ORCLville

Chairing The PDC

2012-01-27T13:04:00.001-08:00

So I'm sitting in SFO waiting out a flight delay and taking stock of this week's events. It's been a big week: the IOUC Oracle User Group Summit and Oracle User Experience Advocate training (with a group of extremely cool pre-sales consultants).

But the biggest event of a big week, at least for me, was stepping up to replace Debra Lilley as Chair of the IOUC's Product Development committee. Debra and the group have done some great work around Fusion Applications over the past six years - there's really no replacing her.

I'm hoping for lengthen our stride in three areas as the PDC enters this new phase:

1. Expand the amount of information available to those using or considering Fusion Applications.

2. Provide more customer feedback to Oracle regarding Fusion Applications.

3. Increase the involvement of all Oracle user groups across the globe.

That third element is really important. Hopefully, the PDC can continue to work across user group and geographic boundaries - this stuff works best when we all work together.

It's going to be a big year. Join a user group and be a part of it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Form Factor?

2012-01-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

I read RSS feeds...lots of them. It's how I get most of my news. But I've noticed lately that I use different apps on different platforms to read the same feeds. The Sage extension for Firefox on my iMac and MacBook, Pulse on my iPad, and Reeder on my iPhone. The differences seem to come down to which app renders content best on the screen size available. Wait, isn't that at the heart of something called "form factor"? Hmmm, maybe there's something to that idea after all. What do you think?

We've Lost Our Perspective

2012-01-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

A sure sign we've lost our perspective. I'm checking my favorite news aggregater sites on Oracle today. The top hits are all about the lawsuit with Google, the lawsuit with Montclair State University, and the latest plays on Oracle stock. No question the suits have taken over the headlines.

Note to the press: we seem to have lost our perspective. IT'S ABOUT THE SOFTWARE! COULD YA'ALL STOP WITH THE GOSSIP AND THE SPECULATION TO WRITE SOMETHING INTELLIGENT? YOU'RE CLOGGING UP BANDWIDTH WITH USELESS, NEGATIVE NOISE! PLEASE WRITE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THE FREAKIN' SOFTWARE!

Sorry. Just couldn't hold it in anymore. I'll calm down now.

Busy Busy Busy!

2012-01-17T14:27:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but the Oracle conference season is upon us again. RMOUG Training Days, UTOUG Training Days, Alliance, Collaborate, KScope 12 and then the big daddy - Oracle OpenWorld 2012. And I've come nowhere close to listing them all.

It's already shaping up to be a busy year for this boy. My calendar so far:

Alliance 12, March 18-21. Yes, I'm finally getting to Alliance after years to wanting to do so. I'm excited to be part of a joint effort between HEUG and ODTUG to put on some Sunday workshops: "Fusion Fundamentals - Back To The Egg" and "Oracle Fusion Applications CoExistence - Having Your Cake and Eating It Too". The Sunday workshops will rock this year - make your reservations early!

Collaborate 12, April 22-26. It'll be nice to put on my "apps hat" for a couple of presentations: "18 Months with Fusion Applications - Stories From The Trenches" and "Functional Setup Manager - The Key That Unlocks Fusion Applications". I'll have just finished up another Fusion Apps implementation a few weeks before Collaborate - much of the content for these presentations will share experiences from that project.

KScope 12, June 24-28. I've had the pleasure of helping put together the Fusion Middleware track this year. Kudos to OTDUG for a great experience - no hooey, no roadblocks, just a nice simple process focused on getting it done. The Fusion Middleware Track will rock this year. And don't forget the FMW Sunday Symposium. I'll be presenting for appstechs on "Design Time, Design Time @ Run Time, Personalization…What The Huh?"

It's shaping up to be a busy year. Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

Walk A Mile In My Shoes

2012-01-11T06:37:00.000-08:00

If I could be you, if you could be me for just one hour
If we could find a way to get inside each other's mind
If you could see through my eyes instead of your ego
I believe you'd be surprised to see that you've been blind

Walk a mile in my shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
Hey, before you abuse, criticize and abuse
Walk a mile in my shoes
----------------from Joe South's "Walk A Mile In My Shoes"

Walked into my bank yesterday to get a new debit card; my old one has taken up permanent residents with the dust bunnies and the missing socks somewhere in my house. The bank teller, while very nice, really struggled to help me out.

The cause of the teller's struggle? Seems the IT department at the bank randomly picks people on random schedules and requires them to change system authorization credentials: both user id and password. My teller's name came up in the "login lottery" about an hour before I walked in.

So, making a long story short, my teller fussed with the new login for five minutes and then simply called the IT department. She identified herself over the phone by simply providing her first name and her branch name; IT then verbally provided her user ID and password. She then logged in and helped me finish my business.

It was a slow day at the bank branch while I was there, so I took a moment to talk with the tellers about what happened. Seems my experience was a regular occurrence. I walked away with three thoughts:

1. I want IT security at a bank. We're talking about my money. I don't have much, but I am attached to what I have. But when the security process impedes a bank's ability to service it's customers, isn't that a huge problem?

2. Seems like the whole user authorization process was easily circumvented with a quick phone call. My teller called and received her credentials. No validations, no lookups, no nothing. I could call from a branch phone, tell IT I'm Pete from the Eastern Bohemian branch, and I'll get Pete's credentials. Hmmm....

3. Saving my best thought for last. I'm willing to wager big money that the entire "login lottery" process would change if the folks in IT had to perform as tellers for a few hours. The best way to improve the experience for users and tellers would be to have the IT security team "walk a mile in my shoes"...or the shoes of the tellers in this case. Once the IT folks experience the security disruptions for themselves, I'd bet that eliminating those disruptions with a better process would be at the top of their project list.

Thoughts? Feedback? Rants? Find the comments.

Cleaning Up

2012-01-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

I was recently hit with a big blast of irony. For a guy who continually preaches the goodness of UX, my own blog was a butt-ugly experience for anyone who stopped by. So I decided to clean things up. Hope you like the new look.

Hey Good Lookin'

2011-12-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, hey, good lookin',
Whatcha got cookin'?
How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?
Hey, sweet baby,
Don't you think maybe
We could find us a brand new recipe?
-----from "Hey, Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams-----

When I check out a web app, I immediately check on two factors: appeal to the eye and ease of use. If these two elements of the user experience are well-designed and well-implemented, I'm likely to like the app. If either of the two factors is...well...not so good, then I'm done with the app.

I seriously like the Oracle public cloud. First, it's appealing to the eye. Simple graphics and menus, colors on the cooler end of the spectrum (a personal preference for me), clean graphics; a great instance of "less is more." Second, it's easy to use. Navigation is simple and consistent across all pages, and the messages on each page are kept very simple.

Of course, I am also very happy to see elements of Fusion Applications (HCM and CRM) offered up as part of Oracle's Public Cloud offering. It's a great way for small and medium sized organizations to amortize the cost of getting into Fusion Apps over a longer period of time, and removes the complexity of maintaining a relatively complex technology stack. Definitely a move in the right direction.

Here's hoping Oracle continues to develop that recipe.

Fusion Applications - A Gift On Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's the evening of Boxing Day, so it seems appropriate to give the gift of a little Fusion Applications tip...

When using Functional Setup Manager, users can import setup lists in an HTML, PDF, or Excel format. The Excel export is actually an XML file. Those of us who have been around long enough know that the Microsoft Excel product development team has a love/hate relationship with XML; sometimes Excel can import XML files and sometimes it can't, depending on the version and the patch level. At the moment, we're in a "hate XML" phase with the later versions and patch set levels in Excel.

So the upshot is that you may attempt to export in an Excel file format from FSM and Excel won't be able to read the file. If you hit this little speed bump, the trick is to open that exported XML file in Microsoft Word. It will read the XML file just fine - the result will be a table in MS Word. And from the table in MS Word, you can copy it over to Excel. Issue resolved; game, set, match.

Happy Boxing Day!

OOW: The Most Important Thing

2011-11-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

So my writing of this particular post could have been more timely. Oracle OpenWorld took place in October. And here I am, writing about it in the 2^nd week of November. What a slacker!

Truth be told, I’ve been pondering…what was the single most important news from OOW? And I’ve come to a conclusion. Although there was a plethora of significant developments – Exalytics, Pre-Release of EBS 12.2, the continued evolution of APEX, the General Availability announcement of Fusion Applications, the Oracle Public Clound, Big Data – none of those, in and of themselves, was the single most important piece of news in my opinion.

The news that grabbed my attention and continues to grab my attention: the inclusion of Fusion Applications CRM and HCM in the Oracle Public Cloud. Let me explain…

Take a look at the latest Fusion Applications installation guide here. You should figure out fairly quickly that running Fusion Applications on-premise requires substantial hardware, memory and network infrastructure. Some larger enterprises will take this route for various business reasons: large research & development companies, organizations with national and international security concerns, government agencies all come immediately to mind, Fortune 2000 companies with heavy transactional volumes. But for the typical organization in the SME space, the infrastructure investment required may not be feasible.

But now we’ve got Fusion Applications being offered through the Oracle Public Cloud as a service…yup, a SaaS offering (for those of you who dig trendy acronyms). That’s likely a relatively inexpensive point of entry for the SMEs interested in Fusion Applications…especially for those interested in a co-existence strategy with existing applications.

Oracle getting seriously into the SaaS game? Providing an attractive point of entry to Fusion Applications for SMEs? Saving customers from the maintenance headaches of a substantial ERP environment? Yeah, if all this comes to fruition, it’s the biggest news out of OOW.

Comments and differing opinions are always welcome in the comments…

ATG 12.1.3 Release Update Pack Required by Feb 2012 for Premier Support

2011-11-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been away for a bit...busy, busy. In the midst of working up a radical post but, in the meantime, a note for all you Oracle E-Business users out there.

The ATG 12.1.3 Release Update Pack will be required for all EBS customers by February 2012 for Premier Support. Read what the expert, Oracle's Steven Chan, has to say on the matter here.

If you have not done so already, you may want to get going on applying the patch...

Farewell To An Icon

2011-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

OpenWorld 2011 has been an interesting and fun experience so far. Still, it definitely put a damper on things to learn about the passing of Steve Jobs earlier today. Thankfully, I was with a good friend when I heard the news - he helped me deal with the news.

I was very young when Walt Disney passed. But it's the only benchmark I have for comparison. Like then, the world looks a little different now. The light of that shines at the intersection of art and technology seems to burn a little less brightly tonight.

While I'm saddened by the loss of one of the greatest innovative minds of our time leaving us too soon, I'm comforted in the belief that Steve Jobs will now be working on putting a BIG dent in the universe.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On The Eve Of OpenWorld

2011-09-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

On the eve of OpenWorld, this article pretty much lays out what I'm expecting to see and hear next week.

OOW 2011- What Looks Good To Me

2011-09-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Oracle OpenWorld 2011 is almost upon us, so it’s time for another “What Looks Good To Me” article. In fact, I’m a little late…been a very busy summer.

I’m obviously looking forward to OOW 2011. In addition to catching up with old friends and making new ones, I’m looking forward to soaking up more information about Fusion Applications. Oracle is offering over 70 sessions on Fusion Apps, plus multiple hands-on opportunities in the demo grounds. Gathering up more information on Fusion Apps is a big driver in my OOW plan this year.

So let's get into what looks good to me this year...

A Couple of Caveats

I’m attending on “the king’s shilling” this year: as an Oracle ACE Director, Oracle is covering all my expenses
I’ve been heavily engaged in the Oracle Fusion Applications Early Adopter Program for over a year now. I’m really interested in feedback from non-EAP customers. I’m also heavily interested in customer stories involving value-add with Fusion Middleware. And finally, I’m also interested in the evolution of the E-Business Suite product line. So my list focuses on those areas.

Things I’m Doing at OOW

Some shameless promotional plugs:

OAUG Fusion Council, Session 28460, Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Moscone West 3012. I’ll be on a panel taking questions on all things pertinent to Fusion Applications. You bring your questions and we’ll provide the answers.
The ABCs of Implementing Oracle Project Portfolio Management, Session 18460, Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in Moscone West 3016. Thursday morning, after the Customer Appreciation Event…bet the subject matter here wanders well beyond PPM before we’re done.
At the Innowave Technology vendor booth on the Exhibition Floor, you’ll be able to pick up a draft sample of the first few chapters from my upcoming book: Tales From The Trenches – Hands-On Lessons Learned About Fusion Applications.
I’m also engaging with the Oracle UX customer feedback labs, getting a first look at some upcoming mobile apps.

OK, preliminaries done. Here we go.

What Looks Good To Me

First, I’d highly recommend any of the the Overview, Strategy and Roadmap sessions for any track of interest to you. I've not listed any of those here, so keep them in mind.

Fusion Applications

Any of the Answers to the Top 10 Questions sessions

Any of the Meet the Experts sessions

An Introduction to Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager, Session 17201

Oracle Fusion Applications Implementation Best Practices and Lessions Learned (Oracle Consulting buddy Charles Lin, guru of Financial Apps, is involved in this; He’s a straight shooter, so this should be really good), Session 21261

Do I Upgrade or Go Straight to Oracle Fusion Applications?, (Hosted by the lovely and always effervescent Debra Lilley, Oracle Alliance Director, UKOUG/Fujitsu), Session 8637

Oracle Fusion Project Portfolio Management Customer Adoption and Experiences, Session 17500

Metrics That Matter For Your Business: Analytics for Oracle Fusion Applications, Session 18580

Oracle Fusion Enterprise Resource Planning: Answers to the Top 10 Questions, Session 17642

Oracle Cloud Applications Architecture, Session 18620

Oracle Fusion Applications Architecture and Installation Best Practices, Session 9809

Oracle Fusion Applications DNA: Functional Architecture Overview, Session 17203

The Oracle Fusion Applications User Experience: Transforming Insight into Action, Session 18700

Oracle Project Portfolio Management: New Tools of the Trade, Session 17480

Search as a Key to the User Experience: Oracle Fusion Applications Search, Session 13788

Oracle Fusion Applications: Technology Essentials Overview, Session 17220
Manage Oracle Fusion Applications with User, Application, and System Perspective, Session 14402

Fusion Middleware Development

Applications Your Way: Easy Application Extensibility, Session 18880

Choose Your Weapon: An Overview of Oracle Development Tools

Expedite SOA Development with Oracle Application Integration Architecture, Session 30284

General Session: An Inside Look into Oracle Fusion Applications and Oracle Fusion Middleware, Session 18902

Oracle Fusion Applications: Oracle WebCenter User Experience Case Study, Session 10845

Oracle Fusion Middleware for Oracle Applications: Get Answers from Development, Session 12388

Achieving the Perfect Layout with Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client, Session 9456

An Oracle ADF Eye for the Java EE Guy, Session 10400

End-to-End Oracle ADF Development in Eclipse, Session 11340

Four Ways to Transition from Oracle Forms to Oracle ADF, Session 9098

E-Business Suite

Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Certification Primer and Roadmap, Session 17249

Coexistence of Oracle E-Business Suite and Fusion Applications: Technical Dive, Session 16541

Latest Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 User Interface and Usability Enhancements, Session 17251

Planning Your Oracle E-Business Suite Upgrade from Release 11i to 12.1 and Beyond, Session 12281

Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 Upgrade Best Practices - Technical Insight, Session 18661

Oracle E-Business Suite-Based Financial Dashboard Using Oracle Application Express

Upgrading Your Customizations to Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1, Session 17250

Extend Oracle E-Business Suite Processes with Oracle Business Process Management Suite, Session 18960

Advanced E-Business Suite Architectures: Maximum Availability, Security and more, Session 17258

Oracle E-Business Suite Secure Configuration, Session 17256

Managing Your Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle Enterprise Manager, Session 12421

Personalize, Customize and Extend Oracle E-Business Suite User Interface, Session 17253

Extending Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle ADF and Oracle SOA Suite, Session 12382

Web Services and SOA Integration Options for Oracle E-Business Suite, Session 17247

Using Oracle Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite, Session 21400 (This is a hands-on Lab)

Upgrading to Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1: Technical/Functional Panel Session 12280

12 Steps to Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Upgrade: Hazelden Foundation Release 12 Lessons Learned, Session 8842

Fusion Applications - What You Need To Know: The User Interface

2011-09-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Writing this blog has turned into an interesting experience over the past few years. I'll have dry spells where I can't seem to string two words together. Then, without any warning, the words begin to flow again. Wish I could be more consistent, but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards at this point in life. Now one of those dry spells has just passed and I have quite a bit to write about. Apologies for the delay...let's get to it!

Keep in mind that we're talking here about the User Interface (UI) and not the User Experience (UX). UI is about the presentation of information to the user, while UX more about designing around how people work or how they want to work.

The UI in Fusion Applications is built around the User Interface shell. The idea behind the shell is the organization of the UI around standard areas:

In providing definitions for each of these areas, I'll be working from a context of Fusion Project Portfolio Management. In implementing Fusion Applications over the past year, I've been working with PPM. It's what I know best from a functional standpoint, so I'll use it as a reference point here. You'll be able to pick up the general principles from what I provide here.

Regional Area: eases navigation, eliminating the need to move through multiple pages to access details.
Local Area: center area, containing all the transactions, information and actions needed for users to accomplish their work. Most end-users will spend a majority of their time focused on the Local Area.
Context Area: provides information based on the content available or highlighted in the local area. The intent here is to help quickly answer questions about the task in progress.

Now, about that PPM context? Here you go:

Now I know that these screen shots that I "borrowed" from an Oracle Fusion Apps PPM presentation (plagiarism is such an ugly word; I prefer borrow or reuse, don't you?) are really tiny...blame Blogger. Can't get them any bigger. Sorry. Nevertheless, they do provide some idea of how the UI Shell works in Fusion Applications.

As you work with Fusion Applications, you'll see that all the applications follow the UI Shell pattern. That's a pretty cool thing, as you learn the navigation once and you'll know how to navigate all the apps.

And for those of you wondering, it is a fairly simple matter to personalize and tailor the UI using the Personalization and Oracle Composer run time tools (see that little "Personalization" hyperlink in the Global Area...upper right...just to the left of "Help"?). If you want to extend the form, however, you'll want to have a developer use the design time tools available in JDeveloper (ADF would be a prime candidate in this case).

Personally, I'm really excited about the UI. I see some quantifiable benefits in terms of reducing the user learning curve, productivity gains from simplified navigation, and better transactional analysis...especially when analyzing exceptions. Good stuff that I'm sure will iterate into even better stuff as future releases come out.

One last thing. Recheck the Global Area screen shot. See the nifty little area to the right...the Search? Lots tucked away in there. But that's another blog post.

Fusion Applications - What You Need To Know: SOA Rehash

2011-07-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

You won't be able to dive deeply in Fusion Applications if you don't have some basic understanding about Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). No, you don't need to be a technical guru…you just need to have your brain wrapped around some basic concepts to understand what's happening behind the scenes.

So, for starters, I thought to write a bit about the basic ideas of SOA without burying all of us in the technical hooey. Struggled with it for a bit, then realized someone has already finished the job and did it much better than I ever could. Check out this article on DanNorth.net…c'mon back when you're done.

--Floyd runs downstairs to grab a cold bottle of G2 from the fridge--

OK, glad to see you're back. Pretty cool explanation, isn't it? So now let's consider a few basic definitions:

SOA is a methodology for achieving application interoperability across platforms and leverages reuse of IT assets.

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is an industry-standard data format for defining documents and exchanging information.

