Optimizing your E-Business Suite for Mobile and Tablet - Using existing EBS Functionality to transform your User Experience (UX) 08 th December 2014 Michael West UX Hero / Director T: 07884218111 E: michael.west@appsynx E: michaelwest uk.linkedin/in/oraclehcm/ Note: Personalization code used in the Apps14 demonstration is contained in slide comments If you are viewing the PDF version of this document then please contact me for the code -> no additional technology required!
About Me o Oracle HCM Consultant since 2005 Functional background Originally specialising in EBS Self-Service / OAF modules Custom Look and Feel / UI expert Now doing Fusion HCM Implementations o Started Appsynx / OracleSkins in 2009 Offering remote UX & UI services for Oracle Customers worldwide Worked for number of global customers on their EBS UX, including:
Optimising your E-Business Suite for Mobile and Tablet o Mobile Strategy / your options for going Mobile? What s out there? What you need to consider What you can do without extra technology / large investment! o Exploring Personalizations o Demo: Icon Based Home Page o Demo: CSS to Improve Usability o Exploring Custom Look and Feel CLAF o Demo: CLAF o Deployment options / technical requirements o Q&A
Mobile Strategy do I need one? o Why? Anywhere, anytime is now expectation for corporate systems User wants to be able to perform admin transactions quickly and simply Retail, Manufacturing = large volumes of employees/users who don t sit at a PC o Oracle Stats 59% of employees use mobile devices to run line of business applications 71% of companies are discussing developing custom mobile apps 74% of companies allow Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in some fashion Enterprise tablet adoption will grow by almost 50% per year By 2015, mobile app development projects will outnumber PC projects by a ratio of 4-to-1 Mobile internet users will exceed desktop internet users by 2014 o Oracle Key Theme: Modern User Experience Simplify Iconize Dashboards Reduce Clicks
Mobile Strategy Apps vs Optimized Design o Apps Easy to Use as Layout and Navigation built just for Mobile/Tablet Native Device Access Can be available offline [used to be key selling point] But Content / business process now needs maintenance in > 1 place Architecture constantly changing = constant software update and support Multiple platforms (ios, Android, Windows, Other ) Multiple software versions Multiple screen resolutions Future-Proofed? o Responsive Design Now common practice among modern websites Optimized for Mobile / Tablet without extra technology Flexible / Dynamic Layout, Hide/Show Key Information only But Not available offline & same page flow for desktop and mobile Recommended Article: Responsive Web Design Recommended Article: You Don t Need an App for That
Mobile Strategy Considerations o Accessibility / Security Corporate internal access only Access from anywhere o Scope of Mobile / Tablet Accessible Transactions All transactions vs individual transactions o User Interface o Timescale o Budget Is branding important? How quick do you need a solution? How long will it be active? Future plans upgrade to R12.2+ move to Fusion Development Infrastructure Support/License o In-house maintenance skills
ESB - So What Are The Options? upgrade / roadmap o SimpliedUI in OAF New Oracle delivered skin (uses CLAF) But Built for desktop Same view/access on desktop and mobile Only available on latest releases R12.2.4 o Wait for Responsive OAF? Responsiveness is on the EBS roadmap however no current information on the scope or release date (notexpected in next 1-2 years) and not likely to be a full solution I would expect a delivered scope similar to PeoplesoftFluidUIi.e. limited transaction scope, requires technical work to extend to other transactions o Fusion (Direct Move or Co-existence) Fuse = 2 nd interface for Mobile Devices Fusion Tap apps Recommended Session: MON 15:00 15:50 Which Journey is best for you? [R.Atkins-Certus Solutions]
EBS - So What Are The Options? new technology o Oracle Provided Apps Oracle have started to provide apps for individual transactions Speciality Apps But Limited transaction scope and device support e.g. Oracle Mobile Approvals app = Expenses, Requisitions, Purchase Orders Recruitment only, ios 7+ only Limited configuration options (won t support your customized business processes) Oracle UI only o Create Your Own Apps / 3 rd Party Apps e.g. Oracle ADF Mobile But Limited transaction scope & scalability Development, Technology/Integration costs Future Maintenance / License costs o Custom Front Ends Full Control over your design / can be made Responsive But Limited transaction scope & scalability Development, Technology / Integration costs Future Maintenance / License costs Recommended Session: WED 11:30 12:20 National Trust irecruitment Extreme Makeover [Claremont / Applaud]
EBS - So What Are The Options? existing technology o Personalizations Each OAF page is a webpage You can add any content or changes you wish -> the only limit is your imagination! Take advantage of CSS / CSS3 / HTML5 / Javascript/ jqueryvia Raw Text items But Individual page / region changes only No layout control Oracle UI only o Custom Look and Feel Easy way to modernize your User Experience Control over appearance and layout Covers all pages / transactions (use profile option to switch on or off) Option to create Responsive layout or standalone mobile skin But Doesn t help with page click (though does pick up custom OAF pages and new one-page SSHR pages)
