Working Effectively with PeopleSoft Support
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The document provides guidance on effectively working with PeopleSoft support, detailing the preparation needed before opening a support request (SR), including understanding system configurations and the importance of responsiveness. It outlines how to create an SR, including severity classifications, and emphasizes the necessity of clear communication regarding business impacts. The presentation also covers escalation procedures and the management of multiple SRs during system implementations or upgrades.
Working Effectively with PeopleSoft Support
- 1. Working Effectively with PeopleSoft Support Steven Canter Director, Global Service Delivery Smart ERP Solutions [email protected]
- 2. Agenda • Introduction • Being Prepared • Opening an SR • Managing the SR • Other Strategies • Q&A
- 4. Smart ERP Solutions Comprised of the best former developers, architects, support, functional consultants and executives from PeopleSoft/Oracle Unique best practices and expertise in PeopleSoft strategic planning, implementation, upgrade and add-on / customization services Provide cost-effective, robust and repeatable add-on “Smart Solutions” for PeopleSoft applications as an alternative to customizations High Quality of Service at Every Level and Role: Executive Leadership, Project Management, Functional and Technical Expertise
- 5. About This Presentation • Based on my 10+ years experience as CIO for a company running PeopleSoft FSCM • This content is NOT officially sanctioned by Oracle • Adapt the recommendations here to fit the needs of your organization • Your mileage may vary
- 6. Common Complaints • My support analyst doesn’t understand the problem • They won’t help me unless I replicate in Demo • It takes them forever to respond • They say it’s “Working as Designed” • They won’t help me unless I’m current on maintenance/ bundles
- 7. Preparing for a Good Experience
- 8. Being Prepared • Be responsive and knowledgeable about your SR • Know your version (Ctrl-J information) • Know what bundles you have applied • Be aware if you have customizations that may impact you • Know your technical architecture • Consider using Oracle Configuration Manager
- 9. Why OCM? • Automatically collects information about your system and uploads it to an Oracle repository • Allows for proactive notifications on issues that impact your specific configuration • Allows Oracle Support to see details about your configuration that may assist with resolving your problems • Once installed, it is low overhead and fairly automatic
- 10. OCM Concerns • Privacy issues (not really) • Additional software to install/configure/maintain • Removes ability to tell “little white lies” to Oracle • If not using OCM, then you can still create and save a configuration in My Oracle Support to speed SR creation
- 11. Other Items • Provide My Oracle Support access to the right people • Use the correct Support Identifier • Make sure your contact information is correct • Know the phone numbers to call if needed - http://www.oracle.com/us/support/contact- 068555.html
- 12. CreatingYour SR
- 13. When to Log an SR • ALWAYS!!! • Even if the issue is small and you have already corrected it, you should take a few minutes to open an SR – Include your fix as an attachment and use Priority 3 • Reporting a problem to Oracle now may save someone else a problem later on and vise versa • Saves you work on retrofit when patching or upgrading • Believe it or not, they really do want you to file SRs
- 14. Creating the SR • Use a good description Problem Summary • Be specific in your Problem Description • Differentiate between a Tools SR and Functional SR • Always a good idea to include attachments • Choose the correct Severity
- 15. What Severity to Use • Severity 1 – The entire system or a key subset is down or there is significant data corruption occurring. • Severity 2- Significant defect no acceptable workaround is available. Should be your default severity. • Severity 3 – Minor impact. Use if you have put in your own custom or can easily workaround. Don’t use if you want an Oracle fix. • Severity 4 – Enhancement or information request
- 16. More on Severity • Being in test before go-live doesn’t preclude Severity 1 or Severity 2 if you cannot go live with the defect • You can open at a lower severity now and then raise it later if the situation warrants • If Severity 1 or Severity 2, be prepared to defend your position (more on that later)
- 17. Severity 1 issues • Always open the ticket via web so that you can include screen shots, traces, etc. • If very urgent, immediately follow up with a phone call and provide the SR number • Be prepared to work 24/7 or provide reasonable responsiveness beyond normal working hours • Ensure that you have provided best contact information
- 18. Business Impact • Should always include Business Impact information for Severity 1 and Severity 2 issues • Explain in business terms (not in PeopleSoft lingo or in tech language) how this issue impacts the business or the users • Include metrics such as frequency, time to resolve, and financial impact
- 19. Replicating the Issue • Replicate in Demo if you can. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. If not, then replicate in your Test • Provide crystal clear replication steps – include screen shots of important setup parameters • If replicating in your own Test system, then also include a trace file • Include important configuration details
- 23. Other Traces • How to trace a COBOL program: https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/km/SearchDocDisplay.js px?_afrLoop=95594598618497&type=DOCUMENT&id=1092955.1 &displayIndex=3&_afrWindowMode=0&_adf.ctrl- state=15rsdemjrw_160 • How to trace an SQR program: https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/ui/km/SearchDocDisplay.js px?_afrLoop=95849690974880&type=DOCUMENT&id=1325869.1 &displayIndex=1&_afrWindowMode=0&_adf.ctrl- state=15rsdemjrw_181
- 24. Other Things to Include • Will you need a POC? (more on that later) • Describe the business impact that this is having • Is this issue consistent or intermittent – provide details • Did this just crop up?If so, then why now? (trying to implement new feature, configuration change, etc.)
- 25. After Your SR is Open
- 26. Rule #1 – Be Responsive • If you aren’t responding, your issue won’t be resolved • If you wait days before responding to a request for information, your SR will fall to the bottom of the analysts priority list • Lack of responsiveness will impact your ability to ask for escalation or to qualify for a POC (more later) • If you are delayed trying to get the necessary information, at least update the SR with that information
- 27. Requesting a POC • Proof of Concept is provided by Development for a specific customer for a specific issue • POCs have NOT gone through the normal QA process • Use when you cannot wait until the release of a bundle to receive the necessary fix • Must specifically request to receive a POC • Final fix that is released in a bundle may be different
- 29. Changing Severity • Should be relatively rare • Generally one of the following should apply o The original severity was incorrect o The problem is worse than originally thought o A crucial date is approaching • Request your analyst to increase severity if necessary
- 30. Escalations • Escalation is NOT a change in severity • Use Escalation when you are not getting the level of support you need on a specific SR o Support analyst is not getting back to you in a timely fashion o Support analyst is unable to understand/replicate your problem o SR has been sitting with Development for an excessive period of time o SR is noted as “Working as Designed” and you disagree
- 31. How to Escalate • DON’T do it over the web • DON’T go through the automated response system • DO call the 800- number and get to a live person • Give the person on the phone your SR number, say that you want to escalate the ticket and request a callback from a manager • You should get a callback within a few hours
- 32. What Can Escalation Do? • Light a fire under your support analyst • Change/add support analysts for your SR • Bring in resources from other areas (Dev or Strategy) • Act as a liaison with development • Make your SR an agenda item on regular internal status meetings
- 33. What To Do When Escalating • Make sure you have the name and contact information of the manager that you have spoken with • Identify an action plan for your SR (may be preliminary) • After the call, document the call as a note in your SR for visibility
- 34. My SRs are Out of Control! • This can happen if you either are implementing a new module or working on an upgrade • Separate your SRs by priority (high/medium/low) • Speak to a manager (follow Escalation process) • Ask for related SRs to be treated as a single unit of work • Ask for regular (weekly?) conference calls to review status of high priority issues
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