Services, not to be confused with Web Services, consist of anything that performs a business task.

Web Services are XML-based technologies for messaging between services and describing those services.

Business Process Management is a set of methods and technologies for automating business operations.

So, what do you need to know from all this? I'd suggest the following:

First is the benefit factor. Fusion Apps was built with Oracle's SOA development tools: the benefits of reuse, ease of extension, and loose coupling are all there to be had in a set of packaged apps. Functional folks will spend much less time involved with the deeper layers of technology (in the database, for example) and much more time concentrating on business issues (services, processes and analysis).

Second, I'm a firm believer that you need to know a little about what's happening "behind the curtain" in order to understand the apps you're working with. With Fusion Apps, that means you'll need to have a cursory understanding of Enterprise Objects, ADF View Objects, and the SOA concepts we've covered here. So I felt like a little rehash of the basics was in order before moving forward.

Next on the list - the User Interface

Fusion Applications - What You Need To Know: Product Families

2011-06-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Fusion Applications are organized into seven groups of related products called Product Families. While the product features are organized according to the Business Process Model and can cross the boundaries of product families, the product family groupings are an easy way to wrap your mind around Fusion Apps. So, without further verbal hooey from me, here are the product families and the applications in each family:

Project Portfolio Management

Project Costing

Project Billing

Project Contracts

Project Control

Project Performance Reporting

Project Integration Gateway (very cool integration with Primavera)

A set of integrated reports and analytics

The integration with Primavera and MS Project is pretty impressive. And you'll find your project managers in their "happy place" when they see Project Performance Reporting.

Financial Management

General Ledger

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Asset Management

Payments and Collections

Cash and Expense Management

The really, really impressive element here is the integration with Hyperion - the analysis tools are very powerful.

Human Capital Management

Human Resources

Global Payroll

Workforce Service Delivery

Compensation

Workforce Management

Talent Management

The very best part of HCM, in my humble opinion, is that the embedded analytics eliminate the line between transactional data and business intelligence.

Supply Chain Management

Product Information Management

Asset Management

Global Order Processing

Cost Management

Distributed Order Orchestration

Logistics (which includes Shipping, Receiving and Inventory)

It's important to note that Fusion Apps version 1.0 does not include full manufacturing functionality (MRP, WIP, Work In Progress, and all that stuff).

Procurement

Purchasing

Self-Service Procurement

Sourcing

Procurement Contracts

Supplier Portal

Supplier Model

Also includes some nifty spend analysis reporting and performance management.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Master

Sales

Marketing

Mobile

Incentive Compensation (really more of a complimentary product hosted in CRM)

Much of this product family, along with some of the Procurement product family, is built around the Trading Community Architecture (TCA - new and improved from the EBS R12 version, but more on that in a later post).

Governance, Risk and Compliance

Financial Compliance

IT Risk and Compliance

Issue Manager

Risk Manager

Access Controls

Transaction Controls

Configuration Controls

While GRC is very strong in terms of corporate governance and risk management, it is a bit of an odd duck in that the latest release is not built on Fusion Middleware like the rest of Fusion Apps. Hopefully, this will be resolved in a later release.

Next: Revisiting SOA

Fusion Applications - What You Need To Know: Business Architecture

2011-06-21T18:18:00.001-07:00

The first of what I intend to be a short series on the basics of Fusion Applications…

An Incremental Release - Look What We Learned!

If nothing else, Fusion Applications version 1.0 represents an incremental release of a massive learning effort by the Oracle Fusion Applications Development teams. That learning consisted of:

1. Reviewing the best stuff from all of Oracle's extensive catalog of existing applications-related products (Applications Unlimited, Fusion Middleware, etc.)

2. Extensive requirements gathering, but not in the classical sense. This was more about finding out about the processes and steps people used to do their work (my friends on the Oracle User Experience team played a huge role in this effort).

3. A significant design effort focused on simplicity and flexibility, with an intent on supporting the best of the work processes explored in Step 2.

It's All About The Business Process

As part of the design effort for Fusion Apps, Oracle utilized the best business processes they observed in the learning stage to build a set of best practices known as The Business Process Model ("The BPM" - not to be confused with the Business Process Management Suite, known as "BPM".)

Fusion Applications uses The BPM as the model for tying code components to functional activities (logical business objects - see Note 1 below) and organizing the user interface flow (taskflows and activities).

The BPM structure is organized according to levels, ranging from Level 0 to Level 4:

0 - Industry
1 - Business Area
2 - Business Process
3 - Activity
4 - Task

Levels 0 through 3 are software agnostic - they're really Business Process Engineering designs. Level 4 provides detail specific to Fusion Apps. An example:

0 - Construction
1 - Project Portfolio Management
2 - Initiate Project
3 - Define Project
4 - Define Project from Template

This is the business process framework followed for all the functions of all Fusion Applications…over 12,000 tasks (I think). It's important to note that, despite my example content, Fusion Apps V 1.0 has only a generic "industry" Level 0. More are forthcoming as incremental versions are released.Now for the fun part: remember how I differentiated earlier between "The BPM" and "BPM"? Well, as is true with many of the Fusion Middleware components, you can use BPM to extend The BPM for your own needs.

Up next…Product Families in Version 1.
-------------------------------------

Note 1: A logical business object encapsulates data, business operations and rules governing adding, changing, or removing its data. A logical business object presents information and business operations from the business user's perspective. Logical business objects do not directly access the underlying database. Instead, they use services provided by the physical business object to read, update, and delete business data.

Note 2: The XML And More blog I referenced in the task flows link above has some outstanding stuff. Stanley Guan is writing some great posts - technical, yet understandable. Definitely worth a read.

Note 3: I have a new tool in my Fusion Applications kit. The book Managing Oracle Fusion Applications - Best Practices for a High-Performance Enterprise Application Management Strategy is turning out to be a great reference as I work with Fusion Apps. Helpful with my blogging as well...I've borrowed liberally from the book lately. Kudos to author Richard Bingham (Richard, I owe you a burger). I'm hoping this will come out on Kindle soon, so I can carry it with me to client sites.

Note 4: If you want the real skinny on the latest developments with Fusion Apps, check the updates from the skinny Debra Lilley here. Debra, while generally an Oracle advocate, has no problem with calling 'em as she sees 'em.

Keeping The Faith on 11i

2011-06-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

You can get just so much from a good thing

You can linger too long in your dreams

Say goodbye to the "Oldies But Goodies"

Cause the good ole days weren't always good

And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

- From Billy Joel's "Keeping The Faith"

So while we let the hubbub over the Conditional Availability of Oracle Fusion Applications die down a bit, let's talk about the E-Business Suite…which is the "here and now" situation for many of us.

I've been a little surprised by the continued resistance of many EBS customer to upgrade to R12.1.3, choosing instead to stick with 11.5.10 as long as possible. I get the most commonly-heard arguments for standing pat: not seeing value in R12 functionality, can't really afford the cost of the upgrade, waiting to see what happens with Fusion Apps and EBS. And I'd offer the following counterpoints:

1. Value - stuff you could leverage for better, faster, cheaper

-- A fully-configurable home page

-- Look-ahead List-Of-Value technology

-- More leverage of BI Publisher (write reports once, use them many times)

-- Multi Org Access Control

-- SubLedger Accounting

2. Can't really afford the cost of the upgrade

-- the upgrade from 11.5.10.2 to R12.1.1, subsequently patching up to 12.1.3 (cum patch, no 12.1.2 required), is the most straight-forward upgrade I've ever seen from a technical perspective for any Oracle product. It really doesn't get much simpler or less expensive than this.

3. Waiting to see what happens with Fusion Apps, EBS, and everything related.

-- Stop waiting. Fusion Apps v1 is not a full-functionality replacement for EBS and likely won't be a good fit for many current Oracle EBS customers. Upgrading is the right answer for most.

Now a thought in favor of the upgrade: the longer you wait, the more it will cost...resources, dollars, any way you measure it:

-- We'll soon see EBS 12.2, which will include the transition from OC4J to WebLogic. Upgrading from 11.5.10.2 and replacing the middle-tier in the same upgrade? As simple and straight-forward as the upgrade from 11.5.10.2 is now, it promises to be much more complex when moving from 11i to 12.2…and complexity = cost.

-- The sand is running through the hourglass for 11.5.10.2 support. Personally, I don't want to be the CIO in the shop that can't resolve a payroll or HR issue because they missed the support deadline for 11i. That story will have a costly end (maybe including a search for a new CIO).

So, here's the upshot for those of you "keeping the faith" with 11i. The iceberg is melting, the curtain is coming down, the lights are dimming, the fat lady is singing. The later versions of 11i were good things…we got bundles of value out of 11i…but, like it or not, it's winding down in favor of a better product in R12.1.3. It's time to upgrade. Frankly, the longer you keep the faith with 11i, the more you'll miss out on the value of the new products…and the more it will cost when you do make the move. Maybe it's time to get on it?

UPDATE: A recent quote from Steven Chan, the Oracle EBS Technology guru, puts it very well:

When it comes to ERP software, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It's always best to make your plans around releases that are currently available.

You should plan your upgrade to EBS 12.1.3 today. The upgrade from EBS 11i to 12 is technically-straightforward but has many new updates and features on the functional side. These functional product updates and new features have the potential to introduce significant changes that will affect your business users.

If customer feedback is any indication, it is likely that you will spend more time working through the implications of the new EBS 12.1 features than anything else. This process may be time-consuming, so it's best to get started now. If you're on EBS 11i today, you should focus your efforts on getting up to EBS 12.1.3 as the immediate priority.

Here We Go!

2011-06-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

If you check Oracle E-Delivery, you'll see that Oracle Fusion Applications 11g R1 (11.1.1.5.0) for Linux x86-64 are now available for download. It's a very controlled download, but it's out there nevertheless.

Houston, we have ignition! Here we go!!!

UPDATE: Learned on June 7 that Fusion Apps will be under "controlled availability" for the foreseeable future (based on the context of the update, I take that to mean around the end of the calendar year). As I understand it, Controlled Availability ("CA") is different from General Availability ("GA") in that CA allows Oracle to advise customers as part of the buying process in order to help maximize the chances for customer success with the product.

About The Architecture...

2011-05-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

A few posts back, I mentioned a few things about Fusion Apps architecture. And folks peppered me with questions about it at Collab 11. So I got inspired...funny how your readers can do that to you.

I've been attending sessions at conferences, talking to folks inside and outside of Oracle, piecing together parts of the puzzle, working with Fusion Apps when possible, and flat-out speculating for several years now. And I've got fat notebooks with notes on all of it. After Collab, I went back through those notebooks and started some rough architectural sketching. Guess what? I think I've got a pretty good guess about a conceptual architecture for the apps stack. So I thought I'd share and see what ya'all think.

A few of the typical caveats:

If you're a member of the press, please know that this is total and utter speculation on my part. No inside scoop, no top-secret tips, notta. If you're going to republish, please note that this is Floyd's speculative architecture: no Oracle stamp of approval or confirmation anywhere.
If you're a customer, the same warning applies to you as it does to the press. Rely on this at your own risk.
I've assumed that customers running Fusion Apps will be involved with some kind of a grid. Whether you see it (local premise installation) or not (hosted, SaaS, etc.), you'll run Fusion Apps on a distributed platform of some sort.
I didn't get it all, especially in regards to the middleware components. I've likely listed a few that aren't there, and I'm sure that I've missed several. But I'll willing to bet at least a nickel or two that I'm in the ballpark.
If you're from Oracle's legal department, there's no point in suing me if I've actually come up with something really close to the mark - as I've said repeatedly, I've got nothing worth taking. So give me a break, OK?

So, with all those limitation and caveats, here's what I think we have:

Again, could be that I've nailed it or it could be that I'm all wet. Maybe all those notes have paid off or maybe I've just wasted my time (well, I'm pretty sure the apps list is correct, but everything else is in play). We won't really know for a bit yet. But I'd like to hear what you think. The comments are waiting for you...

About Collaborate 11

2011-04-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

I went into Collaborate 11 hoping to focus on a few specific areas: Fusion Applications and E-Business R12.2. So, short, sweet and to the point: I came back with 4 important highlights worth sharing:

Upgrading to EBS 12.2 will require a bit of technical mojo, as the upgrade will include migrating the supporting middleware server from OC4J to WebLogic. It'll be cool to see the rock-solid data model of 12.1.3 layered with WebLogic (yeah, that's my inner geek talking).

Oracle's VP of Applications Development, Steve Miranda, got a little feisty during the Q&A portion of one of his sessions (I personally liked the feistiness - it's about time). When asked if Fusion Apps were ready for customers, Steve responded that Oracle's Early Adopter Program was ready: "bring 'em on". Steve also stated that Fusion Apps would be available via e-delivery "in a couple of months." Methinks we're getting close.

The whole Fusion picture came together for me at Collaborate…the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Fusion Architecture, Fusion Middleware, Fusion Applications. I'll be writing more more here about how it all works together over the next few weeks.

Already looking forward to Collaborate 12...but I doubt that Vegas has any Brazilian steakhouses that will match up to the one in Orlando discovered by my friends from the Oracle UX team (thanks for letting me tag along). But if you come to Collab next year, maybe we can try to find one together!

Updates From Collaborate 11

2011-04-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

In the past, I've provided updates on the conferences I attend through nightly updates to the blog. Well, truth be known, I'm kind of lazy at heart...always struggled to work up the energy for that. And the updates were not as close to real-time as I would like.

So this year, for Collab 11, I'm changing it up. No blog post updates. Be doing it through Twitter instead - quick, concise, real-time. Better for you and better for me - a win-win.

To catch my Twitter updates, you can follow me: fteter@twitter.com. For those of you who are Twitter-challenged, I'm putting a Twitter widget into the blog so you can follow. Yeah, it's actually the funny-looking window over on the right...

Collaborate 11: What Looks Good To Me

2011-04-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Collaborate 11 kicks up next weekend in Orlando, Florida (assuming the weather and the US Government budget permit the planes to fly). I'm looking forward to it for several reasons: 1) getting face-to-face with friends I only see a few times each year; 2) gathering more user stories from Oracle Applications customers; 3) hearing more about Fusion Applications (some folks on this subject are sharing more info, while others appear to not know what they're talking about - some presentations will be educational and some will just be entertaining).

As usual, I can't get to all the interesting stuff in this conference. I'll be focusing on Fusion Apps, E-Business Suite, and maybe a little SOA and BI if I can get it in. Based on those focus areas, this is what looks good to me at Collab 11:

Product Release Announcements

I expect we'll hear about one significant product update, possibly two. We may also hear about one or two product releases…I definitely see some noisy water on a few fronts, so it'll be interesting to see if any results surface during the conference. This is all speculation on my part, but isn't that half the fun of Collaborate?

Oracle Fusion Soup to Nuts II

It's nice to see Soup to Nuts take on a life of it's own. I haven't really had any role in this year's set of workshops, but it's good to see other people running with the idea. It's taken on a life of it's own and this year's agenda looks really strong.

My Presentations

I'll be presenting twice on Fusion Applications:

Fusion Applications: A Peek Under The Hood, Session ID 7631, Monday, 3:45 - 4:45 in Room W105B

Fusion Applications: How Is The Journey So Far?, Session ID 7642, Tuesday, 3:15 - 4:15 in Room W105B

I'll be walking my usual thin line between sharing information without getting myself into legal trouble…should be an entertaining dance, so come on by if you have the time.

E-Business Presentations

Oracle E-Business Suite Technology: Vision, Release Overview and Product Roadmap - Lisa Parekh

Get Ready for EBSR12.1! Tasks to Complete Now to Ease The R12.1 Upgrade Process

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Factor at the World's Largest Healthcare Payer - John Stouffer

Key Techniques and Tools to Reduce Your Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Technical Upgrade - Elke Phelps

Advanced Technology Deployment Architectures for Oracle E-Business Suite - Steven Chan

Leveraging Cloud Computing in an ERP Eco-System - Mike Rulf

Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Strategy and General Manager Update - Cliff Godwin

Oracle E-Business Suite and the Coexistence Strategy with Fusion Applications: Platform Perspective - Nadia Bendjedou

CS - Accounting in R12: Procure-to-Pay Process - Mohan Iyer

Technical Roadmap for Oracle Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite R12 and Oracle Fusion Applications - John Stouffer

SML Publisher in E-Business Suite for Newbies - Srini Chavali

Business Flow Overview and Master Data Management - Mohan Dutt

Fusion Applications

Oracle Fusion PPM: Next Generation Project Portfolio Management Applications - LIam Boyd

Record to Report Business Flow in Oracle Fusion Applications - David Haimes

Fusion Applications - Move Now or Wait? - Debra Lilley

Implementing Fusion Applications Using The Oracle Unified Methodology - Bruce Dehner

Oracle Fusion Middleware Extensions and Patterns for Oracle Fusion Applications - Paul Johl

Oracle Fusion Applications Technical Architecture and Deployment Overview - Steve Miranda

The Fusion Applications' User Experience: Transforming Work into Insight

Other Stuff

Facebook for Oracle! All About Oracle Webcenter for Non-Technical Folks - Basheer Khan

Physical Ordering of Data - Is It Ever Useful? - Mark Farnham

Understanding Oracle and Industry Cloud Computing Directions - A Decision-Maker's Guide - Ron Batra

Grid Next Generation - The Virtual Enterprise Extended - Ray Payne

So there you have it...my picks, for what they're worth. Collab 11 looks to be a pretty spiffy gathering...hope to see you there (look me up and say "hi").

Oracle Fusion Applications: If I Were An AppsTech

2011-03-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

If I were an Oracle AppsTech with an eye on Fusion Applications, there are three tools/technologies I'd want to master as soon as possible:

1. Applications Development Framework (ADF): it seems like everything…and I do mean EVERYTHING…in Fusion Apps was built in ADF. Even advanced UI Personalization in Fusion Apps requires some knowledge of ADF.

2. BPEL Process Manager (BPM): you'll be using this to build customer-specific business processes, leveraging the abstractions (especially the entity objects) and the services built into Fusion Apps. To be honest, I'm really a fortunate neophyte here. I didn't know jack about BPM a few months ago, but my colleagues at Innowave are bringing me up to speed quickly (they really are among the best at this stuff - I'm a lucky boy playing sponge with these guys).

3. WebCenter: all the collaborative workspaces in Fusion Apps are built and accessed via WebCenter. Portal, Composite Apps, Collaboration and Social functionality, Content Management…yeah, you better know this one.

So if you've been keeping up to speed with Fusion Middleware tools as they've become available in the Applications Unlimited products, you're in pretty well prepared for the apps technology in Fusion Applications. However, if you're still working with older tools (yeah, I'm talking to all apps developers still writing apps customizations in PL/SQL), you need to get moving on improving your skillset.

In fact, now that I think about it, you need to get going whether or not you're interested in Fusion Apps - these are the tools of the future for all the Oracle Applications. Feel the fuse burning?

Some Nervous Water

2011-02-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

I see some nervous water around Fusion Applications. Not that I'm going on the record predicting an imminent release date…because I'd be wrong…so that would just make me look stupid (again). It's just that I see a little nervous water indicating progress toward a release date. So, with that in mind, let me recap what I like about Fusion Applications.

1. The User Experience work baked into Fusion Apps makes a huge difference. Oracle went out to customer sites, found out how people work, then built the applications around those workflows. The productivity gains are evident after a few hours of use (which also indicates a short learning curve).

