Siebel - CRM

What is CRM?

Any successful company consists of Employees, Business Processes, Technology and Customers. Customer loyalty and satisfaction is the number one priority for any company. So managing the customer information is very crucial for a company. Also the processing of customer requests like orders, service request, payments are very important. All these factors including many others make up a concept called CRM or Customer Relationship Management.
CRM is a business wide strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability without compromising the customer satisfaction and loyalty. It also improves the call center efficiency where customer data is accessed real-time. It is also used to automate processes by being a less burden on employees. It also integrates data with other systems so that all needed information is available at one central place saving time and operating costs. It helps the management to make right decisions like where to invest money and tap the right opportunity to keep up with the market trends by looking at the sales, marketing and customer information at one central place. So the overall objective of CRM is reduce costs, improve operating efficiency and customer satisfaction.

There are many CRM softwares available in the market. They come in different forms. Some are low cost softwares which are very simple to implement and have very limited functionalities while some softwares available have very complex functionalities and could cost millions to implement it. The company management needs to determine which CRM software best suits their business needs in terms of its operational efficiency and budget. Among all of those available softwares in the market, the most popular ones is Siebel CRM.

Siebel Basics

Siebel is the most popular CRM software available in the market. It was first started by Siebel Systems Inc, and later taken over by Oracle Corporation on 2006. So Siebel products are now Oracle CRM product.
Siebel Systems, Inc. was founded in 1993 by Thomas M. Siebel and Patricia House. The company grew very quickly and their revenue in 1996 was $39 million. It went public on 1996 and on 2000 their revenue surpassed $1 billion mark. On 2006 Oracle acquired Siebel Systems for $5.8 billion.
The major releases of Siebel include
Siebel 98
Siebel 99
Siebel 6 (also known as Siebel 2000)
Siebel 7 (Released in 2001)
Siebel 8 (Released on 2007)- Current Version
There are still many companies working on Siebel 6 but most companies now are currently working in Siebel 7.x version.


There was a major change in architecture from Siebel 6 to Siebel 7. While Siebel 6 has mainly Client-Server model, Siebel 7 introduced Web based architecture which revolutionized the whole product having more advanced features.
Siebel provides industry specific versions of their CRM software called the Verticals like
Siebel Automotive (used by auto companies)
Siebel Energy (used by energy companies)
Siebel Consumer Goods (used by consumer goods companies like Procter and Gamble)
Siebel Financials (used by finace companies like Chase)
Siebel Pharma (used by pharmaceuticals companies)
Many people might argue that it is too expensive to implement CRM applications and would instead like to develop their own home grown custom software application to help Sales. But there are many other reasons to believe as to why applications like Siebel CRM available outside market would be much more beneficial in the long. Home grown applications could become very complicated and would take a hell lot of time to implement it and they are often not implemented at its best level. Also supporting and upgrading home grown application will be a pain as employees leave and the knowledge base will be gone. Home grown applications will often prove expensive. But if an application like Siebel CRM is implemented, even a complicated implementation wouldn’t take long and the Return of investment (ROI) is really great.
Siebel has been implemented by most major companies like Chase Manhattan Bank, Yahoo, Procter and Gamble, Lucent Technologies, Home Depot etc.

Installing Siebel

Installing Siebel on your Local machine is not complicated. Normally there as Siebel Administrators who do assist in having this setup. To complete the installation and getting started you will need client and tools config files provided either by your Siebel Administrators or your coworker. Also you will need ODBC DSN Name entry details from them for connecting it to the server. Before you attempt to install client make sure you have Windows 2000/2003/XP with minimum 1GB of RAM.
We will here cover installing Client software for developers. Follow these basics steps and you should be able to start working on Siebel.

