tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311474662024-03-13T03:38:43.990-07:00ORCLvilleWatching the current trends and future direction of Oracle's Applicationsfteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.comBlogger464125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-29581398389493537912020-04-16T13:21:00.000-07:002020-04-16T13:21:11.653-07:00Tech and Social Isolation <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're living through some uncertain times these days. I keep trying to draw historical parallels in the hope of finding some pearls of wisdom for dealing with COVID-19...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a very young boy, I can remember stories from my grandparents about living through the Spanish Flu epidemic from 1918 to 1920. And I can’t help but draw parallels with today’s COVID-19 pandemic, especially the social isolation required to combat the spread of both viruses. But I also contemplate the one huge difference: today’s ability to use technology to keep work going, help others and to keep in contact with those we care about. Some examples:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even with three-quarters of the world’s population under shelter-at-home directives, we’re still able to deliver Office Hours for Responsive UX to audiences averaging roughly 200 attendees. Even better, many Oracle customers are making the switch while their entire workforce is working remotely.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My wife is building and donating effective respiratory masks. After researching the material 3M uses to make their N95 masks, Marlene developed a mask pattern for full facial respiratory masks. She cuts the masks (made entirely out of the N95 filter material) on her Silhouette Cameo 4 (a programmable material cutter) in bulk and then sews on the elastic straps. She has provided masks to family, friends, health-care providers, law enforcement and local hospitals. And she has also provided kits with cut material, elastic bands, and instructions for those who can sew. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A close friend's family celebrates Easter, typically by gathering for an Easter feast. This year, they all cooked at home and gathered via Google Duo for a virtual family feast. A gathering made possible by technology.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m not sure how those folks back in 1918 survived the separation with their sanity, but I am certainly grateful for the blessings technology brings in the face of today’s social distancing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tell us how you're using tech to keep things going while sheltering in place. The comments await!</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-70434956585332558872020-02-17T15:47:00.000-08:002020-02-17T15:56:57.897-08:00When Less Is BestLate in 2019, Apple obsoleted my trusty iPad Mini II. No more OS updates, may not run the latest apps, etc. So I figured it was time for a new iPad... right up until the time I saw the prices. Yikes!!!<br />
<br />
The expense of a new iPad, even a Mini, made me step back and reconsider my approach. I started by considering my uses of the iPad. I don't really create much with an iPad - it's just too limited for the type of work I do. And I don't communicate much with it, as I have an iPhone for calls, txt, and video chats. I use my iPad to consume: books, movies, social media and news.<br />
<br />
Once I understood my own use cases for the iPad, I realized I could fill my needs with a much less expensive device. I settled on an Amazon Fire HD 8 (thanks to my kids for the nifty Christmas present). And it works great for what I do, especially after <a href="https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/get-google-play-on-fire-tablet" target="_blank">setting it up to side load from Google Play</a>. My old Mini has been retired to a life as a digital photo frame and I'm really happy with the Fire. Is the Fire as elegant of an experience as the Mini? Not by a long shot. But it gets the job done quite well. And, at last check, the Fire is about 20% of the price of a new iPad Mini. A great example of less being best.<br />
<br />
I see this quite a bit in the way users work with enterprise applications - in my specific case, observations are from helping customers with Oracle HCM Cloud Enterprise Applications. Users expend significant costs in terms of time and labor facilitating some very complicated use cases, many of which are either unnecessary or rarely encountered. When we collaborate with those customers on those use cases, the end result is often that less is best. Often they're focused on a specific use case because they have not considered another process for getting the job done. Other times it's a matter of the use case not being as critical to the business as originally thought. And sometimes it's due to a legal or industry requirement that no longer exists. And there are many more causes. But it always makes my day when the lightbulb comes on and people realize they can make do quite well with much less than they originally thought.<br />
<br />
I've seen this surface frequently in working with customers on the mobile-enabled Responsive UX. Simplification was a driving design concept in building out Responsive UX, which means some less used and less important features were culled from the product. Less is best, based on the feedback we've received from customers who have adopted the new UX.<br />
<br />
So the upshot here? Step back, take a breath, and think about how you use your enterprise apps. Can you find instances where less would be best? I'll bet you find more than one.fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-76887050553336009712020-01-25T10:31:00.000-08:002020-01-25T10:31:26.161-08:00Blowing Out BarriersI was chatting with a new friend last weekend. Turns out we're both in the enterprise apps business: I work for Oracle on HCM Cloud apps while he works at a small start-up building and selling a warehouse management system.<br />
<br />
While we were chatting about the biz, we got into SaaS and Cloud. My friend made a statement I really want to share: "Cloud blew out all our barriers to entering this marketplace; we wouldn't be in business without Cloud." When I pressed him on this, he made the following points:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Our entire development platform is cloud-based; no on-prem servers whatsoever</li>
<li>We track our bugs and manage our development cycles with <a href="https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira" target="_blank">JIRA</a></li>
<li>All our accounting, HR, and sales apps are SaaS with providers focused on SMB customers</li>
<li>We don't even have internal email - we have a Slack channel</li>
<li>Our product is SaaS-based and runs on two IaaS partner platforms. Our SMB customers would not be able to afford the infrastructure required to run on prem.</li>
<li>Most of our user documentation is visual and chart-based. Our off-shore team uses <a href="https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/" target="_blank">LucidChart</a> to build that stuff. </li>
</ul>
After hearing all this, I expressed that my mental image of his company was a small group of people in a local office sitting around a conference table with laptops and cell phones. He corrected me: 5 people in North America, developers in Vietnam and documentation team in India - no brick and mortar offices anywhere.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I walked away from the conversation thinking: "Isn't this cool? These guys have leveraged the cloud to build a product startup about to break into 9-digit revenue (in U.S. dollars) with zero infrastructure. These guys get it."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This has always been the promise of the Cloud: do business without large capital investments. It was just neat to experience yet another example of this promise fulfilled IRL.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tell me again why you're running on-prem enterprise apps?</div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-15410991535420302072019-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:002019-12-23T12:46:16.341-08:00I See Systems<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Working in enterprise software has changed my perspective on the world around me... I see everything through more of a systemic lens.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My wife recently had knee replacement surgery. World-renown surgeon performing the surgery. But being done at his 2nd choice of hospitals due to limitations of our health insurance policy. Good hospital, but not his hospital of choice. Like everything else involving health care in the U.S., it's a money thing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The surgery was originally scheduled for Friday, December 13th but postponed until Monday, December 16th. On the 16th, we were requested to arrive at the hospital at 11 am for a planned surgery of 1 pm. But the surgery did not begin until 6 pm. At this point, I'm thinking that these guys have no idea about linear programming and managing their supply chain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While my wife was in surgery, I was directed to a "Surgery Waiting Room". The room allegedly had an attendant and a television screen for monitoring patient status during surgery. When I entered the waiting room, I immediately noticed the attendant's desk was unoccupied. Seems that the attendant's shift ends at 5 pm - those waiting on surgeries beyond 5 pm are asked to answer the phones on a volunteer basis. The idea being that surgical staff will call the waiting room to update family and friends when surgery is completed, and to alert those waiting that the surgeon is on the way up with a more detailed debrief. So, being the volunteering type, I sit at the attendant's desk and start answering the phone. After about three incoming calls, I notice a trend - no friends or family in the room to receive the updates. And I'm also noticing surgeons coming into the room looking for friends and family who are not there. I put the phone to use and make a few inquiries within the hospital - and discover that there are three surgery waiting rooms in this tower alone (the hospital in question has seven towers). Neither the surgical staff nor the surgeons have any idea which waiting room contains friends and family for any particular patient, as they have no waiting room check-in function. So they're literally hunting for the pea under any one of three shells as they go from waiting room to waiting room searching for friends and family of a particular patient. Low-key chaos.