Release Value Proposition: PeopleTools 8.53 feature analysis

Oracle has planned to enhance/add below features in PeopleTools 8.53.

1. User Interface
2. PeopleSoft Search Framework
3. Lifecycle Management
4. Server Administration and Infrastructure
5. Security Administration
6. Integration Technology
7. Reporting and Analysis Tools
8. Development Tools

1. User Interface

a) Dramatic New Look and Feel: New style sheet for good look and feel. These changes also lay the groundwork for future user interface changes.

b) Related Actions/Related Content: PeopleTools 8.53 brings Related Actions to Pivot Grids, allowing users to take actions directly on data displayed in a pivot grid.

                                                         A new Related Actions widget can be used to display the Related Actions menu. This feature eliminates the need for a developer to write code for displaying the optional menu and for defining HTML areas on pages to display Related Actions.

                                                         Related Services can be configured in groups, which make it simpler to configure the same services that appear in multiple places.

c) WorkCentres and Dashboards: Application developers and designers can deploy dashboard-like pagelets within WorkCenters to provide better decision support for WorkCenter transactions. This capability combines some of the features and benefits of Dashboards with WorkCenters.

                                                    Applications can now consume remote pagelets in WorkCenters, Homepages, and Dashboards.

d) Activity Guide: In 8.53, the Activity Guide enables application developers to define a list of action items tied to transactional, collaborative, or manual tasks. The action item represents a task that can be tracked for assignment and completion, and is secured by roles and user lists. Activity Guides also enable a hierarchical list of action items.

                            A new Activity Guide WorkCenter template is available for use with building and configuring Activity Guides. This template provides a frame with the navigation controls used to traverse an Activity Guide. The WorkCenter template also provides the following features:

• A status bar to indicate the progress of the Activity Guide, and the Active Action item is highlighted.
• Ability to do pre-processing and post-processing for an action item.
• Ability to assign an action item to a role or a user.
• Ability to create dependency rules for action items.

2. PeopleSoft Search Framework

PeopleSoft Application Search framework features include:

• A search experience that functions similarly to the internet, providing a look and feel that users will find both familiar and intuitive.
• An Application Search that is available at any point in an application and can be configured to span multiple PeopleSoft applications. It enables users to initiate transactions or navigate to key information without using the PeopleSoft application menu or returning to the homepage to do so.
• The ability to use filters and facets to narrow result sets, further enabling users to identify and navigate to specific application content.
• Search results that display in prioritized order by relevance based on the provided search terms.
• Related Action menus that are embedded directly in the search results, allowing users to navigate straight to specific related transactions, which are prepopulated with the selected search results data.
• A Component Search function that enables users to search by keyword, thereby extending the versatility of virtually all existing search pages.

Key PeopleSoft Search Framework Enhancements:

• Performance
• New source types
• Oracle SES instance sharing
• Multiple FTP credential support
• Monitoring and diagnostics
• Duplicate search results
• Increased operator support

3. Lifecycle Management

a) PeopleSoft Update Manager

b) Configuration Management with the Data Migration Workbench(A brand new tool): The Data Migration Workbench is a new tool that helps users manage the process of moving configuration data from one system to another.

c) PeopleSoft Test Framework: Enhanced to support a number of new PeopleTools features and capabilities.

d) Three-Way Merge Support

4.  Server Administration and Infrastructure

a) Platform Components

b) Extending 64-bit Support to the Windows Server Platform: The application server uses 64-bit binaries on the Windows Server platform. The 32-bit Windows code for the application server will no longer be available.

c) A New Home for Customizations - PS_CUST_HOME : This change is optional; customers may continue to use a traditional PS_HOME if desired.

d) PeopleSoft Application Management Pack for Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c

e) Offload PS/nVision Workloads with Active Data Guard and Golden Gate

f) Support for Firefox Extended Support Releases: Firefox 17 is the anticipated minimum ESR to be certified with PeopleTools 8.53.

5. Security Administration

a) Secure by Default Initiative:

• Deliver all UserIDs with a password that must be set during Installation.
• Salt-enabled user Passwords.

6. Integration Technology

a) JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) from Documents

b) REST Web Services

c) Integration Network Enhancements

• Automated Network Status and Real-Time Notification of Errors
• Improved Life Cycle Utilities
• Bulk Update of Permission for Service Operations

7. Reporting and Analysis Tools

a) Reporting Console Enhancements:

• Drag-and-drop of folders and Process Bookmark as a sibling.
• Drag-and-drop of folders and Process Bookmark as a child of an existing folder.
• Rename of folders.
• Import folders and Process Bookmark of existing user.
• Dynamic Context Menu option on folder and Process Bookmark row for add, edit, rename, delete options.

b) New My Reports Pagelet:

• Display list of different systems/databases containing the reports and providing functionality for filtering reports based on a particular database.
• Opening of the actual report directly instead of a page to display a list of files.
• Grouping of multiple instances of the same report.

c) Chart Enhancements: PeopleTools 8.53 introduces a number of Chart Enhancements, including making use HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript instead of the server-based chart engine. The new charts incorporate improvements in scrolling and display and more closely match the overall PeopleTools look and feel.

d) Pivot Grid Enhancements:

• Multi Select Filters that provide the ability to filter data on multiple values instead of a single value.
• Progressive Filtering that shows only valid values for the current filter selection when a filter value is modified.
• Dynamic passing of prompt values into the Pivot Grid being displayed in a Related Content frame or in Related Actions.
• Chart-only view allows users to change layout using grid.
• Enabling of Pivot Grid pagelets to interact with each other and with transaction pages. Prompt and filter value changes can be published and subscribed to in real-time.
• Enhancements to the user interface.
• Pivot Grid Administration Component provides module to clone and delete Pivot Grid Models and personalization.
• Enhancements to the Pivot Grid Wizard.

8. Development Tools

PeopleTools 8.53 introduces a new feature in Application Designer that allows developers to define the field label alignment for new or modified pages. A configuration property can be set that defines whether new field labels should be right or left aligned. This feature greatly streamlines the otherwise manual process of field label alignment. Once a field is placed on a page, the developer retains the ability to change the label alignment where necessary.

 

Key PeopleTools 8.53 features Executive Summary:

PeopleSoft Styles and User Interaction Model

• New styles for a contemporary appearance.
• More flexibility in WorkCenters and Dashboards.
• Improvements to the Related Content Framework, Related Actions, and Activity Guides.

PeopleSoft Data Migration Workbench

PeopleSoft Update Manager (NEW)

• The customer does not have to be current on maintenance.

• The customer can select a single fix and find out if requisite fixes are available that must be applied with it.

• Dependencies are calculated by area of system affected rather than time, so fewer dependencies are required.

PeopleSoft Secure by Default Initiative

• Safeguards for ensuring that passwords for default user accounts are set during installation.

• Additional mitigation for brute force and denial-of-service attempts.

• Additional security for file attachments and the Report Repository.