Zero Faith in Zero Defects

EWeek ran an interesting story today on Oracle's Fusion Applications. You can read the article here. Among other things, the story broke the news that Oracle has instituted a zero-defect policy for the first release of the Fusion Applications. I personally got a bit of a chuckle over the zero-defect policy. Based on experience, I have zero faith in zero defects - especially for an initial release.

Zero defects is a very worthwhile and commendable goal, but one practically impossible to obtain. The nearer a project comes to delivery, the more pressure is applied to compromise on the zero defects goal. As any project manager worth his or her salt will tell you, the key issue in project management is balancing the classic triple constraint: cost, schedule and quality. Choosing an absolute standard for any one of these constraints will increase the value of the other two. In the case of zero defects, costs increase and the schedule grows longer.

Now couple a zero-defect policy with the promise that the Fusion Applications will be released in 2008. We now have some absolute boundaries on not one, but two constraints: zero defects delivered by the end of 2008. Assuming that the quality and schedule constraints can both be obtained (and I'm only conceding this point for the moment), that leaves us "wiggle room" with only one constraint - cost. Simply put, hitting both the schedule and quality goal will likely cost some pretty big piles of cash. Hmmm, saving cash versus software quality...which concern do you think will take priority?

What usually happens is that, as the project comes close to the budgeted cost ceiling and the delivery day draws near, the decision is typically made to compromise on the zero-defects goal rather than exceed the budget and deliver late (for additional references on this trade-off, recall the early versions of the 11i E-Business Suite). I anticipate that the same trade-off will be made here, probably sometime in early 2008.

A zero-defects policy is a wonderful goal early in any development project. And I'll tip my hat to anyone delivering a perfect initial release within budget and on schedule. However, experience indicates that software quality usually loses out to cost and schedule. Do I expect the first release of Fusion Applications to be of higher quality than the early releases of the 11i E-Business Suite? Reading John Wookey's words from that E-Week article, he sounds pretty serious about quality, so I'd say "yes". However, any customer expecting zero defects should prepare for disappointment.

PSST - Want An Early Peek At Release 12?

Oracle and the Oracle Applications User Group ("OAUG") have collaborated to provide a very limited number of E-Business customers an early peek at Release 12. You can read about how take advantage of this opportunity by reading the OAUG announcement, which is posted on "The Feature" blog here.

Oracle Customer Feedback Community

Oracle's Global Customer Programs group has launched the Oracle Customer Feedback Community (OCFC). Under this initiative, Oracle customers will be able to provide feedback to Oracle through web surveys, telephone interviews, and in-person focus groups. You can sign up to become a member of the OCFC here.

The Importance of Being 12

With apologies to Oscar Wilde for the title of this post, may I take a moment to consider the importance of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12? R12 is due for release in the last quarter of 2006. As more information becomes available, each Oracle customer will have to decide for themselves whether or not a move to R12 has value for them. Some of us may opt to stick with what we have until the Fusion Applications picture becomes clear. Some will see value in R12 and make the leap in relatively short order. Others may move to another product line (or apps vendor) altogether. Irregardless of our individual choices, R12 is important to everyone in the applications market space (including those who are not Oracle customers) because it's an important step in the progress to achieving Oracle’s ambitious vision for Fusion Applications.

Please don’t misconstrue my meaning: R12 has importance, at least for Oracle E-Business customers, for reasons other than Fusion. R12 has 12 new application modules and over 2,300 new features, including the SWAN user interface, sub ledger accounting, new HRMS localizations, improved support for APAC manufacturing practices, Retek integration, and several new industry-specific business flows. Discounting R12 without seriously considering whether it holds significant value for your organization would be foolish, and I don’t mean to do so here. But my contention is that Release 12 represents a significant proof-point in the Fusion Applications evolution, and that the importance to Fusion is R12's most essential feature.

R12 will be the first complete E-Business Suite release on Fusion middleware. This is the next step in a series of iterations toward Fusion applications technology that started with the Early Adopter Program for integration of 11i with the 9i Applications Server. While R12 is definitely not a Fusion Applications release, delivery of a high-quality E-Business Suite release on Fusion middleware will constitute a major milestone on the road to Fusion Applications.

E-Business Suite customers are about to find out just how well and reliably Fusion technology works with our apps environment, and the entire applications space is about to discover just how much progress Oracle has made in integrating all the moving pieces of this giant and complex technical puzzle. In other words, the rubber is about to meet the road...it should be an interesting drive!

Impressed by a Unitask Demo

I sit through quite a few product demos and I'm pretty disappointed most of the time. In fact, I've really become pretty cynical about the whole demo concept. It's a rare occurrence when I'm impressed by demo. So the fact that I recently had my socks knocked off by a Unitask demo is no small admission.

Unitask is a company that makes bolt-on utility applications for the Oracle E-Business Suite. Their core mission is improving the E-Business ownership experience. The utilities, which can be used either as an integrated tool suite or as individual products, are simple but elegant solutions. In a nutshell, their aim is to make the E-Business Suite better.

Most of the utilities are based on common sense. Although I would never have developed similar solutions on my own, I found myself wondering more than once during the demo why a particular utility was not part of the original E-Business suite. For example, their Communication Manager's capability to IM through the E-Business Suite user interface (no more taking down a development server for maintenance and hoping that everyone reads their email in time) made me wonder why this feature wasn't original E-Business Suite functionality.

