Scripting Limitations in Siebel CRM

There are nearly 200 different types of objects that can be configured in Siebel to reflect the changes in the User Interface Layer, Business Objects Layer and the Data Objects Layer. Being a Siebel Professional, I often come across complex business Requirements that cannot be met solely by configuration. Siebel Scripting is great for handling these complex needs. But there are a few limitations to be considered while using scripting in Siebel development.

• 16 KB Size limitation
  In Siebel eScripting, a single method can contain only 16KB of code. But in real life, one may have to go in for heavy customizations of Siebel objects for which 16KB is just not enough. My workaround in such cases is to split large methods into smaller methods.
• Cannot mix scripting languages in an object
  Most scripting in Siebel is in eScript. But, sometimes we need to use third party system/objects like ActiveX/COM where VBscript is the preferred language. So how do we get to external objects like ActiveX/COM objects from a Siebel Object coded in eScript given that we are not allowed to mix scripting languages in an object?. The solution is that we call another Siebel Object which is scripted in VBscript through which we can finally access the external system/object. This solution works fine. But it does lead to performance issues. Better ideas are welcome
• Dynamic switching between server and browser side script not possible.
  We can call server script from browser script. But once server script starts executing, it is not possible to call browser script. So, it is not possible to do things like call pop-up a message on the browser side after executing say 10 lines of code on server side. If anyone has any workarounds, please do let me know.
• Object has to be compiled after every modification.
  Till Siebel 7.8, developers had to compile and re-compile modified objects a every minor change in code. This is a big pain while debugging and a major time-waster. But in the latest version 8.0, Siebel provides “Fix and Go” option with ST Engine which has addressed this limitation. Thank you Siebel!!!
• Scripts are not always upgradeable.
  Scripts often give errors while upgrading a Siebel Application from one version to another. At times we have had to comment out entire sections so that the technical upgrade can complete. Finding all these problem areas in the script and fixing them is a big challenge during upgrades.

Feel free to comment/discuss/debate!

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Analyzing Analytics

Dashboard Power
The other day, I was ‘Googling’ for a Siebel Analytics document when I stumbled upon this article which is quite a good example of how the prowess of Analytics is making life easier for commuters. Siebel Analytics now rechristened Oracle BI, helped officials at Manchester airport to cope with the extra pressure of screening additional bags by identifying future trends.

It provided Manchester Airport’s management team with interactive dashboards of flight, passenger and baggage movements. As a result, Manchester Airport lifted the ‘One Hand Baggage Rule’. The full article can be found out at the following link: http://www.computerweekly.com
/Articles/2008/01/07/228771/manchester-airport-lifts-one-bag-rule-with-oracle.htm

It’s a bit of wishful thinking but imagine the ease in travelling if every airport harnesses the capabilities of Siebel Analytics and lifts the above mentioned rule.

This first post of mine in the ‘Analyzing Analytics’ series is an attempt at exposing the readers, be it a neo-techie or a seasoned expert, to the vast capabilities of the end product of Siebel Analytics: The Intelligence Dashboards and the concept of Dashboard centric business operation and management. So let’s discuss what these ‘Dashboards’ are all about.

Case 1: What are the sales for this quarter? What’s the comparison of Sales for this quarter with year ago sales? How many customer accounts are in the red? Such kinds of questions are very common in day to day business analysis. The answer to these and a plethora of similar process oriented questions helps in running a business efficiently.

Case 2:Organizations often have data fragmented across multiple sources like spreadsheets, department specific systems, etc. Often critical data is buried deep somewhere in some file or system in the organization.

Keeping the above two cases in mind, a unified view of the organization is the need of the hour. An Analytical dashboard is just what any organization would desire. It helps in giving a holistic view of business operations, most often using data that has been gathered into a warehouse and occasionally working from operational data. Pre requisites to a healthy dashboard are clean data, a good data model, sturdy data mappings and neat analytics.

Essentially, a dashboard is the final outcome of a Siebel Analytics operation. Based on the metaphor of the instrument panel in a car, the Siebel Analytics version of a dashboard provides a user, mostly business managers, with the input necessary to “drive” the business. Siebel Analytics Interactive Dashboard refers to a web-based technology page on which real time or warehoused information (Reports) is embedded from various sources used in the business.


As seen in the above example of Interactive dashboards, business data is displayed infused with an array of user friendly views like Pie Charts, drill-downs, navigations, pivot table summaries, bar graphs, meters and gauges . These dashboards are often role-driven and customizable. They can be modeled to show historical, current and predictive data which leads to measure – based decision making. The biggest advantage of an Interactive dashboard is that it helps in decision making being more fact based and less intuitive.

Dashboard centric management is definitely going to be the next best thing in business analysis. The idea of viewing and analyzing the organizational facts and figures with the help of superb layouts in front of your computer screen is absolutely fantastic. In short, Dashboards are all about infusing ‘Intelligence’ in the business of the organization and a wonderful apparatus for any organization to possess.

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