PeopleTools 8.50 and Windows 7
The PeopleSoft Tipster blog site has posted some very good information about apparent incompatibilities between the Windows 7 operating system and PeopleTools 8.50.
The signon page says that Windows 7 is not supported but there may be a workaround.
Click here for more information.
Talent Mismatch: Mega Trend
Finding the right talent is not going to get easier. In fact, in the near future it will become increasingly difficult to match the advanced needs of your organization with the talent available in the global marketplace. That is one of the workforce mega trends identified in Manpower Inc.’s new research study: Four Mega Trends That Are Transforming and Accelerating the Way the World Works.
“The Talent Mismatch is deepening as the working age population declines and the nature of work changes. These significant shifts in talent supply are transforming the global labor market.”
Plan for the future. Planning for the present or the past is by definition a waste of time. Today, unemployment in America is high. But are these unemployed workers necessary the highly skilled people you will need to be successful as the recovery gathers steam? Probably not.
“”As the economy rebounds, companies will need to prepare for a new normal, carefully adjusting their business strategy and evaluating their workforce,” said Joerres. “In the past, access to capital gave companies their edge; soon talent will become the competitive differentiator and companies will compete for talent as rigorously as individuals now compete for jobs.”
There were four mega trends identified in this study. I will only mention one more: Individual Choice. Those with the most desirable skills will have the most choice. This fact will require organizations to re-think how jobs should be structured in order to attract and retain hard-to-find talent.
A official summary of the study can be downloaded here.
PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights: Fit/Gap (Part 3 of 3)
Many customers are now installing one or more of the new PeopleSoft 9.1 releases. Oracle has released the upgrade scripts and, as the famous detective Sherlock Holmes would have likely said, “the game is afoot” . PeopleSoft upgrade projects may be complex but they don’t necessarily have to be full of mystery and suspense. A little knowledge can go a long way.
This seems like a particularly good time to share some PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights starting with the subject of Fit/Gaps. Staying with the same body part metaphor I can say that getting your upgrade project “started on the right foot” is absolutely critical. And you can’t get it started right without executing a successful Fit/Gap. This is the last of three postings describing how you can obtain the maximum benefit out of your Fit/Gap process.
In my last posting, PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights: Fit/Gap (Part 2 of 3), I talked about how to conduct your Fit/Gap sessions and gather information in an organized and efficient manner. You have created a nice, long list of issues. Now what do you do?
How do you turn all this raw data into useful information that will jumpstart your next phase and set your project on a solid path to success?
- Research and resolve – The main purpose of the Fit/Gap sessions were to identify issues, not resolve them. Your rules were that if it could not be resolved in 10 minutes or less then you would address it later. Well, “later” has now arrived. Maybe, it requires a follow-up meeting with selected individuals. Perhaps, a technical review is needed. One way or another a resolution for each item needs to be generated. One of my favorite resolutions is to do nothing.
- Mind the Gaps – Many issues were recorded in the Fit/Gap sessions. Are they all gaps in functionality? Likely not. I classify them in three ways.
- FIT - The delivered function meets 100% of the requirement. Nevertheless, some level of end user community and/or IT effort may be required to use effectively.
- GAP - The delivered functionality does not address a particular requirement. If the requirement is to be met alternative methods must be developed.
- PARTIAL FIT - The delivered functionally does not meet 100% of the requirement. If the requirement is to be fully met alternative methods must be developed. These methods may involve internal/external workarounds, changes in current processes, modifications to delivered components, and/or development of new components & programs.
Pay particular attention to partial fits. These may be the best opportunities for reengineering.
- Is it important? – The gap may be obvious but perhaps it is not important. Prioritize your list.
- 1-High Importance
- 2-Medium Importance
- 3-Low Importance
- 4-Research Item
- Is it worth it? – Several significant gaps have been identified. Should you fill them? How much time will it take and, more importantly, whose time are we talking about. Information Technology (IT) is not always the biggest player. Often, substantial effort is required on the functional side. I divide the estimates into two columns: IT effort and Process effort for the functional departments. Here is a sizing scheme the seems to get good support from IT and end-users alike.
- None
- Very Low – 1 day or less
- Low – 1 week or less
- Medium – 1 to 2 weeks
- Large – 2 to 4 weeks
- Very Large – 1 to 3 Months
- Sort, filter, slice, and dice – Your list of issues has been researched, classified, prioritized, and estimated. Now you can force the cream to the top. Which are your most important issues? Which items will take the greatest IT effort? Will a large amount of user effort be required? All these questions and more can be addressed by manipulating your list.
In the next part of this series, PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights, I will discuss how to use your updated list of items to jumpstart the re-development process. Stay tuned.
PeopleSoft 9.1 – Certify your hardware and software
One upgrade question that is starting to pop up regularly is: Do I need to upgrade my hardware and software?
The short answer may well be Yes. Oracle has only certified (with the exception of HP-UX) the PeopleTools 8.50 WebLogic and Websphere products on 64 bit operating systems (e.g. MS Windows 2008 x64 64-bit). Oracle is providing a PT8.50 certification excel spreadsheet to guide customer platform decisions and this spreadsheet file can be found by performing this My Oracle Support knowledge search:
“PeopleTools PT 8.50 Certifications ” – PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools PT 8.50 Certifications
System Requirements and Supported Platforms for Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3 can be found here.
Please stay tuned for many more postings on the subject of 9.1 upgrades.
PeopleSoft HRMS 9.1 Upgrade Templates Now Available
Oracle has just recently posted the HRMS 9.1 upgrade templates. For those of you on My Oracle Support the new templates and related documentation can be found by performing these knowledge searches:
“HRMS 9.1 Upgrade” – PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS 9.1 Upgrade Pages for 8.8, 8.9MP1, and 9.0
“9.1 Documentation Home” – HCM & ELM 9.1 Documentation Home Page
“8.50 Documentation Home” – PeopleTools 8.50 Documentation Home Page
HRMS PeopleBooks can be downloaded at the Oracle technology PeopleSoft Enterprise site.
The Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) templates are available too. Financials/Supply Chain, CRM, Portal Solutions are not available yet.
Please stay tuned for many more postings on the subject of 9.1 upgrades.