2. The data model has it's roots in the E-Business Suite data model - tons of incremental improvements from years of use by thousands of customers. There are also some nifty tricks borrowed from the PeopleSoft data model, like trees and data reference sets.

3. Integration is based on industry standards and loose coupling, which means that your integration between Fusion Apps and other apps (Oracle and non-Oracle) holds up through upgrades. And Fusion Apps is full of exposed services to help me with those integrations.

4. The "watchlist" concept is based on a philosophy that runs throughout Fusion Applications: management by exception. The watchlist brings your exceptions to the forefront. You worry about the 3 purchasing requisitions that have stalled out rather than the 1500 that are progressing just fine. That's part of what we pay specialists to do - resolve the exceptions.

5. The divide between transactional data and business intelligence has been broken down. So we can immediately see the impact of individual transactions on trends. Ditto for changes to budgets and plans. Nothing quite as good as immediate feedback.

6. The underlying middleware is Fusion Middleware, which means we can build extensions to the applications using tools we already know. WebCenter, BPM, JDeveloper, ADF…nothing new to learn here…as a developer, I can be effective extending the apps on Day 1…because Oracle continues to eat their own dogfood.

There's more good stuff, but these are the points that really hit home with me. I'm really itching for general availability...giddy-up!

The Sound of Thunder

2011-01-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

I woke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

-- From Bob Seger's "Night Moves"

Read an interesting article on support fees today. You can read it for yourself here. The tone of the article seems a bit over the top, but the observations ring true with my own feedback from customers.

I've watched this storm build up for a few years now. It'll be interesting when it really hits.

BBQ and Enterprise Apps

2011-01-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

Anybody who spends more than 10 minutes with me knows I love to barbecue: whether it's grilling, low-and-slow smoking, over a fire pit, or using a buried Dutch oven, I love outdoor cooking.

Implementing enterprise apps is like barbecuing or grilling. It's a pretty easy to take undercooked food, cook it some more, and still come out with a great meal. But there's just no way to uncook food…if you overcook it, the meal is ruined beyond recovery. Implementing enterprise apps can be pretty successful if you take it a step at at time. But it's nearly impossible to unravel once you travel too far down a bad patch.

When I barbecue, I recognize that there are numerous variables involved: the heat of the fire, the particular dish or dishes I'm cooking (and, yeah, I do grill veggies and smoke my own cheese), the temperature outdoors, the strength of the wind, the time on the fire, and so on. Some of those variables are in my control and some are not. So you manage the best you can and have certain points in the process where you check on what you're cooking…not reading the cookbook, but actually checking on what you're cooking. I keep a timer in my pocket with an alarm…when the alarm goes off, I check on the food regardless of how far along I think it might be. It's a technique called "time boxing" that I actually learned from a professional cook.

Enterprise apps implementation projects are pretty similar. Lots of variables involved: project budget, optimum schedule, the skills of the project team, the willingness of users to accept change, changing dynamics around the organization implementing…the list goes on and on. Some of those variables are in our control and some are not. So we manage the best we can and have certain points in the process where we check on our implementation…yup, I'm talking increments and milestones. Whether the project is developing and implementing specific solutions, or implementing packaged applications, you need to have certain points at which you check on what you're cooking for any particular project. My experience says that "time boxes" (we'll show whatever we have on a particular day, whether or not it's completed to the level we'd like) and live demos (don't show them the cookbook, show them the food itself) work best here. Even better, show the results early and often…before you proceed too far down a bad path and wind up with an overcooked result.

I'm hungry now…time to grill up some chicken (boneless chopped chicken breasts, cheese, and garlic bread chunks on skewers, served over a bed of chilled cherry tomatoes and sprinkled with pesto…mmm). Feel free to hit the comments while I'm out cooking...

Buffing Up The Crystal Ball

2011-01-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

Are you as tired of reading all those "predictions for 2011" articles as I am? Can't we stop predicting and get on with doing something?

While I'm already tired of seeing these types of posts (I'm writing on New Year's Day), I'm also feeling guilty about not making my own set of predictions.

I'm not really much of a prognosticator, but what the heck…I'll give it my two cents. So I buffed up my crystal ball (which is really one of those glass Christmas paperweights I have yet to pack up- you know, shake the ball and it snows over the scene inside the ball), focused my thoughts on the future, stared deeply into the ball for about 3 seconds and pulled these predictions out of thin air:

1. ERP Support - 2011 will be the year that the current business model for ERP software support begins to implode. Customers just can't continue paying 23 to 25 percent of license fees for annual maintenance. While Oracle and SAP may be able to run the 3rd-party support vendors out of the market through lawsuits and other barriers to entry, the business model will collapse under its own weight as businesses redirect more of their dollars into competing in the marketplace…regardless of the risks associated with lower levels of support.

2. Amazon's EC2 will become the preferred platform for companies moving their ERP instances to the cloud…and the number of companies doing so will not be insignificant. The cloud business model could also be the answer to the collapse of the ERP maintenance fee model (wrap the fees into the overall cloud business model…at a lower fee level) but, either way, 2011 will be the year of ERP in the cloud…and Amazon will be the leading provider.

3. Generation Y - Gen Y (folks born in the earlier 1980s or later) will become the dominant segment of the workforce. And all bets are off in terms of how we work. This will become especially evident in the move away from centralized procedures and processes, and the move toward collaborative creation.

4. Oracle's Fusion Applications - Fusion Applications will become generally available. Customers will find value in the user experience as well as the disappearance of the division between transactions and business intelligence, but they'll also have to adjust to the idea of planned incremental releases of functionality.

5. IT projects that are customer-facing or provide significant costs savings will be at the top of the "to-do" list at most companies in 2011. Maintenance activities will be outsourced (remember that cloud thing?) in a big way, with the cost savings providing the funding to the new projects. From an employment perspective, that means that 2011 will be a better year for IT consultants and contractors…not so much for "permanent" hires.

6. The Oracle E-Business Suite extended support wave will continue to roll through the mostly-unaware set of customers. 11i moved off of Premier Support in 2010. R12.0x moves to Extended Support on February 1, 2012. Still, I don't think 2011 is the year that customers will begin to realize just what has happened to their ERP systems (although Oracle and the user groups have been sounding the trumpet until their faces turned blue). I personally think that happens in 2012 (the fee waiver for 11i Extended Support expires, R12.0x rolls into Extended Support, and the Extended Support warning bell begins to chime for R12.1.x - that's a "triple witching hour").

7. For Oracle in the applications space, 2011 will be about A) extending the reach of the "Red Stack" into the various Oracle application product lines (do you catch Oracle's recent announcement that they'll stop licensing IBM's "Blue Stack" as part of their JD Edwards EnterpriseOne licensing deals?), and B) shifting their acquisition targets to industry-specific vertical solutions.

So there you have it…my predictions for 2011. They're probably worth less than the time it cost you to read them, but we can all have a little fun seeing how accurate I am with this stuff. And at least I've worked off my guilt.

Happy New Year!

Scratching The Itch - EBS 12.1.3

2010-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

I "scratched an itch" recently with my personal Oracle E-Business development environment: cleaned everything out, chucked CentOS for Oracle Linux 5.5, and installed EBS 12.1.3 on and 11.1.0.7 database.

I'm finding I really like EBS 12.1.3. Let me share a few reasons:

The improved User Experience (UX).

The type-ahead search feature has been a long time coming and makes a huge difference all by itself. But wait...there's more! Read more about it here.

The Smoother Install

Surprise! Rather than creating from scratch, I used Oracle's VM templates (part of the reason I swapped CentOS for Oracle Linux). You can check them out here and here. I have yet to try out the Sparse Middle Tier template, but I may go through another round of rip-and-replace just to give it a go (yeah, another itch I may have to scratch).

Iterative Improvements in Oracle Projects

Having "cut my teeth" in Oracle Projects, I'm always on the hunt for improvements in this particular product suite. Well, there's a bunch that come with 12.1.3. You can find a pretty good overview (summarized from Oracle's 12.1.3 RCD) here.

Reading all the references I've pointed out here made me itch to move to EBS 12.1.3. Check out the references here and let me know if you need to scratch your own itch.

Small Players - Big Splash

2010-11-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

In my job, I get quite a few opportunities to see small market players make a big splash by leveraging technology. These days I'm watching that scenario play out for my friends at Tiki Machine.

Tiki Machine is a collaboration of animation artists working on small projects. Their work has led to a book: "Monster Mythos". There's some very cool artwork here - it's worth a look. While I'm normally not a big animation fan (you'd think that Jake would be the one writing about this), there's a copy of Monster Mythos on my bookshelf.

So, how does technology play in (other than the obvious animation and art tools)? Well, most of the "collaboration" part of the project work takes place via the 'tubes. They're using Google Blogger both as a marketing buzz-maker and as a sales channel for those wishing to purchase the book. And they self-published the book using...aw, enough...you get the idea here...leveraging technology to collaborate, create and sell.

Technology…small players…big splash…love it.

Faster and Faster

2010-11-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or is life moving at a faster pace? OK, that was a facetious question. Let's get right to it: the pace of life, or at least the pace of business, is accelerating every day. The rate of change around business strategy, business processes, requirements…it's all ramped up by orders of magnitude just over the past few years.

This increased rate of change has carried right through to technology, which is just an enabling tool for strategy and processes when you get right down to it. If the rate of change for business has picked up, the lifecycle has shortened even more so for technology. I can remember a few years ago when I realized that any computer I purchased would be obsolete within a few weeks. Now I can't even keep up with the leading edge on my smart phone!

The impact has also rippled into enterprise applications development. Business is moving so quickly that there's just no time to write new solutions entirely from scratch…those days are gone. What I'm seeing more of these days is solutions being assembled rather than written from scratch…it's faster. Enterprise apps developers are assembling pre-existing components and services together in new and creative ways. And, once again...the assembly is faster.

Assembling enterprise apps is similar to building a mashup web app: it's based on creating what already exists in new and creative ways in order to meet a perceived need. And, in the enterprise apps world, we're seeing solution architects turn their focus from "what can we build to meet the need at hand" to "what can we assemble or stitch together to meet the need at hand".

The gist of enterprise applications solution design is moving from "what do we build" to "what do we reuse and connect". Think about that the next time you're performing or watching development work: how much is about the build and how much is about the assembly? I'll wager that you'll see the shift for yourself.

This is one of the big upshots underlying Fusion Applications. The apps were created, to a great degree, using this assembly method of development. And because of this, extending the apps is based on this assembly approach to development (connect pre-existing services and components in new ways). It's a quicker way to develop.

I'll Pass On The Black Box

2010-10-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

As others have pointed out over the past few days, I sometimes tend to drill deep into details (check the last blog post for a great example). They're right, but I have good cause for the drilling. It's because I don't buy into the black box.

What's the black box? It's the idea that you can successfully work with a technology without understanding it. It's a conscious decision to shield those people building and using technology from the "complexities" of the technology they're using.

I'm not a fan of the black box concept. In fact, I'm pretty insistent on building up my own knowledge and the knowledge of those around me in regards to the technologies we use. One example: My children all started to drive cars in their teens. Before allowing them to drive, I insisted that they learn the basic technology of a car. Check and add oil, change the air filter, inspect the battery posts, change the tires...that sort of thing. Because they're much more likely to be good and independent drivers if they know how the car works, especially when the steam starts to come out from under the hood on a hot summer night miles from civilization. None of my kids drove until they passed my test.

My personal opinion here: most failures with technology-related projects are rooted in a lack of fundamental knowledge about the technology used. I see it constantly and you probably do too.

Another example: think about how often we talk about protecting developers from the complexities of the database. Really? I'm thinking I want the developers to be experts on the database, so that it can be leveraged to build great solutions.

I feel the same way about Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). Love the efficiency of the IDE concept, but now we're in danger of creating a generation of developers who only know IDEs. Such developers will eventually run into something they're unable to solve; they'll have to find an "expert" who can work outside the IDE. To build great solutions, we must understand the detailed technology behind the IDE.

The bottom line: I think you have to understand the technology you're using before you can use it well. So I'll pass on the black box myself. How about you?

SQL Tuning - Low Hanging Fruit

2010-10-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Helped an old client out with some SQL tuning issues today. They've moved some of their E-Business mod plsql customizations over to APEX in preparation for an upgrade to R12.1.3, but they ran into some performance issues. Turned out to be a very basic issue but, with some many customers in the midst of undertaking this kind of thing, I thought it might be helpful to have a basic review of SQL processing. Because close to 70 percent of the tuning issues I encounter with Oracle databases are caused (at least in part) by issues with SQL statements.

So, without getting too deep into the weeds here, let's look at what happens when a SQL statement is processed for the first time: hard parsing and execution.

Parsing generally consists of the following steps:

1. Check the incoming SQL statement for syntax errors

2. Validate referenced objects for existence and accessibility

3. Generate basic parse tree structure

4. Determine the best execution query plan for the statement based on the Cost Based Optimizer (and CBO is way beyond the scope of this discussion - find more here).

After parsing, the statement is executed according to the plan. While that sounds pretty mundane, there is an important process from a performance perspective that takes place during execution: a cursor (a pointer to the parsed plan that can be shared and executed by multiple other SQL statements, even in multiple sessions) is created and stored in the library cache.

Now why is a cursor so important to the performance of SQL statements? Because ti smooths the way for subsequent SQL statements that are identical in nature. The parsing of a statement is where all the heavy lifting is done - it's a CPU-intensive operation and a drain on database server resources. But when the database server is able to match a submitted SQL statement to a cursor in the library cache, most of the heavy lifting of the hard parse is eliminated…utilizing an already parsed plan on a different query is called a soft parse. It's a lot like using an existing wheel design rather than reinventing the wheel.

So, while all this technical overview stuff is well and good, how can you leverage it? Well, one idea that immediately comes to mind (and one of my favorite checkpoints when tuning SQL statements) is using bind variables. A bind variable is a placeholder in a query. An example:

Coding in a hard value yields a select statement like:

Select * from Supplier where Supplier_ID = 654;

If I worked a LOOP into my query to cover a range of hard coded values, my SQL statement would go through a hard parse each time it ran through a cycle of the loop: painfully slow and potential reducing my system to the speed of molasses…running uphill…in the winter.

If using a bind variable, I would write the Select statement as follows:

Select * from Supplier where Supplier_ID = :suppid

I'm using ":suppid" as my bind variable. Now when I use LOOP logic, I can generate a range of values for my query results. Each cycle of the loop will now leverage the cursor created during the hard parse of the first cycle of the query. Significant performance gains over the hard-coded statement.

How much improvement? Your mileage will vary according to your hardware and software environment. But just for the sake of discussion… My Oracle database test bed is on a CentOS Linux VM, running on a duo-core iMac with 4GB of ram. If compare the performance results of two queries similar to the examples shown above, the bind variable yields results about 10 times faster than the hard-coded example. What that should tell you is that the statement with the hard-coded value spends much, much, much more time parsing than actually executing my query. Again, your mileage could vary significantly.

So, where is this story going? When my old client (and friend) called for a little quick help today with some performance tuning, it didn't take long for me to start checking his SQL. Want to guess the first issue I found? Yup, statements with hard-coded values. After tweaking the code to use bind variables, we picked up performance by orders of magnitude. Easy win, low-hanging fruit, just by applying a fundamental concept.

And we won't even talk today about the scalability gains picked up by reducing the latching time through avoiding hard parses.

So, for all you E-Business customers with mod plsql and other SQL-based customizations out there (and I KNOW that there are bunches of you out there…we've all done it to some extent), check your code as one of your upgrade preparation steps. Hard coded values, full table scans…you might be amazed at the low-hanging fruit you can pick.

Got some good tuning stories? Share in the comments.

Fusion Applications - By The 3's

2010-10-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

My thoughts are coming at me in sets of three today…

I've been getting peppered with folks asking about whether or not they should take on Fusion Applications. Some are current Oracle customers and some are not…but I'm not sure that matters too much. The way I see it, different people will describe the value proposition for Fusion Apps in different ways, but it really all falls into finding value in one or more of three categories: the User Experience, the Applications Platform, and the Technology Adoption.

By the way, I freely admit that I stole the three categories from a slide shown repeatedly at OpenWorld this year, but the thoughts are my own...

User Experience

Anybody who reads here on a regular basis or talks to me for more than five minutes knows that I see the user experience (UX) as the biggest win in Fusion Apps. Three big reasons:

1) The UX is designed around shallow navigation, meaning the stuff you need to see is generally displayed on one page…fewer clicks. Lead to higher productivity for the people making their living with the apps.

2) The user interface is uses or is similar to tools we already know: the browser, Excel, instant messaging. Familiar look and feel…more productivity benefits.

3) Business Intelligence is cooked right into the apps. No leaving ERP apps to take a look at BI apps…but set that little blessing aside for a moment. The big win here is that you can leverage the BI elements to start managing by exception. Present the transaction exceptions to the analyst or specialist or whatever the correct title is this week rather than making them search for those exceptions…and let them fix those exceptions. Hmmm, analysis and management of exceptions…isn't that really the high-value activity we get from those analysts or specialist? Wow, this could actually free those folks up to do the job the boss wanted them to do when they were hired!

Applications Platform

Some folks (including me at times) really get pumped up at the thought that Fusion Apps are built with Oracle's Fusion development tools and run on Fusion MIddleware. But, to be honest, the folks with the checkbooks (the CFOs, the CEOs) couldn't care less. But they will care about three things:

1) Industry standards, which can actually work against vendor lock-in (including the redstack itself). One of the swell things about industry standards is that I can replace Oracle's industry-standard compliant components with another industry-standard compliant component…even some of that appealing open-source stuff. Replace JDeveloper with Eclipse. I've had good luck with using ActiveBPEL Designed with Oracle's Apps Server. And my E-Business test bed runs on CentOS Linux. So there's competition at the component level, and that's a good thing for both pricing and progress.

2) SOA. I personally like the SOA approach. We can get into discussions about Web Services versus REST and all sorts of nifty techie stuff, but that's not where the real appeal is for me. It's about reuse. One of the best ways to reduce costs in any effort is to build something once and use it many times. That's what services are all about. Build a service once and reuse it in many different processes for many different types of consumers. Play out this scenario to your CFO and watch the eyebrows arch with interest.

3) Getting back to industry standards, but with a point that merits individual consideration: loose coupling. The idea here is that if I build integration between two subsystems and one of those subsystems changes, the other subsystems and the integration I built will still work just fine. That's a huge cost saver when you're upgrading, or ripping and replacement, modules in your system. The applications platform in Fusion Apps leverages industry standards and SOA to make loose coupling the rule rather than the exception. More cost savings, greater flexibility - another nice case for the CFO's consideration.

Technology Adoption

Now, I know what you're thinking…what's the value to you just because Oracle is adopting some cool technology? In fact, doesn't that cost you money in the form of upgrading/relicensing? Hang with me through these three points and you'll get a feel for my perspective:

1) Think Modularity, which really ties back to that loose coupling argument I made earlier. Because of the technology upgrade, which supports loose coupling and industry standards, I can now uptake Fusion Applications on a modular basis: the apps are designed to co-exist with applications you already have in place. So if you have PeopleSoft HR, but like the Talent Management application in the Fusion Apps Human Capital Management Suite, it's doable. Ditto for Fusion Apps Project Portfolio Management with E-Business Financials. We're talking incremental uptake…moving forward in small steps. Less expensive, less disruptive moves forward than a "big bang"…appealing in this economic environment.