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another observation from the surgical waiting room: the status screen showing patient status is listed by case number rather than patient name. I did not have a case number for my wife's surgery. And a quick survey of the folks in the waiting room indicated that none of them had a case number either. So the status screen was useless to those of us waiting on surgical outcomes. During the next few incoming calls from surgical staff, I asked for case numbers. But the surgical staff had no idea of the case numbers either. What in the world?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, the surgery went well, the outcome was positive, and Marlene is now home working through the long recovery process.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After rolling the surgical experience over in my head, I decided to view this experience as a systemic failure for this particular hospital. Lots of good people with lots of energy all trying to do the right thing, but nobody has tied it all together. So how might I suggest improving things from a system point of view?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I'd establish personas: the patient, the family member/friend of the patient, the surgical staff member, the attendant, the pre-op nurse, the surgeon, and so on. Then I'd walk through the entire process, from the time a patient walks in the door until they leave post-op recovery. And I'd do it for each persona. Essentially build a systemic "As Is" flow. Then design how we want things to work, review the changes with the people doing the work, then implement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sounds a bit like an enterprise applications implementation project, doesn't it? Well, enterprise applications are all about implementing systems. Like I said, working in enterprise software has changed my perspective of the world around me...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How about you? Ever have a similar experience? Healthcare? The DMV? Retail returns? Sound off in the comments about your experience and how you'd approach a fix.</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-81854108112658808622019-09-30T16:30:00.001-07:002019-09-30T16:30:35.740-07:00Changing Up On BYOT<i><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">So if you're tired of the same old story, </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Oh, turn some pages</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I will be here when you are ready</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">To roll with the changes, yeah, yeah</span></i><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i> - </i>From REO Speedwagon's "Roll With The Changes"</span><br />
<br />
It's a bit of a milestone for my employment with Oracle today. For the past 7 or so years, I've been a "Bring Your Own Toolbox" (aka "BYOT") kind of guy: my own laptop, my preferred software applications, my library of virtual machines, my setup of development tools, etc. That's mainly because I could get better results faster with my own toolbox than with the tools my employer provided. An example of this is the Toshiba Tecra laptop running Windows 7 that I was issued at the start of my current employment. It's made for a fine doorstop, but not much else.<br />
<br />
My approach changed today. I have a spiffy, brand-new MacBook Pro provisioned and configured by Oracle. In fact, I'm writing this post on that very machine. <br />
<br />
When Oracle offered the MacBook Pro, I decided to give it a try because it's a superior hardware platform to my MacBook Air. Better hardware performance was the enticement. I was even willing to put up with the inconvenience of accommodating the USB-C ports (4 of those and a headphone jack are all you get on the 2019 MacBook Pro).<br />
<br />
On the downside, I no longer entirely control the configuration of my work platform. For one thing, I'm not a big fan of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj1uNbx2PnkAhXAFzQIHVzaDi4QFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcafee.com%2Fenterprise%2Fen-us%2Fproducts%2Fendpoint-security.html&usg=AOvVaw0coGUNA0RBK_I-XUGW1yF4" target="_blank">McAfee Endpoint Security</a> for macOS due to the performance suck. And I can't run <a href="https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html" target="_blank">Little Snitch</a> on the Pro to see what services and connects are active. So I'm a little concerned about the impact to my productivity. And that's why I still have my own work platform running in my office right next to the new MacBook Pro ;)<br />
<br />
As I've said in the past, I really believe in the BYOT approach. So this will be an interesting test as to whether or not that approach makes sense in this situation, especially in an "all cloud all the time" world. I'll check in here every once in awhile to let y'all know how it's going.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, how do you approach this? Do you bring your own tools and devices to your job? Or do you make do with what your employer gives you? Why have you made the choice you've made? Share your thoughts in the comments.fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-32311352273979363122019-09-11T14:07:00.001-07:002019-09-11T14:17:29.114-07:00What Looks Good To Me: Oracle OpenWorld 2019<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I write this, we're a week away from <a href="https://www.oracle.com/openworld/" target="_blank">Oracle OpenWorld 2019</a>. And, as always at OOW, there are a flood of sessions, events and gatherings that compete for your attention. So I thought I'd share some thoughts on what looks good to me. Keep in mind that my current focus is Oracle HCM Cloud Applications, so I'll be limiting my shared thoughts to that subject area.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Needless to say, the executive keynotes and the HCM Cloud Roadmap sessions are high points. For the most part, I won't be calling those out here even though I personally plan to make as many as I can.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For starters, note that I'll be hosting or co-hosting several sessions myself:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dhACuxINOc8/XXldK8g_kjI/AAAAAAAAB3E/tiW90-_Zo9g80uc-3-hkWnOoMSo2VeFkwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/What_Looks_Good_To_Me.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dhACuxINOc8/XXldK8g_kjI/AAAAAAAAB3E/tiW90-_Zo9g80uc-3-hkWnOoMSo2VeFkwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/What_Looks_Good_To_Me.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll note that the first two sessions have the same title. Here's a pro tip for OOW 19: look at the first three letters in the Session Number. TRN indicates a presentation, while CLS means more of a round-table discussion gathering. You'll see I'm mostly doing round-table discussions. And I'm pretty happy about that, as I prefer conversations over more structured presentations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the remaining list, I limited myself to the top 15 sessions that look good to me. Your interests may be different. And it's also worth stating explicitly that, while I'm an Oracle employee, my opinions and selections are strictly my own:</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7w5ofmvVZmY/XXlfHrI-qKI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/tqnd-mX5bUIXoon8tPQ-BPsLPwyQ1FhWgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/What_Looks_Good_To_Me.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0vTkVQwEkg/XXlh5n5q3yI/AAAAAAAAB3c/pRHX8izKaasCzJS88LXWQLhSJS8ICEHjgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/What_Looks_Good_To_Me.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0vTkVQwEkg/XXlh5n5q3yI/AAAAAAAAB3c/pRHX8izKaasCzJS88LXWQLhSJS8ICEHjgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/What_Looks_Good_To_Me.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So that's my take on the 15 most interesting looking HCM Cloud Applications sessions at OOW 19.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One more thing: I'm hoping to meeting with lots of customers one-on-one. Especially those customers interested in <b>Oracle HCM Cloud's <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oraclehcm/long-live-responsive-user-experience-ux" target="_blank">mobile responsive Newsfeed UX</a></b> or <b>automated functional regression testing</b>. If you're attending OOW 19 and you would like to meeting, ping me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/fteter" target="_blank">@fteter</a> and we can set up a meet. Hope to see you there!</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-6167427727307106872019-08-06T12:50:00.000-07:002019-08-06T12:50:48.253-07:00New Admin Pages<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you all know, I've been deep into the new mobile responsive Newsfeed UX for Oracle HCM Cloud since last year. And, like most everything else in a continuous service delivery model, new features and functionality have been rolling out incremental with each new update. And the latest update, 19C, continues that trend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the big changes in 19C is the uplift of administrative pages (aka professional landing pages) to the Newsfeed UX look and feel. It's coming to all users, regardless of whether you're still using the classic Simplified User Interface or the new mobile responsive Newsfeed UX. For customers still on the classic UI, this provides an opportunity to dip your toes in the water with Newsfeed UX without any configuration effort. For those customers already on Newsfeed UX, this makes the look and feel of the administrative pages consistent with all the other pages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a before and after screen shot example so you can get a feel for what I'm talking about:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR6rFSadWU0/XUnX9wZAtsI/AAAAAAAAB10/pinBmHTnpaw8Ql0-dxPy4h2KyTEdiCaiQCLcBGAs/s1600/Classic_UI_Amin_screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="635" height="396" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR6rFSadWU0/XUnX9wZAtsI/AAAAAAAAB10/pinBmHTnpaw8Ql0-dxPy4h2KyTEdiCaiQCLcBGAs/s640/Classic_UI_Amin_screen.