Last week, I gave two presentations on Fusion HCM. One at the UKOUG Public Sector HCM Customer Forum - the subject was Fusion HCM - Preparing for the Future, the other at the Criminal Justice Forum in London where the subject matter was 'Cloud computing for Shared Services - a new way of thinking'. Here's a brief synopsis of the talks:
We've been involved with Fusion HCM on a daily basis now for the last 8 months, mainly doing training and teaching people about Functional Setup Manager, Fusion HCM Implementation, Fusion Compensation Management and Fusion Talent Management. We've also been showcasing the application to potential customers and proposing Fusion based solutions to them.
What's become apparent is that Fusion Applications provides a learning experience for us all. By that I include customers, implementation consultants and Oracle themselves. This is a new product, it's not the next version of EBS or PeopleSoft, incidentally a fact that a lot of people are only just waking up to.
The real challenge is to have a new mindset when approaching Fusion Applications. Most customers will probably opt for a SaaS model (see previous posts) and this will mean thinking more about the service your SaaS provider offers rather than 'can I customise the application?'.
Fusion HCM has some fantastic functionality. Don't be blinkered and just think it is a shiny new version of EBS. Be prepared to explore it and find out what the product can do. You may be very surprised!
Ove the next few weeks, I will post some articles based on what I learn from the Oracle OpenWorld 2012 conference. Keep watching...
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Monday, 10 September 2012
SaaS - A New Way of Thinking
As Fusion Applications evolves, it is becoming apparent that the vast majority of customers are likely to adopt a SaaS model. There may be many reasons for this, the complexity of an on-premises implementation versus the simplicity of deploying SaaS, cost, or using a co-existence model.
Whichever reason it is, I find myself being asked a lot of similar questions by potential customers:
With SaaS, the key is is the 'S' at the end of the word.
S stands for Service.
Nowadays, nearly everyone uses the Internet for commerce, be it banking, ordering theatre tickets, buying a seat on a train or a plane or buying books. We don't log on to Amazon refuse to use it just because we expect it to provide us with a detailed breakdown of every time the author has used the word 'widget', even if we think that would be very useful.
We don't expect the screens to be displayed in a different order or colour scheme just because we have certain preferences. We simply accept the 'service' the system is providing us and make the best use of the functionality it delivers.
When we use Microsoft Office tools like Excel and Word, we don't refuse to use it because Word don't allow us to type in a complex algebraic equation and then solve it for us, nor do we complain about Excel because we want it to operate like a word processor. We make use of the functionality each provides us within its limitations. If necessary, we other tools to make up any deficiencies.
So, why don't we have this attitude with ERP systems which are delivered as SaaS?
We must start to have a new way of thinking, and of implementing. We must start to deploy the SaaS package and help customers work with it, rather than radically change it. Fusion Applications, and specifically HCM, come with a range of tools which allow us to 'tailor' the application. The composers allow us to adapt out of the box User Interfaces, Processes, Data and Reports, without altering or 'customising' the underlying software. Fusion Applications provides a much richer functionality than it's predecessor applications (EBS / PeopleSoft etc.), so the need to customise should be vastly reduced.
Our new way of thinking leads to a new way of implementing. Now, we should be looking at getting the application out of the box, configuring it (functionally) to represent the customers enterprise and then deploying, maybe in a phased approach. Keep it simple at first and then build on the system later.
Result? Quicker, simpler and cheaper implementations. Makes you think doesn't it.....?
Whichever reason it is, I find myself being asked a lot of similar questions by potential customers:
- "What will I be able to change in my SaaS environment?"
- "How can I change the system to meet my requirements?"
- "Why can't I write bespoke code in my SaaS environment?"
With SaaS, the key is is the 'S' at the end of the word.
S stands for Service.
Nowadays, nearly everyone uses the Internet for commerce, be it banking, ordering theatre tickets, buying a seat on a train or a plane or buying books. We don't log on to Amazon refuse to use it just because we expect it to provide us with a detailed breakdown of every time the author has used the word 'widget', even if we think that would be very useful.
We don't expect the screens to be displayed in a different order or colour scheme just because we have certain preferences. We simply accept the 'service' the system is providing us and make the best use of the functionality it delivers.
When we use Microsoft Office tools like Excel and Word, we don't refuse to use it because Word don't allow us to type in a complex algebraic equation and then solve it for us, nor do we complain about Excel because we want it to operate like a word processor. We make use of the functionality each provides us within its limitations. If necessary, we other tools to make up any deficiencies.
So, why don't we have this attitude with ERP systems which are delivered as SaaS?
We must start to have a new way of thinking, and of implementing. We must start to deploy the SaaS package and help customers work with it, rather than radically change it. Fusion Applications, and specifically HCM, come with a range of tools which allow us to 'tailor' the application. The composers allow us to adapt out of the box User Interfaces, Processes, Data and Reports, without altering or 'customising' the underlying software. Fusion Applications provides a much richer functionality than it's predecessor applications (EBS / PeopleSoft etc.), so the need to customise should be vastly reduced.
