11i.10 Upgrade Frequently Asked Questions
QUICK LINKS
- General
- Heads Up for All Users, Purchasing Users, People who run Concurrent Requests, and Discoverer and Cash Balance Report Users
- What is an upgrade?
- Why do we need to upgrade?
- Why do we need to upgrade now?
- What will the new release specifically offer me?
- How will ISDS help users prepare for the upgrade?
- What training will be required?
- Will responsibilities change?
- Will Discoverer still be our reporting tool?
- Will business processes remain the same?
- When will Release 11i go into Production?
- How will current policies and procedures change in the new release?
- Will I need to do anything to get access to the new release?
- Will there be an 11i.10 User Fair?
- Will there be a new Jinitiator with this upgrade?
General FAQs
What
is an upgrade?
A standard system upgrade involves the movement
from the current version of the applications to the
latest available version at the time of the upgrade.
The upgrade to 11i.10 is a "point" release,
which will have much less of an impact on users than
the original 11i (11i.9) upgrade.
- One of the main reasons the University deployed an integrated system was to be able to take advantage of periodic upgrades that allow it to stay current with technology, functionality, and best business practices. There are a number of improvements that we anticipated with version 11i.10, particularly in the area of Grants Accounting and the look and feel of Self Service.
- Required for continued support from Oracle
- As newer versions of the software become available, it is more difficult to get adequate support from Oracle.
- The timing of the upgrade was designed not to interfere with the implementation of the new student information system.
What
will the new release specifically offer me?
An overview of the new features that
come with the 11i.10 upgrade can be
viewed on the Enhancements web
site. Some of the new features that will be part of
the upgrade are:
- Enhanced Self Service look and feel
- Fixes and improvements in the Grants Accounting application
- Increased flexibility in updating and changing POs and LPOs
- Forgot your password? feature on the Integrated System login page
How
will the Integrated System Deployment & Support
team help users prepare for the upgrade?
Making sure that users' concerns are addressed
and that users will be fully prepared for the new release
are primary goals of the ISDS team and central offices
during this upgrade. Many techniques will be employed
to ensure that these goals are met. They include:
- Members of the user community who participate on the system task forces will be consulted throughout the upgrade.
- An 11i.10 web site will contain current information on the upgrade.
- Demos will familiarize users with the features of the upgrade.
- Closer to the April 24th go live date, the Division of Training will be offering demonstrations and other means of knowledge transfer, as appropriate, to prepare users for the upgrade.
- LSPs are involved in evaluating users' desktop needs and will assist in addressing them.
What training will be required?
Training requirements have not yet been determined.
There will be a cutover time when 11i.9 training
will be offered with 11i.10 training. Then 11i.9
training will cease.
Will responsibilities change?
Responsibilities will remain the same, though some
may have more menu options.
Will Discoverer still be our reporting tool?
Yes, we will still use Discoverer for reports. There
will not be a version change with this upgrade.
Will business processes remain the same?
It is anticipated that business processes will remain
essentially the same since there will be little change
in functionality.
When will Release 11i.10 go into Production?
The go-live for the upgrade is schedule for April 24,
2006. View the 11i.10
Upgrade Timeline web site for
milestones.
How
will current policies and procedures change in the new
release?
It
is not expected that current policies and procedures
will change dramatically in the new release. 11i.10
is a logical, evolutionary step forward from the current
release. Should any changes be required, more information
will be provided.
Will
I need to do anything to get access to the new release?
The
upgrade to release 11i.10 will not affect your current
access to the system. Your Username, Password, and all Responsibilities will remain virtually the same
. There may be required training in some areas. This
has not yet been determined, but will be communicated
once a decision is made. A new j-Initiator will also
be required. Instructions will be provided, or your
LSP can assist you.
Will
there be an 11i.10 User Fair?
The changes resulting from 11i.10
will not be significant enough to warrant a User
Fair.
Will there be a new Jinitiator with
this upgrade?
Yes, there will be a new Jinitiator. It will install
automatically when you log onto the system following
the upgrade. In some cases, an LSP will load the
Jinitiator for you in advance of the upgrade. The
old and new versions can co-exist.