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rWzR9-cqZjY/XUnYGXMhx5I/AAAAAAAAB14/S9kr7oWX57EGnucsFmfl8FkDgMaKsbS7gCLcBGAs/s1600/NUX_Admin_Screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="523" height="472" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rWzR9-cqZjY/XUnYGXMhx5I/AAAAAAAAB14/S9kr7oWX57EGnucsFmfl8FkDgMaKsbS7gCLcBGAs/s640/NUX_Admin_Screen.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally, I've found that the Search feature at the top of the page in the new layout is really handy. I don't need to scroll or try other navigation - just search for what I need. Nice cool factor for ease of use.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brings me to a really important point: if you are an Oracle HCM Cloud customer who has not switched to mobile responsive Newsfeed UX, I have to ask why not? It is Oracle's strategic direction going forward - we're releasing more and more new functionality that ties into Newsfeed UX. So the longer you wait, the further behind you fall on benefiting from that new functionality. Is that really where you want to be, burping and chirping behind the curve while the rest of your industry grabs the gains of those new features? Just a thought... you can always sound off with your own perspective in the comments.</span></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-57758342063727374822019-07-15T14:35:00.001-07:002019-07-15T14:36:01.341-07:00The End Is Here<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A little different from our usual fare here...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm a Mac user. Switched from Windows to OS X several years ago and never looked back. As time has passed, Apple has fallen behind on hardware design. There's no question that the Microsoft Surface line surpasses the MacBook line in terms of hardware elegance and utility. But I just can't bring myself to leave a rock solid operating system and run it back to Windows as my main operating system (I run both Windows and Linux VMs for when I absolutely have to do work with either).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm not alone in the Oracle ecosystem with my choice of OS X over Windows. I run into Apple users everyday. Usually they're more technical types, but I have run into a fair number of functional consultants and business end users on OS X. Heck, Oracle now even gives their employees the choice of a company-issued MacBook Pro.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For those of us running OS X (whether it relates to use of Oracle products or not), we face a major shift coming later this year. The end is here for 32-bit apps. When Apple issues the latest version of OS X, Catalina, 32-bit apps will stop working. Catalina will come out in September. Apple sounded the death knell in HighSierra with notices about 32-bit app future incompatibility with "not optimized" warnings:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1wdQX9B4hs/XSzsLiN2m4I/AAAAAAAAB1Q/1tYmFXGh6CASiZBBxN3kMxRWbhYqqyVKACLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot_7_15_19__3_10_PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="414" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1wdQX9B4hs/XSzsLiN2m4I/AAAAAAAAB1Q/1tYmFXGh6CASiZBBxN3kMxRWbhYqqyVKACLcBGAs/s320/Screenshot_7_15_19__3_10_PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So it's not like we didn't know it's coming. But still, like many others, it's arrived faster than I would like. I still rely on some 32-bit apps:<br />
<ul>
<li>Cisco AnyConnect - I use this VPN client every day in my work; I'm actually in VPN a majority of my work day.</li>
<li>Text Wrangler - A wonderful, simple little text editor. Every week, I write a status report to my management using this app.</li>
<li>Skype Meetings - I use this once or twice per week for customer virtual meetings.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I could go on, but the list is pretty extensive. And, again, I'm sure I'm not alone. To make things even stickier, many of these 32-bit apps do not have 64-bit replacements. So I'll have to somewhat change the way I work before up taking Catalina.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For those of you out there running OS X, there are a number of ways you can identify the 32-bit apps you're running. But the easiest is probably a free application called <a href="https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/" target="_blank">Go64 from St. Clair Software</a>. The app scans your hard drive and identifies any 32-bit apps. Pretty handy - after all, the first step in changing behavior is admitting that you have a problem. And 32-bit apps on OS X are now a problem.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I can't even imagine the level of hurt for someone taking automatic updates who will wake up some fine morning early this fall and discover that mission-critical 32-bit apps no longer work because their operating system upgraded overnight (and you KNOW this will happen to someone - just don't let that someone be you). So between now and September, I'll be changing the way I work by moving off all my 32-bit apps. If you're an OS X user, you should be doing the same. For 32-bit apps, the end is here.</div>
</div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-32406393947771030492019-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:002019-06-11T12:59:36.868-07:00The Old Bugaboo<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So after a bit of a hiatus, I've decided it's time to get off my butt and start writing again...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I'm raising an old bugaboo, but I'm adding a new perspective. The bugaboo? Customizing packaged software. It's more expensive than either building your own apps from scratch or buying software off the shelve. But you all already know that because we've previously hashed that out at length here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On to the new perspective. As many of you know, I've been up to my eyeballs in helping customers switch to the mobile responsive <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oraclehcm/long-live-responsive-user-experience-ux" target="_blank">Newsfeed UX</a> for Oracle's HCM Cloud Applications. And we're finding customers love it. The ease of use, the consistency of the user experience between mobile and desktop platforms, the overall look and feel, the short learning curve, the high levels of user acceptance smoothing the change management involved in the switch. Newsfeed UX is a huge hit. But I digress, so let me get back on track. We offer several tools for personalizing, extending and customizing this new user experience. Between the components of the HCM Experience Design Studio and Page Composer, customers can change the UX in pretty much any way their heart desires.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. I'm seeing quite a few customers burn quite a few calories on customizations with relatively minor impact, mostly involving the user interface rather than the user experience. (What's the difference? The user interface is about the look and feel. The user experience is about the way you work. The latter has a much broader and more meaningful impact than the former.) Changing the color of the text in a button. Removing the category title from an event. Substituting a seeded icon for one of their own design. To sum up... making big efforts to change minor details, things that don't impact the ability to conduct critical business processes or provide meaningful business intelligence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Changing minor UI details, in and of itself, is not so bad. I often think the energy expended is over the top in comparison to the return. But if it is important enough to a customer to burn their resources in that way, that is their choice to make. But the thing so few realize when implementing these changes is the cost going forward. That cost comes in testing and maintaining those customizations as part of each and every system configuration change. A new patch is applied? Better test our customizations. Implementing a new interface? Better test our customizations. A new release or update? Better test our customizations. And, by the way, redesign and reapply those customizations as needed. A change in application architecture? We need to redesign and reapply those customizations. Start thinking about the frequency of these and similar cases, then consider the resources involved. You'll get the idea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One more time: just because you can do something doesn't really mean you should do something. Are there times when customizing is the right choice? Of course. If a customization is necessary in order for you to execute a critical business process using packaged apps or services, then that is what you do. Just consider it carefully first. Because the old bugaboo of customization is the gift that just keeps on taking.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-69331961351773855522019-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:002019-04-02T12:06:20.046-07:00Bits And PiecesLots of innovative change afoot in the Oracle HCM Cloud space, so I thought I'd catch y'all up on the more significant bits and pieces.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Enhanced Talent Profiles</u>: Oracle Recruiting Cloud ("ORC") and Oracle Learning Cloud ("OLC")customers must upgrade to Enhanced Talent Profiles as part of their 19A uptake. See My Oracle Support Doc ID 2421964.1 "Upgrading Fusion Profile Management" for more info. This is a really cool upgrade for the ORC and OLC customers - you'll want to jump on this one.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><u>ORC customers</u>: must switch to Newsfeed UX as the first step in upgrading to Enhanced Talent Profiles. This essentially means that ORC requires a switch to Newsfeed UX and an upgrade to Enhanced Talent Profiles as part of the 19A uptake in order for the app to function going forward. Double benefits here: a mobile responsive UI and the Enhanced Talent Profiles!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><u>File Based Loader</u>: File Based Loader ("FBL") will not be supported as of update 19B (which begins to roll out to HCM Cloud customers in May). Last I looked, there were still a small set of customers using FBL. If you're one of those customers, may I suggest that you make the move to the more powerful HCM Data Loader ("HDL") now? </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><u>Newsfeed UX</u>: It seems that Newsfeed UX may become the default with the 20A update, which is due begin rolling out in February 2020. But, in the meantime, we're seeing new and very cool functionality appear that only works in Newsfeed UX - with more on the short term horizon. So the longer you wait to switch, the further behind you'll fall. So the question is not "when will Newsfeed UX become the default", but "how soon can we switch to Newsfeed UX?" I recently had a customer tell me switching to Newsfeed UX "...is the best thing we've ever done for our users!" So what are you waiting for?</li>
