This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:
| Date | Update Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 07 SEP 2018 | Update 18C | Delivered new features in update 18C. |
| 06 APR 2018 | Update 18B | Delivered new features in update 18B. |
| 12 JAN 2018 | Update 18A | Delivered new features in update 18A. |
This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:
| Date | Feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 07 SEP 2018 | Created initial document. |
This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in this update.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this document may include statements about Oracle’s product development plans. Many factors can materially affect Oracle’s product development plans and the nature and timing of future product releases. Accordingly, this Information is provided to you solely for information only, is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.
This information may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Oracle specifically disclaims any liability with respect to this information. Refer to the Legal Notices and Terms of Use for further information.
Capture Electronic Signatures with Passwords to Meet Compliance and Audit Requirements
Provide more granular auditing and traceability of user sign-off on a change workflow with electronic signatures. You can enable an advanced signature capture option that mandates the need for a user ID and a password to support strict compliance for regulated industries such as Life Sciences.
Use REST Web Services for Change Management and Item Where-Used Queries
Integrate with external systems using REST web services to improve your management of change orders and item where-used information. You can now redline affected items, item header attributes, reference designators, affected item AML, item substitutes, change order headers, and affected item attachments. Additionally, you can retrieve key where-used information of an item.
Manage Conflicts During Execution of Multiple Scheduled Changes for Affected Items
Validate item rules and review warnings about other changes that are in process for affected items that you add to a change order. When an affected item is already assigned to a pending change order, a warning message appears and prompts you to confirm that you want to continue with the change. You can then make informed decisions about the timeliness and sequencing or combining of change orders and adherence to business rules, before the change workflow begins.
Notify Suppliers of Change Requests and Improve their Navigation Experience
Enable quicker navigation and faster response times for change collaboration with suppliers. Suppliers can now search for and access change requests that they have been added to, within the Supplier Portal. They can view notifications about change requests that require approval and navigate to affected items directly from the change request notification.
Perform Impact Analysis on a Change Request
Analyze the impact of a change request by viewing the top-level assemblies as well as multi-level structures that will be impacted by the change. Understand the full scope of the request for a complete assessment of the impact of a change and decide who should be part of the change management process.
Set Cycle Time Thresholds to Improve Change Management Process
Establish and capture change order cycle time thresholds in the Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI) application. Use OTBI's support of change order cycle time thresholds to monitor, manage and assess your change management process for bottlenecks and areas of concern.
Capture Change Order and Change Request History
View the action history for your product or document change orders and change requests. You can use the History tab on a change to clearly view specific actions, status changes and approval events. You can see what actions were taken on a change and by whom, and ensure that a granular audit trail is recorded for each change.
Manage Item Templates of an Item Class Efficiently with Improved User Interface
Copy item templates to multiple organizations without recreating them for each child organization. If the templates fail to create automatically, you can also add predefined templates from the user interface. The predefined templates let you apply and maintain organization-specific templates efficiently.
Map Nested XML Structures in Import Maps
Certain industries such as Retail and Distribution receive data from industry-standard data pools such as GS1, which follow a nested XML structure. Import maps has enhanced XML mapping capabilities that allow the mapping of nested and repeating XML nodes as well as the mapping of XML attributes. The Import Map page also supports the mapping of complex XML structures.
Configure definition organization and associated child organizations as reference organizations to capture and maintain redundant attribute information across large volumes of organizations. You can define and capture common attributes that apply to all child organizations while only maintaining attribute data that varies for a given item-organization level. This implementation reduces the number of item-organization records.
Import Product Catalogs Using File-Based Data Import
Import a full catalog-category hierarchy and associated items content from any source using the catalog import interface in conjunction with file-based data import. You can include your entire product catalog without a cumbersome multistage import process.
Execute Reports and Analytics from the Product Information Management Work Area
Execute reports and analytics directly from the Product Information Management work area. Use the Reports and Analytics icon, which is available in the side panel, to execute business intelligence reports. Alternatively, you can continue to execute your reports from the Reports and Analytics work area.
Use Advanced Search for Proposals in Portfolios
Use advanced search criteria to select and add proposals to the Portfolio Elements table. You can use additional search attributes such as version, proposal status, and your own attributes, while also utilizing operators such as Starts With, Equals, Less Than, Contains, Is Blank, and so on.
Manage Data Security in Innovation Management Subject Areas
Use teams to manage data security in Innovation Management subject areas. When a team is added to an object in Innovation Management, the object is accessible and visible to team members only in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence.
Manage Ideas Using REST Services
Use REST web services to communicate between external systems and Ideation Management. You can create and update ideas, attachments, votes, and comments.
