Collaborate 2012 - Pretenders and Usability

Between trips to Paris (see previous blog), I managed to fit in a visit to the Collaborate 2012 conference in Las Vegas.

Because I focus on Fusion Applications, I made it my mission to attend as many Fusion Applications presentations as I could.  I was disappointed by the large number of presentations at which the speakers talked about the subject without having real experience or hands-on knowledge of the product.  I call them the 'pretenders'.  This type of presentation simply serves to disseminate misinformation and helps none of us.   Notable exceptions to this were (of course) presentations by Oracle and one or two companies who had actually done an implementation.

Check out Floyd Teter's blog - http://orclville.blogspot.co.uk/ - for an example of real life experience of Fusion Apps.  Floyd gave a highly interesting talk entitled "18 months with Fusion Applications - Stories from the trenches" which pretty much said it all!  If you're considering a Fusion Applications implementation, read this first.

Then there was the User Experience Team.  This team is one of the unsung heroes of the Fusion Applications story.  The team analyses how people really use systems and feeds requirements based on its findings to development teams.  That's how you get to see a consistent and very efficient user interface in Fusion Applications.  They use a lot of techniques, including:

• Eye-tracking - where a user’s visual attention is focused during online tasks
• Feedback sessions - including structured interviews, focus groups and prototype reviews

When you see Fusion Applications for the first time, spare a thought for the unsung heroes of the Usability Team (UX) and take a look at their website - Oracle Usable Apps http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/ux/applications/index.html.  Better still, get involved and take one of their usability feedback sessions!

I'm now looking forward to OHUG, where Oracle University will be running some sessions demonstrating Fusion Applications.  Look in if you're there!
 

April in Paris

April was a busy month.  First, I was in Paris to run a series of Fusion HCM courses.  Then Las Vegas for the Collaborate 12 conference (more in a separate post), then back to Paris for part 2 of the Fusion HCM courses.

Lots of preparation for the courses, as this was the first time we had delivered these courses outside of the US.  The courses were well received and everyone learnt a lot, including the trainer!

Functional Setup Manager [FSM]

We covered Functional Setup Manager first.  This is the key to starting the functional setup for all Fusion Applications.  It provides a consistent user interface and process for the full implementation lifecycle, including post-implementation maintenance.

Gone are the days when you created a BR100 setup document and then hoped all your functional consultants remembered the correct order to setup the system and did all the pre-requisite steps first.  Now the Implementation Project Manager (IPM) can select the scope of the implementation by choosing "Offerings", "Options" and "Features" and then the system will produce a structured "Tasklist" called the Implementation Project [IP].  The IPM then allocates various tasks to team members and sits back to manage the progress with the help of the built in analytics.

Once the setup is complete, the IPM creates a Configuration Package [CP] and can export the setup to other environments - and I mean all the setup not just bits of it as we have seen in previous products.  This is a real productivity gain.

It's not a replacement for a tool such as Microsoft Project, but it is definitely an excellent tool to manage the functional implementation stages of any Fusion Applications project.

Functional Setup Manager is a "must-learn" feature of Fusion Applications.

Fusion HCM Implementation

Our next topic was Fusion HCM implementation.  This course covered the use of the Enterprise Structure Generator [ESG], Work Structures, HCM Security (we did an overview as this is a complex subject in its own right!), approval management, business processes and events.

Of course, we used FSM as the tool for configuration.

Then there the features we can use for 'Tailoring' our application - the "Composers".  Don't get me started on them just yet - that's the subject of a future blog!

There's far more to FSM and HCM Implementation than can be outlined in a short blog.  Check out the Oracle University courses that are coming on stream now or ask us directly (we're an OAEC).