</ul>
<div>
We have some additional innovation goodies on the verge of coming out, but I'm not at liberty to discuss those yet (one of the very few downsides to this job). But I can say that sine of those goodies depend on you taking up the changes listed here. So roll up your sleeves and get going - we have lots of cool innovation available and in the pipeline, but it doesn't do you any good until you take it up!</div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-30579758949680575252019-02-10T19:17:00.000-08:002019-02-10T19:18:10.674-08:00Listening To CustomersThe Oracle HCM Cloud team hosted their annual Customer Advisory Board meetings at Oracle HQ last week. I've always enjoyed the CAB meetings because it's the one event where we reverse the flow of information: customers tell us about how they use our products rather than us showing customers how to use those products. I learned a few lessons in listening to our customers last week.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Customers today are more concerned with the pragmatic aspects of AI</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To be honest, I went to the CAB meetings prepared to talk about the innovative projects happening around AI: quantum computing, artificial decision-making, responsive vs structured chatbots. But our customers wanted to talk about the pragmatic aspects of AI, especially robotic process automation. I ended the week feeling that I'd been prepared to talk about running while our customers are still focused on learning to walk.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Innovation is cool, but customers want to know more about optimizing what they have now</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Surprisingly, most of my one-to-one conversations with customers were not about upcoming new features. Instead, the dominant theme was about their hunger to better use the features they already have in hand. "How can I make better use of..." or "How can I meet the challenge of... when I get back to the office on Monday."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Mobile - Finally!</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You've heard the message for years: "If you ain't got mobile, you ain't got nothing." 2019 is the year that our Oracle HCM Cloud customers are moving out on that idea. About 20 percent of the customers attending the CAB meetings had gone mobile with their self-service HCM apps in the prior six months. Everyone else... and I do mean <b>everyone else</b>... is planning to go mobile in 2019. So the party has been a little slow in getting started, but it's really catching fire now. Different approaches to the self-service mobile user experience was a hot topic.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Functional regression testing has become a bottleneck</b></h3>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Now that continuous service delivery is a reality, functional regression testing has become a bottleneck. The classic approach of fully manual, end-to-end functional regression testing simply does not meet the schedule requirements of a continuous service delivery model - just not enough time. Customers had serious energy around regression testing strategies as well as automated testing tools - they're compelled to change and are still figuring out just how to change. Interesting side note - we also heard some overlap here with the interest in robotic process automation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So those were the customer messages I took away from the CAB meetings. I'll wager others heard different things, but this is what I got out of the meetings. So now I've got some new ideas regarding my own work agenda for 2019 - how can I help in some small way to bring direction and clarity by responding to what I heard? Stay tuned for more.</div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-3797892873403193472019-01-15T16:19:00.001-08:002019-01-15T16:19:51.067-08:00Buffing Up The Crystal BallI've had several people ask me lately what I predict in terms of hot tech trends for 2019. I'm not much for predictions - if you want to hear the universe laugh, share your future plan. But, just for fun, I pulled the crystal ball out of the closet, buffed it up and took a look. I also scattered some tea leaves on a table top and read them. And, just to lock things in, I put all my garbage for the week into a plastic trash bag and whirled it over my head in the front yard at midnight while I screamed like a chicken, seeking a vision. None of that stuff worked, although that last thing did provide me with a vision of policemen called out by a neighbor. But I'll still take my chances and throw what I believe are tech trends that will heat up in 2019 in the enterprise software space.<br />
<br />
<b>Artificial Intelligence. </b> We've been seeing some primitive applications of AI cropping up already; chatbots come immediately to mind (a big deal where I work - Oracle - right now). But I think a shift in the way we approach AI will start to have some impact this year. We'll start to see a change from decision trees and algorithms attempting to calculate results in favor of more applications for the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/10/01/what-is-deep-learning-ai-a-simple-guide-with-8-practical-examples/#6b9d004e8d4b" target="_blank">deep learning</a> approach. We certainly have enough data on common use cases to make deep learning feasible.<br />
<br />
<b>Quantum Computing</b>. Another old theme that will take on new life in 2019. To some extent, it goes hand-in-hand with the growth in AI deep learning. It takes improvement in orders of magnitude for both processing capacity and processing speed in order to support that kind of thing. If you haven't already, you'll soon start to hear about qubits: leveraging properties of atoms and nuclei to facilitate them working together as computer processors and memory. Makes traditional silicon components look like a hammer and chisel. This one is not that far off: several tech companies already have projects going with functional quantum computing. One application: remote traditional processors feeding a quantum computer for trend analysis on a huge scale. Takes the idea of Big Data to a whole new level, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
<b>Trust.</b> Wait, how can trust be a tech trend? It's definitely happen already - more and more end users are opting to pick the honest broker, even when the products or services that honest broker provides are priced much higher than the low bidder. A former Oracle employee, Patrick Lencoini (you've probably heard of him as the author of "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756" target="_blank">The Five Disfunctions Of A Team</a>"), wrote a book in 2010 on trust that was years ahead to its time: "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Naked-Business-Shedding-Sabotage/dp/0787976393/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547597447&sr=1-1&keywords=Getting+Naked" target="_blank">Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty</a>". While the fable is really focused on the consulting field, I'm hearing more and more tech service providers using his terms and concepts. Sometimes even word for word. The concept of trust will permeate the enterprise software industry in 2019, ranging from client relationships to the way we build and provide products and services to the way we interview potential hires. I don't have any business relationship with Mr. Lencoini... heck, I don't even know him (but I am a big fan)... but you may want to add his book to your 2019 reading list.<br />
<br />
So there you have it: my picks for hot tech trends in enterprise software in 2019. You may have different ideas, or maybe even a crystal ball that works. Share in the comments. We'll take a look back at the end of 2019 and giggle about our prognostications together!<br />
<br />
<br />fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-36400023795274881382018-12-17T07:49:00.000-08:002018-12-17T07:49:43.041-08:00A Cloud EndorsementAs I write this, it's super early on Monday morning in my part of the world. And this morning, I've already spoken to three different customers suffering major service disruptions in their IT applications - one can't process incoming orders, one can't ship product, and another one can't do either (among other things). The only things still running - their cloud applications.<br />
<br />
This raises a pretty good point for those of you out there plugging along with your on-premise applications - cloud applications provide a level of stability that just can't be matched on-prem. <br />
<br />
If I'm a cloud services provider, reliability is a key component of my business. I'll invest as much as necessary because it's a core part of my business. Most end users have an entirely different business model - IT in most enterprises is a cost center rather than a profit center. So, ideally, the idea is to keep the IT investment to a minimum. And, in each case, you get what you pay for.<br />
<br />
