New Features of Oracle Prime Every Project Manager Should Know
The complexity and scope of today’s projects and portfolios are growing. Throughout recent years, the value of Oracle Primavera P6 stood out as an undisputed leader in project and portfolio planning, execution, delivery and completion. But, project managers were looking for web based solution, giving rise to the development of Oracle Prime, an integral component that helps to gain visibility and maximize your Oracle investment, as explained in this ebook.
Comparable to Oracle Primavera P6, Prime is Oracle’s latest achievement in enterprise project portfolio management (EPPM). The system allows businesses to react to changing project and portfolio conditions with the power of cloud-computing technology and storage.
In addition, Prime puts data-based decision making in the hands of the project management office through a series of dashboards, business intelligence algorithms, risk analyses, costs, scheduling, documenting and file sharing tools. But, the best way to maximize your investment in Prime lies in understanding its new features and capabilities.
How Will This New Software Reshape Project Management?
Prime is on track to reshape the current and future state of EPPM standards. It allows PMOs to configure dashboards and project controls to meet changing standards. Also, the system’s Oracle-backing will help prevent delays and issues, including completion of auditing and routine maintenance of the system.
Since routine maintenance of your EPPM platform is essential to successful EPPM, asserts this ebook, it is important to understand what to expect from Prime. Some of the top expectations include the following:
In order to improve and truly maximize your Oracle Primavera investment, it’s critical to understand the implementation process and maintenance.
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- Increased visibility and accountability into broad and specific project and portfolio activities, costs, resources and other factors.
- Flexible, agile responsiveness throughout the course of your project, which boost return on investment, as explained in this ebook.
- Integrated project and portfolio management capabilities to perfect continuity of project activities.
- Configurable forms, reports and metrics to provide better views of a project.
Key Differences From P6.
Prime is different from Primavera P6 Professional Project Management. While P6 handled large-scale projects, up to 100,000 activities, it was limited in its capacity. Yet, maximizing your investment in P6 was still possible, assuming your project’s activities did not hit this threshold.
It did have unlimited resource and target planning capabilities, but it could still lead to lost data and information for longer, more extensive projects.
For example, imagine how a PMO overseeing a multi-decade project in the oil and gas industry would use P6. It could oversee and manage such large projects in small, digestible bites. But, Prime turns the notion of activity limitations on its head. In its place, Prime puts all information in the cloud and leverages existing information within P6 EPPM in the new system, putting your investment to work for you. Also, the Prime includes multiple modules for handling project concerns and tasks that held limitations in P6.
Benefits to Project Managers in the Future.
The primary benefits of Prime will extend to tomorrow’s project managers by providing an extensive, well-laid paper trail for projects lasting years, if not decades. It will also give project managers an opportunity to glimpse into past projects with greater scrutiny, detail, and insight. In other words, Prime is the new, guiding resource for Project Managers in need of a one-stop solution to all project and portfolio needs.
Top Features of Oracle Prime Project Managers Should Use.
Prime includes new featured to empower PMOs to obtain better control and insight into their projects.
Integrated Project and Portfolio Management.
According to Oracle, some of the newest innovations within Prime include integrated project and portfolio management, and flexible workflow and collaboration tools, including a new Document Exchange app. But, other usability enhancements are now available too. Integrating the systems together also led to an unexpected development.
Prime only requires a single license to access all applications within Prime, including these top, data-based systems:
- Progress.
- Administration.
- Funds.
- Resources.
- Schedule.
- Scope.
- Strategies.
- Reports.
- Enterprise.
- Portfolios.
- Files.
- News Feed.
- Workflows and Forms.
- Contracts.
- Risk.
- Dashboards.
- Document Exchange.
- Field.
- Tasks.
Now, consider the previous ways the systems could be accessed. Project Managers would have to purchase individual licenses for each application, manage the renewal process and ensure their team members have proper training to maximize their investment. By simplifying the application suite into a single resource, teams can learn these systems faster and leverage them to their fullest potential.
Flexible Workflow and Collaboration.
PMOs may work with multiple companies at a given time. And, Prime is working to address the confusion and isolation this style of project management may bring. Rather than navigating different clients and companies by number, Prime includes an easy-to-read company header that is best for users with multiple company projects in the system. This allows users to switch between companies without logging out and logging back into the system.
Companies concerned about the privacy of their information can also rest assured as the header is only available to individuals with a documented need and authorized access to view project information. In other words, users working solely with one company will not be able to access projects and information within another company.
Another side of collaboration and flexibility within the new release of Prime focuses on partnerships between companies. Users may now add partner companies with an easy-to-navigate, self-guided wizard to complete company details. Since company IDs are no longer part of the system, ambiguity is eliminated. The new update replaces IDs with the company and zip code, increasing visibility and accountability in project portfolio management.
100-Percent Cloud-Based Solution.
Prime is Oracle’s first 100-percent cloud-based solution. While Oracle EPPM and other Primavera products have relied on the cloud for some information, most of the processing power has remained in the user’s computer. Even if a user was downloading and uploading information and files to the Oracle database, a second copy of the information remained on the hard-drive, which could pose serious security and cyber vulnerability risks to a company.
The new features within Prime focus on creating customized workflows and other actions within the system, from the security of the cloud, without sacrificing user accessibility or functionality. Plus, cloud-based storage and processing means the system automatically retains a copy of all information if a natural or man-made disaster occurs. In other words, work can be retained and progress resumed after an event has ended.
The cloud also keeps the system updated automatically. Update or security patches can be processed without impacting users, promoting more uptime and better returns for your Oracle investment.
Purpose-Built Mobile Application.
As explained in a previous blog post, a purpose-built mobile application is at the core of Prime. Unlike its predecessor for capital plan management, the new app allows for the immediate sharing and review of documents within a company’s Oracle files. Meanwhile, Oracle Field has its own app for eliminating the redundancy and data usage of taking the entire Prime compendium of apps in the field.
While this may seem redundant and limiting, it leads to less time spent downloading and waiting and more time spent on getting tasks and reviews completed. Of course, each app organizes and optimizes information to make it accessible and viewable on mobile devices.
Recall the discussion of a cloud-based solution powering Prime. Since information is stored securely in the cloud, all apps on user devices can be immediately disabled and signed out of if a lost or misplaced device causes concern. This has wide implications for Project Managers working in areas of political turmoil, where information about a project can be both sensitive, proprietary and evocative.
Learn How to Leverage the Power of Oracle Prime Today.
It is important to distinguish between Oracle and Primavera Prime. Both are Prime products, but they have key differences and functions. Primavera Prime is like P6 amped, but the entire Prime platform includes Primavera Prime and all its similar, EPPM-geared applications. It serves to open doors for PMOs in need of an everlasting, evolving and autonomous system for EPPM needs, features lacking in P6, ranging from schedule and cost analysis to document exchange and beyond.
Prime has the same benefits as the traditional Primavera P6, including purpose-built apps, exclusive cloud-based storage and technology, better collaboration and workflow management and integration across the family of Oracle Prime platforms.
You can still take full advantage of Prime today by learning how to leverage your investment property.