The first step in working with a project in the Oracle Projects Suite, project initiation, is typically performed centrally by a project administrator using a template and then routed for approval (to check proper template usage, project manager assignment, and funding).  Eventually, the project manager (PM) is notified that the project is ready to be modified for a detailed work plan and date input, a key member and resource assignments, other project attributes, transaction controls, and detailed financial planning.

In many cases, however, this same project will again need to be routed for approvals, in some cases to the same people who had previously approved the first phase of the project setup.  Or, some enterprises would prefer that the project manager initiate the project creation process since they have often been involved in the bid process and are already familiar with the anticipated approach.

It would be advantageous in many situations if the project initiation process started with the project manager.  However, usually, the project manager is a casual user of Oracle Forms or HTML pages and, as such, cannot afford the time to have cultivated the level of proficiency in screen navigation required to perform project setup promptly – plus, many enterprises would prefer that PMs concentrate on project management.

Project Partners UI-Apps products are designed with this in mind.  The UI-Apps are built around MS Excel worksheets that are tailored to perform specific tasks and oriented to a particular end-user resulting in an easy-to-use front-end seamlessly connected to the comprehensive Oracle Projects enterprise solution.  This means that project managers can use a tool they’re familiar with (Excel), see only the information they need, and click a button to upload the data to Oracle for project initiation.  An additional benefit is that when they start the process (first time connecting to Oracle – with standard Oracle Security), they can download the information they will need to build the WBS, add key members/ resources and classifications, and then log off and work off-line to complete project setup while being validated real-time by the business rules built into the UI-Apps Worksheet.

One Excel worksheet allows a PM to choose a template, enter project attributes from dropdowns in Excel (such as key members, classifications, project types, distributions rules, classifications, organization, customer, currency), enter other information such as project name, description, start/end dates, and select documents to add as attachments to the project.  Upon uploading to Oracle, the project is routed through the established workflow for project initiation.  Project managers can do all this in the office from a computer connected to the company network. They can easily download all required information with one button and take their laptop on the road to perform all this while disconnected.  Once they can connect again, the data can be uploaded to Oracle with one button.

Project Partners UI-Apps Suite also provides other worksheets for WBS creation/updates, resource allocation, funding and agreement maintenance, budget and forecast creation/update, and reporting.

Here are some example screenshots of this Project Partners UI-Apps solution:

Examples of Project Partners User Interface Applications Worksheets

Author: Peter Budelov