2) Cloud or SaaS. Oracle's been pounding this drum pretty hard lately, so I don't need to spend much time here. But think of this: If I can uptake incrementally, and I have interest in transitioning to a Cloud (maybe even inside my own firewall) or to Software-as-a-Service (either with Oracle or a 3rd-party), maybe it makes sense for me to go there incrementally? See the notes above on less expensive, less disruptive, etc.

3) Choices. Technology adoption gives you choices…falling behind the curve limits those choices. A non-Oracle example…my daughter bought an iPhone 3G a few months ago. Her idea was to jump on an iPhone and save a few bucks. Problem is that, just within a few months, the technology has passed her by: many apps won't run on her 3G iPhone (the apps need a 3Gs or a 4i). Fewer choices. Ditto for early adopters of Android phones, so don't blame it on Apple…it's just the nature of technology. My old Intel Pentium laptop is only good for Linux now…it can't run the latest Windows releases anymore. Fewer choices as technology moves on. Now here's the thing…as the choices wane, the higher the cost (effort plus dollars) of getting current - even if the dollar cost eventually drops, the effort continues to grow. Had I not upgraded that laptop several years ago, the effort of upgrading and moving all that data would be tremendous. Upgrading to E-Business 12.1.x from 11.5.10 is significantly less effort than upgrading from 11.5.4. Technology adoption provides more choices, and the competition amongst the choices keeps the cost of each choice lower - Adam Smith's "invisible hand" in action.

So, in a post-Oracle OpenWorld 10…after the Fusion Apps product launch, that's how I see it. Now your mileage could vary - you'll have to figure out the value in your own words for your specific situation. I just hope I gave you something to think about…in threes!

Some Thoughts On OpenWorld

2010-09-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to hold off on the rush of "hot off the press" news about OpenWorld in the hopes of sharing my opinions after processing my thoughts for a few days. Needed to some time to get past the buzz of the show and the disappointment of parting with dear friends again. Also needed a few days to get over the embarrassment of not recognizing Latin on one of my presentation slides (forget the memory lapse…me, the lawyer, unable to recognize Latin…humiliating). So after a few days of processing time, here's what I think on the major highlights of the event:

Exadata

The Exadata machine is really cool to look at…great looking hardware with a pretty sexy light array. And the performance is beyond impressive. Fast, reliable, with enough power in a small configuration to run email for most of the world. But as an apps guy, it just doesn't excite me much. And, looking from the perspective of a small or medium size business, the cost is probably way out of my league. Maybe it will get more traction with SMB as a deployed system for hosting cloud-based services, but that remains to be seen. So the resurrection of big iron isn't really doing much for me personally.

Exalogic

OK, cloud-in-a-box (aka the Oracle Exalogic Elastic Clound) is pretty interesting from a pure geek point of view. Like the integration of WebLogic and Coherence on an Exadata hardware configuration. But when I get down to practicality for most of us…well, see my thoughts on Exadata.

Forkin' Linux

Interesting that Oracle has decided to take their own development fork on Linux (Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel). I really like the idea of a Linux distro specifically tailored for Oracle products. Can't wait to see the performance benchmarks here.

But, on the flip side, this also sounds like a step toward a proprietary distribution and a step away from open source. Yes, a Red Hat - based distro will continue to be offered by Oracle. Still worries me a bit. We'll see how it plays out.

E-Business Support

Rimini Street's announcement that they're entering the Oracle E-Business Support market was really interesting to me. First, I think competition is good for buyers…the value for your dollar spent typically increases during periods of competition. This probably won't be any different. Second, I'll be interesting to see how Rimini Street's model for EBS support unfolds in light of the fact that EBS is an Oracle "home grown" application product line.

Fusion Applications

The curtains were finally pulled back on Fusion Applications, with general availability planned for the first quarter of 2011. While both the OpenWorld keynotes short-changed Fusion Apps in terms of allotted time, the individual Fusion Apps sessions were packed with functional and technical information. In particular, the Financial, Project Portfolio Management and Human Capital Management suites are pretty appealing. A strong user experience, industry standards - based integration, and dissolution of the divide between transactions and business intelligence all make for a pretty powerful combination. I especially see significant opportunities for incremental uptake in parallel with other ERP applications.

I'll write more on the latter two subjects here once I recover from my usual post-OOW letdown. In the meantime, share your highlights…hit the comments.

OOW - Sunday

2010-09-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

A big Sunday at what is shaping up to be a big OpenWorld…so big that Larry Ellison will gave a keynote this evening and plans another keynote for Wednesday. I had a little trouble keeping up with the stream of new announcements this evening, but a little help from my Twitter pals has kept me on track. Some of the highlights:

Cloud Computing

Oracle dove into the cloud computing business with a new hardware-software middleware machine branded the Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud server. The new product scales to 30 6-core servers connected by Infiniband networking and is compatible with the Exadata Database Machine. In addition to the new product, Ellison announced the formation of a Cloud Services division. All in all, a pretty big turnaround for a guy who poo-poo'd the cloud computing concept as recently as two years ago.

Forkin' Linux

Oracle announced that it will distribute it's own Linux kernel, Unbreakable Enterprise Linux, in addition to continuing a Red Hat-compatible offering. The upshot here is optimizing OS performance for the Exalogic Elastic Cloud server mentioned above. So now Oracle customers will be able to choose between Oracle-branded Red Hat and Oracle's fork off the Red Hat kernel.

Fusion Applications

Ellison announced that the first release of Fusion Applications will generally available in the first quarter of 2011, with seven suites of 100 different products. Customers will be able to purchase individual products or a full suite. The lineup consists of Financials, Project Portfolio Management, Human Capital Management, Procurement, Customer Relationship Management, GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance), and Supply Chain Management (which includes the app getting my vote for the best acronym - Distributed Order Orchestration or "DOO").

We'll see much more of Fusion Apps throughout the conference, so ya'all will have another chance to see why I'm so excited about this product release.

More coming…this definitely will not be a dull week!

OOW - One More Thing

2010-09-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

So as Oracle OpenWorld approaches, I'd like to point out one more session that may be worthy of your consideration.

For the first time, we'll see a track at OpenWorld directly positioned to Oracle Applications customers interested in leveraging Fusion Middleware ("FMW"). If you're considering extending your applications functionality with FMW, I'd recommend one session in particular:

Hasan Rizvi's General Session: Maximize the Value of Your Oracle Applications with Oracle Fusion Middleware. It's Tuesday at 12:30 in Room 102 of Moscone South.

Why do I think this session could be special? First, we'll hear how Nextel and Hologic are using FMW components with their Oracle Applications. Second, we'll see a mobile app demo that uses ADF Mobile with the E-Business Suite (this alone makes it worth attending in my book).

You may want to put this session on your calendar…

On The Eve Of OpenWorld...Upgrade!

2010-09-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

On the eve of OpenWorld, it seems like we'll hear lots of exciting news.

Most of us in the ERP world are excited about seeing more details on Fusion Apps (even though the general release may not happen before year end). It's understandable, as the Fusion Apps will be a game-changer in the Oracle ERP space.

We'll also likely hear some announcements about some new products as well as an acquisition or two. Larry's keynote will be fun as always…and it'll also be interesting if we hear from Mark Hurd.

But, getting back to the ERP space, a huge impending milestone for E-Business users should not be lost in the bright lights of OOW: Premier Support for the terminal release of 11i (11.5.10.2) ends in November. From that point forward through 2013, 11.5.10.2 customers are on Extended Support. While Extended Support ain't so bad in and of itself (unless you count on certifications with new product releases - and most of us do, given the rate of change in technology today), it may serve you well to keep a close eye on Oracle's Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline.

The Minimum Patch Baseline consists of those patches that you must…repeat: must…apply in order to qualify for Extended Support. The baseline is also required in order to upgrade, either to R12.1.3 or Fusion Apps. You can keep an eye on Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline, which is frequently updated, via My Oracle Support Note 883202.1. I suspect that the longer you stay on 11.5.10.2, the more patches you'll see in the Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline.

So, with all that in mind, my opinion? If I were an 11i customer, I'd spend some serious time at OpenWorld focusing on gathering information for an upgrade to R12. It's time to get on with your upgrade if you haven't done so already. A few reasons for my opinion:

The longer you wait to upgrade once Premier Support ends, the more complex the upgrade will become. Oracle will continue to produce new releases of R12, with new technology and new features…the further behind you fall, the tougher it gets to catch up.

If you have your eye on upgrading to a later release of Fusion Apps, keep in mind an important point: 11.5.10.2 is a support "jump off point" for Fusion Apps version 1.0. No promise has been made regarding 11.5.10.2 and later versions of Fusion Apps.

We're starting to see more and more Oracle middleware technology move from OC4J to WebLogic. Sooner or later, it will likely happen for the E-Business Suite as well. Do you really want to roll a move to WebCenter into your EBS upgrade?

On the upside, R12 has introduced some valuable features. Subledger Accounting, more APIs for increased integration opportunities, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) all come to mind. Having a few recent R12 projects under my belt, I can really see the business value…it's worth looking at.

So, yeah, on the eve of OpenWorld I'm suggesting you 11i customers spend your time at the conference checking out your upgrade options. It's time.

So Many Moving Parts

2010-09-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

I recently received a pretty cool little gift in the mail from MIchael Stewart at Red River Solutions. Seems he's teamed up with my pal John Stouffer to produce a new book: Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i & 12 Apps DBA 101. Nice of the guys to send me a copy.

After spending a few hours reading through the book and checking out some of the references, I suspect it will spend more time in the field with me than on my bookshelf.

The premise of the book is that, with the E-Business Suite, there are so many moving parts. Despite covering all those moving parts, It's a quick read, coming in at 105 pages. But it's chock full of references (Oracle Support notes, blog urls, ideas and lessons learned by experience. The book is a pretty powerful reference work for an Apps DBA managing an Oracle E-Business Suite environment.

Keep an eye out for the book at OpenWorld this year. Highly recommended reading.

Oracle OpenWorld 2010 - What Looks Good To Me

2010-08-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Oracle OpenWorld is staring us in the face. With the combination of iDevelop, JavaOne and OpenWorld, San Francisco will be an overflowing mass of humanity determined to attend sessions, network, and socialize. And what would OpenWorld be without another "What Looks Good To Me" blog post?

The idea behind the "What Looks Good To Me" post is to tell you the sessions that look good to me, because I really don't think I'm all that unique…some of the stuff that looks good to me may be interesting to you too.

As you consider what looks good to me in building your own schedule for OpenWorld, you should keep in mind my focus areas (yours could be different). Because I know I can't possibly take it all in, I tend to focus on specific areas of interest when I go to any software conference, including OpenWorld.

My areas of focus for this OpenWorld are Fusion Applications (finally, we're really lifting the curtain and sharing detailed information…I can't wait to hear the customer reaction), E-Business R12.1.3, latest developments in Oracle's User Experience efforts, and exploring proactive approaches to Oracle Support. While I normally like to explore the PeopleSoft and JD Edwards spaces as well, I don't think I'll have much chance to do so because of my focus on Fusion Apps and EBS 12.1.3…wish I could clone myself to cover it all.

I should also point out a pretty significant leaning toward Project Portfolio Management, Financials, and Human Capital Management in anything involving Oracle Applications (because implementing and upgrading those suites is how I make my living).

So I've broken my listing this year into four categories:

1. My Stuff: These are the sessions in which I'll be presenting. Hey, why write a blog if you can't plug your own sessions? Besides, I'm my own favorite speaker and I'm sure you agree…right? Right? Hey, what's that look about? Rolling your eyes and all? Just nod your head to make me feel good and read on, OK?

2. Fusion Applications: Yes, we're going to see detailed sessions on Fusion Applications at this year's OpenWorld. We'll even be able to use the "F" word ("Fusion") and everything. I'm really looking forward to seeing customer reactions…this will probably be the high point of the conference for me this year (especially the User Experience aspect of Fusion Applications, which is probably the biggest benefit of the new applications suite).

3. E-Business Suite: Release 12.1.3 recently rolled out, providing new functionality. 11.5.10.2 transitions to Extended Support this November. Many customers have started planning their upgrades. OpenWorld marks the beginning of a hugely important 12 month period for existing E-Business customers…I'm looking forward to hearing the message in this area.

4. Support: These sessions always seem to be the poor step-children of the conference - lightly attended, usually stuck off in some remote corner of the conference building. And I just don't get it. As much money as customers spend on support, you'd think they'd want to learn how to get the maximum value for their dollars. Anyway, over the past year, I've seen the beginning of a ground-swell with Oracle customers in taking a more proactive approach to support - working to reduce maintenance costs and concurrently working just as hard to address issues before they arise. It'll be interesting to see how Oracle Support addresses this building concern…I plan to spend some time on this area by attending at least three very interesting sessions.

OK, plus a 5th - Special Attention Sessions: These are sessions worth attending above and beyond everything else.

Format and Caveats

I've formatted all of the listings here to include titles and session numbers. I figure that, if something sounds intriguing to you, you'll look it up on the OpenWorld Schedule Builder, read the abstract, and review the logistics - why repeat that here? The exception is for My Stuff, where I provide day, time and location…hey, of course I'm going to provide all the info if I'm plugging my presentations.

I should also point out that, if you attempt to check out all the sessions I recommend here, you'll discover that there are scheduling conflicts. Unfortunately, you can't have it all in this situation. The sign of a good conference is the need to make difficult choices about how you spend your time. You'll certainly have to do some of that at OpenWorld.

And I should make an important disclosure: I have taken "the King's shilling" this year. Oracle is covering the cost of my attendance at OpenWorld. Feel free to take my opinions with a grain of salt if you see the need.

My Stuff

Altimeter's Oracle Open World Preview at The Four Seasons from 3 - 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. I'll be a panelist on the Oracle Users Panel - The End User's Point of View from 3:30 - 4:00.

OAUG Fusion Council Panel Discussion at Moscone West L3, Room 3016 - S318429. I'll be running over for the second half of this just as soon as my prior panel session concludes. I put this under "My Stuff" because I have a strong attachment to the Fusion Council, and I'll likely share my opinions more than once during this session.

Oracle Fusion Architecture: Choices, Choices, Choices - S316409, Monday, 5 - 6 p.m. in the Marriott Marquis Golden Gate B (I'm betting this will be a very intimate gathering considering the time slot and location - I'm thinking a combo presentation and piano bar may be just the ticket). I'll be talking about Fusion Applications, Applications Unlimited products, and how to figure out the way forward.

The Oracle Fusion Applications User Experience: Transforming Work into Insight - S318427, Thursday, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m, Moscone West L2, Room 2001. I'll only be presenting for a small chunk of this time slot, but I'll be telling a few good stories…should be worth your time.

I may also throw in a few Unconference sessions (love the OOW Unconference), so be sure keep an eye out for that.

UPDATE: I'll also be speaking several times during the week at the 20 x 20 Innowave Booth in the Exhibit Hall. I'll keep you posted as times are locked in.

Fusion Applications

Overview of Embedded Analytics in Oracle Fusion Applications - S318251
General Session: Oracle Fusion Applications Overview - S318276
Inside Oracle Fusion Applications: Understanding the Foundation - S318744
Oracle Fusion PPM: Next Generation Portfolio Management Applications - S318244
Oracle Fusion PPM: Next Generation Project Financial Management - S318425
Oracle Fusion Applications: Adoption and Deployment Overview - S318137
Oracle Fusion Applications: An Intro to Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager
Oracle Fusion ERP Applications: Answers to the Top 10 Questions - S318302
User Experience Innovations: Oracle's End-to-End User Experience Platform - S318250
Oracle Fusion Applications DNA: Functional Architecture Overview - S318138
Oracle Fusion Middleware Extensions and Patterns for Oracle Fusion Applications - S315584
Oracle Fusion Applications and Primavera: Next-Generation PPM Your Way - S318246
Understand Fusion Applications for E-Business Customers - S318303
Understanding Fusion Applications for PeopleSoft Customers - S318304
10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Fusion Applications - S316898
Introduction to Fusion Applications Architecture - S316941
Oracle Fusion Applications: Technical Architecture Overview - S318135
Oracle Fusion Principles: Lessons for Oracle's Applications Unlimited Customers - S317566

E-Business Suite

Oracle EBS SIG - S318582
OAUG Upgrade SIG - S318420
Quick-Start Session: Realizing Value with SOA
General Session: Oracle EBS Vision, Strategy and Roadmap - S318106
Oracle Project Analytics for Oracle E-Business Suite - S318187
10 Steps to Success: Your Oracle Certification Advisor - S313368
Replacing Oracle E-Business Suite mod_plsql Apps with Oracle APEX - S315649
Upgrading to Oracle EBS Release 12.1: Technical/Functional Panel - S317115
Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Certification Primer and Roadmap - S318119
The Value of Upgrading to Release 12.1 for Projects - S318147
Top 10 Recipes From Oracle E-Business Release 12 Financials Cookbook - S316415
Migrating to Oracle Subledger Accounting in Oracle E-Business Suite 12 - S315480
Building Mobile Solutions for Oracle Applications: Technical Insight - S317110
What's Next for Applications Unlimited User Experiences - S318252
Faster, Better, Cheaper Deployment with Oracle Business Accelerators - S318096
Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Applications DBA 101 - S316240
Oracle Database 11g Upgrade Essentials for Oracle E-Business Suite Environments - S314886
Get Ready for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1: Tasks to Complete Now

Support

Herbalife Case Study: Oracle Proactive Support Best Practices - S315890
Oracle Support: Unlocking Its Full Value - S317259
Best Practices for Patching and Maintaining Oracle E-Business Suite 12 - S317555

Special Attention Session

General Session: Oracle Applications Strategy and Roadmap - S318344. This session should be packed to the point of irritating the local Fire Marshal. Every Oracle apps customer should be here to learn about the strategies for the various Oracle apps product lines and how those strategies will play off each other.
Web 2.0 Versus Enterprise 2.0: Lost In Translation - S313346. The guys from the Oracle Apps Lab are pretty smart cookies. When they talk, I tend to listen...and even take a few notes.

So, there you have it...these are the sessions that look good to me at Oracle OpenWorld 2010. As always, comments are welcome.

EBS Extended Support - Minimum Patching Requirements

2010-08-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

The transition to extended support for EBS 11.5.10.2 is right around the corner - November. Some of ya'all are obviously going to stay with 11i and take advantage of the one year of free extended support. Fair enough…I've said before it would make sense for some customers to wait.

For those of you waiting to upgrade, I'd like to bring one really important point to your attention: Oracle's Extended Support policy for 11.5.10.2 requires a minimum baseline patch level. You can read about that minimum baseline in the following Metalink documents:

883202.1: Minimum Baseline Patch Requirements for Extended Support on Oracle E-Business 11.5.10

1116887.1: Critical E-Business Suite 11i (11.5.10) Extended Support Information on Minimum Baseline Patch Requirements

You will need to meet the minimum baseline patch requirements if you intend to receive Extended Support from Oracle for EBS 11.5.10.2. You may want to start reading now...

NOTE: Thanks to the OAUG Customer Support Council for bringing this issue to everyone's attention.

EBS 12.1.3

2010-08-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note: did ya'all catch the release of E-Business Release 12.1.3 over the weekend?

R12.1.3 is a maintenance patch, which means it can only be installed on an existing R12.1.x installation.

