Results for “per_position_definitions”

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

Overview

HR.PER_POSITION_DEFINITIONS is a key flexfield (KFF) definition table in the Oracle E-Business Suite Human Resources (PER) module. It stores the segment value combinations that constitute a "position definition" — the descriptive, multi-segment identifier applied to a position record. Positions in Oracle HRMS are not identified by a single code; they are defined through a key flexfield whose structure is controlled by ID_FLEX_NUM. This table persists each unique combination of up to thirty segment values, together with its effective date range and lifecycle flags, and exposes the combination as a surrogate identifier, POSITION_DEFINITION_ID.

In relational terms, this object functions as a hub of reusable position definitions that other core position and transaction tables reference. A Data Vault modeling heuristic applied to the foreign-key structure classifies it as hub-leaning: it exposes a stable surrogate key that several dependent tables resolve against, rather than acting primarily as a transactional link or a descriptive satellite. Analysts designing a dimensional or Data Vault representation should treat POSITION_DEFINITION_ID as the hub business key at the centre of a position star.

Key Information Stored

The table is defined in the HR schema and, as documented for ETRM 12.2.2, exposes 41 columns. The most operationally significant are:

• POSITION_DEFINITION_ID — surrogate primary key, enforced by the unique index PER_POSITION_DEFINITIONS_PK. Business-key candidates are documented as identical to this single-column unique index; there is no separate composite alternate key.
• ID_FLEX_NUM — identifies the key flexfield structure that governs the segmentation of this definition.
• SEGMENT1 … SEGMENT30 — the concatenated KFF segments that, when combined, form the business meaning of the position definition (for example job, business unit, organisation, or grade components). These segments are the human-recognisable identifiers.
• SUMMARY_FLAG — indicates whether the definition is a summary (parent) node in the flexfield hierarchy.
• ENABLED_FLAG — controls whether the definition is available for assignment.
• START_DATE_ACTIVE and END_DATE_ACTIVE — the effective date window for the definition; the segment combination must be valid at the effective date of any transaction referencing it.
• LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, CREATED_BY, CREATION_DATE — standard Oracle EBS audit columns used for change-detection and lineage.

Common Use Cases and Queries

This object is central to position reporting, flexfield value validation, and hierarchical position analysis. A frequent requirement is to resolve a definition back to its readable segment combination:

SELECT p.position_definition_id,
       p.segment1, p.segment2, p.segment3,
       p.enabled_flag, p.start_date_active, p.end_date_active
FROM   hr.per_position_definitions p
WHERE  p.position_definition_id = :p_position_definition_id;

Typical scenarios include: auditing the population of active definitions within a given flexfield structure (WHERE id_flex_num = :flex AND enabled_flag = 'Y'); reconstructing the KFF combination for a position assigned to an employee; validating that a candidate segment combination does not violate effective dating rules before a position is created; and filtering summary versus detail definitions using SUMMARY_FLAG. For incremental data extraction, LAST_UPDATE_DATE is the standard high-water mark column. Because the table is a definition (setup) object, queries against it are low-volume and join naturally to the position tables below.

Related Objects

The foreign-key metadata establishes the principal dependencies on this table. Each of the following references PER_POSITION_DEFINITIONS.POSITION_DEFINITION_ID:

• HR_ALL_POSITIONS_F via POSITION_DEFINITION_ID — the date-tracked (F) position view; the primary consumer of definitions.
• PER_ALL_POSITIONS via POSITION_DEFINITION_ID — the base position table used in HRMS data models and APIs.
• PER_MM_POSITIONS via NEW_POSITION_DEFINITION_ID — supports mass move / redefinition operations, linking a new definition to the affected position set.
• PQH_POSITION_TRANSACTIONS via POSITION_DEFINITION_ID — position transactions processed through the Public Sector/HR position management engine.

Together these relationships confirm the hub-leaning classification: PER_POSITION_DEFINITIONS supplies a reusable surrogate identifier that flows outward into position, mass-move, and transaction processing tables, and it should be validated and reconciled whenever position setup or key-flexfield structures are modified.