Our new way of thinking leads to a new way of implementing. Now, we should be looking at getting the application out of the box, configuring it (functionally) to represent the customers enterprise and then deploying, maybe in a phased approach. Keep it simple at first and then build on the system later.
Result? Quicker, simpler and cheaper implementations. Makes you think doesn't it.....?
Friday, 7 September 2012
FSM in Fusion Version 4
I've just finished delivering a training course on Fusion Functional Setup Manager. We've been doing these courses for some time now, but this week we used a version 4 (RUP3) environment.
FSM is a fundamental component in Fusion Applications, and as such it hasn't changed much since the original releases of Fusion. There are a few subtle changes in Version 4, and sometimes, it is the little things that matter....
Take for example the assignment of tasks to implementation consultants. This is something that the project manager does via FSM. It was always a pain that the project manager could assign a task to a person, but that person didn't have the correct Role Based Access permissions to execute the task! Thankfully, the developers have taken this on board, and now there are 2 new columns in the task assignment pages. 1 shows whether the assignee has the correct permissions and the other shows the roles which do have the permissions and therefore helps if you need to assign a new role.
Nice work, Oracle!
FSM is a fundamental component in Fusion Applications, and as such it hasn't changed much since the original releases of Fusion. There are a few subtle changes in Version 4, and sometimes, it is the little things that matter....
Take for example the assignment of tasks to implementation consultants. This is something that the project manager does via FSM. It was always a pain that the project manager could assign a task to a person, but that person didn't have the correct Role Based Access permissions to execute the task! Thankfully, the developers have taken this on board, and now there are 2 new columns in the task assignment pages. 1 shows whether the assignee has the correct permissions and the other shows the roles which do have the permissions and therefore helps if you need to assign a new role.
Nice work, Oracle!
Monday, 3 September 2012
Upcoming Conferences
I think it's really important for consultants to share their insights with the community in which they work. From a purely commercial viewpoint, it's good publicity, but from an altruistic viewpoint it's sharing knowledge for the good of us all.
There are two conferences I will be speaking at in the next few weeks. First up is the Criminal Justice Management forum on 19/09/12. This event takes place at the QE2 Conference Centre in London and brings together leading thinkers from across the sector.
The next day I will be presenting at the UKOUG Public Sector Customer Forum. Both presentations are on Fusion HCM and the impact SaaS may have on Shared Service Operations.
A busy few weeks.... and after that, it's off to San Francisco for Openworld. Lots more posts around that time!
There are two conferences I will be speaking at in the next few weeks. First up is the Criminal Justice Management forum on 19/09/12. This event takes place at the QE2 Conference Centre in London and brings together leading thinkers from across the sector.
The next day I will be presenting at the UKOUG Public Sector Customer Forum. Both presentations are on Fusion HCM and the impact SaaS may have on Shared Service Operations.
A busy few weeks.... and after that, it's off to San Francisco for Openworld. Lots more posts around that time!
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Role Based Access - Useful Info
As part of my job, I need to keep abreast of developments in Fusion Applications. Consequently, I do a lot of research into articles published by consultants, users and Oracle.
I recently came across a couple of useful articles published in Oracle's 'My Oracle Support' (the support site previously known as MetaLink). They relate to Role Based Access Control (RBAC), which underpins the security of all Fusion Applications.
Fusion Applications 'out of the box ' includes a reference implementation of RBAC consisting of hundreds of Job Roles across its product families. Every Job Role comprises a series of privileges called Duty Roles. These Duty Roles grant access to Applications functionality.
At the beginning of any Fusion Applications implementation, there will be a task to analyse the predefined Job Roles and map them to roles which are relevant to their own enterprise. Whilst Oracle recommends that the out of the box Roles are sufficient for most scenarios, as implementation consultants and customers become more familiar with the product, there will increasingly be a case for creating your own Roles and Privileges.
Oracle has recently released two spreadsheets showing the relationships between Roles, Duty Roles and Privileges; and a cross reference of top-level menus (on the navigator) to Duty Roles.
For in formation on these spreadsheets, see MOS articles 1460486.1 and 1459828.1
Back to the research.....
I recently came across a couple of useful articles published in Oracle's 'My Oracle Support' (the support site previously known as MetaLink). They relate to Role Based Access Control (RBAC), which underpins the security of all Fusion Applications.
Fusion Applications 'out of the box ' includes a reference implementation of RBAC consisting of hundreds of Job Roles across its product families. Every Job Role comprises a series of privileges called Duty Roles. These Duty Roles grant access to Applications functionality.
At the beginning of any Fusion Applications implementation, there will be a task to analyse the predefined Job Roles and map them to roles which are relevant to their own enterprise. Whilst Oracle recommends that the out of the box Roles are sufficient for most scenarios, as implementation consultants and customers become more familiar with the product, there will increasingly be a case for creating your own Roles and Privileges.
Oracle has recently released two spreadsheets showing the relationships between Roles, Duty Roles and Privileges; and a cross reference of top-level menus (on the navigator) to Duty Roles.