Go to http://edelivery.oracle.com/
Login with your support-web username and password. (Provided by your manager)
You will be given a choice of which software you want to download along with the OS. There will be multiple files depending upon what version you would like to download.
Download all the related files in on single directory.
Extract all these files into another directory. Extract all of them in one single directory. This is called the Image Directory.
Under the Image Directory go into Windows and then Client directory
You will see Siebel Tools and Siebel Web client. As for a developer we need both Tools and Client. More information on these is provided in further sections.
First we will install Client. Click setup under Siebel Web Client directory.
Go through the steps appropriately. Accept default parameters or skip any parameters that it would ask or enter some dummy parameters if required. All the parameters that you enter here is stored in config file which will be replaced by the config file you have received.
With this you will be able to connect to the sample database. Next few steps will guide in connecting to Local and Server database. More information about Sample, Local and Server database will be covered under Siebel Tools and Client section.
Copy the client config file that you got previously from your Siebel Admin into the $installation_dir\web client\BIN\ENU from step 9. For example like C:\Program Files\Siebel\7.7\web client\BIN\ENU
Enter the ODBC setting provided by Siebel Admin under Windows Control Panel -> Admin Tools -> Data Sources -> System DSN. When you add make sure you select Siebel Oracle Driver.
With this you should be able to connect to the Server Database.
Request for Database Extract for your account to the Siebel Administrator. Details provided under . When this is done go to the next step.
Then login into local environment and it would ask if you would like to connect for extract the local database. Once done you will see a database file “sse_data.dbf”either under $install_dir\Tools\Local or $install_dir\WebClient\Local depending on how it is setup in config file. Make sure your tools and client config files are pointing to this one single dbf file for connecting to local DB. All this help will connect to the local database for both Client and Tools.
Similarly to install tools, under the Image directory go to Windows Client and then Tools and click setup.
17. Go through the steps appropriately like previously. Accept default parameters or skip any parameters that it would ask or enter some dummy parameters if required.
Copy the tools config file provided by the Siebel Administrator under $install_dir\Tools\BIN\ENU. For Example C:\Program Files\Siebel\7.7\Tools\BIN\ENU
If you have already extracted the local database make sure that in tools.cfg file local db is pointing to that extracted database as explained in step 15.
This should complete installation. In our next section we will cover the details about config file.

Siebel Configuration File

Configuration file contains parameters that are used by Siebel Applications during startup. It is a place holder for parameters. It is a normal text file having a file extension of cfg. Different verticals have its own config file, for example eauto.cfg is used by Siebel Automotive, uagent.cfg is used by Siebel Call center application and siebel.cfg is used by Siebel Sales. These config files are created during installation under "[install directory]\Siebel\7.7\web client\BIN\ENU" assuming you have installed Siebel 7.7 version. For a sample Siebel config file click here. Open it using your normal text editor like notepad or textpad.
Similarly we have tools.cfg file which is used by Siebel Tools. Siebel Tools is used to configure Siebel Application. More about Siebel Tools will be covered later. You will normally find this config file under "[install directory]\Siebel\7.7\Tools\BIN\ENU". For a sample tools config file click here.


If you observe the config file esales.cfg, there are several parameters defined that are used by the Siebel Application. There are two most important sections in this file. The first one is [DataSources] in line 92. This lists the possible sources where Siebel could connect to. Like the Local, Server, Sample and Gateway. The definition for each of these is defined in separate sections. Line 98 defines parameters for connecting to Local. Similarly parameters are defined for connecting to Sample and Server Data Src under line 115 and 130 respectively.
The second important section is the [Siebel] section on line 25 where you define some common parameters that are used by any of the data sources. It is a part of object manager parameters for the server components. It defines the parameters like the srf file to use, application name, ODBC connections, Language, directories etc.
Similar explanation applies to tools.cfg file.