It really comes down to an idea we often hear in the enterprise applications world: put your IT services in the hands of the best IT stack and team available. And the best IT available to most enterprises? From a cloud services provider. fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-46731528835656746662018-12-10T14:58:00.000-08:002018-12-11T07:55:40.764-08:00What, Me Worry?<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>“What, me worry?” – Alfred E. Neuman</i></span><span style="font-size: small; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems like we have some nervousness settling into the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down a few percentage points over the past few months. Facebook, Apple and Google shares (three-fourths of the FANG indicator for the tech market) are all taking a bit of a beating. We’re watching the process of Treasury Yields inverting, indicating concerns about the long-term debt market. Folks are starting to speculate that we’re in the last stages of the current bull market, about to descend into a bear market and a recession. Closer to home, I’m starting to see financial pundits predicting heavy job losses in 2019 as the economy begins to slow down. WE SHOULD ALL BE PANICKING LIKE OUR HEADS ARE ON FIRE!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let’s all take a breath and a step back for a minute. I don’t worry too much about the job market and neither should you if you’re taking the right steps. Sure, there are times when employers are competing for employees and other times when people are competing for scarce jobs. But if you’re in the job market or the gig market at all, you should be taking the same steps regardless of the conditions around you. Stop looking at the various market indicators and direct your energy towards investing in yourself. The concepts are pretty basic:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have the right skills<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Advertise those skills<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Keep your network strong</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have The Right Skills</span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even if you’re gainfully engaged in a job or a gig, checki job listings on a regular basis. So you know what skills are in demand. When you see a few thousand jobs for people with expertise in SteamingPile Architecture, you’ve identified a skill that’s in demand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you’ve identified that skill, go learn it. Maybe your current employer will support you. Or maybe not. Do it anyway, whether it’s free stuff online, a set of classes, or whatever. Yes, this will consume some of your discretionary time. Consider it a worthwhile investment in yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After you’ve learned that skill, go use it. Look for opportunities in your current job or take on a side gig. Either way, there is no better way to really get a skill than by applying it in a real-world situation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Advertise Those Skills</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you’ve learned and applied those skills, advertise your newly-acquired expertise to the world. Update your online profile. Freshen up your resume. Tell your peers what you’ve done. Get the word out that you have a new tool in your toolbox. Do it now – don’t wait until you’re in the hunt for your next job or gig before you start advertising. Waiting on this is like buying new running shoes halfway through the 100 yard dash.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Keep your network strong</span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Continually seek out opportunities to help people whenever you can, whether it’s a new acquaintance or someone you already know. The very best way to build a network is to be sincerely try to help others. Just try to live the Golden Rule and watch your network grow. In all honesty, it took me a long time to figure this one out. But I’m glad I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: helvetica neue, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Admittedly, there is no rocket science here. Only basic fundamental practices, most of which I know you've heard before. But I can tell you that, as I've incorporated acting on these points into my own professional life, they have served me well in good times and bad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So my advice in any market is the same. Keep your skills sharp. Make sure people know you have those skills. Build your network. You won’t have to worry about the economy. And you’ll sleep better at night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:437720624;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1428012216 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
</style>
--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always, comments and feedback are welcome.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-20899514387348476332018-10-22T13:26:00.001-07:002018-10-22T13:27:08.762-07:00Listen To The Music - OOW 2018<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Don't you feeling it growin', day by day</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>People gettin' ready for the new</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Some are happy, some are sad</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Oh, we got to let the music play</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"> - From The Doobie Brothers "Listen To The Music"</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So it's Oracle OpenWorld time again.,, can you hear the music playing? It really kicked off last Thursday, but the event really starts peaking today (Oct. 22nd) through Thursday. Gazillions of people descending on downtown San Francisco to hear the latest about Oracle products and services. It's a massive event, with lots of people and venues scattered through the downtown area. It's tough to take it all in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the Cloud Applications or SaaS segment, you should pay special attention to a few specific themes:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oracle's progress in shifting from a products-focused company to a product-as-a-service company. We've made some notable progress over the past year. Is it enough? Personally, I'm too caught up in the trees to evaluate the forest without bias. So the story will get told and y'all get to make the evaluation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The positive disruption coming from customers moving to SaaS. In all honesty, we've been more than a little surprised here. It's bigger than I personally anticipated. You'll hear some open and frank stories on this front.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've built quite a bit of AI capability into the Cloud Applications. You'll hear quite a bit on how that effort is playing out in the market.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Specific to HCM Cloud Applications, you'll hear quite a few customer experiences around Newsfeed UX (aka Mobile Responsive). We've had a large group of customers uptake this new UX during the 18B update and expect quite a few more to make the move in 18C (which comes out shortly after OOW). From my own perspective, this is one of the coolest innovations to hit the enterprise applications market ever. I'm looking forward to hearing what people think of it after hearing the stories we'll present at OOW.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For those of you attending OOW, or those of you not attending but paying attention, I'd really like to hear your thoughts and impressions about the conference. After listening to the music, find the comments and share what you think.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-61835079325191096012018-08-15T16:34:00.000-07:002018-08-15T16:40:26.845-07:00Ya Gotta Water The Garden<i>With his love</i><br />
<i>And his carin'</i><br />
<i>He puts his life</i><br />
<i>Into beauty sharin'</i><br />
<i>And his children</i><br />
<i>Are his flowers</i><br />
<i>There to give us peace</i><br />
<i>In quiet hours</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I'll do anything I got to do</i><br />
<i>Cut my hair and shine my shoes</i><br />
<i>And keep on singin' the blues</i><br />
<i>If I can stay here in Johnny's garden</i><br />
<br />
- From "Johnny's Garden" by Stephen Stills<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We're getting down into the weeds today...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every gardener knows; once you plant a garden, you need to invest time in energy in maintenance so that your garden will flourish. Weeding, fertilizing, watering, trimming, amending the soil... it takes carefully planned time and effort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's the same concept when you start to extend and customize packaged software. It's not building the extension or customization that represents the big investment. It's the maintenance as new versions and updates of that packaged software roll out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm living this right now. As many of you readers already know, the Oracle HCM Cloud team rolled out the latest update (18B) last weekend to the first wave of customers in their stage pods. And I've been spending most of my energy this week helping many of those customers work through issues that relate to custom security roles. We give users the ability to create custom security roles. And many customers take advantage of this functionality. But what I often find is that maintenance is a substantial stumbling block. This mostly crops up like "I can't count the number of fuzzy navels in my workforce anymore. I could before last weekend, but it's been broken since the update was applied." I ask if it works when using an account with a seeded security role rather than a custom security role. And, more often than not, the answer is "yes". Which takes us back to the idea that those custom security roles need maintenance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Very often, when we roll out updates to Oracle HCM Cloud applications, the updates include new functionality. And part of offering that new functionality is securing it, so that only those authorized to use the functionality and see the data have access. And this often shows up in the form of new security privileges of some type. And, because the architecture is very intertwined, existing functionality is also affected. