PeopleTools 8.51 is getting ready to surprise you with few interesting features.

Many Peoplesoft System is yet to get promoted to 8.50 Tools version. Not many companies has full explored the features of 8.50 (web 2.0) and 9.1 applicaitons. Oracle already has 8.51 RVP. These changes are manly related to user experience and productivity improvement. It seems the quick changes to tools version is driven from the new competing applications which has fresh new application experience for the users.

• PeopleSoft Smart Navigation
• PeopleSoft Test Framework


These are the 2 Peoplesoft main changes which can change the way we use the PeopleSoft applications and implement/support projects are run.
PeopleSoft Smart Navigation

Hierarchical application data can be incorporated into the menu structure, allowing a user to
access application functions directly related to data such as the company org chart or any other data tree.
Contextual menus can be associated with data on a PeopleSoft application page, allowing a
user to take action directly from data on the page without having to navigate the main menu
structure and search again for the data they need.

A user’s search results are temporarily stored directly in the menu structure, allowing a user to
navigate from one record to another without having to re-execute a search – even if they have
moved away from the page.

I was trying to imagine how this look like in the PeopleSoft and what is the driving factor for the quick menu update. Menu changes were done in earlier version 8.50.

It looks like it this change is driven by Workday. Rich user experience in Workday is one of driving factor for customers to choose it.
It seems PeopleSoft like to incorporate these changes in the 8.51 Tools version.

Following can give idea more about that.





Peoplesoft Test Frame work.


It is one of the most required features that I was waiting People Tools to develop it. Interesting part of this frame work is you move and compare test data between the instances. There is a lot of generic test frameworks/Test Automation with data being store in spreadsheets. One big challenge, how do you store test data and process which has multiple levels of parent child relationship. Peoplesoft already does this with ExceltoCI; It might extend this feature as testing frame work, but creating CI to every component that is used in the testing will be bad design of the framework. Document is one of the new objects introduced in Peoplesoft with 8.51 and It might use this to store test data.

Now, we need to wait and watch how Oracle will implement this frame work. It will be good if this testing frame work can be extended from Automated testing to Automated data entry for the small configuration where manually configuration is done like configure AWE workflow information ,Custom/Delivered setup values. It avoids the manually configuration in multiple instances and dependency on the technical team for the DMS scripts.

 

2 comments:

  1. Great Info - interesting to see Oracle/PeopleSoft motivated by Workday functionality - but what will they do to counter Workday's SaaS-only model?

    on September 20, 2010 at 7:51 AM  


  2. Ganesh said,

    Urko - Oracle/Peoplesoft are available in the SaaS from selected list of Vendor like ACS, ADP, IBM.

    It is rarely sold in that model in the people soft. Oracle marketing can promote it more if required.

    on October 8, 2010 at 11:09 AM