Siebel Client

Siebel Client is the User Interface of Siebel for users. In other words it is the Siebel software users use to access Siebel Database.
There are three types of Siebel Clients
Mobile Client
Dedicated or Thick Client
Web or Thin Client

Mobile Client:
They have Siebel Client Software installed locally, Have their own database, Have their own File System and directly access and modify their own database. This mobile client periodically connects to their designated Siebel servers for updating the server database. It meets the need of Field professionals who do not need to have continuous access to the Siebel Network
Example: any HandHeld device in which siebel is installed.
Dedicated or Thick Client:
They have their Siebel Client Software installed locally but however they can either be configured to always be connected to the Siebel Server or can operate on a locally without having to connect to the server.
For first type where it is always connected to the server, they do not have their own database or Siebel File System. All changes that are done locally are immediately reflected on the server.
In the second type where the Siebel Client operates independent to the server connection, they have their own local DB and local Siebel File System.
Example: For first type, dedicated client connected to the server. This case was very prominent with Siebel 6.x. Siebel users would have local installation and they logged into Siebel with server authentication and work on a central database shared by several users.
For the second type a good example is Siebel Developers Machine where the Developer can work locally for developing Siebel application with his own database.
Web or Thin Client:
Siebel Web Client does not need Siebel Client Software installed nor it has its own database. Web client users access Siebel via the web browser like Internet Explorer. Web clients are given a specific URL to access Siebel. All transactions are committed immediately. Web clients are served with the help of Siebel Web Servers.
Example: Typical end user having access to the URL with login and password accessing through Internet Explorer

Siebel Tools

Siebel Tools is an integrated environment for configuring the Siebel Application used by Siebel developer. It is a powerful application development environment used to configure to meet the business requirements.
Siebel Tools is not a programming environment like Visual Studio. Rather it is an interface primarily used to create or modify object definitions.

Below is the snapshot of Siebel Tools.


The left pane is called the Object Explorer. This displays all the object types like Business Components, Applets, Screens and Workflows. In other words it is the grouping of object definitions. This Object Explorer consists of hierarchical tree structure user interface displaying child object types.
The Right pane is called the object list editor window. This lists all the object definitions like Tables, Business Components and Applets. On navigating on the hierarchy it would also lists the child object type definitions.
Next we will see where these object definations are stored.

Siebel Repository


Siebel Repository refers to a subset of tables in which Siebel objects definitions and scripts are stored. These tables are Siebel database tables and contain all the configuration information that is shown in Siebel Tools. So Siebel Tools helps as a user interface to look at the object definitions stored in the database. All the object definitions are modified or added using Tools.
Note that, all the initial Siebel repository definitions that you would see in Tools get populated during the installation.


Just to illustrate that these object definitions are stored in the database, we can run a simple query on the Siebel database. (You can run this on Local DB also. See how to connect to Local Database)
Example:
select * from siebel.S_BUSCOMP; -- This lists all the business components that are defined in Tools.
select * from siebel.S_APPLET; -- This lists all the applets that are defined in Tools.
Select * from siebel.S_PROJECT; --Lists all the Projects defined in Tools.
Note that, all the initial Siebel repository definitions that you would see in Tools get populated during the installation.
Multiple repositories can exists in Siebel but only one can be active at a time. In Siebel Tools if you select the object type "Repository" on the object explorer, you could see multiple repositories listed but only one of them will be active.
Tip: If you are not able to see the object type "Repository" in Siebel Tools, then go to View => Options => Object explorer and select the object type "Repository" to show up in Siebel Tools explorer.
Importing and exporting of repositories is done using the Database Configuration Utility. Multiple repositories are created using this Database Configuration Utility while either backing up or importing from other environments. Example: Moving all the repository definitions from Development environment to Testing Environment.
Now that we know where these object definitions are stored, we will next learn where these object definitions are compiled and how it gets used by Siebel Application.

Siebel SRF

Siebel SRF file also known as Siebel Repository File (SRF) is a compressed, read only file that contains compiled version of Siebel repository. So all the object definitions and scripts that are defined in Siebel Tools are compiled into one single file which is will be used by Siebel Application at runtime.
This SRF file is normally found under “[install directory]\Siebel\7.7\web client\OBJECTS\ENU” with the file extension srf.