Rather than appear to be a shill for Unitask, I'm not going to walk through all their applications in this post, (for those who are already wondering, I have no stake in the company nor do I receive any consideration whatsoever for mentioning Unitask). I simply believe that when anyone discovers good products with value, the news should be shared. I saw their stuff, I was impressed, and now I'm sharing. You can learn more about Unitask here.

Venting on SOA 2.0

I'm admittedly a big Oracle fan. I believe in the software. I also like the company's willingness to take risks. I'm a major envangelist for Oracle within my own organization and elsewhere when the opportunity presents itself. Nevertheless, I've ridden with a burr under my saddle for several months...a burr that Oracle put there. With apologies to my many friends within Oracle and elsewhere in the Oracle universe who may disagree with my opinion, it's time to vent.

In May, Oracle introduced the concept of SOA 2.0 at JavaOne. They've continued to push this concept since that time. As I understand it, Oracle's flavor of SOA 2.0 is the combination of their Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) Suite combined with an SOA suite of tools (preferably Oracle's). You can learn more about the features of Oracle's EDA Suite here, so I won't rehash the highlights in this post. Suffice it to say that SOA 2.0 = EDA + SOA.

Now for my ranting. Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, and Office 2.0 are all the rage. And, at least from my perspective, all those "2.0" versions represent change in the overall concept of each. But now it seems the marketing folks have concluded that any concept hung with a "2.0" will generate significant buzz. The "2.0" suffix seems to have developed some serious marketing mojo. But the "2.0" concept is really stretched with SOA 2.0. What changed from plain, old SOA? Nothing that I can see, other than we added on some EDA tools on top and tagged SOA with a "2.0". It's analogous to adding a set of socks to a pair of shoes and selling the package as "Shoes 2.0"...and if WalMart steals this idea, I want royalties!

So, why am I upset about SOA 2.0? First, because the term adds confusion to the marketplace. Enterprises around the world are struggling to implement and master SOA as it is. In fact, if we're going assign version numbers, most are still struggling with "SOA 0.5" or less. Pushing SOA 2.0 at this time is like telling me that I really need to be on the summit of K2 when I'm still struggling to get halfway up Pike's Peak. Second, Oracle's flavor of SOA 2.0 essentially combines EDA and SOA technology...not much real innovation happening to benefit my enterprise, as I can buy both tools sets and integrate them without all the SOA 2.0 smoke and mirrors. In business terms (better, faster, lower cost - those types of tangible benefits), what benefit does SOA 2.0 provide over plain, old SOA? The business-oriented value proposition is not clear (at least, not to me). If there's no measurable business benefit, why bother with it?

Now, I know that Oracle is not the only organization jumping onto the SOA 2.0 bandwagon. Nevertheless, I have higher expectations of Oracle and I'm disappointed with that they're "stirring the pot" with the fuss they're making over SOA 2.0.

It could be that I just don't understand Oracle's version of SOA 2.0, and so my post here only demonstrates my lack of understanding. If that's the case, somebody please set me straight by commenting on this article. On the other hand, if you find yourself on my side of the fence, there is an on-line petition protesting the confusion surrounding the term "SOA 2.0" here. You may want to consider signing the petition yourself.

Oracle’s Seismic Shift

Have you felt the world of Enterprise Applications shifting beneath your feet? Are you feeling tremors in ERP-land? Feeling any figurative rumbling and swaying in the middleware market? It’s all due to Oracle’s seismic shift.

Over the past several months, Oracle has grappled with changing from a technology provider to an applications provider. The marketplaces are different, the selling techniques are different, and the customers are different. Dealing with these differences has driven a seismic shift as Oracle reinvents itself.

Oracle’s sales approach is at the heart of the company. The drive to become the top applications provider has compelled Oracle to change that approach. Rather than selling technology to CIOs and technical managers, Oracle is now selling process control as a business tool to CEOs and business managers.

If Oracle is shifting from a technology-oriented sales approach to a process control and business sales message, why all the uproar over Fusion middleware? Because the key to process control is a service-based middleware platform to serve as a foundation for integrating “best of breed” applications with an ERP “backbone”. This is essentially the SOA value proposition put forth by many of the major Enterprise Applications vendors, including Oracle and SAP. So to win in the applications marketplace, Oracle must win in the middleware marketplace – or at least in the apps middleware marketplace.

Is this seismic shift important to Oracle customers? Does anyone really care if Oracle changes their sales approach? The answer to both questions is a resounding “absolutely!” This change presents Oracle customers with the best opportunity on record for resolving “…the issues that cause you to lose sleep at night.” Because Oracle is still in the midst of this seismic shift, they are making significant efforts to match their products and sales approach to customer business needs. I’ve written before on the opportunities to get involved with the direction of Fusion applications, so I won’t repeat myself here. Suffice it to say that Oracle considers their ability to find and incorporate customer feedback on business process needs to be critical to the success of their seismic shift. In other words, Oracle wants their custmers to tell the company what business problems to solve. Just so you don't miss the upshot here, let me say it one more way: Oracle hopes to talk to you soon!