For in formation on these spreadsheets, see MOS articles 1460486.1 and 1459828.1
Back to the research.....
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Fusion Talent Management (Part 2)
I left the last post hanging half way through the Fusion Talent Management course I was delivering for Oracle University last week. So, what happened in the remainder of the course?
We left the fun bits to the end. By the 'fun' bits, I mean the Talent Review process. For anyone who hasn't seen the process, or the screens, it's a fantastic tool for managing meetings between HR professionals and senior managers at which an in depth analysis of the organization's talent is undertaken.
The screen is divided into regions.
The main region contains the 9-Box grid (or custom size if you want different). The population being reviewed is placed into the appropriate box.
There is a region for filters so you can dynamically alter the data on the screen according to selected subsets of the data.
There's also a neat 'holding area'. This is used to store people who have not yet been rated (and therefore can't be placed in the grid), or you can move people in and out of the grid to the holding area if you want to temporarily remove them from the review.
You can colour code the graphics, so for example you could select all male employees and colour them blue.
There is a drill down facility which allows you to see more data about the selected employee. The data you see if controlled by configuration.
The Talent Review page is simple to configure, but first you need to ask yourself (or your customer) some questions.
Do you use a standard set of rating models for performance, potential, risk of loss, impact of loss, and talent score? If you do, a single template will be OK.
If you have different box chart requirements, or if you have different rules for the analysys of equal opportunity information (e.g. age, gender, etc.), or if you use different rating models then you may need more than one template. Either way, the configuration is straightforward.
The basic setup is as follows:
Create a template and select the basic design and layout.
Choose the rating scales you want to use. Pick the Rating Models, Rating Categories and Talent Scores.
Configure the way the box chart will be organised (e.g. determine what the boxes will mean and how the rating scales will place people into those boxes).
Select the data population. Choose the filters that can be applied to the data, select the actions and analytics that can be made available in the review.
Now you are ready to create a specific version of the Template for the Talent Review meeting. You select the manager you are going to conduct the review with and then select the population for the review.
It's as simple as that! Obviously, there's a lot more behind the whole process, which uses the underlying Fusion HCM setup too. If you want to find out more, ask for details about our training courses.
We left the fun bits to the end. By the 'fun' bits, I mean the Talent Review process. For anyone who hasn't seen the process, or the screens, it's a fantastic tool for managing meetings between HR professionals and senior managers at which an in depth analysis of the organization's talent is undertaken.
 |
| Talent Review |
The main region contains the 9-Box grid (or custom size if you want different). The population being reviewed is placed into the appropriate box.
There is a region for filters so you can dynamically alter the data on the screen according to selected subsets of the data.
There's also a neat 'holding area'. This is used to store people who have not yet been rated (and therefore can't be placed in the grid), or you can move people in and out of the grid to the holding area if you want to temporarily remove them from the review.
You can colour code the graphics, so for example you could select all male employees and colour them blue.
There is a drill down facility which allows you to see more data about the selected employee. The data you see if controlled by configuration.
The Talent Review page is simple to configure, but first you need to ask yourself (or your customer) some questions.
Do you use a standard set of rating models for performance, potential, risk of loss, impact of loss, and talent score? If you do, a single template will be OK.
If you have different box chart requirements, or if you have different rules for the analysys of equal opportunity information (e.g. age, gender, etc.), or if you use different rating models then you may need more than one template. Either way, the configuration is straightforward.
The basic setup is as follows:
Create a template and select the basic design and layout.
Choose the rating scales you want to use. Pick the Rating Models, Rating Categories and Talent Scores.
Configure the way the box chart will be organised (e.g. determine what the boxes will mean and how the rating scales will place people into those boxes).
Select the data population. Choose the filters that can be applied to the data, select the actions and analytics that can be made available in the review.
Now you are ready to create a specific version of the Template for the Talent Review meeting. You select the manager you are going to conduct the review with and then select the population for the review.
It's as simple as that! Obviously, there's a lot more behind the whole process, which uses the underlying Fusion HCM setup too. If you want to find out more, ask for details about our training courses.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Fusion Talent Management (Part 1)
This week, I've been delivering a training course on Fusion Talent Management for Oracle University. It's the first time the course has been run outside the US, so it was a fairly daunting task!
The good thing about training people in Fusion Apps is the way the system itself is greeted. Invariably, people find the User Interface so much more appealing than the rather old fashioned EBS they were probably used to, and the new functionality and scope of the application is exciting to explore.
This course has been no exception. Lots of discussion on how the new application works, what's good and what's not so good, and an eagerness from the students to test drive the new toy.
Tomorrow is the last day, and we've saved the best bits until last... Talent Reviews. More on this later.
The good thing about training people in Fusion Apps is the way the system itself is greeted. Invariably, people find the User Interface so much more appealing than the rather old fashioned EBS they were probably used to, and the new functionality and scope of the application is exciting to explore.
This course has been no exception. Lots of discussion on how the new application works, what's good and what's not so good, and an eagerness from the students to test drive the new toy.
Tomorrow is the last day, and we've saved the best bits until last... Talent Reviews. More on this later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)