It is very important that the active Siebel Repository should always be in sync with the SRF otherwise you could see weird problems. So we will have to recompile every time an object definitions is changed in Tools.
To compile, in Siebel Tools go to Tools => Compile. Here you will have the option of selecting individual projects, multiple projects or you could do a full compile by selecting all projects.
There is also an option to choose the SRF you want to compile to by browsing for the SRF as shown the screenshot below.



So select the projects and the SRF file then hit compile.


Siebel Overview

Hopefully the previous topics have given you a little idea about what is Seibel CRM and how it can help a company to be effective.
We also learnt how to install Siebel and what the different entities are that Siebel application talks. Below is the summary. Pictorial representation of Siebel functions.

Configuration File: It is normal text file with a file extension of cfg. It contains all the parameters that Siebel uses during startup. It is a place holder for parameters.
Siebel Client: This is the User Interface of Siebel to which the employee or the customer access. There are different types of clients
Siebel Tools: It is an Interface or development environment used to configure Siebel Application. This is used by Seibel Developers.
Siebel Repository: This is a subset of tables in the Siebel Database which stores all the object definition or configuration details including scripts.
Siebel SRF: Also called as Siebel Repository File (SRF) is a file with extension srf and is the compiled version of Siebel Repository. In short it is a compiled file.
Below is the visual representation of how different components connect.



Next we will see how to get started on developing Siebel application.
Even though we have a local Siebel environment in our own machines, it is very important to sync up with the existing server environment. There are multiple people working on one project or on one Siebel server instance. Each one configures his portion of the project and then checks-in onto the server. So when a person joins a project and before s/he starts to work, we have to adapt to the environment. This process is explained under "Generate Database", "DB Extract" and "Get Process". These are normally a one time process but could be done multiple times if desired. Also note that this process is done on Development Environment.
After we adapt to the environment and before we start to make any changes, we "Check Out" projects to avoid multiple developers working on the same project.

After Check-Out we do the actual configuration. Configuration can be anything small like adding a pick list or big like adding a new screen with complex functionality in it. More information on actual development is explained under Configuration section.
After necessary changes are made, we compile the object definitions into the SRF file and test. If need go back and make changes compile again to test. This process is repeated until the desired result is achieved.
After the changes have been tested and the result is positive we check-in this onto Siebel server. This will now have object definitions both locally and in Siebel server. So now your changes have to be made available for the end users. For this we compile the server object definitions and deploy the SRF.
All the above process is explained in detail in the following tutorials.

Login Setup

Developers work on Siebel Tools to configure Siebel and they are connected to Local Database. Local database contains all the object definitions plus the subset of actual data from the server. To get all this information from the server, we essentially follow a process of extracting all the object definitions from the server and storing into our local database.
Before we connect to the server and be able to extract the database, following steps have to be done. These steps are as per the Siebel Version 7.7.

Create a Database User Account:
This is the first step to the whole process. Request a database account either to the DBA or Siebel Administrator. This is will be the login account. For example: MJONES. This login account should be created and should be added to the group SSE_ROLE. This is a server database account and should be able to login to the database directly using DB tools like TOAD or SQL-Plus.
Setup Developers as Siebel Employees:
Setup each developer to be a Siebel Employee as described in the steps below.
Login to Siebel Server using the login SADMIN/SADMIN or as any other account having access to add Siebel Users. Normally Siebel Administrators have this.
Go to Site-Map -> Administration-User-> Employees
Create a new Record with First Name, Last Name and desired login Id.
Password will be the same as that mentioned while creating the Database User Account above.
Assign a Position and Responsibility to this User. This would normally be Siebel Administrator. But might change depending on the setup. This is very important otherwise the database extract would fail.

