Running a different race for a change

In 25 cities around the world and in a few thousand others, a global race with a difference was run today. The event was to run for 10 kilometers for charity.

The race was sponsored by Nike Plus. Every mile run with Nike+ products and on race day would decide how much is donated to each charity. The charities that benefited from this race were Lance Armstrong Foundation , UN Refugee Agency and World Wildlife Fund .


Ever since I ran a half marathon earlier this year, I have been looking forward to another run for a cause. I also happened to be project leader for our organization's volunteer program for this event. It felt good to run a 'human race' for a change that raised millions of dollars today. It was quite difference from the every day rat race!


The distance was enough to break sweat but not impossible. Just over an hour from the start, I was back collecting freebies from the Nike store. While I was running, I kept thinking how the 1-1.5 hr time window also matches the OCP exams. The exams should be challenging enough to break sweat but not impossible to complete!

The Art of Justification: Attending Oracle Openworld 2008

Most organizations are slashing travel and training budgets. These are the testing times when you would probably need to push your case and justify attending a conference. So here are some insights into the 'art' of justification.

Conferences are especially difficult to justify because sometimes they are viewed as perks and not the hard-working 16 hour day of attending sessions and networking that you experience at conferences. You need to prove that the conference value is many times the registration fee (or at least equal to it). Your blog editor has been fortunate to attend Oracle Openworld in various capacities over the last nine years and would like to share some tips to help you to convince your manager.

Looking at conference agenda and select the sessions that you think would add distinct value to you and your organization is the key. For example, if your organization is planning to roll out OBIEE or in the middle of R12 upgrade, the sessions that discuss these projects would provide 'priceless' information. Nowhere else would one get information about 'undocumented' features or implementation issues (perhaps only on a blog that you stumble upon) as well as 20/20 hindsight of lessons learned and how to do it a better way for your organization's implementation.

Since you would be the lucky one to go to the presentation, there may be some team members who might miss out. Apart from the usual conference freebies, there is more than you can share with them. Once you return from the conference, you can give a presentation to you co-workers on what you learned. If you have attended a hands-on session and got hold of great tutorials, share with your team so that they can also go through the same 'training'.

Always try to implement at least one learning you have gathered. It can be a performance enhancement of the system or implementing a new feature. Be sure to document the savings and emphasize that this saving would not have been realized if you had not attended the conference. In a previous organization, I helped to roll out a new functionality based on a conference session I had attended. This saved the company a few thousand dollars in consulting fees and perhaps justified at least five years of conference attendance.

Oracle Openworld is more than a trade show where vendors showcase their products and try to pitch their service offerings. It is a great education event. There are several deep-dive sessions, hands-on tutorials and workshops to attend. These sessions are all available at the conference venue and in a packed four day schedule. If one were to attend individual training sessions for each topic, then it would be month long road trip across multiple cities that would not only be prohibitively expensive but also impractical since there is a day job to done too. Think of the conference as an intensive education boot camp where you graduate with superior skills and confidence. Utilize this opportunity for your and your organization's transformation.

The exhibit floor should be a must visit area too. Seldom would you find so many Oracle partners at one place, ready with their presentations, demos and experts to answer your questions. It saves lot of time getting right to the meat of your requirements rather than sit through hours of webinars and tons of marketing collateral (not that I have anything against these form of marketing). The vendors and service providers can also gauge your level of interest and schedule follow-up discussions at the conference itself. So its a win-win scenario here.

Oracle Openworld (and Collaborate conferences) are the only forum where you get to have a face-to-face encounter with the Oracle product teams. Often they are showcasing their next release and experts are always around to answer your questions or guide you to the right source. This form of interaction can led to your participation in Customer Advisory Board and similar forums where your voice would be heard and feedback recognized for enhancements and new features.

Apart from the Oracle Corporation experts, the Who's Who of the Oracle ecosystem make their presence felt at Oracle Openworld. When you have overcome your initial awe after getting a signed copy of their latest book, hang around to listen to some of their gems of advice. Participate in Question and Answer sessions and other round table meetings and get these high value tips at no additional cost!

Oracle Openworld conference is your conference. It's an open conference. It's a global conference. Oracle users and implementers from all around the world attend the conference. Participate in birds-of-feather sessions where organizations using or implementing the same products or technologies meet and brainstorm. Another great forum to attend is the unConference where the mavericks among the gurus may present in a no-slde zone. All of these would certainly make you highly energized and ready to enjoy the rock concert night at the conference!

Editor's footnote: Now I have to get a blogger's registration for the conference. Would OOW'08 organizers send me a promo code please?

