Monitoring User Activity with “Sign-On: Audit Level” Profile Option in Oracle E-Business Suite R12

1.      Overview:

Users Activity in Oracle E-Business Suite can be monitored online (using a given form) or via reports available in the system administration responsibility.

The online monitoring of user activity within Oracle Applications is achieved via the Monitor Users form (Form Name: FNDSCMON.fmx). In order to use this form and also to use the reports the profile option Sign-On: Audit Level must be set to an appropriate value. The available options are: - 

• NONE: No monitoring performed on users’ activity.
• USER: Only show a list of logged in users.
• RESPONSIBILITY: Will show the users logged in and the responsibility they are using.
• FORM: show the most detailed level, it will show the User, Responsibility and Form being accessed.

The general overview of the process of monitoring user activity in Oracle Applications R12 is:

1. Enabling users tracking by setting the profile option “Sign-On: Audit level” to take the value for example “Form”.
2. Viewing Users online using “Monitor Users” form.
3. Viewing Monitoring Reports about users and their activity.
4. If not used disable tracking users by changing the “Sign-On: Audit level” to take the value for example “None”.

2.      Enable User Tracking - Setting the Sign-On: Audit Level profile option:

To enable user tracking by changing the value of “Sign-On: Audit Level” profile option use the following steps (we will use the value Form):

1. Log in to Oracle APPS with system administrator responsibility
2. Navigate to Profile > System
3. Make sure the Site option is checked.
4. Navigate to Profile and search for sign > Click Find
5. Select the “Sign-On: Audit Level” > Click Find
6. Change its value to be Form
7. From the Menu bar click File > Save

3.      Viewing Users Online Using the “Monitor Users” form:

To monitor users online we use the “Monitor Users” screen or form. To display current users and their information using Monitor Users form:

1. Log in with System Administrator Responsibility
2. Navigate to Security: Users > Monitor
3. Click (CTL + F11) keys to display the result.

The screen shot below indicates what you would see if you had chosen the FORM option for the profile option in question.

This is a very useful screen since it tells you exactly which users are logged in and what are they doing in the system at any point in time. One may check this screen before bouncing or restarting the system to make sure all users are logged out.

It is a good practice to set the Sign-On: Audit Level profile option to “Form” since it gives the most detailed information above other choices but it will impact the system performance since it collects a lot of information, so you have keep that in mind.

4.      Viewing Monitoring Reports about Users and their activity:

Depending on what audit level you have selected for the profile option under discussion you may also generate various reports as indicated below: -

• Sign-On Audit Concurrent Requests: View information about who is requesting what concurrent requests and from which responsibilities and forms.
• Sign-On Audit Forms: View who is navigating to what form and when they do it.
• Sign-On Audit Responsibilities: Used to view who is selecting what responsibility and when they are doing it.
• Sign-On Audit Users: Used to view who signs on and for how long.
• Sign-On Audit Unsuccessful: Show audit information about unsuccessful logins to Oracle Applications.

To view any of the given reports monitoring user activity use following steps:

1. Navigate to System Administrator Responsibility > Concurrent > Requests Or from the Menu Bar go to View > Requests
2. Choose Submit New Request > Single Request
3. Select report you want from the 4 requests given above.
4. Click Submit > Find
5. Select report you choose and click View output button to view the report.

5.      Notifying Users of Unsuccessful Logins to their accounts:

Sign-On Audit can track user logins and provide users with a warning message if anyone has made an unsuccessful attempt to sign on with their application username since their last sign-on. This warning message appears after a user signs on. You do not have to audit the user with Sign-On Audit to use this notification feature.

To inform users about unsuccessful logins to their account, you can set the “Sign-On: Notification” profile option to Yes. To do that from System Administrator Responsibility > Profile > System > Find the profile option “Sign-On: Notification” and change its value to Yes.

6.      References:

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/A60725_05/html/comnls/us/fnd/systop.htm#contentsAD

http://www.oracleappsblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/131/

Regards
Mostafa Mahmoud