Setup Developers as Mobile Clients:
After setting up developers as employees, you must register developers as mobile client. This will provide information for extracting local database for that user. Follow the steps below.
Login as either SADMIN or any other account having access to employee screens.
Go to Site Map -> Administration-Siebel Remote -> Mobile Clients
In the parent server form, choose the appropriate ones. Normally there is only one unless there are multiple implementations of Siebel on the same server.
In the Mobile Clients list, click New and fill up the following details.
Mobile Client Name Example: MJONES (Login Account Name)
User Id. Example: MJONES (Login Account Name)
Routing Model as Mobile Client - Extract Only.
Generate Database

Generate New Database Template commonly known as GenNewDb or GenDb, is process of capturing the physical representation of Siebel Tables and Indexes from the Siebel Server Database. Siebel Remote uses this template to extract the database which is done in the next step. (FYI, Make sure Siebel Remote is selected during Server Installation).
This template is created by running the GenNewDb Server component.

Following is the process of Generating a New Database Template:
From application level menu, go to SiteMap -> Administration-Server -> Jobs
On the top applet, click New to create a new job and enter the following parameters
Under Component/Job Field pick Generate New Database
Under Requested Server, enter server name where the job should run. Siebel Admins would know this or find out by navigating to Sitemap -> Administration-Server Configuration -> Servers
In the bottom applet, enter Job Parameters by clicking New
Under Name field, open pick applet and choose SQL Anywhere Database and click ok.
Under value field it would default to sse_utf8.dbf
There are other optional parameters that could be used. This is not covered here as it is not required. If needed refer BookShelf.
Now on the top applet click Start to submit the Job.
After few minutes refresh and check the status of the Job should change to Success. If so you have successfully created the Database Template.
This process is done every time a new database extract is requested.
Next we will extract the database which has actual data.

Generate Database

This process extracts data from the server database for the requested mobile user and stores temporarily into a compressed file onto the server. This file contains the data and it is downloaded into the local machine as explained in the next step.

Make sure the user has been assigned a position and responsibility as explained under previous steps and follow the below steps to extract data.
Go to SiteMap -> Administration-Server -> Jobs
On the top applet, click New to create a new job and enter the following parameters
Under Component/Job Field pick Database Extract
Under Requested Server, enter server name where the job should run. Siebel Admins would know this or find out by navigating to Sitemap -> Administration-Server Configuration -> Servers
In the bottom applet, enter Job Parameters by clicking New
Under Name field, open pick applet and choose Client Name and click ok.
Under value field enter the name of the Client Name Example: MJONES. Remember that this is normally a login name.
Now on the top applet click Start to submit the Job.
This will take a few minutes and the job status changes to Success.
After successfully running this step, you should now observe that a directory structure gets created normally under $siebsrvr_root\DOCKING\MJONES. Under this you will see folders inbox, outbox and dobjinst.dbf file. The outbox folder contains several other files which is needed for the next step.

Initializing Client

Now you have to download the database file into your local computer. This process is called initializing. For this make sure you have installed Siebel Tools as explained under Installing Siebel.

Follow the steps as mentioned below.
Launch Siebel Tools. Connect to Local.
When the login using the machine name as entered previous steps. Example: MJONES. The following message will appear "The local Siebel database was not found. Would you like to connect to the Siebel Remote server to initialize the local database?" This message appears because Siebel Tools could not find the database file see_data.dbf under "C:\Program Files\Siebel\7.7\Tools\LOCAL" This directory location may change depending upon the settings in your tools.cfg file. The parameter to check is ConnectString under the section [Local]. Note that if there is already sse_data.dbf this message might not show.
Click Yes. Siebel Tools will start downloading and would take a while.
If the initialization was successful you will see the database file see_data.dbf under "C:\Program Files\Siebel\7.7\Tools\LOCAL"
Troubleshooting:
For any reason if Siebel Tools is not able to connect to the server, check your tools.cfg file for the server it is trying to connect under the section [Local]. Parameter to check is the DockConnString and EnterpriseServer.
If the initialization gets stuck or ends abruptly, delete the sse_data.dbf file and redo the steps above.
Now you are almost done in starting your development step but there is one other important step you need to do before starting your work. This step is called the Get Process which is explained next.