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we introduce new security privileges, we typically add those new privileges to the seeded roles as appropriate (new Payroll security privileges get applied to the Payroll Manager role... that sort of thing). But what we can't do, because we can't anticipate every custom role every user might create, is match and add these new security privileges to custom roles. So users have to add these new privileges to the custom roles on their own. It's part of maintaining custom roles. Just like maintaining a garden, custom security roles (much like all extensions and customizations) need maintenance in order to continue working effectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maintaining those custom security roles can become important when we role out a bushel basket of new privileges necessary to secure new functionality. And that's definitely the case as we've moved from R12 to R13 in the HCM Cloud. Lots of new stuff, which in turn means lots of new security. So there has been a significant bit of maintenance for custom security roles as we've progressed through 17D, 18A and now 18B. Which means customers need to plan their security maintenance and execute on that plan. Fortunately, Oracle has a guide to help customers plan out and execute that maintenance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most gardeners have some type of reference book they rely on: The Farmer's Almanac, a regional gardening guide, or something similar. And we offer something similar for customers maintaining custom security roles. Oracle Support Document ID 2023523.1, "Upgrading Applications Security in Oracle HCM Cloud" includes an R13 Upgrade Security Guide that walks you through all the new security privileges, what they do, and which seeded role includes each new privilege as part of the update (which give readers a clue on how to apply the new privileges to their custom roles). It even includes a set of appendices showing the reader how to do what needs to be done. Highly recommended reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So today's message: just like maintaining a flourishing garden, so must HCM Cloud customers maintain their extensions and customizations. Security roles are just one example, although a pertinent one because I've been dealing with it all week. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maintenance is easy when you do it consistently. And it keeps the garden in good shape. Read the gardening book and do what it says when it says to do it. Read the Security Upgrade Guide and do what it says when it says to do it. And your garden will flourish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Something to share on this topic? Plant your seeds in the comments.</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-61155072871051919652018-06-04T15:48:00.002-07:002018-06-04T15:48:52.609-07:00Sneak Preview of Newsfeed UX<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've recently have a chance to get deeply involved with a new User Experience ("UX") rolling out in Oracle HCM Cloud 18B, due out later this year. We're rolling out some pretty cool work. I like it for a few reasons:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A fully responsive user interface - one code line that responds that provides the optimal UI for laptop/desktop, tablet and phone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More emphasis on Quick Actions, giving users shortcuts directly to transactional pages rather than compelling them to navigate through an application</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Redesigned self-service pages with full transactions being completed on a single page - no multi-click drill downs, no moving to another page via a hyperlink, no nothing. Combining this with Quick Actions, navigation to a transaction is a single click...period.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, I like this UX so much that I want to share...so let's take a sneak preview at what's coming by sharing some screenshots. When we started this effort within Oracle, the project was called "Mobile First". So it only makes sense to show the mobile screen first:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9F45HhgK9BQ/WxW80b9UmRI/AAAAAAAABuc/PHcY-8H9pQYi56AR5HP2y6fBcoFlTwBigCLcBGAs/s1600/Newfeed_Phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="681" height="374" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9F45HhgK9BQ/WxW80b9UmRI/AAAAAAAABuc/PHcY-8H9pQYi56AR5HP2y6fBcoFlTwBigCLcBGAs/s640/Newfeed_Phone.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And let's go to the desktop/laptop browser rendering next:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5fCHZR_4U0/WxW9fLCsbEI/AAAAAAAABuo/aTJHdLFvmmU-ZSqkvUoz2j_-iZ23K5guwCLcBGAs/s1600/Newsfeed_Desktop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="671" height="392" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5fCHZR_4U0/WxW9fLCsbEI/AAAAAAAABuo/aTJHdLFvmmU-ZSqkvUoz2j_-iZ23K5guwCLcBGAs/s640/Newsfeed_Desktop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let's check out the redesigned Self-Service pages:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7kIGHRUItw/WxW-Mlng-lI/AAAAAAAABuw/bk8Fru9thtAqfXX-TSmoBsR5HeRY1-4mQCLcBGAs/s1600/Newfeed_Contact_Info.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="718" height="478" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7kIGHRUItw/WxW-Mlng-lI/AAAAAAAABuw/bk8Fru9thtAqfXX-TSmoBsR5HeRY1-4mQCLcBGAs/s640/Newfeed_Contact_Info.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note that the upper left shows some notes about the page design, the lower left depicts the rendering on a phone, and the right shows the appearance in a browser on a laptop/desktop.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's a quick taste of the Newsfeed UX coming out in HCM Cloud 18B. Want to learn more? Check out the briefing <a href="http://ilearning.oracle.com/ilearn/en/learner/jsp/player.jsp?rco_id=2128501489&classroom_id=2128501258&scorm_attempt=1528152123895&sessionId=-14252674311528152123896&home_url=http%3A%2F%2Foukc.oracle.com%2Fstatic12%2Fopn%2Flogin%2F%3Ft%3Dcheckusercookies%257Cr%3D-1%257Cc%3D2128501258" target="_blank">here</a>. Or </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hit me up on Twitter (@fteter) and we'll make some arrangements. In fact </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if you're going to the OHUG 2018 conference, we can meet up there for a "live drive" demo. Or you can always get to me by leaving a comment.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-75575551522685794402018-05-31T14:47:00.001-07:002018-05-31T14:47:22.247-07:00OHUG Solutions Central - Come See The Experts<i>Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it<br />Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong</i><br />
- From Mañana by Jimmy Buffet<br />
<br />
Having been in the enterprise software business for longer than I really care to admit, I've witnessed an awful lot of smoke blown up an awful lot of skirts. Lots of people can talk the talk, but it's the rare few that can walk the walk. So when I see an event where people in that latter class are gathering together, I tend to get pretty enthusiastic about it.<br />
<br />
At the <a href="http://ohug.org/ohug2018" target="_blank">Oracle HR User Group ("OHUG") conference</a> this year, Oracle and a select group of partners are getting together in a single location - Solutions Central. Product experts from across Oracle HCM development to answer your questions. Round-table discussion with Oracle experts and other customers. The ever-popular Report Jam - bring your reporting needs and walk out with the report you need. A demo theater focused on specific features and solutions. 1-to-1 discussions with the experts.<br />
<br />
Now you can always drop into Solutions Central while you're attending the OHUG conference. But the smart people, especially those wanting 1-to-1 discussions, will book a reservation ahead of time. You can book yours anytime up to June 10th <a href="https://lnkd.in/grukz7B" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The people in Solutions Central...we've seen the ocean: whitecaps, hurricanes, the doldrums, the whole thing. And we're itching to share what we've learned. <br />
<br />
OHUG 2018. Come join us. And do come into Solutions Central.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-49932432800400097562018-05-02T17:23:00.002-07:002018-05-02T17:24:18.336-07:00About Continuous Service Delivery<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;">I feel like a spinning top for a dreidel</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;">The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> From "Dreidel" by Don McClean</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Continuous Service Delivery aka CSD: it's all the buzz in the Oracle Cloud Application circles these days. It's Oracle's answer to the ever-increasing rate of change we're seeing with our customers. But what exactly is it and what does it mean to you? Let's see if I can answer those questions for you, at least from an Oracle HCM Cloud perspective ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first thing to understand about CSD is that, rather than delivering substantial upgrades with loads of new functionality, we'll be delivering incremental updates with a smaller set of new features. The idea is to get innovation from the drawing board to the customer at a faster rate. For the Oracle HCM Cloud team, that means quarterly incremental updates. No more big bang upgrades to the latest release. Incremental updates instead - much easier for customers to digest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As part of the move to CSD, we're changing our versioning nomenclature. No R14, R15 and so on. Updates will be identified by the last two digits of the calendar year plus a letter indicating the quarter of the year the update is released. So the update for the first quarter of 2019 will be 19A, the second quarter 19, and so on through the four quarters of the year. This change is a better reflection of how we deliver using CSD.