Refresh Requirement Specification to Correct Sequence Numbers
Use the new Refresh icon in the Requirements tree view to automatically correct any anomalies in requirement sequence numbers and save the requirement specification.
Use Web Services to Manage Idea and Proposal Teams
Use SOAP web services to automate the addition or deletion of team members to ideas and proposals.
Analyze Portfolio Resource Time-Phasing with Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence
Conduct 'What-if' Capacity and Utilization Resource analysis by month, quarter, or year, with the help of new metrics, dimensions, and dimensional attributes added to the Portfolio Resource subject area within the Resource Time Phased folder.
Manage Attachments in Innovation Management
Manage attachments for ideas and proposals more efficiently with the improved attachment framework. You can now add multiple file attachments in one Add action, check in and check out attachments, and track the history of who last updated an attachment and when.
Visually configure the inspection plan action rules for performing user-initiated and automated actions based on the inspection results entered. These rules can change the material status, create a quality nonconformance issue, guide the user with a message, raise a quality inspection business event, and alert other users through a notification.
Manage Quality Inspection Plans Using a REST Service
Use a REST API to create new quality inspection plans and and update quality inspection plan details, specifications, and inspection criteria. You can also get complete information on existing inspection plans.
Manage Data Security Across Issues and Actions
Restrict data visibility and access to specific users and roles using the new Security side tab on Issues and Actions. Creators and assignees are granted automatic access to their issues or actions.
Display Manufacturing Resource Instance
Capture resource instance details on quality issues or actions raised as resource production exceptions. When the affected object is a manufacturing resource, the resource instance can be included on the Affected Objects detail page, and is also available for reporting through Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI).
Mandate Signature Password upon Workflow Approval
Enable the Signature Password Required option for Issues and Actions workflows to mandate that a user must provide both a user name and a password during workflow approval.
Extend Quality Issues and Actions Using Application Composer
Create your own buttons, actions, and URL tabs for quality issues and actions. In Application Composer Studio, you can create multiple groups, add attributes in each group, and arrange the attributes into dynamic field groups.
This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:
| Date | Feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 06 JUN 2018 | Complete New Item Request Tasks with Simplified Navigation | Updated document. Feature delivered in update 18B. |
| 06 APR 2018 | Created initial document. |
This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in this update.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this document may include statements about Oracle’s product development plans. Many factors can materially affect Oracle’s product development plans and the nature and timing of future product releases. Accordingly, this Information is provided to you solely for information only, is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.
This information may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Oracle specifically disclaims any liability with respect to this information. Refer to the Legal Notices and Terms of Use for further information.
Use Application Composer Extensibility Framework for Innovation Management
Create your own objects, child objects, and tabs for concepts, proposals, portfolio, ideas, and requirements. In Application Composer Studio, you can create multiple groups, add attributes in each group, and arrange the attributes into dynamic field groups.
Add Roles to Manage Team for Ideas, Proposals, Concepts, and Requirement Specifications
Search and add user groups by role using the enhanced Manage Team capabilities. Select a role and from the users list, add or remove users for an idea, requirement specification, proposal, or concept.
Use Web Services to Add or Update Attachments to Ideas
Use the extended web services to add or update supplemental attachments to ideas when creating or updating the ideas.
View Gantt Charts and Resources as Separate Tabs of Roadmap Analysis
Use the redesigned view of the View Schedule versus Resource Analytics tab that significantly improves your usability experience.
You now have the Product Development Schedule Gantt, Resource Utilization, and Requirement Specification tabs as separate but connected horizontal tabs. The relocated resource selector for Resource Utilization at the top of Resource Utilization chart gives you better visibility across a larger number of elements.
Get Insights into Idea Votes and Like Counts Using Transactional Analytics
Use the summarized view in the Ideation and Innovation transaction analytics to gain insights into the idea votes and like counts.
Define Business Events for Integration Cloud Service
Define business events for change in the status of change orders for Integration Cloud Service (ICS). The change order events include Open, Interim Approval, Approval, Scheduled, and Completed events.
Seamlessly Handle Change Management Activities with Consistent User Interface
Use the new opt-in user interface for change management activities in both Oracle Product Development Cloud and Oracle Product Hub Cloud applications. You can now display the same change management interface for both applications for a seamless experience. Improvements to navigation, redlining, creation of alternate structures, and editing of attributes from a structure table view are all available for a more efficient change management experience.
Upload Bulk Attachments for Computer-Aided Design Integration with Cloud
Add bulk attachments to one or more items using URLs in the same web service call. This improves the overall performance of computer-aided design (CAD) integration with cloud. You can also perform bulk operations to add item-design relationships to shorten the overall processing time of larger data sets.
