Project Partners Blog Author:
Sachin Gupta | Oracle Primavera Solution Architect – Application Integration Specialist

In the previous article we touched upon utilizing AWS serverless architecture with Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM cloud. You can reference the article here.

In this article we will see how to utilize AWS serverless architecture to cut down on processing time for large volume of transactions, when importing them to Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM cloud using P6 web services.

One of the customers had the requirement of importing, roughly 50,000 financial transactions from their ERP application to Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM cloud on a weekly basis. Additionally, they wanted to perform validation based on pre-defined set of rules, for each transaction, during import and capture the information in UDF fields. This resulted in importing transaction individually instead of in a batch of 1000, as allowed by P6 web services.

This had significant impact on overall time required to process 50,000 transactions. With average of 1 second per transaction, it required around 14 hours to import 50,000 transactions in Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM cloud.

At 1 second per transaction –
50,000 transaction = 50,000 seconds or
(50,000/60) = 833.33 minutes or
(50,000/60/60) = 13.89 hours

This was a huge problem.

With the use of AWS serverless architecture model and carefully choosing services to fit the requirement, the processing time was reduced considerably. All of this, without worrying about additional cost of infrastructure or fluctuation in volume of transaction in future.

The transactions from ERP application were uploaded to Amazon DynamoDB.

AWS Lambda was configured to trigger when new data was inserted in DynamoDB. It was configured to trigger up to 10 Lambda function concurrently.  With 10 instances of lambda function processing the transactions concurrently at any given time, the overall time came down drastically from 14 hours to under 2 hours.

Previously, (50,000/60/60) = 13.89 hours
Now, (50,000/60/60/10) = 1.39 hours

Note: The distribution of data among instance of Lambda function is not same so the time will almost always be little higher than the above (theoretical) calculation.

The above approach is just one way to reduce overall processing time. A carefully designed solution with serverless approach can go a long way. Customers with on-premises integration solutions, who are constrained due to existing hardware configuration or otherwise, can also benefit by moving to serverless architecture.

If you have a similar requirement and want to discuss how serverless architecture can be utilized effectively, then leave a message or drop an email directly to sgupta@projectp.com.

Project Partners, a long-standing Oracle Partner, and global leader in optimizing business processes and IT investments within project-driven organizations.

www.projectp.com

Project Partners Blog Author:
Sachin Gupta | Oracle Primavera Solution Architect – Application Integration Specialist

In recent years, many customers have preferred Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM applications on the cloud. It saves them from typical deployment and system administration tasks of creating databases, hosting servers, configuring supporting technologies, and integrating supported applications.

One of the most pertaining questions asked by new and existing customers alike is – how easy it is to integrate Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM applications on the cloud with other application?

Let us look at this in more detail.

Most of the time cloud customers do not have in-house IT staff to maintain infrastructure or a team of programmers. Their requirements are often small and specific like:

• automating calculation or rolling up some UDF data
• performing certain task conditionally
• perform certain task periodically for which there is no schedule/background job available
• other custom functionality more specific to their organization
• exchanging data with other application

Being a cloud customer, they often think that it is not possible to have a solution around it without spending a significant amount of money on servers and license cost of related software. They are also concerned with ongoing cost of maintaining and monitoring the infrastructure. So, they end up using excel or similar tool and maintain data manually. This comes with its own set of issues like human error, redundant data, etc.

Well, there is a relatively simple solution to all this and much more – Serverless Architecture.

Use AWS Lambda to run integration code with zero administration. AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that allows to run code without provisioning or managing servers, creating workload-aware cluster scaling logic, maintaining event integrations, or managing run-times. AWS Lambda in conjunction with other services like Amazon S3, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon API Gateway, can be used to run specific integration code.

Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM provides web services. These web services can be consumed in the integration solution to meet business requirement. The integration solution can be hosted on AWS Lambda to perform the desired operation at specific time and frequency.

If you have a similar requirement and want to discuss how serverless architecture can be utilized effectively, then drop an email to Sachin directly at sgupta@projectp.com.

Project Partners, a long-standing Oracle Partner, and global leader in optimizing business processes and IT investments within project-driven organizations.

www.projectp.com

Project Partners Blog Author:
Sachin Gupta | Oracle Primavera Solution Architect – Application Integration Specialist

Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Unifier Integration Framework

Project Partners implemented this solution for a large metropolitan transportation, and on-premise Oracle EBS customer.