Get Process

After all the initialization and login into Tools, the object definition and configuration information that you would see in there is the out of the box configuration which Siebel supplies. But this is won’t be in sync with the object definitions or any changes that have been made previously in the server. So we do a Get Process to sync up with the existing configuration or projects.

Follow these steps for Get Process:
Login into Siebel with connecting it to Local
Go to Tools -> Check Out
Choose the Repository. Normally this will be Siebel Repository.
Click on the radio button for All Projects
Click Get 
All the server definitions will start to copy into your Local Repository. Once completed, your repository will be in sync with the one on the server.
Troubleshooting:
It is very common for people to complain that they are not able to a Get or Check-Out. This would happen only when the server data source parameter is not set correct in Tools. To set this right, in Tools go to View-> Options ->Check In/Out tab. Change the server data source name to the ODBC Data Source which connects to the server. ODBC Data source is defined under Windows Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Data Sources (ODBC). Fix this and this should solve the problem.
Note that Get process is very similar to Check-Out except that the Get Process won’t lock the project on the server. Check out process syncs the object definitions and lock the project on the server, but the Get process only syncs the object definition between your local machine and the server. We will see the Check-Out process in detail in the next step.
Now that your repository in the local machine is current, the complied version of this that is SRF file needs to have this info. So we need to do a full compile. This will ensure that when you making changes later on and testing it, you will test with all updated information. Check the other topic on how to compile.
Next we will look at the topic of making changes.

Siebel CheckOut Process

All Siebel configurations should be done on your Local Environment. It is a very bad practice to make changes directly on the server because you can’t roll back. So making changes directly onto the server may lead to loose current configuration. So we checkout projects to get all the current configuration definition into your local machine and you could further configure as needed. It also helps in locking the projects onto the server so that no other person can make changes while your changes are progress. This way we know which developer is working on what project.

To checkout a project:
In Siebel Tools, choose Tools -> Check Out. A checkout box will appear.
Select single project or multiple projects for which you want to make changes. If the project has already been locked then it would show the name of the person who has checked out or locked and the date.
You might click on options to make sure that your tools are pointing to the right local and server database.
Click Check Out.
Tools will start to checkout and will take a little time to copy information from the server to your local client.
To undo checkout:
After checking out and making modifications on your client machine, you might want to undo all the changes you have done to the project. The only way you can do this is by undoing check out. To undo,
In Siebel Tools go to Tools -> Check In
Select the project you want to undo
Click Undo check out. This will remove the lock on the server without any modifications.
On object explorer select Project
Query for the project to which you want to undo project changes.
Remove the lock on the project by clicking on the locked property.
Note that after you undo check out, your local object definitions is out of sync with the server. So if you want to be in synch again with the server either do a Get on the project or Check out that project again.
After we are done check out, we can start making changes as per requirement. Changes could be any where from creating a pick-list to creating a whole screen. These changes are nothing but configuration which is covered under Siebel Configuration section. Assuming that the changes have been made, these changes need to be compiled and tested which is covered next.

Compile Siebel

After changes are made in Siebel Tools, it is important to test locally before moving those to the server. To test the changes we should compile and check in our local machine.
As already mentioned in the Siebel SRF section, all the object definitions defined in Siebel Tools have to be compiled into one SRF. So to test, compile into the SRF that the Siebel application is referring to and this normally would be "[install directory]\Siebel\7.7\web client\OBJECTS\ENU\siebel.srf"

To compile, in Siebel Tools go to Tools => Compile. Here you will have the option of selecting individual projects or you could do a full compile by selecting all projects.
Below is the snapshot of Siebel Tools.


There is also an option to choose the SRF you want to compile to by browsing for the SRF. When testing locally point the compilation to the SRF the local client application is referring to.

Testing Siebel
Any software development has to be checked for its correctness and accuracy before it finally available for use to the end user. So testing the software also popularly known as QA (Quality Assurance) is very crucial.
There are different methodologies and different stages at which testing is done. Below are some very basic and common testing practices.