- Cutover Plan:
- Thursday, April 20, at noon: We will be following procedures similar to month-end close: All users will be temporarily disconnected from the system as we begin the cutover. Holders of IS responsibilities that normally remain active during month-end close may log back on at 12:30 p.m. Responsibilities that do NOT normally remain active during month-end close will be remain deactivated until the upgrade is complete.
- Thursday, April 20, 5:00 p.m.: All users will be disconnected from the system until the upgrade is complete.
- Monday, April 24, 7:00 a.m.: System is available for all users.
- ODS: The Operational Data Store will be available during normally scheduled hours throughout the cutover period, and will show data through 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 20.
- Favorites: Be sure to review your favorites on the menu page following the upgrade. Some favorites may not be there, and others may show up in duplicate due to changes in the menu structure. Please be sure to review the list, delete duplicates, and add back any missing favorites. If you need assistance, contact the IS Customer Support Center at 3-7550.
- Manual workarounds during cutover – Unlike
the last upgrade, when the Integrated System was down
for a week, the system will be unavailable for most
users only the afternoon of Thursday, April 20 and
all day on Friday, April 21. We hope that most people
can do their business before this time or hold it until
Monday, April 24. However, if you have an emergency,
here are the manual workarounds:
- Any payroll questions, call Payroll at 4-4350.
- Getting a check: If an emergency situation occurs during the cutover period, contact Procurement Services at 4-4212 for instructions.
- Getting a PO: If you anticipate a need for purchases during the downtime, you may want to reserve some LPO numbers for use on Thursday afternoon and Friday. Make sure you complete and approve these as soon as the system is available.
- Budget advisory warning: Following the 11i.10 upgrade, when you approve a payment voucher where the amount exceeds the available budget, you will get a pop-up message that reads, “This invoice or distribution passed funds check with advisory warnings.” When you click OK in the message, your transaction will be validated as usual. The purpose of this message is to alert you that you may need to adjust your award budget.
- Closing out action notifications: As we approach the upgrade it is important that users stay current with their “Action Required” notifications. These are notifications that allow you to Approve and Reject documents. Ideally there should be no “Open” Action Required notifications at the time of the upgrade. Those notifications that have not been acted on will upgrade, but may not have all of their functionality. For example, the Open Document icon may not work.
- Deleting all purchasing folders: With this upgrade come new screens which require that we delete all Purchasing folders (public and private). This includes folders in Requisition summary at the header, line, and distribution levels; PO Summary at the header, line, shipment, and distribution levels; and Receiving folders. You may want to take screen prints of your folders so that you can more easily recreate them at go-live. Note: ISDS will be setting up basic folders for PO Summary and Requisition Summary at the distribution level for general use so users can take advantage of the new availability of the Award field in those screens (see New Feature: Award Field).
- Need-by date on Purchasing documents: With the upgrade, need-by dates on purchasing documents will include a time stamp which defaults in as 0:00 on the day you create the transaction. You cannot enter a need-by date of today that has a time stamp earlier than the time you are creating the document. To ensure a valid need-by date, you will need either to select a future date as the need-by date, or change the time stamp. The time is found at the bottom of the calendar that appears for dates when you click on the list of values. If you enter the same date without changing the time stamp, a pop up message will tell you to enter a need-by date later than the current date.
People who run concurrent requests:
Any concurrent requests scheduled between 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 and 7:00 a.m. on Monday, April 24, will be put on hold and released on Monday morning, April 24.
Discoverer and Cash Balance Report Users:
Beginning April 24th, you may see some changes in the way commitments and encumbrances are reflected on Cash Balance reports (and on Discoverer reports on April 25th):
- Purchasing Commitments: We have
modified how requisitions and purchase orders are reported
to be consistent
with how they are reflected in Award Status Inquiry
and
Project Status Inquiry:
- If a purchase order has been auto-created from a requisition, the amount will continue to appear as a requisition commitment until the PO is approved and reserved. Currently, the requisition commitment is dropped from reports until the PO is approved and reserved.
- If a purchase order has been matched to an invoice but not yet approved, the amount will appear on your report as a commitment. Currently these are not included on reports until the invoice has been approved.
- Labor Encumbrances: The liquidation of labor encumbrances for terminated employees will be correctly offset in the same period as the original labor encumbrances and, thus, will not appear on reports after the termination date.