The project consisted of the customer implementing Oracle Unifier cloud a few months prior. They were looking for an effective solution to load actuals transactions from on-premise Oracle EBS to Oracle Unifier cloud. They had created a business process in Oracle Unifier for actuals transaction and enabled for integration.

The customer did have one simple requirement. They needed a scalable solution to load eligible actuals transaction from on-premise Oracle EBS to Oracle Unifier cloud daily using a REST API.

As the project moved forward, we conducted our due diligence and dug deeper so we could identify a few more items that needed to be appropriately addressed:

• Ability to introduce new attributes in the integration equilibrium which may require updating all transactions in Unifier with the data from EBS.
• Avoid duplicate transactions.
• Capable to identifying and create/update transactions and in rare scenario delete transactions from Unifier to keep it always in sync with Oracle EBS.

After reviewing various options with customer, they agreed on the framework shown below:

1. Utilize Oracle EBS concurrent request to populate data daily in a staging table.
2. Pull data from Oracle Unifier cloud in staging table.
3. Compare the data in two staging tables to identify new and modified data.
4. Call Oracle Unifier Rest API to process the data.

Noted advantages of this framework:

• Scalable – It can easily process a volume of 100,000 transactions daily.
• Automated – It can identify new vs modified data and discard data that do not require change.
• Extensible – New attributes introduced for integration, can be easily populated for all existing transactions in Oracle Unifier Cloud.

Project Partners, a long-standing Oracle Partner, and global leader in optimizing business processes and IT investments within project-driven organizations.

www.projectp.com

Author: Wendy Lamar | Managing Principal Consultant | Project Partners
Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Project Certified Implementation Specialist

Asset Capitalization Dashboard

The Asset Capitalization Dashboard has been included in release 12.2.8.  The dashboard provides the user with a complete view of a capital project’s costs, and capabilities to manage certain functions of capital project maintenance that were previously only accessible via Oracle forms.

The Asset Capitalization Dashboard is accessed from the Project Home, navigating to the Financial tab, Asset Capitalization subtab.

The dashboard provides a summary of the project costs, including capitalizable and non-capitalizable costs; as well as the Assets assigned to the project or a task of the project.  The summary also indicates those costs not yet summarized, not yet capitalized, and not yet processed through asset generation and/or interface to Oracle Assets.  There is an indicator of any rejected lines.  Certain summarized information also provides drill down capabilities to view the expenditures included.

The next screenshot is the resulting page from drilling into Capitalizable Costs expenditures; access by clicking the Cost Summary – Capitalizable Costs amount (red arrow above):

Returning to the main dashboard – In the lower region, you will view the Assets Inquiry to view the project assets.  Parameters are provided to search the assets and limit results.

Manageable functions include managing holds, reversing assets, and assigning an asset to the project or task level.  Details of costs and their progression through costing processes are reported by asset (with drill down capabilities).  At the end of the row the user can open the asset lines, as shown in the next screenshot.

View Asset Lines Results:

Note that some actions that can be performed from this page, including splits and interfacing the asset to Oracle Assets.  There are also search capabilities to limit the data returned.

Returning to the main dashboard – at the top and bottom right, buttons are included to navigate to the Task Summary.

The Task Summary allows the user to view the cost information summarized by task, including common cost tasks and any non-capitalizable costs.  If an asset has been generated including costs from the task chosen, the task number, name and description will display in the lower region.

In summary, the capital asset dashboard provides quick access to most capital project maintenance steps accessed directly from the project home, providing more visibility to the project team for total project costs and necessary actions, saving time spent on day to day activities and reconciliation efforts.

P: #1.650.712.6203 | www.projectp.com

Project Partners Blog Author:
Sachin Gupta | Oracle Primavera Solution Architect – Application Integration Specialist

Activity Excel Utility Using P6 EPPM Web Services

P6 EPPM Web Services is a great way of integrating external systems with P6 EPPM application. Activity excel utility allows reading and writing data to Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM using P6 EPPM Web Services.