You can read about the details at Steven's blog: http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2010/08/ebs_1213_available.html.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Razor Blade Strategy

2010-08-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

I was talking today with a friend about the razor blade strategy: give away the razor itself and make money on the refill cartridges. It's a play to reduce up-front purchasing costs for customers in order to generate revenue (usually at phenomenally high margins) on the recurring sales required to keep the originally purchased goods useable. Check out the price of a Gillette razor, the check out the price of the refill blade packs and do a little math...any guesses as to where Gillette makes their profit on the deal?

Although todays' discussion had nothing to do with ERP software, I'm always struck by how effectively the razor blade strategy works in the ERP market. Talk to the applications sales reps from any of the major players: Oracle, SAP, whoever...doesn't really matter. All those sales reps will negotiate discounts on the purchase price of software (potentially huge discounts, even to the point of giving the stuff away, if you're talking in the fourth quarter of their fiscal year). But they won't budge an inch on the recurring maintenance/support fees...it's a percentage of list price. Not the price you paid for the software, but the price at which it was listed. Why? Because they're leveraging the razor blade strategy: anything made on the original purchase price is nice, but the real value of the deal for these sellers comes in the very-high margin recurring maintenance fees.

There's nothing unethical or dishonest about the razor blade strategy. I'm just fascinated by the way it plays out in different markets...razor blades, ERP software, and many others. Nothing like building up a massive annuity. And everybody has to shave, right?

Thoughts on OBA

2010-08-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

I've been busier than an ant at a sugar convention lately, working with lots of clients and potential clients in the various stages of implementing Oracle E-Business R12 (actually 12.1.2, but I was never any good with numbers; that's why I went to law school). Most of the companies I meet these days are small or medium size enterprises, which means they're very interested in Oracle Business Accelerators ("OBA").

I like the idea behind OBA - reduce the cost of application implementation by adhering to basic "best practices" and sticking with to the basics: minimal configuration, no data conversions or interfaces. OBA is a solution-driven implementation - here's the solution, make it work for your business. It's a powerful value proposition in the SME marketplace where every day and every dollar counts. OBA promises a less expensive implementation and a quicker transition from legacy systems to Oracle Apps.

How quick and how fast? Most of my work over the past decade has been for large companies implementing the E-Business Suite: implementations that run 12 months or more, with implementation costs running anywhere from $500,000 up, depending on the scope of the implementation, the level of customization, and the organization's ability to absorb change. With OBA implementations, we're looking at schedules of 8 weeks and up with costs running as low as 20 - 25 percent of what I've seen for requirements-driven implementations.

Of course, OBA has it's own limitations. SMEs often try to squeeze even more out of the cost and the schedule, which usually leads to a low-quality solution (haste makes waste…even an OBA implementation can only go so fast). Other SMEs plan for an OBA implementation, then want to tailor "just a few things" - which opens the flood gates to scope creep, which in turn leads to longer schedules and higher costs.

The trick with an OBA implementation seems to be managing client expectations and keeping a tight control on the project scope. The big benefit - it scales the cost and schedule of an apps implementation down to the point that SMEs can get into the game.

I've had pretty good luck taking the OBA approach recently at a couple of client sites; seems to work well when it's done right. Something for the SMEs out there to think about.

I wonder if we'll see an OBA approach for Fusion Applications?

Apple: It Just Works...Except When It Doesn't

2010-08-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

For those who follow this blog, you know that I sometimes digress from Oracle subjects. This is one of those digressions. You also know that I've been fiddling over the past year with Apple products…that's what this post is about.

I recently ordered a MacBook. It showed up via FedEx today. Happy day…or so I thought. See, I've got this great iMac sitting on my desk in my home office. Gosh, setting up this MacBook will be a snap…I'll just migrate my iMac setups to my MacBook using the highly-touted Migration Assistant.

So I tried the Migration Assistant. Tried it over wireless. MacBook locked up…reboot. Tried again…failed to make a connection…MacBook locked up…reboot. Hmm…maybe I'll try it over an Ethernet cable…failed to make a connection…failed to make a connection…MacBook locked up…reboot. Maybe it's my preferences settings on the iMac or something. I'll call Apple Support…but it turns out that nobody ever has problems with Apple after 6 p.m, so they've all gone home. OK, so Google is my friend…research…internet sharing settings look good…research…double-check settings…try again…failed to make a connection…MacBook locked up…reboot.

For those of you counting, you now realize that I've had to reboot my MacBook four times even before completing the initial install. So I completed the initial install without moving my iMac info over. After the install, I tried the Migration Assistant again. Wanna guess what happened? Yup…failed to make a connection…MacBook locked up…reboot.

So now I'm more than a little perturbed…I can get this same user experience by installing Linux on my old HP laptop and save a ton of money doing it. So I call the Apple 24 Hour Customer Service Hotline to work out a return (keep that 24 Hour label close at hand - it's important for what comes next). I'm informed by a 24 hour automated attendant that everyone on the 24 hour customer service staff has gone home…please call back tomorrow…click…buzz.

Now, let's be straight here: I buy Apple products because they just work. And I pay a premium over a Windows or Linux system specifically because the Apple products work great out of the box. But I guess the motto now is that they just work…except when they don't. And I'm thinking about my experience with this MacBook as I hear the software gremlins laughing hysterically in the background…and the AntennaGate Scandal with the iPhone 4…and how the new iOS is bricking the iPhone 3G…and WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON UP IN CUPERTINO??? I'm suddenly feeling the urge to log onto Metalink, just for the relatively higher personal touch.

Wow…just wow. Maybe I'll keep this MacBook if I can get it to work over the next few days (I've got 14 days to return it) just for the fun of working through the problem on my own or maybe I won't. But I do know that, after tonight's experience, the Steve Jobs distortion reality bubble in my house has popped.

How Is The New Gig?

2010-08-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have lots of people asking me how my new gig is going, so I thought I'd take a little self-indulgent departure to provide an update here.

I've admittedly had to adjust a bit in leaving JPL to join Innowave Technology. I've been out of the consulting game for 8 years and things have changed. I'm learning to be more flexible in the face of rapidly-changing circumstances; it can be a little bumpy teaching an old dog new tricks, but I'm getting there. My day is full of variety and rarely goes the way I think it will over breakfast.

It's a pretty interesting time to be at Innowave. Lots of concurrent projects, expansion into new niches, and a rapidly-growing business backlog are driving us to change our delivery model a bit (changing to support expansion is a nice challenge to have). it's been exciting to have the opportunity to test some of my own ideas in the SME (Small and Medium size Enterprise) market, including some of the ideas I've written about here. What makes it even more interesting is that Innowave is an SME itself, so I see the impact of my decisions and actions right away. I think I've been a positive influence so far, but there's still much to do.

The downside? I see so much I can do, but I've learned very quickly that I just don't have the bandwidth to do it all. Busy, busy, busy. I've had to prioritize, which is something I detest doing. Some things of my contributions to the Oracle user community are falling through the cracks, and I have to figure out how to strike a better balance with that.

The bottom line is that it's really nice to be doing what I like doing the most: helping people learn to apply Oracle products to meet their business needs.

Now we'll get back to our regular programming...

More Cowbell

2010-08-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

For the younger folks in the crowd, "More Cowbell" is a classic Saturday Night Live skit that deals with the theme of emphasizing the details until they overwhelm the product (in the case of the skit, a musical product from Blue Oyster Cult). You can see the entire classic skit, in all it's low-res glory, here.

I see quite a bit of "More Cowbell" syndrome in enterprise apps; big emphasis on small functionality details that tend to overwhelm otherwise solid products. As I see more and more of this, my appreciation grows for clean and simple design.

Enterprise apps could take a page from web apps here. Rather than trying to be all things to all people (and ultimately satisfying none), stick to a basic functionality set and deliver that functionality set really, really well. Apps that attempt to cover 100 percent of the needs for 100 percent of the potential users wind up overwhelming, disjointed and ugly to use. I think apps that attempt to provide a 60 percent solution tend to see higher rates of adoption.

So, to all you enterprise apps developers out there, think twice before answering the next call for more cowbell. I'd rather have a nice little box of Junior Mints than a 12 pound chocolate bar that includes almonds, avocados, peanut butter, peach slices, and corn kernels made with Nutrasweet. Please, dial back on the freaking' cowbell already!

The Great iPad Experiment - Results

2010-07-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

The great iPad experiment has come to a conclusion and it's time to share the results!

As you may recall, I've been conducting an experiment with my iPad to determine if it can fill all of my mobile computing needs. Can it eliminate the need for a laptop or netbook?

I have several observations:

- The iPad is a great platform for consumption: movies, music, books, news, and other forms of media. The combination of the form factor and the superior media consumption experience are at the heart of what makes the iPad a revolutionary product.

- The iPad is also strong when it comes to what I'll call "light computing": checking email, writing text (SimpleNote has a simple UI and syncs all my text files between all my devices), and creating/editing simple MS Office-type files (I use DocsToGo, but iWorks for the iPad and QuickOffice are out there). The iPad is also pretty good for presentations - KeyNotes for the iPad is a great tool for working through digital projectors and the like.

- The limitations of the iPad become more apparent as I start to do some heavier computing. Complex Excel workbooks or Word files…can't do 'em on the iPad. DocsToGo is pretty quirky when I attempt to do things like hide presentation slides or add in animation or include graphics files. And iWorks for the iPad…well, i works hard to deal with the funky UI and touch commands. And my favorite web-based solutions like Google Docs or Soho don't work so well with the iPad. Really heavy stuff like running VMs - well, the iPad just isn't designed for it.

So my conclusion? I got pretty creative and pushed the iPad to the limit in hoping that it would do the trick. I did find the The iPad to be cool…even revolutionary…but I still need a laptop or netbook. Some of the things I do are just too much for the iPad (and please don't suggest I vpn back to my desktop - I have this thing about snappy performance that just isn't satisfied over a 3G pipe). I'll be relying on the iPad at conferences (on the days I don't present) and for short trips, but it will see most of it's duty when I'm reading in bed or sitting in my recliner at home.

Maybe someday in the future the iPad will be a full replacement for a laptop or netbook. I could see it happening. But today is not that day. Experiment over.

Now I just have to get the OK from my wife for a MacBook Pro with a snappy solid state drive (and I really like the form factor of the 13.3 inch MBP). Set it up with a Linux VM (for Oracle apps and tools) and a Windows VM (for Visio and MS Project), and life will be good. What do you want to bet I'll have to buy two?

UPDATE: MacBook ordered August 5th.

Going Native

2010-07-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting in the Ontario (CA) airport, waiting for a flight to Sacramento. The purpose of today's flight? In short, to show I care.

I'm spending time with a client today to help launch a significant JD Edwards implementation. While they know they need the system, they're understandably nervous about the project. I'm attending the project kick-off to show that our company will be there with them and to assure them that we'll do whatever it takes to get them across the finish line. Today is not about billing, generating revenues, or even sharing nifty Oracle tricks. It's about showing that we care.

In consulting, we often talk about consultants who have "gone native" - who put the needs of the client above the needs of their own company. It's usually spoken of as a bad thing. Me, I wish I could find more consultants like that. Happier clients, superior deliveries, a brand reputation that drives customers to the door. That sounds like the road to success for a service-provider.

I need to work harder on going native. Today is a step in that direction for me. How 'bout you?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

"Soup To Nuts" Goes Online

2010-07-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

Exciting stuff today. As you might recall, one of the highlights of Collaborate 10 was the all-day "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts" workshop. Unfortunately, some folks were unable to attend Collaborate this year, but still want the information from the workshop. Now it looks as though those folks are in luck.

OAUG, Quest, ODTUG, HEUG, IOUC, IOUG and Oracle have all worked together to take "Soup to Nuts" online. The all-day workshop has been broken up into a series of live seminars running from July 12 through 16 at noon EDT (U.S.) and 9 a.m. PST (U.S.). You can check out the abstracts and register for the FREE live sessions here.

Yeah, collaboration rocks!

SaaS and SME Customers

2010-06-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

The new job at Innowave Technology is pretty cool so far: good people, great projects, very challenging work. It's pretty neat to be in the only company with 3 Oracle ACE Directors. It's also pretty neat to have the opportunity to see many different situations with customers in the SME space and the ways in which they use Oracle products.

One trend I'm noticing already: there are not many of these customers taking a bite out of the SaaS apple. I'm surprised by that. Think about it for a minute…does it really make sense for companies with under $100 million in revenue to be taking on the infrastructure required for the E-Business Suite or PeopleSoft? I'm thinking that doing so consumes a hefty chunk of their margins.

Now here is the really interesting part. I've been asking those companies if they've considered OnDemand or another SaaS partner. Most were either unaware of the SaaS option or did not have a good understanding of post-implementation maintenance costs for the apps they're implementing.

My conclusion: we're not doing a very good job of getting the SaaS message across to the SME customers. Which is surprising to me, considering they're the customers that have the most to gain from that message.

I'd be interested in hearing your observations. Are you seeing the same lack of traction for SaaS with SME customers I'm seeing? Find the comments.

Resilience and Relationships

2010-06-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be a wild ride, so hang on tight to something really solid…

I've been reading and re-reading lots of interesting stuff lately: Jeremy Gutsche's Exploiting Chaos, The Age Of The Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo, and Tom Peters' classic Re-Imagine! have all been pretty typical fare for me over the past few weeks. Some pretty interesting common themes between all this reading, which has altered my perspective in terms of the way I look at some things. I can't do justice to any single work of any of the authors I've mentioned in this space, but I'll try to whip up a short version and hope I get my point across.

Ramo describes the idea that we live in a sandpile world. The idea is that if grains are continually added to a sandpile, first the sandpile will form into the shape of a rough cone and then an avalanche of sand will eventually occur. The really intriguing part of this idea is that there is no model that will accurately predict when the avalanche will occur…or where in the sandpile…or how large of an avalanche…or what type…well, you get the idea. Pretty much unpredictable. There are so many grains of sand interacting in the sandpile that we simply lack the knowledge to create a model that accounts for all the interactions of all the grains in the network of the sandpile (even one as small as 2 inches diameter at the base). The concept that seems to make the most sense in dealing with the sandpile is to treat it as an object or a system unto itself; a system of sand grains all networked together to form the sandpile. Then accept the idea that the system forms to the point of instability - the pile will form in a cone shape until the avalanche occurs.

Seems that the sandpile model works pretty well in dealing with the current world that we all live in. Our global community is now so tightly networked that it's impossible to account for all of the influences each of us has on all of the rest of us. The millionaire in Palm Beach now shares certain risks with the Bolivian farmer (commodities prices, global warming and viral outbreaks all come to mind). Some of our systems, or sandpiles, have formed to the point of instability and an avalanche has occurred (the mortgage banking crisis in the U.S. is an excellent example - we piled on easy credit until the whole sandpile collapsed). And as we change things, it's really impossible in this tightly networked global community to predict exactly what the results those changes will bring about. Did the inventor of the cell phone have any inkling of the resulting impact on the personal computer market? The Internet was initially developed to provide a means of communication in the event of a catastrophic event; now it's sometimes used as a means of causing catastrophic events. Did Henry Ford foresee the impact on the oil markets when he started up his first assembly line and began cranking out cars?

Now stop and think about this for a few minutes in terms of your own enterprise: you're facing an environment where changes to that environment are unpredictable in terms of timing, size and impact. Kind of makes you want to crawl inside a hole and pull the hole in after you, doesn't it?

The good news is that, unlike the grains in the sandpile, we're intelligent and self-aware. Although we can't change the uncertainty of the sandpile world we find ourselves in, we can adapt to the apparent chaos (and I use the word "apparent" because it's not really chaos…it's just that we don't understand it yet) and even exploit it for our advantage.

All this reading has prompted me to stop looking at enterprise architecture from a classic architecture point of view and to start drawing analogies to organic systems. In doing so, I've arrived at a bit of an "aha" idea: It's all about resiliency and relationships.

Ramo points out that our own immune systems are great examples of resiliency. Sometimes our immune system prevents sickness and sometimes it fights sickness off. In either case, our immune systems adapt and learn from the experience…the system is flexible enough to survive and even improve under pressure. Now think about your own enterprise architecture. Is it a cobbled-together pile of pretzel logic or is it flexible enough that you can adapt under pressure (pressure from economic changes, pressure from technology market changes, pressure from demands for new functionality or information, etc.)…even pressure that you can't control or predict? Here are some hints:

1) if you can find instances of tightly coupled interfaces or customizations of 3rd-party packaged code, odds are pretty good that we won't use "resilient" as a description of the architecture. Loose coupling (like SOA) and bolt-on customizations (ADF or JSF) are keys to the flexibility needed to bounce back quickly in the face of rapid and unpredictable change.

2) If your concept-to-design-to-production process is measured in years, your ability to be flexible is…in the nicest terms possible…severely compromised (I could have used another term starting with "s", but thought better of it). Resiliency requires the flexibility to adapt quickly as changes are taking place, not afterwards.

3) How quickly does management see performance information (including the supporting "drill-down" details)? Is it near-real time, or is it 30 days (or more) after events occur? If it's the latter, forget resiliency. You can't bounce back if you don't know it's happened…

So now let's talk relationships. I can think of two ways that relationships apply to enterprise architecture.

First: The lasting relationships between data (this is the easy one of the two). Although applications typically come, go, and evolve, the data always remains. But it's not the data itself that drives the information that yields the nuggets of value that separate the successes from the also-rans: it's the relationships between different chunks of data. It's not just the size of your inventory, it's the number of inventory turns. Your revenue stream may eventually run dry if your customer satisfaction ratings are too low. It's not the number of electric drills you produce, it's the number of tires you produce that work as expected in the field. Who cares how powerful your vacuum cleaners are if nobody can figure out how to turn it on? It's the data relationships that matter. This is the upshot of the value you can squeeze from master data management and data warehouse tools…shining a spotlight on important and unique data relationships.

Second: The relationships between your enterprise stakeholders? How are the relationships with your customers? If they're good, you may get a feel for a sandpile avalanche early enough to do something about it. Even better, you may get a feel for some of the early results of your innovations. Gosh, you might even get enough early info to exploit the chaos a bit…if you're flexible (there's that word again) to act on the info quickly. Do your people work well in teams? Teams working together, given some autonomy and sense of purpose, tend to produce the best results…especially in pressure situations (check the stories of Apollo 13, the Lockheed Skunkworks or FirstEnergy Capital for some basic examples). How about your relationships with your suppliers? Do you help them so that they can help you? I could go on and on here, but the gist of the matter is that relationships between people matter…it's the distinguishing factor between people and grains of sand. Social networking, supply chain, talent management and CRM tools can all help here - are you leveraging these tools in a coordinated, orchestrated way?

Yeah, I know I went deep on ya'all with this particular rambling…my apologies. I'll try not to breathe so deeply the next time my neighbor sprays those pesticides in his backyard. In the meantime, the important thing to take away: the important aspects of a good enterprise architecture are resilience (the flexibility to adapt, especially in the face of unpredictable change and pressure) and relationships (both data relationships and people relationships). Take a look at your own enterprise architecture with those ideas in mind and see if your outlook doesn't change. Let me know what you think.

Dropping The Other Shoe

2010-05-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last post I wrote about my decision to leave JPL. Now about where I'm going...

Aw, c'mon, you had to know I had something in the works. This move is more about running to something exciting than it is about running away from anything.

I was fortunate enough to have several opportunities to choose from. Money wasn't really much of a factor (once you cover food and shelter, anything else is gravy anyway). Yeah, I got a little more...but I also passed on a lot more. This was more about doing work that excites me with people who share that passion.

