Oracle Tutor is a process and training documentation tool used for Oracle Applications. How to write a good procedure? There are some preliminary steps to be taken care that would help in drafting a good
procedure. This article attempts to define that.

Components of a Process document

In Oracle Tutor terminology, process documents comprise the following: A) Procedures B) Reference documents C) Instructions and D) Forms. Of these, Procedures are critical and great care has to be taken while drafting them.

• Develop 'Standards'. If you are planning a roll-out for a large company with geographically spread Units develop a 'Common' way of drafting the Process documents. All the Process documents must have a common 'look and feel' . With this in mind develop standards for flow-charting, font-colors etc. The font characteristics are defined by a style sheet. However, it is quite common for requests such as: Can I use a different color ? or can I color that in Red? Can I use a different color for the Table? There is a good reason for such requests. Oracle Tutor document looks plain and simple and keywords are lost or difficult to be read. Hence, there is always a request to highlight the keywords in a different color or by using <>. (For example, 'Click on the button'). Hence, develop and agree on Standards.

• Briefly explain Oracle Tutor's functionality to the client. Explain to them briefly what can be achieved using the tool. Oracle Tutor helps in documenting a process document. You may not be able to achieve fancy graphics or layout using that tool. Also understand what the client requires from the product.

• Decide on the level of detail. This is a critical step and must be finalized with the client. Level of detail defines the level of data entry instructions that should go into a document. Broadly, you can do one of the following: (1) Document detailed data entry instructions for a Task. This includes step-by-step Navigation Instructions until completion of an activity. However, care should be taken not to duplicate any existing Training documents that might be available. (2) Briefly document the steps and refer the Training Guide, if available. This method is quite common as it avoids duplication and helps in leveraging existing content (3) Create a separate Instruction document for the data entry steps. Again, if there is an existing Training document, it would be better to refer them, instead of creating separate Instructions. However, you can use this method, if no existing materials are available.

• It is common practice not to use screen-shots in a Procedure. Screen-shots can be used in an Instruction or Reference document if necessary.

• Develop a file naming mechanism. This has to be carefully planned considering the future requirements. It is very difficult to change the file naming system half way through as each process document would have been referenced elsewhere. Oracle Tutor has a way of naming the process documents and it is limited to EIGHT characters.

The above list is not exhaustive, but would help you understand the Requirements of your client. Just imagine the time and cost involved when you discover half way through the project, that the client wanted something else, or wanted the documentation to be done differently.

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