Activity excel utility allow user to:

• Maintain activity details
• Maintain activity relationship
• Assign global and project activity code to activity
• Assign resource or role to activity
• Maintain activity steps
• Maintain activity UDF
• Maintain resource assignment UDF
• Maintain activity step UDF

Update Project List – download list of projects from the connected P6 EPPM application

Read All Data – allows downloading all activity data at the click of button

Clear All Data – removes data from all worksheets

Read – Read or download data from P6 EPPM using Web Services

Modify – Create, Update or Delete the data for the corresponding business object

Screenshots of some of the worksheet are shown here for reference

Activity Details allows creating new activity and maintaining existing activity data. CRUD flag is used to identify the operation to be performed

“C” – Create, “U” – Update, “D” – Delete, “R” – Read.

Activity data is downloaded with CRUD flag as “R”

Activity attributes like Duration Type, % Complete Type, etc. use same set of values as in the application.

Activity Relationship can be created and updated within excel utility. Relationship Type has a predefined set of values as used in application – Task Dependent, Resource Dependent, Level of Effort, Start Milestone, Finish Milestone, WBS Summary.

Activity Code Assignment allow user to assign activity code to activities. Both global and project specific activity codes can be assigned to activities.

Resource Assignment allow user to assign resource/role to activities. This can be used to maintain resource assignment for activities of the project.

User interface for all other worksheets are similar to the one shown above.

Download evaluation copy here.

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Project Partners, a long-standing Oracle Partner, and global leader in optimizing business processes and IT investments within project-driven organizations.

www.projectp.com

Project Partners Blog Author:
Sachin Gupta |Oracle Primavera Solution Architect  Application Integration Specialist

Primavera Data Service (PDS) is a new free offering for P6 and Unifier cloud customer to enable and use. It exposes a set of endpoints that enables extraction of data from application database. It uses data service endpoints to discover which database tables and columns are accessible and then run queries against them. It provides read only access to data. It is available to both new and existing cloud customers.

Primavera Data Service can be used to read data from cloud environment. Data can be extracted in CSV file format or it can be stored in local database. Once the data is extracted, either in CSV file or stored in local database, reports and dashboard can be built on such data. The complete process to read the data using PDS and writing it to local database or CSV file can be automated. It can be run at pre-determined time or ad-hoc basis based on the requirement.

Primavera Data Service uses JavaScript Object Notation. JSON, is an open-standard file format or data interchange format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and array data types (or any other serializable value) – Through JSON Applications, PDS makes use of RESTful end points to access the cloud database.

Primavera Data Service provide read only access to the following for P6 EPPM:

• SELECT privileges on all P6 tables (including PX tables) except ADMIN_CONFIG, BRE_REGISTRY, PREFER, PUBUSER, SETTINGS, and tables that start with DLT, DR$ and MDRT_.
• For granted tables, synonyms use the same name as the table.
• Views for PXRPTUSER (ds_p6reportuser config is used to access these views).

Note that this data need to be extracted periodically to keep it current, although it will still not be real time but good for data analysis and generating month end reports using tools like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, etc.

For real time data, P6 web services can be used. P6 web services can read and write data and can be used for integration where as PDS can only be used to read data.

Limitation:

1. The data service cannot be used to read BLOB or CLOB fields.
2. Complex SQL queries cannot be written to extract data.
3. API does not support queries using LIKE and IN conditions.

*Important NOTE: PDS is currently available for customers running P6/Unifier 19.4 or later in GBUCS environments.  PDS is available for OCI running P6/Unifier 19.12.1/20.1 or later.

List of tables available for P6 EPPM with configuration ds_p6adminuser:

List of views available for P6 EPPM with configuration ds_p6adminuser:

List of views available for P6 EPPM with configuration ds_p6reportuser:

If you are looking for a solution to extract data from cloud database (P6, Unifier or Oracle Primavera Cloud) and build reporting solution, or looking for a demo to extract the data from your cloud environment one time to see how the data looks like, contact us at sgupta@projectp.com, or http://www.projectp.com/demos/contact_us.cgi

*Reference: How P6 and Unifier Cloud Customers Can Utilize Primavera Data Service (PDS) to Access their Cloud Database (Doc ID 2552583.1)

For more information on Project Partners go to www.projectp.com

FOR ANNOUNCEMENT | IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Project Partners, LLC. receives MBE certification from WRMSDC

A privately held minority consulting services and software solutions firm achieves National
Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification

_______________________________________

Half moon Bay, CA–July, 2020 – Project Partners, the world’s foremost Experts in Enterprise Project Portfolio Management™ for project-centric organizations is proud to announce that is has received the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) of the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council (WRMSDC) National certification. After completing the extensive application, meeting, and passing the review and rigorous requirements of the MBE certification process, this certification award proves that Project Partners, LLC meets the requirements to do business with large corporations, local, state, and federal government departments as a minority business entity. This milestone is an exciting opportunity for Project Partners with its mission to expand and continue to deliver a consistent level of high-quality services that positively impact the organizations it serves.

