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Overview
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Overview

BSC_METADATA_DESC is an Oracle Applications (APPS) PL/SQL package that belongs to the Oracle Balanced Scorecard (BSC) product family. Its governing responsibility is to generate descriptive metadata—essentially the SQL query text and structural definition—for a given Key Performance Indicator (KPI) within the Balanced Scorecard framework. In Oracle EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, the Balanced Scorecard module allows organizations to define, calculate, and report on KPIs that draw data from across the E-Business Suite and external sources. Before a KPI can be executed, analyzed, or rendered on a scorecard, the system must resolve how that KPI is defined: which fact data table it draws from, which measures and dimensions apply, which calculation or periodicity governs its aggregation, and which analysis groups and dimension levels are in scope. BSC_METADATA_DESC centralizes the resolution of this descriptive information, returning it in a form suitable for downstream runtime and reporting consumption.

The package is classified as an OTHER API, indicating that it is an internal, non-public interface not intended as a supported integration point. It is owned by APPS and was last delivered under header revision 120.0 (dated 2005/06/01), reflecting its stability across the EBS 12.x lineage. It is not referenced by any other documented package, so it operates as a leaf-level utility invoked directly by Balanced Scorecard forms, concurrent programs, or administrative routines.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes three documented procedure signatures spanning two procedure names:

  • Describe_kpi (full signature) — Accepts a KPI identifier and returns an output query string along with the standard Oracle EBS API return-status convention: a return status flag, a message count, and a message data buffer. This is the primary routine for obtaining the descriptive query for a KPI, and it follows the consistent error-handling pattern used throughout Oracle Application Object Library APIs.
  • Describe_kpi (overloaded form) — A simplified overload that accepts only the KPI identifier. It provides the query description without the out-bound status and message parameters, suitable for internal callers that do not require the formal API error contract.
  • Run_Concurrent_Describe_kpi — A concurrent-program wrapper that follows the Oracle concurrent manager standard signature: ERRBUF and RETCODE out parameters together with the KPI identifier. This allows the KPI description process to be scheduled and run as a concurrent request from the EBS request submission framework.

No functions are documented; all three entries are procedures. The metadata does not disclose the internal content or format of the returned query string, which is presumed to be generated dynamically from the KPI configuration tables listed below.

Tables Accessed

The package resolves KPI metadata by reading across the core Balanced Scorecard definition and configuration tables, accessed via APPS synonyms. These include BSC_KPI_PROPERTIES, BSC_KPI_CALCULATIONS, BSC_KPI_PERIODICITIES, BSC_KPI_DATA_TABLES, BSC_KPI_DIM_GROUPS, BSC_KPI_ANALYSIS_GROUPS, BSC_SYS_MEASURES, BSC_SYS_DIM_LEVELS_BY_GROUP, and BSC_TAB_INDICATORS, which together describe how a KPI is built, calculated, and dimensionalized. Access-control metadata is read from BSC_USER_KPI_ACCESS. Operational logging uses BSC_MESSAGE_LOGS. The package also references V$DATABASE, most likely to resolve the database name or identity relevant to constructing the returned query. The known detail tables enumerated in the metadata are read to assemble the descriptive output; the excerpt does not document insert or update activity, suggesting the package is predominantly a read/resolution utility.

Usage Notes

BSC_METADATA_DESC is typically invoked from Balanced Scorecard setup and administration flows, including KPI definition forms where the descriptive query is previewed or validated, and from runtime scorecard rendering that depends on resolved KPI metadata. The Run_Concurrent_Describe_kpi wrapper makes it deployable as a concurrent program, useful for batch regeneration or diagnostic extraction of KPI query text. Because the package is classified as OTHER and is not referenced by other documented packages, customizations should avoid direct dependency on it; developers requiring KPI metadata should treat it as internal and be aware that its signature and behavior are not covered by Oracle's public API support policy. In 12.2.x deployments, the same package and table dependencies apply, with the underlying Balanced Scorecard schema remaining consistent with the 12.1.1 baseline documented here.