Mile Markers On The Upgrade Path To R12

Even though my groovy "classic" iPhone has a great Google maps app, I have to admit that I still think in very old-school terms when I take a roadtrip...especially in the U.S. My father worked for the U.S. Geological Survey most of his working life, in the cartography division. As a result, I learned to read a map during my early elementary school years (my "final exam" including mapping out a route for a car trip from Minneapolis to South-Central Missouri when I was 8 years old - we actually took the trip based on my directions and arrived at the destination with time to spare). Whenever I travel by car, I still determine where I am by matching up reference points to the map: intersections, unique features, and especially highway mile markers.

As many Oracle E-Business customers are now seriously considering an upgrade to R12, I'm often asked about good references and resources available for planning an R12 upgrade. I have what I believe are a good set of mile markers for the trip to R12. I've been meaning to post something on the subject for some time now, and Steven Chan's recent post on a new best practices whitepaper for adopting R12 reignited this subject in my brain.

My list of basic reference materials and resources for an upgrade to R12 comes mostly from blog posts and discussion with Steven, John Stouffer, Brian Bent and many others. I've just consumed and consolidated some of the info developed by others. With that caveat, here are the references and resources I've found most valuable in planning upgrades from 11i to R12 (including where to find those references and resources for yourself):

• Best Practices for Adopting E-Business Suite Release 12 - Orace MetaLink Note 580299.1

• Oracle Applications Upgrade Guide: Release 11i to Release 12 - here

• Oracle E-Business Suite Upgrade Resources Roadmap - Metalink Note 461705.1

• Oracle Maintenance Wizard, which analyzes your 11i environment and produces a tailored 11i to R12 upgrade plan complete with detailed patching recommendations - Metalink Note 215527.1

• Security Best Practices for R12 - Metalink Note 403537.1

In the cases where information is contained in a MetaLink note, be aware that Oracle considers these notes to be "living documents" - you'll want to check them for changes on a regular basis.

So, that's my best shot on the subject. What about those of you who have recently upgrade or are building plans to do so? What reference docs and resources do you recommend?

ADDENDUM [6/16/08] : In my original post, I failed to point out that Steven Chan has also blogged on this subject. His post includes my mile markers plus a few extras. You can read Steven's thoughts on the matter here.