“Receiving this coveted certification is definitely an honor.  I know that the WRMSDC fully supports the growth and welfare of minority communities by championing the use of minority-owned businesses, therefore has a stringent national certification process.  We are proud to have successfully gone through the process and been awarded our MBE certification,” says Randy Egger, CEO and President of Project Partners.  “We also look forward to participating and leveraging WRMSDC’s community of MBE’s and tools that will provide us access to new prospects in our pursuit for growth and development of our products and services exclusively to project-centric organizations leveraging Oracle Technology. It’s a tremendous opportunity.”

To learn more about Project Partners, LLC, including its new status, visit www.projectp.com

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About Project Partners, LLC:  Project Partners, LLC is a privately held firm headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California, offering consulting services and software solutions.  Project Partners is a long-standing Oracle partner and a single point solution provider for all requirements across Oracle ERP | PPM Cloud, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Primavera applications for project-driven organizations. As a 100% minority-owned business with MRMSDC certification as an MBE, Project Partners is committed to stellar service and developing innovative and sustainable solutions for their clients.

www.projectp.com

Questions About ERP | PPM Cloud?  Time Slots Filling Up Fast, But Still Available!

Check it out and join us during the month of May & June as we offer our DEDICATED office chats. Project Partners ERP | PPM Cloud subject matter experts will be available for a deep dive informative discussion addressing your questions around your key top of mind issues/pain points. We’ll share our insights, guidance and solutions within your personalized FREE Q&A phone consultation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to ask your questions, no matter where you are in your Oracle ERP | PPM Cloud journey. We look forward to having great discussions and providing you with expert insight, analysis and the answers you’re searching for.

LEVERAGE OUR EXPERTISE TO THE FULLEST.

We’re here to help and solution with you.  Simply Register Below & Secure Your Spot for a One-on-One Office Hour Chat!

SECURE YOUR OFFICE CHAT TIME HERE

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INTRODUCING PROJECT PARTNERS PROJECT APPLICATION – PROCESS ASSESSMENT SERVICES

Whether helping you uncover hidden project challenges stemming from your current functional and operational applications/processes to understanding the why and how to migrate to the cloud, our Project Application/Process Assessment services give you the rigorous framework you need to grow and quickly achieve organizational success.

Our Team Will Partner With You to Assess Your Project Applications and Background Processes Inside and Out. 

Projects is the link that can penetrate your entire organization and requires careful analysis to maximize efficient operations.  If you are experiencing what appears to be a pain in your organization’s business process and applications, then now is the time to take another look and assess with the experts.

We are extending a SPECIAL ASSESSMENT offering that has proven results for our customers.  Just take the SIMPLE next steps to obtain Project Partners holistic approach to a full assessment and associated discount offer.

CLICK | SCHEDULE AN ASSESSMENT HERE TO GET STARTED

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A FRESH APPROACH TO ORACLE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND FIXED ASSETS

In this webinar, we’ll discuss how to move beyond to drive efficiencies and reporting accuracies with a fresh approach to Oracle Capital Projects, fixed assets, and showcase how Project Partners successfully delivered this solution for a customer that is using a third party fixed assets system to manage their capital projects.

We Invite You To Join Us And Learn More About This Powerful Solution:  

• The Capital Projects functionality delivered in Oracle Project Costing has enabled many of our customers to take advantage of the native integration to Oracle Fixed Assets

• However, there are industries that require a greater level of detail, control for estimating and allocating asset costs

• To address this, our team developed a solution that supports the need for greater level of detail, control of asset costs and allocations – which we will review and showcase for you

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW

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Project Partners, Oracle Platinum Partner, and global leader in optimizing business processes and IT investments within project-driven organizations.