View Approved Manufacturer Parts Directly in the Item Structure Table
Display pending changes to an item or item structure from the changes tab of an item. You can query by example, sort, export, and see additional attributes from a single table view.
Leverage Structure Approved Manufacturer Table View Improvements
Use the new Structure Approved Manufacturers List (AML) table view to sort, query by example, and export information directly from the table.
Manage Tasks for Change Orders
Define tasks for a change order that cater to your business process requirements. Optionally assign tasks in a change order workflow to relevant users to complete them for the change order to move to the next workflow state.
Define and Configure Item Flexfields
Define attributes relevant to your role using the Setup and Maintenance work area. Specify which extensible flexfield attribute groups should be visible in the application. You can now setup the entire item class behavior in one place.
Control Access to Manufacturing Parts with View-Only Privilege
Use the View Trading Partner Item privilege to give view-only access permission to relevant members for manufacturer parts. This gives you more control as you can decide who can edit and who can only view the manufacturer parts.
Secure Engineering Item Structures in Your Master Organization
Management and ownership of primary structures remain with engineering in the Product Development work area. You can create alternate structures in the master organization, but they must be created within Oracle Product Hub Cloud. You can edit alternate structures only in child organizations after the lifecycle of the structure reaches Prototype or higher. You manage ownership of item structures by work area, organization, and lifecycle phase.
Leverage New Item Request Task Improvements
Manage new item request tasks using notifications, or on the new item request definition.You can edit multiple items with tasks for all items at the same time. As a result, signing off on tasks is more efficient.
Use Application Composer Extensibility Framework for Quality Issues and Actions
Add your own objects, child objects, tabs, and field groups to the standard solution using the Application Composer. This enables you to model better quality business processes.
View Item Lot and Serial Number for Inspection Based Quality Issues
Customers tracking items using inventory lot control and serialization can now see the inspected item and the specific lot or serial number related to the inspection on the quality issue's Affected Object page. This information is captured during inspection and presented as part of the quality issue non-conformance.
Collect Ad Hoc Inspection Results Using REST Services
Use REST APIs to create ad hoc inspections for inventory, resource, and work in process; and collect inspection results. You can also get details of the applicable inspection plan and its specifications.
Automatically Synchronize Item Attributes with No Values During Import
Synchronize attribute values for single row and multi row extended flexfields, even if no value is available in the import data, by automatically marking empty values as null. While importing data into Oracle Product Hub Cloud, item data provided by suppliers, GDSN data pool, or any other spoke systems can be transformed into clean and consistent master data.
Use Advanced Import Maps to Streamline the Item Onboarding Process
Import descriptive flexfield attributes to capture details of an item or a trading partner item. Automatically reconcile attributes in the Master Data table with relevant item attributes. This ensures full coverage of attributes available for mapping during the onboarding process.
While importing attachments using import maps, you can now mark an attachment as the primary attachment and specify the attachment sequence. You can also use import maps to upload items across multiple item classes, and change the item class during the onboarding process. Use the new expression in import maps to get the To Category by specifying the From Category for catalog mapping.
You can import all types of relationships, including Related Items and Cross Reference relationships. This enables you to seamlessly migrate or consolidate relationship types from an ERP system.
Leverage Visual Error Indicators for Smart Spreadsheets
Quickly and easily view and locate cells that have data errors and warnings in a smart spreadsheet. This allows quicker error correction and reduced overall onboarding and importing cycle time.
Use Blending Rules for Non-Supplier Spoke Systems
Create an item record by blending data from multiple non-supplier spoke systems. Select blending rules at a spoke system-level and blend the data inserted into an item batch. You can now also remove item data from the staging tables to improve performance and remove unwanted item records that were already imported.
Reassign Items to a Catalog or Category Using Item Business Rules
Create item business rules to reassign an item to a new item catalog or category. This allows you to capture dynamic business scenarios where realigning items to a new catalog or category is necessary.
Automatically Assign Items to Child Organizations for a Master-Controlled Catalog
Automatically assign items to all child organizations for items that are assigned to a master-controlled catalog. The assignment also happens for a child organization that was created after an item has been assigned to the master-controlled catalog. This eliminates the need to manually assign items to the child organization, thereby saving time and effort.
Track and Audit Changes to an Item Catalog
Track and audit changes to an item catalog by recording the user details as well as the time. This helps you record the change history and ensure compliance adherence for regulated industries.