One opportunity stood out: cutting edge work that I care about, the chance to work with people I like and respect, and a company that went the extra mile to let me know that they wanted me in particular.

I still have to pass a drug test (no worries - steroids don't improve your apps skills, so there's no point) and a background check (that could be tricky if they go back to my college days) but, assuming that goes well, I'll be joining the team at Innowave Technology. Really looking forward to working Basheer and the group at Innowave! Working together, we're going to make some dents in the universe.

So this is what it's like to really manage your career. Somebody tell LeBron I've got some cool new lessons to share!

Thanks again to the good folks at Talented Apps for inspiring me, and for all the people who have supported me in this. I'm a lucky boy.

We now return you to your regular programming.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Moving In A Different Direction

2010-05-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

"After a long and deep analysis of all of the factors that led to the disappointing early ends to our playoff runs over the past two seasons, we concluded that it was time… to move in a different direction. "… expectations …are very high and, although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment. This is one of those times."

The quote above is taken from Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's words on firing coach Mike Brown earlier today - it's heavily edited by me to fit my purposes here. Although I do think Mike Brown got a bum deal here, that's another story. I like the words in context of what I've done with my own career today. I submitted my notice of resignation at JPL.

Why? Three reasons:

1) I'd done what I came to JPL to do.

- Improved JPL's functional knowledge of the E-Business Suite.
- Helped improve JPL's relationship with Oracle.
- Established a project management methodology and a PMO.

All three long-term goals checked off…I've taken them all as far as I can.

2) I'd become very complacent and more than a little bored. I was slipping, my skill set was fading, and it was obvious I needed some new challenges to get my Mojo back.

3) The direction my shop is taking, in terms of more process control over IT projects, is directly opposite of the direction my own thinking is going (too much process control kills productivity).

I got a great deal of inspiration from the good folks over at Talented Apps, especially in terms of taking responsibility for my own career. So that's what I'm doing…we'll see how it goes. And, yes, I do have someplace I'm joining…but that's another blog post.

Just Do It

2010-05-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered 37Signals and have become a big fan. Like their apps and the way they think. I've really enjoyed their recent book Rework and their earlier book on web apps development, Getting Real. The latter book in particular really struck home with me, especially the technique recommended for building web apps:

1. Learn about the job that needs to be done (which is very different from just gathering requirements).
2. Stick to including only essential features
3. Put up a UI prototype based on what you know.
4. Gather feedback on your prototype.
5. Revise your prototype for the feedback you receive.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you get something worth putting up in production.
7. Build the necessary back-end coding.
8. Put your app up in production

If your app needs more after the first production release, rinse-wash-repeat.

The upshot here is to get up and do something...just do it. The book also suggests that this technique applies to much more than web apps and, after some consideration, I agree.

Last week, I had the good fortune to attend an OTN Architecture Day focused on SOA. The major concerns I heard repeated by others in attendance: it's darn near impossible to make a strong business case for SOA. And they're right. When you just consider Oracle's flavor of SOA, the breadth of the architecture is so wide that it's hard to envision how anyone could build a business case that covers it all. It's like trying to boil the ocean.

A better scenario would be to make a business case based on a job that needs to be done (or currently gets done in a cumbersome way) and make a business case specific to that job that needs doing. Maybe it's building reports with BI Publisher, or putting together some dashboards with OBIEE, or building a custom process with BPEL. Take a small case and limit your scope, then write a business case for resolving the issue with a small piece of SOA. Stick to essential features, which will keep the cost down, and bring it up quickly. Bring in your SOA incrementally, piece by piece in a way that makes sense, rather than attempting to swallow the entire pill at once. Any guesses on the process I'd recommend following to bring up your first SOA increments?

We could apply the same approach to implementing Enterprise Applications. Chuck most of those ugly written deliverables into the garbage…nobody reads them once the implementation is done anyway. Substitute "conference room pilot" for "UI Prototype" in the steps listed above. Switch out "back-end coding" for conversions, interfaces and bolt-on customizations. Looks much more do-able in a shorter time span now, doesn't it?

I think this stuff applies in many more areas of life, both inside and outside of IT. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, you can check out 37Signals at signal vs noise.

Some Things Take Root

2010-05-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not writing about Unix or Linux root, as fitting as the title would be for that. I'm actually writing about experiences that are so positive that they take hold of us and make us want to repeat them. Much like a seed taking root in the ground, these experiences take root in us. Some things really take root with me.

Participating in the user feedback labs from the Oracle User Experience team is one of those experiences that has taken root with me…I do it every chance I get. My most recent experience was at Collaborate 10.

I started off spending some time with Erika Noll Web (one of Oracle's User Experience Managers) and Sid Chilakapati (a Project Manager of Oracle's Fusion Applications Support Team). We spend a significant amount of time talking about the potential for light-computing applications with the iPad and the iPhone. The conversation grew to include the Android operating system as well (Sid's an Android guy). We also ran through some changes Oracle has in mind for My Oracle Support - drilling down into research by product and business process. As a functional guy at heart, what I saw rocked…hope it makes it to the light of day. Also put in a serious plug for dumping Flash in My Oracle Support in favor of HTML5, so I can do research on a mobile device. Great conversations with very bright people who went out of their way to make me feel at ease.

I also managed to get in some time with my old pal Santosh Astagi, whom I've talked about before here. This was a windfall - I had some time booked with him early in the day and had to miss out because of another meeting conflict that popped up. So I felt fortunate to get in some time with Santosh. He still has that same easy-going, no pressure style of gentle guidance that I appreciate some much when working through user experience testing. The guy is a master of capturing the essence of your feedback while keeping you comfortable, even if you struggle a bit. We worked through a Thematic Maps prototype that looked pretty spiffy to me…a couple of sticky points, but most of the user experience elements were already working pretty well for a prototype. A pic of the master and me here.

So again, the user feedback lab sessions were good experiences for me. The welcome was warm as I checked in for my feedback sessions. Heck, even the freaking' cookies were good! Seriously, kudos to Oracle's Gozel Aamoth, Lulit Bezuayehu, and Teena Singh for putting these feedback sessions together…this team really pulls it all together. A pic of the team here…hanging with some ugly old bald troll.

Now, I know what you're thinking…why in the world should you spend times at labs like this? Well, I think you get three things from it: 1) it's a window into the new efforts coming through the Oracle development pipeline; 2) this is a pretty direct means of getting input into Oracle's development of new products - if you don't like what you see, these folks are taking that back to the product development teams…and I've seen first-hand the changes resulting from that input; and 3) it's fun! Give it a try once and see if the experience takes root with you. I'm sure they'll be running more user feedback session at Oracle OpenWorld this year.

I wonder if there's a user feedback lab at the OHUG next month?

Highlights From The Bright Lights - Thursday

2010-04-26T21:44:00.001-07:00

Thursday was wrap-up day for Collaborate 10. John Stouffer gave a great session on managing R12 with OEM and the Application Change Management Packs...pretty informative for a guy who insists that his DBA title stands for "Don't Bother Asking" :0

We wrapped up Collaborate with a podcast session: a bunch of pals sharing highlights and conference impressions with Oracle's Bob Rhubart for The Oracle Technology Network's ArchBeat podcast series - it should be posted soon.

Two more posts coming in a day or so: one on announcements and serious items, a second self-indulgent post on personal high points.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Highlights From The Bright Lights - Wednesday

2010-04-26T21:43:00.001-07:00

So what did I do with my Wednesday?

Oracle's Lisa Parekh gave a great presentation on EBS Technology Essentials...I had trouble keeping pace with my note taking, because the session was packed with great content. I found the material on enterprise search in EBS to be pretty interesting.

I caught up with old friend Steve Sutphin and we compared notes on R12 upgrades...same experiences as those in my previous post, but it was good to hear it from a seasoned vet.

Had the good fortune to attend the EBS RAC Customer Advisory Board meeting. They have some really juicy projects on the table that I probably can't talk about (darn those pesky NDAs)...we're going to see some great innovation coming here, and I'm hoping it shows up quickly.

Also got some time in with the Usability Labs, which is always a real hoot. More on this later, because it rates a post of it's own. If you want to get a feel for Oracle's future direction, get into one of these hands-on labs. It's time well-spent.

So now it's on to Thursday...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Highlights From The Bright Lights - Tuesday

2010-04-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

OK, I know what you're thinking...that Floyd is one heck of a slacker! Here it is 4 days after Collaborate 10 closed out and he's still posting show highlights. To be honest, I got sidetracked by a developing situation that required my attention...not going to talk about it just yet, but think "book" (among other things). So let me refocus and wrap up the highlights for the last days of the show...starting with Tuesday.

Tuesday was pretty much spent focusing on EBS. Spent some time hanging out on the exhibition floor with Art Dowd and Mark Clark from O2Works, just chatting about the state of the industry and comparing notes on R12 Upgrade experiences. Then did the same thing at the TruTek booth with Barb Matthews, just chatting with EBS customers who wandered by. Did the same thing throughout the day, just wandering the hallways. The consensus lined up with my own upgrade experiences so far: the technical portion of the upgrade runs fairly smoothly if you successfully research and apply all the pre- and post-upgrade patches relevant to your particular configuration (admittedly a mighty big "if"); but I did not find a single Financials customer who did not struggle with upgrading AP. That same story was consistent with what I heard from customers while sitting on the Upgrade SIG Panel later in the day. Funny thing - I had private chats with several customers from the U.S. Northeast who are struggling with upgrades and roadmaps, but have yet to check in with the great resources available from the Northeast GEO...somebody help me with the logic on that one?

My one non-EBS activity was speaking with the South Central GEO. Spent about 20 minutes contrasting and comparing the upgrade paths for Fusion Apps 1.0 and EBS 12.1.2...OK, I guess I never did stop the EBS focus after all ;)

Next up is Wed. & Thurs.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Highlights From The Bright Lights - Monday

2010-04-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Monday at Collaborate 10 proved to be a pretty interesting day.

I woke up Monday morning certain of one fact: I'd be very excited to be part on an early implementation of Fusion Applications. If you're going that route and want help, we should talk.

In Charles Phillips' portion of the keynote address, we learned that Sun Sparc Solaris will be the flagship OS going forward and the Oracle-Sun stack will be the preferred stack going forward; all the innovation will roll out on this platform first. Linux will continue to be supported, but Sun Sparc Solaris is king once again. To that end, Oracle Enterprise Manager will be integrated (maybe expanded would be the better word here) with the Oracle full Oracle-Sun stack.

Thomas Kurian shared the news that Oracle Corp. has been live on EBS 12.1.2 since last October. He also announced the new Orcale Financial Close Management and Disclosure Management applications - both founded on Hyperion/Essbase. He also announced the strategy of using GoldenGate to integrate OLTP reporting in a separate instance. He also gave us a sneak peek at the new Oracle Enterprise Manager.

Steven Chan's presentation, as always, was interesting. I found it intriguing to hear that Oracle is now running some development instances on Amazon's EC2 cloud.

John Stouffer's EBS upgrade versus reimplement panel was also fun. I took more than my share of good-natured hazing from the technical folks on the panel. But I just let it slide, 'cause sometimes it's good therapy to let those slow-witted techies think they're clever ;). After engaging in that panel, my own impression remains the same: reimplementing is like getting a root cannel...without anesthesia...while in an IRS lobby waiting for your tax audit. The best path for EBS customers is usually the upgrade path. Don't reimplement unless you absolutely, positively, without a doubt must do so.

On to Tuesday!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Highlights From The Bright Lights - Sunday

2010-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday, the first day of Collaborate 10, was probably the best conference kickoff I've ever experienced. And that's mostly because "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup To Nuts" absolutely rocked! Some of the highlights (and these were tough to choose, simply because the whole seminar was a series of one highlight after another):

- an ADF application built from scratch in 10 minutes
- a great give-and-take exchange on AIA
- a BPEL process built from scratch
- a use case on SOA uptake, where we learned that communication and coordination were much bigger challenges than the technology uptake
- a use case on using Fusion Middleware with JDE World
- a great question-and-answer session revolving around development tools, middleware, and Fus...uh, I mean Next Generation...Applications.

Great collaboration at Collaborate between OAUG, HEUG, ODTUG, Quest, IOUG, IOUC and Oracle. Kudos in particular to ODTUG, especially John King from King Training, who really went the extra mile to make this seminar work...just a great bunch of people.

It was also pretty cool to see the Oraclenerd hanging out in the back row.

The day was topped off nicely with the OAUG 20th anniversary bash and a wonderful ACE dinner. Really looking forward to Monday...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Highlights From The Bright Lights

2010-04-15T21:32:00.001-07:00

So here we go...Collaborate 10 is about to kick off. I think it will be a pretty interesting conference for several reasons.

Oracle has already announced an extension of support for 10g AS R2. Will we hear about a similar extension for 10g AS R3?

The importance of AIA in Fusion Architecture continues to grow. What we will learn about it next week?

Lots of E-Business customers either are planning or should start planning their upgrade to R12.1.1. Those who have already worked through the upgrade will have info to share that many of us will want to hear.

With the demise of mod plsql in EBS, are customers really rewriting their customizations in OAF? Or are they building interfaces to APEX and migrating their customizations to that platform? Or are they actually retiring those customizations due to new R12.1.1 functionality? Or are they doing something else altogether?

For those of you who can't get to Vegas, I'll be posting a series of nightly updates here: "Higlights From The Bright Lights" (as in the bright lights of Las Vegas).

And I'll also keep ya'all updated on my big iPad/iPhone experiment. What is the experiment? Well, I'll be in Vegas for 8 days...no laptop. I'm relying strictly on my iPad and iPhone: blog updates, 3 conference presentations, staying connected, the usual stuff - plus an APEX development side project that I'll be working as time permits. I've done short trips (3 nights or less) with just the iPhone, but I've never done anything this long and of this magnitude without a laptop. So I'll be putting the portable iStuff, especially the iPad, to the test. Can I really function for this long sans laptop? I'll keep you posted.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts - It'll Rock!

2010-04-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, as a kind of kick-off for Collaborate 10, Oracle and several of the Oracle user groups are “collaborating at Collaborate” to put on a free seminar: “Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts”. We’ll be exploring highlights of the entire Fusion Architecture stack, starting with the database and working our way up to Fus…uh, I mean “Next Generation”…Applications. And it’s going to rock!

We’ll start up the seminar at 10 a.m. with a quick welcome. Then we’ll start with the database (because everything starts with the database) as ODTUG’s John.King launches into a presentation of “Oracle 11g for Developers: What You Need to Know”. John will serve double-duty, taking a look at development tools and ADF at 11. At noon we'll break an hour for lunch.

After lunch, OAUG’s Ron Batra will take us through an overview of the Applications Integration Architecture (AIA). Then Oracle’s Margaret Lee and Nishit Rao will provide some insight into Fusion Principles.

After the Fusion Principles presentation, we’ve lined up something a bit unique: some customers will be talking openly and honestly about their experiences in using Fusion Middleware with their Applications Unlimited products. HEUG and Quest will be sponsoring this discussion. I’ve previewed the presentations…learned a few things myself. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the reaction of a customer story involving Fusion Middleware and JDE World. We’ve allotted 3 to 3:45 for these customer stories.

Once the customer stories wrap up, we’ll move on with a presentation from Oracle’s Usability Labs. Jeremy Ashley and Katie Candland will walk us through the concepts behind Oracle’s user experience work. This is a story that extends well beyond Fusion Architecture, but at the very core of the yet-to-be-released applications.

Next Debra Lilley, Basheer Kahn and I will present a 30-minute encore of our Unconference Session from Oracle OpenWorld 09: “Why We Can’t Wait For Fusion Applications”.

We’ll wrap up with a 30 minute Q&A session from 5:15 to 5:45, with a panel of experts from the user groups taking questions from the audience.

It’s a long day. But, like I said, it’s going to rock! Mandalay Bay Ballroom D, Level II; Sunday from 10 to 6. Hope to see ya’all there.

Collaborate 10 - What Looks Good To Me

2010-04-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Collaborate 10 kicks off in Las Vegas on April 18th. I'm actually flying out on the 16th to get settled in and attend to some OAUG-related pre-conference things. Overall, it looks to be a pretty good user conference. I'm personally going there to dig into 3 subjects: Fusion Architecture, E-Business upgrades to R12.1.x, and squeezing more value from the buckets full of money delivered for Oracle Support maintenance.

I'll also be engaged in presenting or hosting a few sessions of my own:

- Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts workshop: I think this will be a major highlight of the conference. Oracle, OAUG, Quest, ODTUG, HEUG, IOUC and IOUG have all combined forces to touch on some of the more significant components of Fusion Architecture. We'll be talking about and performing demos on the database tools, development tools, middleware, Fusion Principles, User Experience, and Fusion Applications. We'll dedicate a portion of the workshop to customers standing up and talking about their experiences with Fusion Architecture. Then we'll wrap things up with a panel answering audience questions. Sunday April 18th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mandalay Bay D, Level 2, South Convention Center. And attendance is free for all conference attendees.

- Release 12.1 - Reimplement versus Upgrade Panel: How I got invited onto a panel with all these smart people is beyond me. Show up for this session and we'll all learn a bunch about upgrading to R12.1.

- I also be dropping into a few SIG and Geo meetings, and may even wind up doing some Q&A at one or two of those sessions.

So, other than those sessions where I'm presenting, I looked over the catalog of sessions with my three areas of focus in mind. What follows is a list of the sessions that that look good to me. I didn't include session times or locations, as there is already a pretty nifty tool for looking all that stuff up here. If you do look up my list, you'll see there are time conflicts involved - a sign of a good conference is that you have to make difficult choices about how to spend your time - so you won't be able to catch all of these sessions...these are just the sessions that piqued my interest.