Meet The Experts: Featuring OCP Bas Klaassen

OCP Advisor: Hi Bas, on behalf of the OCP blog readers we are delighted to have you today as our featured Oracle Expert. Please tell us something about you, your background and professional experience.

Bas: My name is Bas Klaassen, almost 36 years old and living in the Netherlands. I studied Economics on the university in Amsterdam, but never liked being involved in economics. I am an Oracle EBS DBA for seven years now.
In 2001 I was asked to become a functional Oracle EBS consultant, specializing in GL and AP. I worked as a functional specialist for a few months, but always wanted to be more involved in the technical part of EBS. The opportunity came that same year when it was possible to become the EBS DBA in the same company. I changed my role and haven not looked back ever since. I am also a regular Oracle DBA but for 80 % of the time I am working on Oracle EBS.


OCP Advisor: New Oracle technologies are being introduced every year. Which technologies excite you most right now?

Bas: There are so many new technologies that I cannot literally keep up with all of them. Most of the times I check new development on the database and Oracle EBS topics. Especially new integrations with Oracle EBS are very interesting. As soon something is certified with EBS, like a new database version 11g, I check it out and try to perform the upgrade. I also check the OTN page very often. to see if something new is announced. Also other blogs contain much info about new development.


OCP Advisor: You are an Oracle Certified Professional on multiple tracks. How do you prepare for the certification exams?

Bas: To prepare for the database certification exams, I just read the OCA and OCP study guides from Sybex. Those two books helped me al lot to prepare for the exam. For OCP I also used a tool from uCertify called the 'Prepkit' which has exam questions and tips. For the EBS certification, I only used my experience as there are no exam handbooks available. I took two EBS exams and both were beta exams. Because they were beta, I had to sign up quickly leaving me no time to prepare. The beta exams are cheaper then the regular exams, but contain a lot more questions than the regular exams. I passed both exams and now I am also an Oracle Expert. If you want to prepare for the exams, the admin guide is a good book to study. Also the book 'Oracle Applications DBA Field Guide' from Elke Phelps and Paul Jackson is great.


OCP Advisor: Have you benefited from Oracle Certification? What advice/tips/suggestions do you have for the certification candidates?


Bas: I do think that certification alone is not all it takes. There should always be something extra besides your experience. So, the ideal combination is being certified and your professional experience. My advice to future candidates is to make sure that you also have experience in that Oracle track you want to be certified in.


OCP Advisor: You author a very popular Oracle blog. Please tell our blog readers what topics do you discuss on your blog?


Bas: My blog (http://basklaassen.blogspot.com) is about the work as an Oracle EBS Dba. I blog about problems I encounter, or when I try something new with Oracle EBS. Other EBS DBAs can also find answers or tips to their Oracle issues. I am always glad to find someone who has had te same problem or faced the same issue as I am doing at a certain moment. When I cannot find anything on Metalink, I wonder why no one has faced the same problem. Hence, I started the blog to share my experiences. Some of the topics I discuss on the blog relate to Oracle database, Oracle EBS, Grid Control 10g, Application server and other Oracle related news.



OCP Advisor: Can you please let us know one habit that has contributed most to your professional success?


Bas: One habit that has helped me a lot throughout my career is curiosity. I always want to find out why something is not working and find ways to make it work. I am always open to evaluate new technology and try new implementation approaches even with existing products.


OCP Advisor: Thanks Bas, for taking time out from your busy schedule and chatting with our blog readers. Wish you continued success and acclaim in the coming years!


Bas: Best of luck to all OCP Blog readers for their certification exams!

Nano9s on Receivables Fundamentals

As mentioned in my blog post - "One World, One Dream, One Exam" there is only one exam to attempt for the 'certification upgrade' from R11i to R12. Those writing the beta exams need to write the EBS Essentails (1Z0-204) exam and 1Z0-216 to qualify for certification in the Receivables track. The 1Z0-216 exams consists of both GL and AR questions. Comparison of exam content for the GL section for R11i and R12 exam was done in the above mentioned blog post. For our readers, please find the differences in the exam content of the R11i and R12 exam for the AR section. In case one is planning to write the R11i exam now and the R12 in production release or write the R12 beta exam right away, this discussion may be helpful in preparing for the 'delta' or additional topics.

On the R12 exam content, Lifecycle Overview section mentions Order to Cash process from Order Entry through Bank Reconciliation. Though this was not explicitly mentioned in R11i, it was assumed to be so. It's a paradox that the Bank Reconciliation topic is not available on R12 exam though it features prominently on R11i exam. Was this intended or an oversight?