Complete New Item Request Tasks with Simplified Navigation
Select a task from a New Item Request notification, and straightaway navigate to the expanded definition workflow section of the Details tab. While on the Item page, advance to the next item by selecting it in the drop down to complete its definition without having to navigate back to the notifications or to the new item request definition workflow section.
This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:
| Date | Feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 06 JUN 2018 | Complete New Item Request Tasks with Simplified Navigation | Removed feature from update 18A. |
| 12 JAN 2018 | Created initial document. |
This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in this update.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this document may include statements about Oracle’s product development plans. Many factors can materially affect Oracle’s product development plans and the nature and timing of future product releases. Accordingly, this Information is provided to you solely for information only, is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.
This information may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Oracle specifically disclaims any liability with respect to this information. Refer to the Legal Notices and Terms of Use for further information.
Uptake of Application Extensibility Framework (Applications Composer)
Oracle Product Lifecycle Management cloud allows you to to configure existing out-of-the-box Product Lifecycle Management objects, such as adding attributes. However, it does not allow you to create new objects, or link new and standard objects together to create and automate new business objects and business processes.
In this update, Oracle Product Lifecycle Management Cloud's Innovation Management and Quality Management products uptake the Application Composer application extensibility framework, which is currently used widely in Oracle Customer Experience Cloud. Application Composer is a browser-based integrated development environment that enables you to configure and extend Oracle Fusion applications without requiring complex technical knowledge. Application Composer allows you to modify existing standard objects that have been enabled for this purpose by Oracle, as well as to create entirely new objects and related fields. You can also create new Enterprise pages where your object and its fields are exposed to users.
Application Composer hides the complexity of configuration by leveraging a set of standard design patterns and wizards. You focus on the application changes that your business requires (object model extensions and layout changes, for example), and Application Composer creates the underlying object artifacts for you.
EXISTING STANDARD OBJECTS
Standard objects are out of the box objects that are delivered with your Product Lifecycle Management applications. Standard objects must be enabled by Oracle for Application Composer configuration. Enablement is by standard object and by Application Composer feature, and will be done in phases. In this update (phase 1 of Application Composer uptake), we have enabled a limited set of features on the following standard Product Lifecycle Management objects:
| Applications Composer Feature | 18.02 | 18.02 |
| Innovation Management | Quality | |
| Additional attribute types | X | X |
| Dynamic layouts | X | X |
| Show or hide tabs | X | X |
| New buttons and actions | X |
When you create new objects using the Application Composer, you can create either top-level objects (objects without a parent), or child objects (objects created in the context of a parent).
CONFIGURATION
For both standard and new objects, you can view and edit the following details:
- Fields -- Add new fields to an object
- Tabs – add new tabs, show or hide and reorder tabs
- Pages -- Modify the pages on which an object appears.
- Buttons and links -- Add actions and buttons on objects
- Server scripts -- Write application logic that controls the behavior of an object's records
- Saved searches -- Define saved searches for an object
- Relationships -- Establish links between standard new objects
For new objects, you can also view and edit details for:
- Objects – Create new objects
- Security -- Implement functional and data-level security for an object and its records.
- Relationships -- Establish links between standard new objects.
These new extensibility capabilities greatly expand the level of configurability possible to both standard as well as new objects in Oracle’s Product Lifecycle Management Cloud applications. This allows you to modify and enhance existing business processes, or create entirely new business objects and processes, that behave, act, and look like standard objects and processes. In future updates, we will enable more features on the Innovation Management and Quality objects, and will also enable Applications Composer on additional Product Lifecycle Management objects
APPLICATION COMPOSER EXAMPLE
Oracle’s Hardware development team has been using the Product Governance and Compliance (PG&C) module from Agile PLM for many years to manage and report on environmental compliance regulations like RoHS and REACH. As Oracle transitions its internal deployment of Agile PLM to Oracle Product Lifecycle Management Cloud, they will leverage Application Composer to create several new objects to represent substances and material declarations, and a new PaaS rollup to manage and report on environmental regulations. The combination of Application Composer and PaaS allows users to create entire new business processes and applications that conform and fit inside the standard cloud application framework. Application Composer provides a user interface, search, attribute extensibility, security, and relationships automatically for any new objects, and the ability to define object behavior through scripting or PaaS extensions.
Import Item Structures for Efficient Structure Building
Import structures with Approved Manufacturers Lists (AML) for Product Development items.
Create a Change Order Directly from a Change Request
Create a change order directly from a change request with the capability to copy the change header, affected items, and attachments while establishing a relationship between the two change types.