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The time span for delivery is pretty simple: your update is delivered to your test instance first, then to your production instance two weeks later. This give customers a two-week window to test and evaluate. Don't panic about the two week window...remember these are smaller, incremental changes. And, if you're panicking anyway, take solace in knowing that standard operating procedure will be that new functionality in an update will not be enabled for existing customers, with the intent of providing a substantial opportunity to uptake new features and functionality before they become defaults. Will we deprecate features and functionality when it makes sense? Yes, we will. Generally speaking, yes. But if you read "<a href="http://orclville.blogspot.com/2017/12/getting-ready.html" target="_blank">Getting Ready</a>" and "<a href="http://orclville.blogspot.com/2018/04/getting-ready-part-ii.html" target="_blank">Getting Ready, Part II</a>", you know that any changes will be well documented and available to research long before the incremental update hits your test environment. If you're a new customer, you have even less to worry about: those new features will usually be enabled in your environments until you Go Live.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As it turns out, CSD will be pretty transformative for customers in the experience of uptaking new features and functionality delivered by Oracle:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Quicker delivery of new innovations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Easier adoption of smaller changes over time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Due to smaller delivered chunks of innovation, readiness docs can include deeper dives into the details</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Will customers still see monthly patches? Of course. Fixes and statutory updates can't wait for quarterly deliveries. But the innovative stuff will be delivered via CSD. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm pretty excited about the introduction of CSD, as I think quick delivery of innovation is one of the best things a software services provider can do for their customers. Questions? Comments? You know what to do.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-36248253894902175622018-04-03T13:44:00.000-07:002018-04-03T13:44:57.535-07:00Getting Ready, Part II<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A recent post here, "<a href="http://orclville.blogspot.com/2017/12/getting-ready.html" target="_blank">Getting Ready</a>", was all about getting ready for the Oracle Cloud Applications upgrade from R12 to R13. Now that the upgrading is underway, I thought it might be a good time to add a bit to the info passed along in that prior post. I'm thinking a basic bullet list is the best way to get this done, so here we go.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Upgrade Readiness Checklist</u>: You can find a pretty nifty upgrade readiness checklist in My Oracle Support Doc ID 2354604.1. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Upgrade White Paper</u>: There is a great white paper on the recommended approach to upgrading <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/fusionhcmcoe/oracle-hcm-cloud3a-release-13-update-planning-opting-into-new-features" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>When Will I Get My Upgrade?</u>: Upgrades are in full swing now. If you don't have an upgrade date yet, work with your Oracle Customer Success Manager to get that scheduled.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>What Is The Opt In Feature?</u>: Oracle is sensitive to change management issues when we roll out new features, so we're expanding the time window for customers to uptake new features with the option to opt in. You can read about how to opt in for new features <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/cloud/r13_update17c/common/OAFSM/OAFSM2600267.htm#OAFSM2600267" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Learn About The New User Experience Features in HCM Cloud</u>: You can get the straight scoop from the man himself (@chrismleone) right <a href="http://ora-fusion-apps.custhelp.com/euf/assets/fusion/videos/replays/244502_CCC_HCM_Newsfeed_UX/video/presentation.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there ya go. Between the two posts, you're getting a bucketload of information on R13. But my little pea brain obviously can't think of everything. So if there is something more you need to know, hit me up in the comments. I'll answer if I can.</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-76511476285249084662018-02-28T09:33:00.001-08:002018-02-28T09:33:24.144-08:00Nobody Does VanillaI have a granddaughter who loves ice cream. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever...whenever she sits down at the dining table, she asks for ice cream. Chocolate, Raspberry, Cookies and Creme, Fudge, Neapolitan, Rocky Road...all flavors are good. Except vanilla. Put vanilla ice cream in front of the kid and she would refuse to eat it. Even to the point of shedding tears over the thought of eating vanilla ice cream. Because nobody does vanilla.<br />
<br />
Ditto for enterprise software. Nobody does vanilla. Oh, you'll constantly hear the declarations at the beginning of an implementation project: "no customizations". I hear that and I consider it to be an edict similar to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/z/zbb.asp" target="_blank">zero-based budgeting</a>. It's really a statement that customizations will require justification. And that justification usually involves preserving an existing business process. Because nobody wants to change their business processes. So they tweak the software to fit. And, because we don't all do business in exactly the same way, that means nobody does vanilla.<br />
<br />
All that being said, there is an easy path to minimizing customizations when implementing enterprise software. Why do you want to minimize customizations? Because maintaining customizations costs money. In fact, it's one of the most expensive things you can do when using enterprise software. <br />
<br />
So let's talk about that easy path. Most implementation project plans include two or three <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_room_pilot" target="_blank">Conference Room Pilots</a> ("CRPs"). So stick with vanilla for the first CRP. No customizations, no extensions, no personalizations. Just configure the software and run the "baked in" business processes. Then take a careful look at the results, considering where it makes sense to change your business process to fit the software as well as where to customize in order to fit your business process. You'll be surprised at how well the vanilla business processes will fit, and how little you'll actually need to customize.<br />
<br />
The granddaughter finally got over her dislike for vanilla. I slipped a spoonful in her mouth while she was protesting. And she learned that vanilla tastes better than she thought. The same thing applies to enterprise software - once you get a taste of vanilla, you'll find it's better than you thought. fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-48798740180495396152018-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:002018-07-18T14:22:05.773-07:00Testing Latency On The Oracle CloudOne of the best things about working on the HCM Cloud Center of Excellence team at Oracle is that you learn something new every day.<br />
<br />
I recently worked on an inquiry from a customer asking about latency testing: has anyone ever done it and, if so, how did they go about it? In all honesty, it was a stumper for me. I had no idea how to respond. Fortunately, one of the folks on the team put the question out to a wider audience. The answer that came back was pretty spiffy.<br />
<br />
Oracle offers latency testing as a service (LTaaS?). You can get the basic explanation on how it works <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/get-started/subscriptions-cloud/mmocs/testing-network-throughput.html" target="_blank">here</a>. But a short explanation follows:<br />
<br />
Step 1: Log into <a href="https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/sign-in" target="_blank">Oracle MyServices</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQh99RbkhWM/WmeLf8M8z_I/AAAAAAAABrg/b50DY9t4scEtG5ksDJUhgLuJvwossdr3gCLcBGAs/s1600/Oracle_MyServices_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1600" height="324" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oQh99RbkhWM/WmeLf8M8z_I/AAAAAAAABrg/b50DY9t4scEtG5ksDJUhgLuJvwossdr3gCLcBGAs/s640/Oracle_MyServices_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Note that you'll be asked details here about the Cloud Account you'd like to test. If you're like me, you don't exactly have those details memorized or close at hand. No worries; See the Orange zone to the right? Click on the "Account Details" button - you'll have the opportunity to get information on all the Oracle Cloud accounts and services tied to a specific email address. I actually tested this; received my results via email in about five minutes.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 2: Select the domain you'd like to test. Click on your username drop-down and select "Diagnostics.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uEA3PM7qxv4/WmeOS5ZoS7I/AAAAAAAABr8/uS9edVMfr-ECo9pWR5tNrv7wEfxtc5SJQCLcBGAs/s1600/Oracle_MyServices_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="1600" height="118" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uEA3PM7qxv4/WmeOS5ZoS7I/AAAAAAAABr8/uS9edVMfr-ECo9pWR5tNrv7wEfxtc5SJQCLcBGAs/s640/Oracle_MyServices_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 3: Click on "Test" (I've put a red box around the Test button in the image below)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OHn-5WbZnaw/WmePas-fg7I/AAAAAAAABsM/Y60dzkl2SFEbGiLtksKLm6GnPIE_4LFiQCLcBGAs/s1600/Oracle_MyServices_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="1600" height="174" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OHn-5WbZnaw/WmePas-fg7I/AAAAAAAABsM/Y60dzkl2SFEbGiLtksKLm6GnPIE_4LFiQCLcBGAs/s640/Oracle_MyServices_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 4: Once the test completes, you'll see something like the following result:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-721VuYziCMw/WmeQN7z6fxI/AAAAAAAABsU/8-_wLL7ubHYFkYK5ebwwFt27XVE_9oPygCLcBGAs/s1600/Oracle_MyService_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-721VuYziCMw/WmeQN7z6fxI/AAAAAAAABsU/8-_wLL7ubHYFkYK5ebwwFt27XVE_9oPygCLcBGAs/s640/Oracle_MyService_4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Step 5: See the "Details" selection above? Click it to get details similar to those below:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6HPlKr5BFy8/WmeQ98-9MiI/AAAAAAAABso/ehWOxF35Qk0emQNp3RdKp2TcTUEXI7EMwCLcBGAs/s1600/Oracle_MyServices_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="1600" height="178" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6HPlKr5BFy8/WmeQ98-9MiI/AAAAAAAABso/ehWOxF35Qk0emQNp3RdKp2TcTUEXI7EMwCLcBGAs/s640/Oracle_MyServices_5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These details show the five tests run, the file sizes for each test, and the related network latency and throughput.