Sections that are unchanged in R12 exam are Using Auto Invoice, Bill Presentment Architecture, Process Invoice and Implement Customer Invoicing.

Some minor changes are in the following sections - Receipts: Apply non-manual receipts and creating receipts using different methods; Receivables Process: Identify Open Interfaces to import data into Receivables; Manage Parties and Customer Accounts: Enable customer account relationships; Credit Management: Demonstrate credit profile changes; Period Close Process: Explain the Create Accounting program.

Tax Processing is a new section added for the R12 exam content. This section includes setup and use of E-Business Tax for AR including tax accounting and adjustments.

Are you ready for the Nano9s on Receivables?

Take the Nano9s on AR by clicking the link here or copying this URL: http://tinyurl.com/6htgzo on your browser.

For Solution Key to Nano9s on Receivables, click here or copy this URL:
http://tinyurl.com/66cpd3 on your browser.

Oracle ACE - For those with an ace up their sleeves

The blog feature on 'Meet the Experts' has drawn quite a number of e-mails and comments. Our blog readers are reading the tips and suggestions from the experts. The achievements and exploits of our featured experts are indeed inspiring. While a number of them are OCA, OCP, OCE or OCM credential holders, many of them also hold the most coveted and exclusive title of Oracle ACE.

Is Oracle ACE the next certification level available after Oracle Certified Master (OCM)?
How can one become an Oracle ACE?
What are the eligibility criteria for becoming an Oracle ACE?

Oracle ACE is a program designed by Oracle Corporation to recognize, reward and acknowledge the contribution of leading Oracle technology experts to the Oracle global community. It is not a certification level or exam offered by Oracle Certification program. There are two ACE designations - Oracle ACE and Oracle ACE Director.

Oracle ACE award is Oracle's way of saying "Thank you" to the Oracle expert for his contributions. Oracle ACE Directors have a more active role in community advocacy, evangelizing and working closely with Oracle in an honorary capacity.
Since there are no exams for these credentials, how does one become an Oracle ACE?

To become an Oracle ACE one has to be nominated. Anyone in the Oracle community can nominate an individual for the Oracle ACE award. Oracle ACE Director nominations are also open to the public but nominees require sponsorship by existing members and / or by an Oracle employee. Only non-Oracle employees are eligible to receive them (If at all you are wondering why your OCP Advisor has not been nominated yet for either!)

To qualify for the Oracle ACE award, candidates should meet as many of the following qualifications as possible: Technical proficiency, Oracle-related blog, Oracle discussion forum activity, published white papers and/or articles, presentation experience, beta program participant, Oracle user group (e.g. OAUG) member and (surprise!) Oracle certification. Beyond the baseline Oracle ACE requirements, an Oracle ACE Director needs to have a track record of major contributions to the community, good communication skills and ability to commit to participate in an honorary capacity for 12 months to advocate Oracle technology and applications as well as provide constructive feedback to Oracle product teams.

There are less than 200 members in the exclusive list of Oracle ACE award recipients. The list includes Who's Who of the global Oracle Community who have achieved global fame and recognition. Perhaps, becoming an Oracle ACE should be a treasured goal of all Oracle Certified Professionals. So, if you are embarking on the certification journey, you can see this award as one of the ultimate destinations. However, as the nomination rules suggest, certifications are only part of the eligibility criteria. A proven and demonstrated track record of contribution to the Oracle community is most desirable.

To summarize, it is for those with an ace up their sleeves!

Editor's Note: Floyd Teter, a leading Oracle EBS and Oracle Fusion expert has been awarded the Oracle ACE Director designation today.
Heartiest Congratulations to one of the first Oracle ACE Directors from Oracle EBS Community!
Another blog also covered Flyod's ACE upgrade

Meet The Experts: Featuring OCP Sabdar Syed

Every week this blog will feature a question and answer session with a globally renowned Oracle expert. Each expert will share their experiences with OCP blog readers. This week, our featured expert is Sabdar Syed from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sabdar is an expert Oracle DBA and an Oracle Certified Professional (OCP).

OCP Advisor: Hi Sabdar, on behalf of the OCP blog readers we are delighted to have you today as our featured Oracle Expert. Please tell us something about you, your background and professional experience.

Sabdar Syed: Right after the completion of my graduation in Computer Science, I joined as a team member at Oramasters where I have started my career as a DBA. The team was lead by Rama Velpuri who is a leading expert in Oracle Backup and Recovery. Afterwards, I worked for a couple of multinational companies - iGate Global Solutions and Sierra Atlantic as an Oracle DBA and Oracle Apps DBA respectively. Later, I moved to Saudi Arabia and worked as a senior Oracle DBA at King Saud University. Presently, I am working as an Oracle Consultant for a bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OCP Advisor: New Oracle technologies are being introduced every year. Which technologies excite you most? What is your advice to Oracle professionals for adopting them?