Manage Affected Items More Efficiently
Manage affected items in Change Orders and Change Requests from the Affected Items table itself. Use the exportable table view to view Item Class and to change the Descriptive Flex Fields (DFFs). You can also use the fill up and fill down features in both Lifecycle Phase and Effective Date columns. View changes to DFFs in the Change Order Details Report.
View Item and Item Structure Details in a New Table Format
With the new table format, you can easily view item details and access information such as the status of an item's Approved Manufacturer List (AML).
Segregate Users for Commercialization Activities on Items
Manage commercialization activities of your items by segregating the users or user groups who can create and edit commercialization attributes, and the users who can only have read access to the Commercialization Change Orders (CCO) and operational attributes.
Improve Resource Utilization with New Search and Navigation Options
Reduce the time that your resources spend searching for critical items, documents, and change orders. Use the new additional search parameters to filter the search results and select the required object.
Create a Change Request Directly from an Item
Assign an item or document directly to a change request on the General Information Item or Document page or from the Item or Document Structure View.
Use Web Services for Data Validations and Integrations
Perform data validations from within the web service interface itself. Use the Redline Item Structure web service for bulk processing of affected items, and for change operations like adding, updating, and deleting item components from an existing item structure.
Analyze Quality Issues and Actions Using OTBI Reports
Analyze quality issues and the corrective actions information using the Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI) reports. You can configure personalized reports to summarize the quality information, view charts, and analyze real-time quality information.
Configure Workflows for Quality Issues and Actions
Create workflow templates and steps to model your business process from identification to closure using new administration features.
Integrate REST Services with Quality Issues and Actions
Create, search, and retrieve quality action information using REST services. Populate standard and user-defined attributes, identify affected objects, and add attachments. You can also add or update the user-defined attribute information using the Quality REST services.
Use Application Composer Extensibility Framework to Configure Quality Issues and Actions
Add user-defined attributes, modify page layouts, and specify user-defined business logic for Quality Issues and Actions using the Application Composer extensibility framework. You can also write Groovy scripts to model your quality processes.
Enter Inspection Results as Free-Form Text
Define a non-item inspection characteristic that allows you to enter free-form text during an inspection. Any result entered for such a characteristic added directly to an inspection or as part of an inspection plan is accepted without an evaluation against specifications, and is recorded for data collection purposes.
Enter Inspection Results for an Inventory or Work in Process Lot
Enter quality results against a lot number during an ad hoc inventory inspection or ad hoc work in process inspection for the last operation of a work order.
Use Application Composer Extensibility Framework for Innovation Management
Add user-defined attributes, modify page layouts, and specify user-defined business logic for Innovation Management using the Application Composer Extensibility framework. You can also write Groovy scripts to model your processes.
Increase Productivity When Working with Proposals
Create a new proposal from an idea by copying the idea name and rich text description to the new proposal. Leverage the new proposal export options for user-defined templates, and the additional output formats. Extend proposal templates to include header details of a concept and its related relationships, attachments and requirements.
Onboard New Style Items from an External Source Using Import Maps
Import new style items while onboarding items into Oracle Product Hub. Use import maps to map a new style item and its associated stock keeping unit (SKU) items while importing new style items from an external source.
Secure Digital Assets and Files Associated to Products and Related Objects
Secure attachments associated with Oracle Product Hub business objects, such as items, catalogs, and manufacturer part numbers. Control access to digital assets and files associated with the business objects based on the job role and attachment category. This capability to provide granular security and restricted access enables you to protect intellectual property and digital content.
Generate OTBI Reports with Additional Criteria and Easily Drill Down to Items in a Report
Access and add additional item operational attributes and organization hierarchy from the Product Management subject areas in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence as criteria and generate the required business intelligence reports.
Drill down to reports using item-level linking. This enables you to quickly navigate to the required items and do report analysis without having to explicitly search for an item in the Oracle Product Hub Cloud user interface.
Use the Item Catalog Web Service for Item Category Assignments and Attachments
Use the Item Catalog web service for item category assignments as well as catalog and category attachments.
Add Standard Coverage for an Item in Service Contracts Using the New Item Operational Attribute
Add standard coverage for an item using the Allow Standard Coverage attribute. As part of the service contracts business process, the Service Contracts application leverages this attribute and its value for further transactional processing.
Publish Trading Partner Items, Item Catalog Assignments and Item Class Related Metadata
Publish trading partner items such as customer, manufacturer, competitors, suppliers, and trading partner item attachments. Leverage the catalog publication function that now allows you to add additional content including the item category assignments, and catalog or category attachments. Configure publication options to publish the metadata associated with an item class such as Product Hub Portal attribute groups, data quality attributes, item class pages, item overview attribute groups, and attachment categories assigned to an item cass.
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