To save you time and to automate data entry, Oracle Quality provides you with several predefined collection elements that are available on a list of values when you set up collection plans. If you are collecting quality data during  transactions, and your collection plan uses predefined collection elements that also are on the parent form, their values are automatically entered for you.  Otherwise, you enter their values manually.

Reference Information and Context Collection Elements
In most collection plans, it is necessary to have some collection elements that simply provide basic background or reference information for the plan, such as Department, Item, or Date. These collection elements are referred to as reference information collection elements.

When you perform transactions in Oracle Flow Manufacturing, Inventory, Purchasing, Service, or Work in Process, the values for any related reference information collection elements are automatically entered in the collection plan, if they are available on the parent form. Because the values for these collection elements are derived from within the context of the transaction, they also are considered context collection elements. All context elements are reference  information collection elements, and can be used as triggers for collecting quality data during transactions.

If you are manually entering quality results data for reference information or context collection elements (and not in the context of a transaction), you must select their values from a list of values. For example: you are performing a Move Transaction in Work in Process, and are using a collection plan that contains Job, Item, and Defect Code reference information collection elements. The Job number and Item number are also on the parent form, thus they are automatically entered as you perform the transaction. Defect Code, however, although predefined, is not on the parent form, thus you must enter it manually by selecting it from the list of values.

The following Context and Reference Information collection elements are predefined for the following Oracle Applications: