Sometimes as we go through our daily routines we lose sight of some of the little things that make life the great adventure that it is. One such experience happened to a member of the CBA family Labor Day weekend as a result of a chance meeting at the Dayton Air Show courtesy of Sean D. Tucker world renowned stunt flyer and member of the Oracle Flight Team and Power Aerobatics.

CBA Sr. Account Executive Bob Searles and his son Matt, who has Cerebral Palsy, met Sean at the Dayton Air Show. Matt (12), who is determined not to let his physical challenges keep him down, has a passion for flying. His dream is to be a pilot someday. In order to prepare for that dream, he spends most of his free time on his computer perfecting his knowledge and skills as a pilot on flight simulator software. When Sean and Matt met in August at the Dayton Air Show, they hit it off immediately. Matt’s passion for flying and his admiration for Sean set the stage for an instant friendship between the two. Sean was so taken with Matt he offered to take him up in his airplane, one of the most high-performance aerobatic aircrafts in the world, the Oracle Challenger. It is a fire-breathing monster with over 400 horsepower, weighs just over 1200 pounds, and responds to the slightest pressure on the control stick even at 300 mph. Not only did Sean offer to take Matt for a ride… he offered to let him fly it. I could go on, but I’ll let this amazing YouTube video of what happened next speak for itself:

As you can see, the experience only stoked Matt’s love of flying. We are grateful to Sean and Oracle for providing Matt with a once in a lifetime experience. In honor of Matt’s flight and to help other like him realize their dream, we will donate $100 in Matt’s honor to the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation (use offer code MATT11) for every order we receive for software or training through the about to be launched CBA Online Store in the month of October. If you want to place an order today before the Online Store goes live, please contact CBA Sales at 419-874-0800 and reference this article. The United Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s slogan is “Life without Limits” and Matt is certainly a shining example of that.

Congratulations Matt for making your dreams come alive and thank you Sean for making it happen.

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How to turn the P6 XER Import “Blues” to Pure “Rock n Roll”
If you are like most P6 users, you have tried to import subcontractor or owner P6 XER files into your database and corrupted your Global data. As we all have learned, global data assigned to an XER schedule will populate your database global data upon import. For users who import XER’s on a regular basis a standard practice has been to first import the XER into a sandbox database. There in the sandbox database the Global data can be modified as required prior to importing the XER into your production database. For those who have tried this I am sure you would agree that it is a slow and tedious process. UG! But there is a better way!!!!
A new software application called Xena is now available to easily manage the global data of the incoming XER schedule prior to importing into your production database. With the Xena tool you have the options to:
Assign a prefix to Global Codes, Activity Code Values, Calendars, Resources, UDF’s, and Notebooks so that they are segregated in your global structure upon import
Rename Global Codes, Activity Code Values, Calendars, UDF’s, Notebooks, Unit of Measure.
Reduce status of Activity Codes from Global to Project level
Delete Global Codes, Activity Code Values, Calendars, Resources, UDF’s, Notebooks, Unit of Measure.
So….how is Xena used. Take the XER you want to import into the production database and import it into the Xena tool. Modify all global data with the options listed above. Save all modification procedures as a Xena template so the next time you import an updated XER the template will remember the set up for handling global data. Export the Xena revised XER file and import it into your production database. Xena also includes a tool that allows you to quickly de-status projects or to remove data such as financials prior to exporting to a sub or owner.
Feel free to contact CBA if you have any questions about the Xena tool.

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The iPhone application for P6 Team Members is now available for download on iTunes App store!

This is an exciting milestone for the Mobile Project Team.  Currently the app is supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. iOS 4.3.   Oracle Development is actively working to support iOS 4+ in the coming weeks for those users that have older version of the OS. Additionally, iOS 5 has been officially released. Also of note, support for the the Verizon iPhone will be available shortly.

The Team Member app lets users:

• Email changes to update P6 projects
• Filter list of tasks
• Send email to request tasks
• View assigned tasks by project
• Easily mark a task complete
• Update time spent, time left & dates
• Receive confirmation message for updates

Please contact CBA your Oracle Primavera Specialized Partner for additional information and a demonstration of what P6 can do for your organization.

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Problem:

P6 v7 Does NOT Increment Activity ID based on Selected Activities.

When copying and pasting activities, there is a new option for incrementing the Activity ID of the new activity based on the selected activity that you are copying. However, this new functionality does not work properly. See example below.

Data set:

Before beginning this example let’s make sure there is no UGR73510.

Search the Activity ID column:

Now, let’s Copy and Paste UGR73500.

Copy & Paste Dialog Boxes:

Based on our Increment Value of 10, our expected result should be UGR73510.

Result:

However, our new Activity ID is UGR90390. This incremental uncertainty is something to take into consideration when copying and pasting in P6.

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One by-product of the Oracle acquisition of Primavera in 2008 is that now it is relatively easy to become an Oracle partner and sell Primavera products, however it is very difficult to become an Oracle SPECIALIZED Primavera Partner. This status means that you have provided the highest level of expertise and customer satisfaction in the industry today. Customer testimonials are an integral part of this process, so experience and competence matters. CBA is the only Specialized Primavera reseller based in Ohio and Michigan.

