Results for “ota_test_sections”

AI-generated from documented ETRM metadata — verify critical details on the linked pages.

Overview

OTA_TEST_SECTIONS is a core transactional table within the Oracle E-Business Suite Learning Management (OTA) module. It stores the individual sections that partition an online or offline test definition. In EBS, a test cannot be offered unless it is associated with at least one test section, and each such section must ultimately contain at least one question. OTA_TEST_SECTIONS therefore acts as the structural link between a test header (OTA_TESTS) and the questions (OTA_TEST_QUESTIONS) that candidates answer.

The relationship between OTA_TESTS and OTA_TEST_SECTIONS is documented as one-to-many: a single test may be composed of multiple sections, but each section belongs to exactly one test. Sections give administrators the ability to group questions logically — for example by topic, difficulty, or weighting — and to control the sequence and mandatory nature of each grouping during test delivery.

From a data modeling perspective, the heuristic Data Vault classification derived from the foreign key structure marks OTA_TEST_SECTIONS as satellite-leaning. This should be read as a modeling suggestion rather than a definitive categorization, since the table itself holds descriptive attributes (name, description, feedback text) and also participates in relationships. The 41 documented columns and the presence of standard EBS "who" columns (CREATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_DATE, and so on) are consistent with a keyed entity rather than a pure link table.

Key Information Stored

The surrogate primary key of the table is TEST_SECTION_ID, enforced by the unique index OTA_TEST_SECTIONS_PK. Because this index is documented as the only unique constraint, TEST_SECTION_ID is the sole business-key candidate for the object; it is a system-generated identifier rather than a user-visible number.

The most operationally significant columns include:

• TEST_SECTION_ID — primary key and the value users typically search for when tracing a section.
• TEST_ID — foreign key to OTA_TESTS, identifying the parent test.
• LEARNING_OBJECT_ID — foreign key to OTA_LEARNING_OBJECTS, tying the section into the broader learning object model.
• BUSINESS_GROUP_ID — multi-org partitioning column used throughout OTA.
• NAME and DESCRIPTION — the display identity and explanatory text for the section.
• MANDATORY_FLAG and DISPLAY_ORDER_FLAG — control whether the section must be attempted and whether its questions appear in a fixed order.
• TYPE_FLAG and SEQUENCE — classify the section and position it within the test.
• CORRECT_FEEDBACK and WRONG_FEEDBACK — feedback text presented to the learner after answering.
• START_DATE_ACTIVE and END_DATE_ACTIVE — date-range enablement for the section.
• OBJECT_VERSION_NUMBER — optimistic locking column.

The remaining columns are the standard EBS audit set plus a block of twenty ATTRIBUTE (Describable Flexfield) columns numbered ATTRIBUTE1 through ATTRIBUTE20.

Common Use Cases and Queries

The most frequent access pattern is resolving a test_section_id to its parent test and child questions. A typical join is:

• Join OTA_TEST_SECTIONS to OTA_TESTS on TEST_ID to report all sections of a given test.
• Join OTA_TEST_SECTIONS to OTA_TEST_QUESTIONS on SECTION_ID to enumerate the questions in a section.
• Join to OTA_SECTION_RULES on SECTION_ID to inspect rule logic governed by section.
• Filter on BUSINESS_GROUP_ID and the active date range (START_DATE_ACTIVE/END_DATE_ACTIVE) when producing operational reports.

Typical reporting scenarios include test composition audits (which sections exist, how many questions each holds), sequencing checks, and feedback-text reviews. Because ATTRIBUTE1 through ATTRIBUTE20 are available as flexfield segments, many implementations extend sections with customer-specific data and query those attributes directly.

Related Objects

• OTA_TESTS — parent test; joined via OTA_TEST_SECTIONS.TEST_ID.
• OTA_LEARNING_OBJECTS — joined via OTA_TEST_SECTIONS.LEARNING_OBJECT_ID.
• OTA_SECTION_RULES — references this table through SECTION_ID.
• OTA_TEST_QUESTIONS — references this table through SECTION_ID and holds the answers.
• OTA_TEST_SECTIONS_PK — the unique index anchoring TEST_SECTION_ID.

These relationships make OTA_TEST_SECTIONS the pivot between test definitions and their question content in the OTA Learning Management schema.