Sabdar Syed: Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) are emerging technologies that are being deployed in many organizations in this part of the world. Having only core Oracle DBA knowledge is not enough in this competitive IT world. So, I would advice interested Oracle professionals to learn these challenging technologies like Oracle E-Business Suite DBA and Oracle RAC Database Administration and explore the frontiers of knowledge further.

OCP Advisor: You are an Oracle Certified Professional on multiple tracks. How do you prepare for the certification exams?

Sabdar Syed: First of all, I would like to talk about my elder brother, Syed Jaffar Hussain , who is one of the experts in Oracle Technologies. Syed Jaffar is certified on 10g/9i/8i and RAC, and also an Oracle ACE Award winner. He motivates me and guides me all the way. He is my role model for my DBA Career and for preparing and achieving Oracle certifications in Oracle 10g/9i/8i
DBA/RAC DBA/Oracle Apps DBA tracks. I am interested in keeping up-to-date with newer Oracle versions. I am continuously upgrading my skills by reading, preparing, practicing and writing the certification exams. I have recently started preparing for Oracle Database 11g upgrade certification exam.

OCP Advisor: You are a very active member on the Oracle Technology Network Certification forums. Do you think certification plays an important role in the Oracle community? What advice/tips/suggestions do you have for the certification candidates?

Sabdar Syed: Yes, I'm an active member on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) on the Certification, Database, E-Business and RAC Forums. Of course, certification plays a vital role in the Oracle Community. However, it's all up to an individual how to value the same. I have come across many senior and experienced DBAs those who are not certified. In my opinion, having both the experience and certification is the ideal combination and adds value to one's career. I would advice Oracle certification candidates to prepare using Oracle Student Guides and ILT Materials as well as Oracle documentations. The practice tests available from third party providers such as Self Test Software are also effective. This combination has proved very handy in achieving my certifications.

OCP Advisor: Your blog is one of the most popular Oracle blogs. Please tell our blog readers what topics do you discuss on your blog?

Sabdar Syed: Thanks for my blog viewers who have made my blog very popular. In my blog, I discuss topics such as issues that I faced and resolved. Also I discuss topics that I have read and tested or implemented, and those I think would useful to my blog readers.

OCP Advisor: Can you please let us know one habit that has contributed most to your professional success?

Sabdar Syed: Learn the concepts and then practice test and implement them. One big secret I want divulge is this: Never hesitate in sharing your knowledge. You never know what further insights you will gain from the feedback of others.

OCP Advisor: Thanks Sabdar for taking time out from your busy schedule and chatting with our blog readers. Wish you continued success and acclaim in the coming years!

Sabdar Syed: You are welcome. Best of luck to all OCP Blog readers. Thank you all!

Update: Read Sabdar Syed's blog post on books, guides and training materials used for OCA/ OCP / OCE exams

Inviting OCP Blog Readers To Participate in CertMag Survey

Certification Magazine has created a survey to gauge the financial impact of certification and experience on IT professionals. Litchfield Research, an independent research firm, is collecting the data on behalf of CertMag.

Like last year, OCP Blog readers are invited to take part in this 5-10 minute survey. All responses are confidential and the results would be published in the annual Salary Survey in the December 2008 issue of CertMag.

All survey entries would be entered into a drawing for one of three $100 American Express gift certificates.

Let the survey folks know how your certification counts!

Solution Key for Nano 9s on Sys Admin Fundamentals

Preparing for R12/R11i System Administration Fundamentals (1Z0-206 / 1Z0-232) has several bonuses. Several of the topics included in this exam overlap with E-Business Essentials exam (1Z0-200/ 1Z0-204). Hence, a detailed preparation for the Sys Admin exam would be sufficient to cover the requirements for E-Business Essentials exam. Similarly, due to the overlap of Workflow topics, the preparation for the Workflow exam (1Z0-231) would benefit from the Sys Admin exam prep.

Please find below the solution key for the Nano9s for Sys Admin Fundamentals. The correct answers are indicated in italics and in bold.

Q#1: Arrange the successive layers of access control in the correct order:

[a] 1- Data Security; 2-Function Security; 3-Delegated Administration; 4-Role Based Access Control; 5-Registration Process; 6-Self-Service Approvals
[b] 1-Function Security;2-Data Security; 3-Role Based Access Control; 4-Delegated Administration; 5-Registration Process; 6-Self-Service Approval
[c] 1-Function Security;2-Data Security; 3-Role Based Access Control; 4-Registration Process; 5- Delegated Administration; 6-Self-Service Approval
[d] 1-Function Security;2-Data Security;3-Registration Process;4-Role Based Access Control; 5-Self-Service Approval;6-Registration Process

Q#2: Which of the following are correct statements regarding pasta printing?