Personalizations Modernize Iconize o EBS can be changed just like Fusion Main Fusion Homepage has no content by default you must create it
Personalizations Modernize Iconize o Challenge: Recreate the R12.2.4 Iconized Homepage on 11i/R12 Navigator is just a webpage can t we just add our own icons
Personalizations DEMO - Iconize o Example: Use Personalization to Create Navigation Icons Buy / build some icons [I bought mine from shutterstock] Upload Icons to OA_MEDIA Add Icons as Raw Text Personalizations use Hyperlink to EBS Functions Optional Use SPEL Function security to determine access to icons Use switcher to switch between normal navigator and icon navigation Note: Personalization code used in the Apps14 demonstration is contained in slide comments If you are viewing the PDF version of this document then please contact me for the code
Personalizations DEMO Usability / Accessibility o Example: Buttons for Mobile Devices Apple recommends that the minimum size tap target area for iphone and ipad is: 44 pixels Oracle R12 Standard Button size: 18px Add Raw Text Items with CSS code to override standard button size on Mobile <style> #button#submitbutton, button#cancel{font-size: 44px;} </style> One Step Further: Use multiple CSS styles to create a full new button look and feel Use custom.xss or full Custom Look and Feel to make changes across all screens Example: Note: Personalization code used in the Apps14 demonstration is contained in slide comments If you are viewing the PDF version of this document then please contact me for the code
Personalization DEMO Simplify o Example: Login Page o How to Enhance User Experience? Show Important information only -> declutter Remove need to Zoom in / out to complete One Step Further: Make additional CSS rules Landscape and Portrait modes e.g. @media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) { } @media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) { } Next Step: How to apply the same rules across the whole E-Business Suite at one time?
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Skins o Ability to change the style / layout of your Oracle OAF pages without customizing All your existing processes, personalizations, custom pages are all supported see Oracle Applications Framework Personalization Guide o Oracle seeded Look and Feels: BrowserLookandFeel Swan Skyros o Custom Look and Feels -typically used for changing the Brandingof your EBS
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Skins Overview o Improved User Experience (UX) o Improved Employee Buy-in / User Adoption to new or existing applications o Seamless Integration with Website / Intranet Systems o No new technology required o Quick to Implement: Development: 2-3 weeks Go-live: 2-8 weeks
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Skins o Examples
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Skins o Examples
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Skins o Examples
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Touch Skins o Responsive Design to Optimize the appearance of EBS on Mobile Devices o see Peoplesoft FluidUI just released o Using CSS3 / HTML5 Transforms / Transistions/ Box Shadows o Use @media to specify designs for different devices
Custom Look and Feel (CLAF) Touch Skins Design o Example Latest Project: irecruitment CLAF Skin designed for Desktop View and Mobile View expected to be live Jan 2015 Design Choices: o Responsive vs Mobile Only o Multiple @media for every size device
Touch Skins Deployment Options Access Anywhere o Suggestion: Use DMZ Server (like irecruitment/ isupplier) Server: Create DMZ Node on your server Make node externally available EBS Setup: Create Responsibility for Mobile Include the Functions you want to be available on Mobile EBS Setup: Oracle Applications Look and Feel profile option Set to xxx-desktop where xxx desktop is name of your Touch skin EBS Setup: Responsibility Trust Level profile option Set to Administrative at normal server+responsibility level Set to External at external server+responsibility level
Personalize and Touch Custom Look and Feel Together Benefits: o No New Technology! o No License costs o Quick to implement o Control over the design / brand Limitations: o Can t reduce Page Clicks Could use OAF / Workflow Manager Actions Simplified o Not available offline o Can require additional personalization effort per page to fully optimize Note: Personalization code used in the Apps14 demonstration is contained in slide comments If you are viewing the PDF version of this document then please contact me for the code
Summary o Lots of options to go mobile! My Personal Recommendation: Try to use HTML / browserbased solutions [rather than apps] as these will have greatest flexibility / future-proof across devices & platforms e.g. Smart Watches could be the future (?) Apps will need re-developed from scratch but any HTML / browser based solutions will be supported and you can use @media queries to improve the layout / uifor the specific device o Personalizations use to quickly iconize and de-clutter Skills Required: Oracle Functional or Technical Expertise Estimated Implementation Time: 1-2 days o Custom Look and Feel mobilize all or single transactions No extra technology / licenses required Use @media queries to optimize for mobile Design/brand completely controllable Skills Required: Web Design, Oracle Technical Expertise Estimated Implementation Time: 2-8 weeks