Since the 2008 acquisition of Primavera by Oracle we have seen many nameless faceless “groups” appear by virtue of the Oracle Open Market Model, which allows virtually anyone to become an Oracle software reseller. With Oracle’s excellence in marketing anyone can easily create a compelling website using their content. However the devil is in the details.For example we know of one “group” of one, who has proclaimed 12 years of experience (even though they have only been in existence for several weeks) while never having delivered the stated services or training to any company or organization. The website for this “group” contains not one single name of a principle owner, executive, salesperson, consultant, trainer, or implementation specialist although they boast to have a well-schooled team of people claiming those skills. However they do show stock photos of nice looking people in business dress that exist only in a photo shop somewhere. This “group” continues to claim experience in multiple verticals, however offer no customer success stories, references, or any other evidence that any company in any of the industries they list has ever done business with them. This “group” also claims to offer training and even has an inoperable link to a non-existent class schedule.

At CBA we are proud of our heritage of providing real value to real companies for 26 years. On our website you will find the names and bios of our ownership and management team, consultants and certified training professionals. We also offer real training classes with a real class schedule for all levels of Primavera training, for which you can really register. Why do sham companies like the one referenced above exist? It is because they try to make easy money selling software cheap to unsuspecting customers and then try to back-fill services through the independent consulting community. Because they don’t invest in their business the way real companies like CBA and our true peers in the industry such as Evans Technologies, DR McNatty and Associates and CDP have they can sell software at unsustainable margins. Unfortunately all you get is low-priced software. The faceless, nameless man behind the mask is not going to help you with maintenance or licensing issues, or help you to receive the support and training necessary to be successful. This is a very dangerous shell game because as any savvy project manager knows project management solutions are not “out of the box” ready products and qualified training and consulting specialists are hard to come by. Just like the wild west hucksters selling snake oil what they are really selling you is deception.

CBAcan lead you out of that wilderness. Only a company with the depth and breadth of knowledge that CBA possesses can offer you the lowest Total Cost of Operation for Primavera products via our Software Advantage Program. As an innovator in project management services and a Oracle Primavera Specialized Partner we have developed the CBA Software Advantage Program. For no additional cost when you purchase 5 or more Oracle Primavera software licenses from CBAwe will enroll you in the CBA Software Advantage Program. This program entitles you to up to 4 hours of product support and assistance from one of our senior consultants at no cost, a 15% discount for enrolling in any of our scheduled training classes conducted by one of our certified Primavera trainers, and a 15% discount on any additional professional services you may need for implementation and administration of your Primavera environment. This is our way of thanking you for your business and ensuring that you have the necessary help you need to make your project management initiative successful and affordable. Save yourself from the wild west of project management and make the prescient choice to call CBA. Please contact CBA for further details.

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Collaborate 2011 was a fantastic conference put on by Quest, OAUG and IOUG, three users groups all related to Oracle products.  New this year is OPSIG, sponsored by both Quest and OAUG.  This is the Oracle Primavera Special Interest Group.  They significantly helped the Primavera community have a presence at Collaborate.

There were many great sessions throughout the conference.  One of these sessions was presented by the Oracle development team for Primavera Contract Management. They provided a glimpse of the future for PCM and some of the changes abound. 

Contract Management v14 should be released in calendar year 2011. With it comes one major and fantastic change. InfoMaker is planned to be replaced by Oracle’s BI Publisher. This decision will allow for graphic reporting, and the inclusion of P6 data in one report. They will be providing a stock library of forms and reports, but at this point there is no direct path from InfoMaker to BI Publisher if you have customized forms and reports.   More to come in future postings on this dilemma…

Highlights of version 14 include at this time:
* Web Services
* Development of BPM work flows
* BI Publisher
* Redesign to look more like P6 R8
* User Productivity Kit
* Technical enhancements

Not in the initial release, but still planned, seem to be:
* Enhanced document control
* Notifications (YES!)
* Cost Worksheet Calculations (Yes!)
* more BPM work flows (Yay!)
* Security enhancements
* Mobile support (Super Yay!)
* Expansion of PCM functionality in P6 (single platform?)

Stay tuned for more updates!

Of course the standard ‘safe harbor’ statement applies…
The preceding is intended to outline the general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decision. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

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If you’re attending Collaborate11 this year, be sure to visit CBA at booth #230 in the Primavera section and learn more about how our products and services can help your Project Management efforts.  We’ll be at the booth from 6-8pm tonight and 10:15 am – 4:15 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Visit our booth for a free gift. 

Bryan Gardner, CBA employee and one of the nation’s best Primavera P6 and Contract Management Consultants, was selected by Oracle to present at this year’s conference.  He will be presenting on Oracle Primavera’s Contract Management. Many organizations are awarded contracts based on units, where quantities are estimated by the owner and pricing is fixed. Most of these companies have developed spreadsheets for tracking these contracts. This presentation will explore tracking the same contract using Contract Manager’s (CM) contract, change management, materials, daily report and payment requisition modules. The contract is created using CM. Utilizing the Materials portion of the contract line items, users are able to log work accomplished in the daily reports module. These materials are then tallied and reported in the contractor’s monthly payment application to the Owner.

The Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and the Quest International Users Group (Quest) annually host COLLABORATE, which brings thousands of oracle technology and applications professionals to one venue for oracle education, customer exchange and networking.

COLLABORATE 11, taking place April 10-14, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, will attract thousands of Oracle users across all spectrums.

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