layout Considerations

When defining the content and layout of a profile page, we recommend that you consider the profile's usability and visual impact. In particular, consider the following points:

• While the administration pages allow you to place as many display groups on a page as you wish, too much information can weigh down the page and prevent your user accessing the profile from getting to the information they want.

• The focus of the profile page, which is the material that displays at the top of the profile, should be the key information you are trying to convey, with less critical, ancillary information coming afterwards.

• Too many tables (grids) on a single profile page can present the user with too much complex information. Consider spreading this information out amongst multiple participant type views of a single participant resource. See the example in the following bullet point. Remember that you can view the display information for any attribute that you add to a display group when you're defining the group.

• Keep in mind that information about a single resource can be spread across multiple participant types. You can use this feature to focus on different types of information about any single participant resource. For example, an employee can be defined as both an Employee participant and a Project Member participant.

  This allows you to focus information about the employee's project experience and skills with his Project Member view, and his key contact and organizational information with his Employee view. When users access the employee's profile, they will see the option to switch views of the employee to focus on either his Project Member or his Employee information.

  See Describing the Resource Finder XML Schema Definition.

Configuring Participant Profiles

This section discusses how to use the Display Groups component (EPX_ATTGROUP) and Participant Profiles component (EPX_PTYPE_ATTGR) to:

• Define display groups.

• Define participant profiles.

Pages Used to Configure Participant Profiles

Defining Display Groups

Access the Define Display Group page.

Display Label	Enter a label for the display group ID that appears along with the ID wherever it is referenced. You can configure participant profiles to use this label as the group box title for associated attributes.
Description	Enter a description for your information only. This does not appear elsewhere in the system.

Valid Attributes

Defining Participant Profiles

Access the Define Participant Profile page.

Participant Type ID

Displays the participant type ID for which you want to define a participant profile. A participant type can have only one participant profile definition.

Select Display Groups

Rendered Profile Example

This example illustrates how the profile definition on the previous page is rendered to create a profile page:

Rendered profile page

Notice that the Picture, Contact Information, Business Information, Product Expertise, and Project Assignments display groups that are selected in the profile definition appear on the profile. They appear in the order and with the labeling that is specified in the profile definition.

Specifying Profile Managers

This section discusses how to specify a profile manager.

Page Used to Specify Profile Managers

Specifying a Profile Manager

Access the Define Participant Profiles - Specify Profile Manager page.

Reference Direction

Example profile manager processing flow using the This Participant References the Profile Manager option

Example profile manager processing flow using the This Participant is Referenced By the Profile Manager option

See Configuring Participant References.