Performing an upgrade is a challenging task. Performing an upgrade where the environment contains a significant number of customizations adds significant complexity and risk. This presentation will detail the approach, steps and pitfalls that are encountered and how the upgrade can still be successful. This upgrade contains a number of additional challenges, including the need to support processes for over 40 countries.

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Performing an R12 Upgrade in a Highly Customized
Environment with a Worldwide Footprint

2. AXIA Consulting
About AXIA Consulting
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understand your business and we have the proven
ability to deliver meaningful results.
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employs approximately 100 Senior Consultants. We are
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than 54 countries over six continents.
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to excellence, resulting in trusted partnerships
and lasting client relationships

3. Abstract & Objective
Abstract
Performing an upgrade is a challenging task. Performing an upgrade
where the environment contains a significant number of customizations
adds significant complexity and risk. This presentation will detail the
approach, steps and pitfalls that are encountered and how the upgrade
can still be successful. This upgrade contains a number of additional
challenges, including the need to support processes for over 40 countries.
Objective
• Objective 1: Convey real world lessons for an R12 upgrade
• Objective 2: Discuss Latin America specific considerations
• Objective 3: Using Panaya to identify customization changes

4. Agenda
High-Level Agenda
• Project Facts & Metrics
• Methodology (including Panaya)
• Challenges and Corresponding Actions
• Success Factors/Lessons Learned
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5. Agenda
High-Level Agenda
• Project Facts & Metrics
• Methodology (including Panaya)
• Challenges and Corresponding Actions
• Success Factors/Lessons Learned

6. Scope – ‘As-Is’ to ‘As-Is’ Upgrade
• Finance
o General Ledger
o Payments (new in R12)
o iExpense
o Accounts Receiveable
o Collections
o Fixed Assets
o Cash Management
• Supply Chain
o Purchasing
o iProcurement
o iSupplier
o Sourcing
o Inventory
o Order Management
o Contracts
o Install Base
• Infrastructure/External
o EDI
o eCommerce Gateway
o 10+ third-party applications

7. Project Statistics
• Issues*: 1650+ and counting
• Patches
o Patch Sets: 9
o Maintenance Packs: 4
o One-Off: 541
• Oracle SR’s: 400+
• Timeframe: 13 ½ months

8. Project Statistics cont.
• Consulting Team
o Project manager (1)
o Functional leads (5)
o Technical leads (1)
o Developers (4)
• Client Team
o Project manager (1 FT)
o Functional leads (5 PT)
o DBAs (3 PT)
o Developers (8 PT)

9. Agenda
High-Level Agenda
• Project Facts & Metrics
• Methodology(including Panaya)
• Challenges and Corresponding Actions
• Success Factors/Lessons Learned

10. Project Initiation and Planning
• Coordinate all project resources
• Create and validate work plans
• Project kick-off
• Set project team and organization expectations

11. Project Initiation and Planning cont.
• Conduct R12 Delta Sessions (‘As-Is’ to ‘As-Is’ ???)
• Gather existing testing documentation
• Create testing documentation
• Catalog all customizations

12. Test Iterations (5 Planned, 3.5 Completed)
• Unit Test, String Test, End-to-End Test, Mock and
UAT
• Unit Test (aka. Bug Hunt, Functional validation)
• Iterations yield less and less patches for each phase
• 80% of up-front development done during Unit Test
phase

13. Test Iterations (5 Planned, 3.5 Completed)
cont.
• Cookbook refinement
• Downtime went from 11 days to 6 days
• Iterations are imperative for DBAs

14. Development
• Begin working on customization remediation
immediately
• Panaya
o Free trial
o Saas upgrade automation tool
o Reduced unit testing cycle, thus quicker unit testing validaiton
o Saved on consulting dollars
o 80% to 90% hit rate
o ~500 custom objects identified
o ~1300 unique changes to custom objects

15. Agenda
High-Level Agenda
• Project Facts & Metrics
• Methodology (including Panaya)
• Challenges and Corresponding
Actions
• Success Factors/Lessons Learned

16. Development
Challenge Pro-Active Actions
New Functionality in R12
• Payments
• Sub-Ledger Accounting
• TCA (Supplier Side)
• e-Biz Tax
• Held functional design sessions very
early
• Conference Room Piloted functions
• Looked at impacted customizations
1st
Project team was not seated together Setup rooms where functional team
members worked together during pre-
determined times of the day.
Testing fell behind Brought in business earlier than
planned. Their participation helped
from a volume, validation and
thoroughness perspective.
Oracle SRs turnaround time was
hindering issue resolution
Became part of Oracle critical accounts
program.

17. Agenda
High-Level Agenda
• Project Facts & Metrics
• Methodology (including Panaya)
• Challenges and Corresponding Actions
• Success Factors/Lessons
Learned

18. Question: What does ‘As-Is’ to ‘As-Is’ really mean?
Answer: Oracle ‘As-Is’ to ‘As-Is’.
Question: Why do those consultants keep asking me if my
test cases are done?
Answer: For an upgrade, test cases define the scope. Scope
definition is very important.
Question: What countries provided the greatest challenge?
Answer: Latin America, specifically Brazil and Argentina. Not
ready for prime-time. A lot of patches.

19. Question: How many upgrade iterations should I perform?
Answer: Until you are comfortable from a risk and down-time
perspective.
Question: What was the biggest surprise of the project?
Answer: The complexity, breadth and # of patches needed to
get EB-Tax working.
Question: When should I get the business involved?
Answer: The sooner the better.

20. Question: Wow, you had a lot of patches, is there any way to
reduce that number?
Answer: Not sure, but we would put more time into making
sure we were up-to-date on all patches. We thought we had
done this, but it would be a good exercise to do again.
Partnering with Oracle up-front is recommended.
Question: What is Oracle’s ‘Critical Accounts Program’ that
was mentioned earlier.
Answer: At the right time, this program raises visibility of SRs.

21. Quotes
“Hey, I still have my day job”
“It’s taking 10 minutes for a screen refresh”
“Did you just say you wanted to test end-to-ends for all 45
countries?”
“I’m not sure why they’re testing that in R12, they told me
they don’t do it in 11i.”

22. Take Away
• Get all test cases done before the project ramps
• Early user involvement
• Early inventory of customizations
• Keep as close to ‘As-Is’ to ‘As-Is’ as possible

23. Take Away cont.
• Understand resource commitments and/or
ramifications
• Plan for many technical iterations
• Development environment performance is important
• Important to have enough of the right hardware

24. Take Away cont.
• Project standards for issues and metrics tracking
• Starting with most recent patches
• Release Management (Code Control) is very
important
• Latin America has been a challenge for us
• Active steering committee

25. Contacts
For more information, visit
http://www.axiaconsulting.net/
or give us a call at 866.937.5550
AXIA Consulting is a global provider of business and technology solutions
focused on maximizing investments and delivering results. With experience
across multiple industries and more than 54 countries, AXIA’s senior team
helps organizations tackle tough challenges, from large-scale ERP
implementations and post-merger integrations, to organizational change
and more.