Fusion Architecture

- Oracle Fusion Applications: Functional Overview

- The Fusion Development Experience

- 10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for the Next Generation Applications

- Oracle Fusion Applications: Technical Oveview

- OA Framework Versus ADF: The Better Choice for the Best Benefits

- Technology Essentials: Using the Latest Oracle Technologies with E-Business Suite

- Fusion Applications 101

- Where in the World Are We? (This is a case study of a JDE World customer using Fusion Middleware...I'm really looking forward to this session)

- Understanding What Fusion Applications Means to You

- Web 2.0 User Experience and Oracle Fusion Middleware Integration with Oracle E-Business Suite

- A Technical Roadmap for Oracle Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite R12 & Oracle Fusion Applications

- Fusion Service Oriented Architecture Explained for Business Users

- Fusion Principles: Lessons in Fusion Middleware from Fusion Apps

Upgrading to Release 12.1.x

- Release 12.1 - Reimplement vs. Upgrade Panel - Functional and Technical

- Get Ready for EBS Release 12.1! Tasks to Complete Now to Ease R12.1 Upgrade Process

- Steps and Methodology For Custom Development in R12 E-Business Suite

- Building an R12.1.1 Sandbox Environment Using VMWare

- "KIcking the Tires" - Practical Use Cases for Sub-Ledger Accounting in E-Business Suite R12

- Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Road Map and Vision: Release 12.1 and Beyond

- Understanding SOA Maturity Phases in an Oracle E-Business Suite Implementation Lifecycle

- 11g Upgrade Essentials for Oracle EBS Environments

- Implementing an Advanced Architecture for Oracle E-Business Suite

- E-Business Suite in the Amazon Cloud

- The Latest on The E-Business Technology Roadmap

- Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Strategy and General Manager Update

- You vs The Bad Guys - The Top 10 List for Securing R12

- What's New in Oracle's Business Intelligence Applications

- Integrated SOA Gateway - Expose Oracle E-Business Suite Functionality As Web Services

- E-Business Suite 12 Upgrade--An Easier Ride on 9 Miles of Bad Road

- Technology Essentials: Using the Latest Oracle Technologies with E-Business Suite

- R12 Upgrades: Why, When, and How

- Best Practices for EBS R12 Upgrades

- Release 12 Technical Information - Intermediate

- E-Business Suite OAM Patch Wizard Utility

- Tuning the Beast (E-Business Suite) in a RAC Environment

- How to Manage Customizations Using Application Change Management Pack for Oracle E- Business Suite

- Upgrading to Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 - Best Practices

- Leveraging Cloud Computing in an ERP Ecosystem (OK, I cheated here - this isn't really about an R12 upgrade; I'm just interested in the subject)

Oracle Support

- OAUG Customer Support Council/Oracle Support Panel

- Creating Customer Value

- My Oracle Support - Working Effectively with Oracle Support

- Gain Efficiencies and Cost Savings with My Oracle Support Best Practices

- Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics & Health Checks

Lessons Learned The Hard Way

2010-04-09T21:19:00.001-07:00

I began a pretty interesting exercise during my time spent waiting for the morning train this week - it's amazing what your brain comes up with at 5 a.m. I began to make a list of lessons learned from project failures, focusing strictly on those project failures I've personally experienced. Dug up some really painful memories but gathered some really choice nuggets of wisdom. Thought I'd share a few and see what ya'all think.

One caveat: these points may seem a little on the dark or cynical side, but keep in mind that these lesson were learned through failure. That makes them lessons learned the hard way. Rest assured that I genuinely love what I do.

Now let's hit the list:

- A project delivering phenomenally-coded apps is still a failure if the users are not happy with the delivery.
- If your project sponsor won't back your project team when the pressure is on, prepare to observe the dirtiest side of a bus.
- Saying "no" to a sponsor, customer, or stakeholder is always a bad thing. Present the trade-offs and let the big dogs make the choices.
- Users always want to see a mock-up the minute you announce you'll be building a mockup.
- Multiply your development estimates by 3 and add 20% before you tell anyone how long you think it will take. It's never as simple as it looks at first.
- Users can never list and clearly describe all their requirements; do your best to gather requirements, do it quickly, build UI prototypes based on what you know, then show those prototypes to your users and be ready to take lots of notes.
- It's tougher to obtain true success with packaged apps than it is with custom development but, in either case, it's darn hard.
- Usability really, really matters - design with that in mind.
- If you work in the software business for any significant length of time, you'll experience your share of failures; learn from the experience and move on.
- It's all personal, regardless of what gets said.
- Being correct on technical issues does not mean you're right.
- Always have another set of eyes review your work.
- We're all selling all the time...it's just that some of us don't know it.
- Tighter teams deliver better products.
- Work can be stressful and fun at the same time.
- Be quick, but don't hurry - John Wooden; the idea is that hurried work tends to be sloppy work - follow the processes you know will work, but don't let process control stymie results.
- Tech is a means, not an end...the technically simple solutions are often the best solutions.
- Acceptance happens incrementally and is best started with the lowest layer of management.
- Flexibility and resilience are traits worth their weight in gold.
- The only thing worse than unemployment is to work and not get paid in some way for it.
- Schedule may matter most, but you can learn a lot by following the money.
- Love the work or find another gig - life is too short is labor away in self-imposed misery.

Long list, but I think it's a good one. Got anything to add to the list? Comments welcome!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let's Talk iPad

2010-04-04T21:15:00.001-07:00

Yeah, talking about the iPad is a little off-topic for this blog. But I really want to write about the iPad...got two on Release Day (if I had to share with my wife, I'd never see it)...and it is my blog, after all. And, as you'll see, it's not really all that far off topic.

So, yeah, I own a iPad now. Got the lowest-priced model: 16mb, no 3G. But my use case seems a little different from most - my primary intent is to create rather than just consume. I bought the iPad as an alternative to a laptop or a notebook; it's my new mobile computing platform. Fits perfectly into my workflow between my iMac desktop and my iPhone.

So, after a whole day, what do I think? Well, there's some good and some bad.

For the most part, I really like the form factor. It's small, light and mobile. But it's heavier than a Kindle - your fingers will feel the strain after holding the iPad in your hands for 10 minutes or so. And while it does feel great in your hands, the metal back makes it a little slippery - get the case.

The iPad is blazing fast - I've never seen anything quite so quick and responsive. The virtual keyboard, while better than the iPhone's, is not made for serious typing - looking forward to the full-sized keyboard/dock that should arrive next week (although I've also found that my Bluetooth keyboard works well).

Not really missing the MIA front-facing camera that so many have lamented. Nor do I notice the lack of 3G - this is my uber-netbook; I have my iPhone for connectivity when I'm out and about.

Overall, I'm pretty happy over my decision to roll the dice on an iPad. You can read lots of reviews on the workings of the iPad, so I won't rehash it again here...Google is your friend.

Still, what I'm really excited about is the game-changing nature of the iPad. No, not because it will drive down Kindle prices or cause netbook producers to adapt. It's not even the potential in higher education (all your textbooks on a single iPad) that really hits me. It's the potential for the iPad as a field service appliance and a mobile enterprise computing platform.

Let's talk the obvious first: how long do you think it will be before your doctor carries an iPad into the examination room to see patients? How about outside sales people? I wonder how my auto dealer will feel about having the service department storing all their manuals and technical service bulletins on an iPad? Hmmm...a full hardware catalog on an iPad? Get the idea?

Now let's talk enterprise mobile computing. Creating spreadsheets, presentations (including video projector interface), word processing, IMing, email...iPad does all that today...and for general and administrative white collar types, what else is there? Executives checking BI metrics between meetings without the need to open a laptop or netbook? Light mobile computing on the road (this thing is much lighter than a netbook or laptop, yet performs basic computing tasks just as well)?

Remember the scenes from Star Trek when an officer hands a report or duty roster to the captain on a nice, thin, rectangular little gizmo - that's an iPad possibility.

Heck, I even took a shot this evening at running Oracle APEX on my iPad (the web-hosted flavor)...so far, so good. Shades of SaaS - the iPad could be a pretty nifty client in that model. How about accessing your ERP system in a SaaS model via an iPad? Gosh, guess this post isn't all that far off topic after all, is it? I wonder how long it will be before some cutting-edge enterprise architect includes the iPad in the technology layer of his or her future-state EA?

Now, don't misunderstand - we're mostly talking potential here. And potential is a nice way of saying it ain't done yet. The iPad, out of the box, has definitely jumped to the top of the heap if you're looking to watch Netflix or read the NY Times. It will be some time before we see the iPad used in some of the ways I've mentioned here. Lots to be worked out - what's the TCO model as units owned by a single entity scales up? How is reliability (my display is showing signs of going south - headed to the Genius Bar very soon)? What unknown version 1.0 issues will iPad owners work through over the next few months?

Overall, I think I've held a slice of the future in my hands over the past 24 hours...my head is swimming with the possibilities...and they're all very cool!

BTW, I'll have my iPad with me at Collaborate 10 in Las Vegas later this month. Track me down if you want to take a quick turn at the wheel. In the meantime, hit the comments.

UPDATE: Daring Fireball's John Gruber posted a great iPad review. I really like his comment about how the iPad becomes the app. Check it out here.

UPDATE 2: Still loving my iPad a week later, but really irritated with AT&T. My options for 3G service here in the U.S. are to buy a more expensive iPad and pay extra for 3G service (above and beyond what I already pay for my iPhone) or do without on the iPad; AT&T does not support iPhone tethering in the U.S and my iPhone 3GS on 3.1.3 lacks a jailbreak solution. Working this week on tethering iPhone to iPad via Bluetooth and VNC (can transfer files via Bluetooth, but the actual tethering is still not happening). I think if I can't get it done, I may terminate my iPhone data plan with AT&T and pick up a Verizon MiFi. I'll keep ya'all posted.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Price of Progress

2010-03-31T05:09:00.001-07:00

In my home town, an old movie theatre was recently torn down. They're using the land to expand the local university...swapping a movie house for more capacity in higher education seems like a good thing. That's progress.

Still, I'm saddened by the change even though I haven't been back there in years. I have fond memories of that theatre. Going with my parents the first time I saw "Cool Hand Luke". Hanging with my junior high pals in the balcony on Saturday nights. Kissing my first real girlfriend while on a date in that theatre. Lots of memories and emotional attachments. In fact, if I'd had a vote in the matter, I'd have worked to preserve the place...benefits of progress notwithstanding. My attachments would have won out over my rational thinking. My world feels a little less secure today because that old theatre is gone...another thing I knew of first-hand no longer exists. But, that's sometimes the price of progress.

I wonder about the price of progress on the business world. Do some of us get attached to old business models or software applications? Do we resist change for the better for emotional reasons? Are we sometimes impediments to progress just because we don't want things to change? Pour out your hearts in the comments.

There’s No Pop Left In Big Bang

2010-03-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have the opportunity to hear from lots of people in the ERP business: customers, ERP software vendors, service providers, consultants…the list goes on. All interesting people with interesting views on marketplace trends. Many of them are continually asking the same question: “When do you think the ERP implementation market is coming back?” My own answer: “It’s not; it’s flattened out; we’re into the long tail at the end of the market.” Now before you all call me a heretic or start watering the lawn with your tears of frustration from my lack of optimism, let explain myself.

First, keep in mind where the real money is for ERP vendors and 3^rd-party implementation consultants: huge big-bang rollouts. The larger and more complex the initial implementation footprint, the higher the cost. The ERP software vendors have figured this out and switched their business models to emphasize cash flow from maintenance revenues that provide profit margins fatter than a redneck trapped in a bratwurst factory (But we’ll stick with the big bang subject here…maintenance margins rate a special post).

So with those two ideas in mind, consider the present growth in the ERP market for new implementations…which really drove the ERP market for years, mostly through big-bang rollouts. Most of the organizations that want and can really afford the big ERP packages (SAP, Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, etc.) already have one installed. SME customers can’t really afford the classic ERP system. So there’s really not a whole lot happening in terms of growth of the market. No big bang stuff coming from here. – the market is already oversold.

But what about upgrades, you ask? Well, applications upgrades are pretty typically activities that are under tight budgets and tighter schedules: no decent margins here. But there’s an even bigger elephant in the room that prevents most upgrades from becoming big bangs. With most ERP customers spending upwards of 60 percent of their operational IT budgets on maintenance (including those sizeable maintenance fees to the ERP vendors), most customers are loath to spend their precious dollars on applications upgrades every two to three years (incidentally, this is right around the time a customer starts to break even from the last upgrade). Rather than paying for upgrades, many customers are simply outsourcing the functionality previously provided by their in-house ERP systems: SaaS, Business Process Outsourcing, On Demand, whatever…it all comes down to following the money and, under current conditions, outsourcing is cheaper than maintaining and upgrading.

Oracle in particular seems to understand that big bang is dead – that’s the whole drive behind the “pillars” concept in Peoplesoft and Fusion Apps that has been ported over to other Oracle Apps Unlimited products. Customers can upgrade incrementally, which lowers the cost of upgrading. Incremental releases also provide more flexibility and “learning as you go” opportunities than big bang, so it’s probably a much better approach – big bang is really hard to pull off successfully. The bad news is that incremental upgrading will likely lead to a rise in maintenance costs due to the increased integration complexity, at least until customers drive the market to a more sustainable cost model for ERP maintenance.

The bottom line is that, for the vendors and service providers, big bang projects drove the market to the soaring heights we all remember. But now, ERP big bang is dead. And the strength of the ERP implementation market has gone with it. It’s not the lousy economy as much as it as that the market as matured – and there ain’t no coming back from that. If you make your living with big bang ERP implementations, stop hanging onto a shriveled market…long past time to find a new gig! Like an old firecracker, there’s no pop left in big bang.

Collab 10 Is Right Around The Corner

2010-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sitting on my deck enjoying the weather this fine Sunday morning in Southern California, just daydreaming about the next few weeks and months when it hits me…yow, Collaborate 2010 is right around the corner!

Important disclosure: I'm going. I don't need to persuade or be persuaded. The years I've attended have convinced me that it's a worthwhile investment, especially when Collaborate takes place so close to me (Las Vegas).

But I'm also betting that my case is different from yours. In another year of tight budgets and limited resources, you're probably wondering whether you should attend at all. And if you do want to attend, how do you justify it? For those of you in this position, I have three points for your consideration.

1. The real story in real time. What I mean here is that you'll get real stories from real customers on what they're doing in real time (the present) with the same challenges, products and tools that you're using in your own enterprise. Not much sugar coating or sales pitching here (although there will be plenty of both as well if you're into that sort of thing). Just the real story.

2. Networking opportunities. You'll have the chance to rub shoulders and talk shop with other customers with technical footprints and business situations similar to your own. Make a friend, swap business cards. Then the next time your company starting talking about the next upgrade, new product, or business process change, you can call up your new friend and do some informal benchmarking.

3. Learning and exploration. Lots of new products, tools and configurations first see the light of day at Collaborate, especially in the workshops. Need some advice on a specific challenge? Swing by the OAUG /ITConvergence both on the exhibition floor to "Get Expertise from the ACEs". Want to get a peek at the latest developments with Oracle Enterprise Search? Sign up for a an Oracle Usability Lab user session. Want some hands-on training with a specific tool? Check out IOUG's Deep Dive sessions and Bootcamps. How about some "let me drive" exploration of new products without someone hovering over your shoulder? Quest is sponsoring a Playday with "live drives" of JD Ewards, E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, BI Publisher, the User Productivity Kit, K-Rise Systems's EASYProcess and Hewlett-Packard's LoadRunner. Looking for information on Oracle Fusion? Come to the "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts" workshop.

So there you have it. Who knows what nuggets you'll be able to take back to the office? But if you want those nuggets, you have to come to Las Vegas to get them. Three fine reasons to be in Las Vegas from April 18 through 22 for Collaborate 2010. See you there.

About That R12 Upgrade...

2010-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

If you're an E-Business customer thinking about an R12 upgrade (and if you haven't already begun to at least think about it, you really should start now), there's an upcoming web presentation (an Oracle Customer Success Forum presentation) that might be worth your while.

Zebra Technologies recently went live with their R12.1 upgrade. You can hear their story on Friday, Feb. 5th:

Topic: E-Business Suite R12.1, Application Integration Architecture Foundation Pack, Database 11g

Industry: High Technology
Date: Friday, February 5th at 1:00pm EST (10:00am PST, 12:00 Noon CST)
Time: 10:00 a.m. PT (1:00 p.m. ET, 12:00 Noon CT)

Registration Link: here

Fusion Applications - Three Reasons To Care

2010-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

There's a lot to be excited about in the Oracle-verse these days: the EU has finally approved the Sun acquisition, Collaborate 10 is sneaking up on us, the upcoming release of Fusion Applications. It's all very interesting stuff, but it's the last one I want to dwell on for a moment.

During the closing moments of the OpenWorld 09 keynote address, we heard that Fusion Apps 1.0 would be released sometime in 2010. Since that time, I've met quite a few Applications Unlimited customers who are scratching their heads and wondering why they should care. The thinking is that, with the depth and breadth of the Fusion Middleware Suite, they can essentially get all the functionality of Fusion Applications from the E-Business, PeopleSoft, or other Applications Unlimited products they're already running. The point missing in this logic is that it's not just about the functionality of the products, it's about the business value the products provide.

So, with that in mind, let me quickly give you three reasons to care about Fusion Applications:

1) The user interface works like tools we're already familiar with. The first place a user lands is essentially a browser web page. A click or two takes you to detail laid out in a spreadsheet-like format - it's not exactly Excel, but it looks and works an awful lot like Google Docs (which, in turn, looks and works an awful lot like Excel). So, first reason to care: it's a short learning curve to master the user interface, because it works like tools we already know - which equals lower training costs and higher productivity sooner in the lifecycle.

2) The business processes have been reengineered, especially in Financials and Human Capital Management. To reengineer those business processes, teams of Oracle engineers have made site visits to a multitude of customers to learn first-hand about best practices in business domains like Accounts Payable and Talent Management (among many others). They have used that information to redesign business processes for Fusion Apps. It's not all finished - we'll see more business process reengineering surface in the apps in later releases (personally, I'm looking forward to the BPR in Project Portfolio Management). Still, Fusion Apps will have best industry practices built in out-of-the-box. So not only are you buying software, you're buying a best-practices business process model for you enterprise. You should see efficiency gains in short order, simply because the Fusion Apps business process model will help your enterprise do things right.

3) Business intelligence is baked right into the applications…it's no longer separated from the basics of doing the job. What this leads to is the ability to manage by exception…rather than monitoring the 500 purchasing requisitions that are smoothly flowing through the process of becoming line items in a purchase order, let's focus on the three that failed to work through the process - see them quickly (via BI), fix the exceptions (reported by BI), and move on. So now, my detail specialists - the folks who manage the basic business transactions, can work by exception: quickly chasing down the stray lambs rather than shepherding the whole flock - most of whom are doing pretty nicely without any detailed oversight by you, thank you very much! Management by exception increases the throughput of those specialists and reduces the cost per transaction…CFO nirvana!

Now, there are more reasons that just these three. In fact, I could lay out at least another three right off the top of my head…but I think you're getting the idea here, so that would just be a waste of space. I just wanted to lay out three solid business reasons to get excited about Fusion Applications (note that this is a value proposition oriented toward business gains…because, in the end, it's not about the technology but about the business value) and to get ya'all thinking about the business value for your own organization.

Let the commenting begin!

MacThoughts

2010-01-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

So now it's been a little over a year since I switched from a Windows-based PC to an Apple iMac as my primary work and play computer. There are lots of good thing I've experienced in the switch: higher reliability ("it just works"), elegant design, higher degree of usability to name a few. However, there are plenty of Apple fans who will sing the praises of Macs and OS X across the internet. So, being the contrarian that I am, I spent New Year's Eve taking on the challenge of analyzing the downside of my experience in switching from PC to Mac. I came up with two.

First, once you get used to the Mac, it's really pretty boring. I used to spend hours and hours per week maintaining, tweaking, cleaning-up, protecting and otherwise improving my Windows environment. There really isn't a lot of that in OS X - no anti-virus scans, no defragging to speak of, no real performance miracles to work, no blue screen of death" to analyze and fix…nothing. You just fire the thing up and do your work. Oh sure, I clean my cache and repair my disk permissions every week, but that only takes about 10 minutes. The five to 10 hours I used to spend each week slaying technical dragons just so I could get on with my work is now time on my hands...heck, I'm thinking about joining the "Book of the Month Club."

Second, I'm no longer as popular with my Windows-using friends. I've gotten bunches of calls over the past couple of months asking for help with upgrades to Windows 7. I've had to explain several times that I don't really know that much about it and don't really have any plans to explore Windows 7. The friends have responded with sighs of exasperation and then…they stopped calling. Gee, I miss those 2 a.m. phone calls asking for help with an upgrade that's hung or a driver that's gone south or a virus that's brought their system to it's knees. Heck, some folks even took my number off their speed dial. It's lonely not being the 24-hour support guru for my Windows friends. And the Mac community just isn't the same, 'cause …yeah, it just works. So my Windows-based social network is no more.