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Like I said, pretty spiffy. I did this myself for my Oracle HCM Cloud environments. Took about 10 minutes total, including getting the info on my various accounts. So, for those of you wanting to perform latency testing on your Oracle Cloud environments, the service is the way to go.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now, because it's important to give credit where credit is due, the gentleman who educated me on this is Oracle's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-luc-pelletier-13566819/" target="_blank">Pierre-Luc Pelletier</a>. Because most of us in the States will butcher the French pronunciation of his name, we refer to him as "PL". One of my incredibly smart teammates and the source of a wealth of information. We're fortunate to have him on the team.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, now that the word is out, y'all can go forth and test your own network throughput. I look forward to hearing about it. Comment welcome.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-33964521647752384012018-01-02T13:08:00.000-08:002018-01-02T13:08:43.823-08:00Picking Your Partner<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not much for New Year's resolutions. History shows I just don't keep them. Take my first New Year's celebration, for example. My Dad told me I could stay up to ring in the new year if I could put meaning into it by making a resolution. My resolution was to swear off chocolate cake. So I rang in the new year with my folks; afterwards, they asked me what I thought of it. I responded that it would have been better with chocolate cake. It's been all downhill with resolutions ever since.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So this year, rather than making resolutions, I decided to count my blessings. I made a list of the things that make my life great: personal and professional. No question I'm a lucky guy; I came up with a long list. Lots of things about my health, my family, my friends, my job, and so on. And I'd like to share one of the really cool parts about my job here, because I think it has relevance for many of the folks who read my ramblings on this blog.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the really cool things about my job is that I get a bird's eye view of quite a few Oracle HCM Cloud implementation projects. It's an opportunity to learn a ton from the experiences of others in terms of what works and what doesn't. And I see what customers go through in picking Oracle implementation partners. It can get to be quite the beauty contest with various partners promising different approaches and prices in attempting to win the business. Evaluating partner offerings can get pretty complicated; hardly a week goes by that I don't get someone asking for guidance in evaluating partners and their proposals for implementation projects.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One indicator customers should consider in evaluating implementation partner offerings: does the partner have consistent communication with Oracle's HCM Cloud Development team? The Oracle HCM Center of Excellence team (I'm a member of that team) holds regular "cadence calls" with a number of Oracle implementation partners: strategic partners, emerging partners and industry specialist (i.e. Public Sector, Higher Education, Healthcare, etc.). In those cadence calls, we talk with partners about their current projects: the approach, the current status, issues they're working through...whatever is relevant to the success of their projects. I'm fortunate to engage in some of these calls: I learn a ton and get to provide some help as well.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So thinking about all this, the thought struck me: if I were a customer picking from several partner proposals for an HCM Cloud implementation, I think one of my selection criteria might be whether or not a partner is communicating with the HCM Cloud Center of Excellence team on a regular basis. Because there is nothing quite like getting pointers from the folks that built the software.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy New Year!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-10860017051085431382017-12-12T12:00:00.001-08:002017-12-12T12:00:49.662-08:00Getting Ready<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">I don't think it's any big secret that we're getting close to R13 of Oracle Cloud Applications. We've been talking about it publicly since Oracle OpenWorld 2017. Having seen R13 up close, I'm very excited to see it come to market.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, my excitement notwithstanding, I also know that existing customers get a bit antsy in the face of an impending upgrade. Because preparation for an upgrade is important, and that preparation requires information. What new features come with the upgrade? What is the impact to the way my enterprise does business? What should I be doing to help get my enterprise ready?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Having been part of the Oracle ecosystem for more years than I care to count as a consultant, a customer, and now a member of the Oracle team, I can recall the days when it was very difficult to learn about new features and perform impact assessments. The information was tough to come by. And, by the time we got the information, the timeline to upgrade was too tight to perform an in-depth impact assessment. Which lead to encountering some fairly significant surprises during the actual upgrade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fortunately, those days have over and done with. Because now we have Cloud Readiness sharing the information customer and partners need to prepare for an upgrade. You'll find that Cloud Readiness offers quite a bit of information:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Spotlights</u>: videos that highlight top level messages and product themes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>New Feature Summary</u>: summary description of each new feature</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>What's New</u>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #282a2c;">Learn what's new in this release and how to plan your upgrade by reviewing expanded discussions of new features, including capability overviews, business benefits, setup considerations and usage tips</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282a2c;"><u>Release Training</u>: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282a2c;">online sessions providing an in-depth view of the release enhancements.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282a2c;"><u>Product Documentation</u>: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282a2c;">Provides detailed product guides and training tutorials to ensure successful implementation and use of Oracle Cloud Applications.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #282a2c; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #282a2c; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
All the information you need. Even better, it's all in one place. You can check it out for yourself <a href="https://cloud.oracle.com/readiness?offering=ghr" target="_blank">here</a>. And once you've looked over our Cloud Readiness information, please let me know what you think by leaving a comment.</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31147466.post-6589534187200488652017-10-23T09:18:00.000-07:002017-10-23T09:18:37.559-07:00Let's Build Some Chatbots!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're hearing quite a bit of buzz about baking Artificial Intelligence ("AI") into enterprise applications. AI represents a ton of potential for this space, not the least of which is the net evolution in user interface in the form of chatbots. As I've shared previously in this space, I have a developing infatuation with chatbots.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chatbots are pretty cool, especially when we're talking about voice-based chatbots. The idea of getting things done by holding a dialogue with a virtual assistant has been a very appealing design pattern almost since the inception of computers themselves. Captain Kirk talking to the ship's computer in Star Trek, Dr. David Bowman chatting it up with HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, ... you get the idea, voice-based exchange has captured the public imagination for some time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm having fun experimenting with chatbots and learning how they work. In fact, I wrote this entire blog post via voice-based user interfaces. I used Siri on my MacBook Air to compose this post, then used a custom skill built for Amazon Echo to publish the post on this blog. Yeah, I'm basking in the flow right now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think about interacting with a chatbot to add a new dependent to your health insurance. Or making changes to your employer benefit package through a conversation with a virtual assistant. Or kicking off an employee performance evaluation through a text-based conversation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my experimentation, I'm starting to collect HR and HCM-based use cases. If you have an idea...some business process you'd like to execute or kick-off using a chatbot, I'd love to hear about it. Share via the comments. Maybe I can try building out your idea.</span>fteterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221041028141787708noreply@blogger.com0