Unit Testing:
This testing is the first stage where the developer who changed or configured the application test himself for correctness locally before it is available to the actual designated testing individual. For example a new View is to be created with certain applets associated to certain Business Components. So the developer finishes the job of creating a view and other required stuff and then compiles locally and checks if the view developed is actually the one desired. If the results are not what is expected, the developer makes again necessary changes, compiles and then test again. Only after this stage is complete we check in onto the server which is the next stage of development.
Testing on Dev Server:
After Unit Testing, all the changes are checked in onto the development server and the server is compiled. After compiling the server, we test the changes on the server through Thin Client. The results of this are compared to the requirements and are approved in development environment. If the results don’t match the requirement, the developer goes back again to the local environment and makes necessary changes and repeats the process of testing.
Testing on Staging Server:
Staging server is a temporary stage to test new or revised work before it is made live in production. This server is very similar to the production server. So any thing seen here will be reflected later onto production server later after approved over here. There are certain individuals assigned to do testing on this server. These individuals called as testers or QA personnel’s check closely any new or revised work and match up with the requirements. They also look for any conflicts or potential problems called defects. These defects are logged using soft wares like “Mercury Test Director” and are assigned to developers and will have test cases and description to replicate the defect. Then the developer makes again necessary changes and follows the whole process again. Once the changes or any other work is approved in staging server, this is moved onto the production server where the end users see it.
Testing on Production Server:
This server is where the actual end users connect to. This server will have all the production data. In spite of thorough testing on the staging server, it is quite possible that there could be some defects on the production server. The QA personnel do some final testing on the production server and if everything seems to look fine, then it is approved in production and will be called as successfully deployed.
Please note that the above description is only a basic level of testing just for our understanding, but most often testing process is very rigorous and complicated. This process differs from company to company.

Check In Process

After making changes, compiling and testing to make sure the changes meets the desired output, we would like to make the changes be available to all the other users as well. So the first step is to check-in your changes, which is explained here.
All the changes are in your local machine database and still not in the server. To have this available on the server database we check-in using Siebel Tools.

Follow these steps to check-in:
Launch Siebel Tools connecting it to the Local
go to Tools -> Check In
A check in box will appear as shown in the screenshot below.

This box will show all the projects that is been checked out or locked locally
You could either choose one, multiple or all projects to check-in
If you observe there are multiple button on the box that you could select.
It is highly recommended to select the project and click the Diff button. Under Diff it would list all the changes that you have made locally and not yet available on the server. This step is called Project Diff. This process could take a little while. If you notice in the screenshot below, the objects defined locally are compared with the server. In this Compare Object box, uncheck the Show All objects. This will show only the differences. If you observe in the screen shot, the difference is the value of Drill-Down object.


Once you confirm that the changes you have made is what you intended and have not done anything non-desired, you are ready to Check-In
So choose the projects to check-in and click on Check-In. After a little time changes would be updated onto the server and the lock will be removed from both the local machine and on the server.
Now that the changes are now available on the server, that project is now available for other developers to check-out and start making their changes or compile can compile the server.

Compiling Server
After checking-in all the changes on the server we have to compile the changes into the SRF. There are two places where we can do this. We could do this on the server itself or we could do it locally by connecting to the server. We will discuss here on how to compile in our local machine by connecting to the server.

Follow the step below for compiling:
Stop Siebel Services
Copy the srf file from the server on to the local machine
Login into Siebel tools by connecting to the Server as shown in the screen shot below.


The server connectivity information is stored in the config file. Check the config file if you have any problems connecting to the server.
After logging in, under menu choose Tools -> Compile. Choose the projects you would like to compile.
Under Siebel repository file, browse for the srf file you copied in the previous step and hit compile
Back up the srf file on the server (Just for possible rollback)
Replace the srf file on the server with the new srf file that was just compiled
Start Siebel services.
After the above steps all the changes should be now available on the server. Logon to the thin client and test.