So, for those of you thinking of switching from Windows to Mac, beware: my experience is that it can be a boring, lonely existence ;) Think about it before you make the switch.

Getting My Geek On

2009-12-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

Much of the work I'm doing these days involves business process reengineering. I like BPR and it's probably one of the things I do best. But this particular project doesn't give me much of an opportunity to get my hands dirty with technology...drawing swimlane charts in Visio is about as technical as this stuff gets.

So, as kind of a side project to fill my need for tech, I'm getting my geek on in a big way. The plan is to start by installing the Vision instance of EBS 12.1.1 in the Linux VM on my iMac. Once that's done, I'm hoping to bring up APEX and interface with EBS (it's a bigger trick in R12 than it was in 11i, because R12 requires APEX to run on a different server).

The inspiration for this project was two-fold: 1) my shop is launching an upgrade to 12.1.1 early next year - we are heavy pl/sql users and have yet to figure out what we're doing about the elimination of pl/sql in R12; and 2) OracleNerd is posting a series of articles on installing EBS 12.1.1 on a Linux VM (thanks to Jake for pointing this out) - John Piowar is guest-writing the articles; John is also posting companion pieces on his own blog - they're making it sound like fun to me, so I thought I'd give it a go. As I work my way through the geek project, I'll post my own additional experiences here.

One of the things I think I've figured out even prior to setting forth on this project: if you're really going to do this work for any length of time, you really need to like it. I'm kicking off this little project because I really like doing this type of work and I think I'll learn new things. Most of the more successful people I know in this field do the same thing and have the same near-obsession with one or more areas of technology. Those that don't have the same passion drift off into other fields. IT is just too tough of a gig to work in the field unless you really, really...no, I mean REALLY...like it.

I'm off to get my geek on.

SaaS Soup

2009-11-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

My brain's been immersed lately in thoughts about Software as a Service ("SaaS") and how it plays into the Enterprise Apps/ERP world, especially for Oracle Applications customers…my mind is swimming in SaaS soup. Some of this thinking has been admittedly prompted by the news and discussion rooted in this week's Dreamforce 2009 conference (19,000 attendees at this year's conference? I think Salesforce.com has some traction in the marketplace…), as well as Workday's upcoming Webinar on "The Future of Software". Some of my thinking was also prompted by an item from a PowerPoint slide near the end of Larry Ellison's keynote at Oracle OpenWorld, indicating that Fusion Apps will be available as an SaaS offering.

In my thinking, which includes exchanging lots of ideas with other folks in the Oracle Apps user community, I'm finding that there's not much depth of knowledge about the the SaaS model or it's benefits. You can find a nifty primer on the SaaS model here. So far as benefits, three leap immediately to mind:

No software installation or maintenance: SaaS eliminates the need for customers to memorize a gazillion-page set of implementation and user guides; patch application and rollout is handled by the SaaS provider - the work of doing so is ideally transparent to users.

Shorter deployments: your SaaS provider can implement in days or weeks rather than months.

Emphasis on the core of the business: many of us are currently in situations where we spend significant money and time simply keeping our in-house installations running. In the SaaS model, those resources are freed up to focus on the core of the business - you can focus on the business output rather than the IT tools.

The SaaS model makes sense to me in general when I look at Fusion Middleware and Fusion Applications. The technical stack for both includes quite a few "moving parts" working together…it's a higher level of technical complexity than we've seen in Oracle products up to this point (that's part of the trade-off for apps and tools that offer more flexibility and increased business value). Moving to a SaaS model frees apps customers from the burden of managing that complexity.

So let's be a little more specific. Take the example of my own shop which, when you get right down to it, is not much different from many of the medium-size to large-size enterprises out there in terms of our Oracle footprint. We maintain our own infrastructure for our business systems: hardware servers, storage, network, software environments…the works. We have an Oracle E-Business environment, version 11.5.10.2 (with a significant number of customizations) running on iAS (with components of Fusion Middleware like BI Publisher) and the 11g R1 database. We also have a custom applications environment, running on an 11g R1 database and 10g AS. In that custom environment, we leverage OC4J fairly heavily. However, now we'll have to make the transition to WebLogic for our custom environment - OC4J has faded into the sunset. That transition is not a small matter. The high-level Oracle guide on the migration is 32 pages long (insert nervous coughing here). To make matters even more interesting, the E-Business Suite will continue to utilize 10g AS/OC4J. And did I mention that we're about to start up a project for upgrading to R12.x.x? We should be able to knock it out in around 18 months or so, in parallel with migrating the custom environment to WebLogic. So now my shop will need skills in maintaining both 10g AS and WebLogic. Can you visualize the big, black kettle boiling up with some really bad juju…more skills required, more complexity in maintenance, greater consumption of resources with keeping the two environments cooperating (yes, we do have some integration between the two). Yeah, let your mind run down the track with this scenario for a minute. It's my future. That is, of course, unless we shield ourselves from some of this cost and complexity by moving one or both environments to an SaaS model, letting the SaaS provider deal with part or all of this. And we could avoid any additional hardware costs while we're at it.

So it seems to me that my own shop makes a pretty good use case for SaaS. Whether we'll do it or not remains to be seen…the decision is not in my hands. Still, it doesn't take much to build a case worth investigating.

Now I've hit the SaaS concept pretty lightly here. And I'm admittedly really late to the SaaS party. But I'd like to hear what you think. Does it make sense for your organization? Let's keep this idea going, for better or for worse, in the comments!

About Where We Are

2009-11-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

I've always had a soft spot for country music. It's not my fault, it's an incurable by-product of where and when I was raised. And, every once in awhile, one of those neon rednecks will do something that reaches out and grabs me. It's happened again. So, with apologies to those of you who have a fundamental dislike for any music with a twang...

If you want to feel better about where we've been, where we are, and where we're going, then hit the following link, sit through the mini-commercial, and prepare to 6 minutes of unbridled, inspirational optimism. Find it here.

Now I think I'll take off my rose-colored glasses and move on...but with a slightly better attitude.

Usability - Round II

2009-11-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

I don't want to work
I want to bang on the drum all day
I don't want to play
I want to bang on the drum all day
-- From Todd Rundgren's "Bang On The Drum All Day"

I know i've been banging the drum lately about applications usability…and I want to do some more banging right now. There's a great opportunity for many Oracle customers, but most are missing out on it: user feedback sessions.

The Oracle Applications Usability Experience ("OAUE") team conducts user feedback sessions at many of the Oracle user conferences - I make it a point to attend each year during Oracle OpenWorld ("OOW") and Collaborate. It's time well-spent for three reasons: 1) you'll have some influence on the design of new Oracle products, 2) you'll also get some feel for Oracle's future direction in a particular product areas, and 3) it's fun! My own user feedback sessions (which were back-to-back) during OOW are prime examples.

My first session involved using a providing user feedback on an enterprise-wide search tool prototype. I was led through the session by Santosh Astagi, a Sr. Usability Engineer with Oracle. The tool itself had some very cool features, especially in the way one could filter searches or tailor the presentation of the results. I admittedly struggled with a few parts of the user script I was using, but Santosh repeatedly assured me that this was a no-pressure situation…even my struggles were valuable feedback. Working with the search tool was interesting and provided some food for thought to take home with me. I'm also thinking about firing my regular psychologist and having sessions with Santosh on a regular basis instead…he's better for my ego.

The second session was even more interesting, as I worked with a prototype User Assistance (or Help) search tool for Fusion Applications. It also felt pretty pressure-free, even though I was working in front of an audience of Oracle people from Laurie Pattison's crew: Joe Goldberg was the eye tracking moderator, Ultan O'Broin and Mindi Cummings both took notes (yeah, I'm so verbose that they needed TWO notetakers to keep up), Rhonda Nelson was the overall session moderator, and Laurie herself also sat in to watch the fun. Another pressure-free session - we got the work done and had lots of laughs along the way. This was another very interesting search tool, but the most fun came when I got a little "passionate" about breadcrumbs. One of the tasks from my script required the use of breadcrumbs in order to be resolved successfully - I failed to see the breadcrumbs until someone pointed them out to me (and they weren't called breadcrumbs, but some other term that just didn't stick with me). Once I stated that I never saw the breadcrumbs, Joe cranked up the trusty eye-tracker application, which shows where and how long my eyes dwelled at particular points on a web-page (geez, my inner geek gets excited just remembering this part of the session - this was serious fun). Turns out I spend quite a bit of time looking at the breadcrumbs, but they failed to register with me. We talked about call breadcrumbs breadcrumbs and about making them jump out at the user a bit more. Just a great session - I walked out pumped up, feeling like I really may have contributed something worthwhile…and the eye-tracking stuff was REALLY cool! You can see a picture of me hacking away, with Joe watching my eye-tracking patterns, here (thanks to Ultan for the pic).

These feedback sessions cut across a wide range of user types (at this past OOW, they even had a session for DBAs on a prototype patch application tool) so, whatever you do with Oracle Applications, there's probably a session well-suited for you. And the OAUE needs more participants in user feedback.

So, as I bang the drum, the takeaway I'm hoping to send you off with: the next time you attend an Oracle user conference, be sure to get in on one of the user feedback sessions. It'll be one of the highlights of your conference.

Oracle Usability Labs - A Day In The Life

2009-10-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm overdue in spilling the secret about where I spent my day on the Thursday before Oracle OpenWorld…been struggling with a serious case of writer's block, which is typically the case when I touch on important new subjects.

So, writer's block aside, it's time to spill the beans: that Thursday was spent on a "deep dive" inside Oracle's Usability Lab at Oracle HQ. The Oracle Applications User Experience ("OAUE" - I'm lazy so I like acronyms) team there rolled out the red carpet and showed me, in detail, how they do what they do.

But first let's jump into the WABAC Machine (with apologies Sherman and Mr. Peabody) and set it for last July, when I had the opportunity to participate in the first wave of Fusion Applications user validation testing (I wrote a post on the experience here). The elements of Fusion Applications that really jumped out at me were related to increases in productivity and ease of use…very cool stuff that got me thinking: "how can I bottle the magic and use it when developing custom apps in my own shop?" This deep dive visit to the Oracle Usability Lab was all about answering that question.

More background. The OAUE team's motto is "It's how you work, not just how you click." The first thing I got out of that motto - usability as defined by the OAUE team is about much more than designing an attractive User Interface (although that's definitely part of it). User Experience ("UX") efforts are a much broader scope than the more traditional User Interface ("UI") design. You can read more about it on the OAUE team's website (from which I "borrowed" the following bullet points), but the core of the user experience effort is:

Increased productivity: helping your employees become more effective at the work they already do.
Increased collaboration: breaking down the boundaries that keep your employees from connecting.
Increased insight: supporting rapid, effective judgments.

Notice how all three points here start with "increased"? UX is really about increasing the value returned from your investment in Oracle Applications…regardless of which Oracle Applications you're using.

Oracle seems pretty darn serious about realizing the benefits of strong UX. They've built an in-house team over 130 professionals, with some people specializing in fields I never heard of before. A sample cross-section includes people specializing in the following fields:

Ethnographers, Cognitive Psychologists, and Behavioral Research Scientists; these folks have PhDs in Social Anthropology, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, and Information Science.
UX Strategy and Architects; experts in Human-Computer Interaction, Usability Engineering and Product Engineering
Product Designers and Graphic Artists; world-class visual and interaction designers
UI Developers
Interaction Designers
Usability Engineers
Visual Designers

Big investment here, even before we count the smart boards, the eye-tracking gear, the studio equipment, etc. Yeah, Oracle is very serious about this stuff.

So now let's set the WABAC Machine to the Thursday before OOW, so ya'all can get a taste of what I learned. The goals for the day were to squeeze information into my pea-sized brain regarding UX. Working with the OAUE team's Misha Vaughan and Shannon Whiteman (both these women are quick wits and I had to work to keep up; paraphrasing the words of David Crosby, don't ever play mumblety-peg with either of them…they'll steal your leg), we decided to emphasis development processes, interactive design methods, and review use cases of UX design in Fusion Applications, Apps Unlimited, and recent UX developments with the Global Business Unit apps. The idea was to construct "A Day In The Life Of The Oracle Usability Lab".

So my day went something like this:

After a brief breakfast chatting about BBQ, cooking and other personal things to break the ice, we launched into an overview of how UX fits into Oracle's overall software development lifecycle ("SDLC"). I was struck here by how similar Oracle's SDLC for apps development is to the Unified and Spiral methodologies. I spent this meeting with Jeremy Ashley (the Oracle VP leading the OAUE team for obvious reasons - I saw his great eye for design repeatedly manifested throughout the day), Katie Candland (Sr. Director - Fusion UX; Katie's an incredibly smart and articulate person, who shares her knowledge without blustering about her intelligence), Laurie Pattison (Sr. Director and general guru on SDLC - we immediately fell into mutual deep professional "like" over our mutual backgrounds in manufacturing…most of the good process people come from manufacturing), and Patanjali Venkatacharya (User Experience Architect, an enthusiastic UX evangelist, and a trained chef - yeah, I picked his brain).

We then moved into a great discussion on UX process-related "war stories". This session was especially rich with information because of the cross-section of people involved in the discussion - UX people, project managers, and strategic/functional people. Scott Robinson (Sr. Manager - Financials UX and a walking, talking bundle of pure energy) and Victoria Anderson (Mgr. Payments - I immediately trusted her comments because it was obvious she calls 'em as she sees 'em).

The next series of meetings involved reviewing the specific use case regarding the role of UX in HCM development. Again, the discussion of people was great because of the cross-section of people involved. Funny thing, though, is that I started to notice some recurring themes coming from all of these sessions. More on that later. We lost Scott and Victoria here, but gained Aylin Uysal (Sr. Manager - HCM UX) Rohini Panchapakesan (Director - HCM Product Development), and Ivy Leung (Principal Interaction Designer). These folks turned on the light for me about things in the design process I'd never considered. We also gained Meg Bear (VP - HCM Development, an old Twitter pal, and one of the most insightful people I know),

Next came an overview on how to incorporate UX into an Agile project. Most of the folks in the room broke away for other activities, but we did gain Natti Zick (Mgr - GRC and Projects UX; Natti's an old pal now, as we worked together during my Fusion Apps user validation sessions in July). Pretty interesting on how consistent the process remains, even though you're breaking the work into not just incremental but also iterative chunks. Natti did a great job of showing me that, with UX, the same practices apply irregardless of the overall project approach.

So that was my morning…spent a working lunch comparing notes with several of the folks from this morning, as well as Dilip Chetan (Sr. Usability Engineer and another great person I've worked with before) and Casey Edgeton (Interaction Designer - a new friend for me).

The afternoon started with a tour of the Usability Lab. Jatin Thaker (Sr. Manager - Usability Labs) led the tour. Jatin also led my group tour of the Usability Lab last January during the User Group Summit (amazingly enough, he remembered me - I guess this much ugly in one package really does leave an impression). I saw test and feedback sessions conducted with both individual users and groups of users. I also had the chance to work with the new Talent Management application using a Smart Board (no mouse, no keyboard…not much training required - this really made my eyes light up and my ears spin).

After the tour, George Hackman (Sr. Director - Operations UX) gave me an overview of the UX guidelines, principles and standards used within Oracle for Fusion development (George and I think alike - I think this was the beginning of a long and productive relationship). The first thought that struck me here: how valuable this information would be if it were exposed to Oracle customers. Many of us are developing with Fusion development tools. Many of us may soon be extending Fusion Applications. If Oracle shared their information in this area, the value to users would be substantial. Even more value would be a mechanism for feedback from Oracle customers to continually improve these guidelines, principles and standards. We'll see…

I then had the chance to roll up my sleeves and provide a customer's perspective on designing LOVs with George and Sherry Mead (Architect - Technical UX; a virtual fountain of technical information). This was an absolute hoot and I hope my input provided some value. In any event, it was great insight into the thought process that goes on behind the design decisions.

Next was an orientation for the Oracle Usability Advisory Board ("OAUB"). I committed to joining the OAUB before I visited the Usability Lab (I was sold once I saw the impact on Fusion Applications), but it was very nice to meet Anna Wichansky, the Oracle Sr. Director over the OAUB, face-to-face. Another benefit is that I'll be able to work more with my friend, Oracle Usability Engineer Alisa Hamai; I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to working with the OAUB, hearing the strides other enterprises are making in the field of UX, and kicking in my own two cents.

Due to a lucky break with timing, I participated in a quick user feedback session on a collaboration tool prototype. It was pretty neat to see collaboration of an instant messaging type embedded in enterprise apps. I've never been a big believer that IM should be be a part of enterprise apps, but this prototype had some features that caused me to reconsider my thinking.

The day wrapped up with a review of what I saw, heard and thought, followed by a great dinner with several members of the OAUE team…plus Sachin Agarwal and Gangadhar Konduri from the WebCenter team (their WebCenter demo is definitely worth attending if you get a chance).

My takeaways from my "day-in-the-life" with the OAUE team really came from what I observed as a series of themes repeated in one form or another throughout the series of the day's meetings:

The benefits of successful UX absolutely rock. I'm a convert. Building apps according to the way users work does increase the value returned from investing in applications.
Oracle is building serious momentum in rendering benefits to customers through a strong UX. I see it baked into Fusion Applications, especially in terms of the "shallow navigation" (never more than two or three clicks away from getting the job done) and the ability to easily identify and resolve exceptions. I see it in PeopleSoft, especially in the way some of the process flows are being improved. I'm starting to see it in the E-Business Suite with elements of the UI and the emphasis on analytics to report exceptions. I expect it to have an impact in the world of Global Business Unit industry-specific applications.
A consistent, repeatable process is key to pulling UX off successfully. Without the process, you'll get widely-varied results and a truckload of frustrated users.
Everything I just said about a consistent, repeatable process also applies to design standards. A consistent application of pre-defined design principles leads to a consistent result…which means that improving the design principles leads to improved results.
Research matters...I mean it really matters! You can't improve the usability of a product until you know the types of users and how each type of user works. I was very impressed with the amount of research and analysis performed by the OAUE team at the beginning of any UX design work.
Designing the interaction between product and user is more important than most of us in IT realize. .Apple is a great example of this. Why would I use a smart phone that, until recently, couldn't copy & paste, edit docs or spreadsheets, or even send multimedia texts? It's because the design of the interaction between my iPhone and me is unequaled - heck, even unpacking the phone was an experience (the box is still in my closet - just can't bring myself to throw it away). Ditto for the Apple operating system, OS X - heck, there's a whole community dedicated to porting OS X to other hardware platforms…just because the interaction between user and operating system is so well-designed.
You can't over-communicate. Users, developers, designers, project managers, whoever. Bring 'em on board early and communicate very, very frequently.
Of course, a huge part of communication is listening. Listen to the users. What you think may be a great business process and wonderful UI may come across like a steaming pile of virtual compost to the people who need to use the product. Take criticism well and take notes.

So, in all, it was a valuable day from my perspective. I ended the day with a truckload of principles and specific ideas I'll be taking back to share with my own shop. I'm grateful to all the Oracle folks who took time away from their "day jobs" to spend time with me, and I'm especially grateful to Misha Vaughan for putting this whole thing together.

If you every do get a chance to spend some time at the Oracle Usability Lab, grab it. It's a day well-spent.

Questions go in the Comments...