[a] It is an Oracle Applications utility
[b] Provided as an executable named FNDPASTA
[c] Works best for Italian localization only (i.e. Italian Pasta)
[d] Handles multi-lingual text using UTF8 character set

Q#3: Which of the following value set types can one configure?

[a] Independent
[b] Interdependent
[c] Dependent
[d] Table
[e] Special
[f] Pair

Q#4: Which of the following layers of access control can be managed by local administrators?

[a] Data Security
[b] Function Security
[c] Role Based Access Control
[d] Delegated Administration
[e] Registration Process
[f] Self-Service Approvals

#5: Users can request additional access through which of the following feature within the application?

[a] Clicking on Help icon
[b] Standard Alert
[c] UMX Access Request Tool (ART)
[d] Concurrent program

#6: You have been asked to reset the application password for user: OCP.ADVISOR@GMAIL.COM Which profile option would stop you from entering the following password: SUCCESS ?

[a] Sign-on Password No Reuse = 30
[b] Sign-On Notification = Yes
[c] Sign-on Password Length = 6
[d] Sign-on Password Hard To Guess = Yes

#7: Which of the following are the optional layers of access control ?

[a] Data Security
[b] Role Based Access Control
[c] Registration Process
[d] Function Security
[e] Delegated Administration
[f] Self-Service and Approvals

#8: You have been asked to check the default printer set for user OCP.ADVISOR@GMAIL.COM Which application table would you query to find the value?

[a] FND_PRINTERS_VALUES
[b] FND_PROFILES
[c] FND_PROFILE_OPTIONS
[d] FND_PROFILE_OPTION_VALUES

Q#9: You modified the existing printer setup information of Printer HPLJ2000 by editig the Printer Style in Oracle applications. In order for the change to take effect, what is the next step that you should do?

[a] Restart the database server
[b] Restart the concurrent manager
[c] Restart the database server and application server
[d] Ask the user to log out and log in again
[e] Pray that the changes have taken effect
[f] Bounce the Apache

There would be more Nano9s on Sys Admin over the coming weeks. For the R12 beta exam, one has to be fast to win the race against time - as fast as lightning bolt or Lightning Bolt!

Meet The Experts: Featuring Oracle ACE Laurent Schneider

Every week this blog will feature a question and answer session with a globally renowned Oracle expert. Each expert will share their experiences and suggestions with OCP blog readers. This week, our featured expert is Laurent Schneider from the beautiful country of Switzerland. Laurent is an expert Oracle DBA and an Oracle Certified Master (OCM). A multi-linguist and the Swiss champion in Chinese Chess, Laurent is a frequent speaker at Oracle conferences. Chances are that you might meet him at a global Oracle conference somewhere in the world.

OCP Advisor: Hello Laurent, on behalf of OCP blog readers we are delighted to have you as our featured Oracle Expert. Please tell us something about professional experience.

Laurent Schneider: I spent the last decade in database development and administration. One of my favorite 'poetry' is SQL (OCP Advisor's note: A language to most of us is indeed poetry to Laurent) . I have spent innumerable hours this year writing my book on SQL - Advanced Oracle SQL Programming: Expert Guide to Writing Complex Queries

OCP Advisor: Congratulations on being awarded the "Oracle ACE" credential.

Laurent Schneider: I have been regularly posting answers to several Oracle Technology Network (OTN) forums over the years. I was nominated by my peers. Also, being one of the first Oracle Certified Masters surely helped in getting the "Oracle ACE" recognition.

OCP Advisor: New Oracle technologies are being introduced every year. Which technology excites you the most?

Laurent Schneider: Again, SQL is the first thing I enjoy the most. I am looking forward to exploring the new features of Oracle 11g R2 beta release soon.

OCP Advisor: You are also an Oracle Certified Professional. What advice do you have for the certification candidates?

Laurent Schneider: I have written more than a dozen certification exams. I wrote my first certification exam for Oracle 8. I did follow the Oracle University courses. Everything asked in the exam is part of the Oracle University course ware. For SQL Certified Expert and RAC Certified Expert exams I read all available product documentation. In 2004, I appeared for the Oracle Certified Master (OCM) exam. The exam preparation was very intense. I spent hundreds of hours testing and crashing and recovering my test databases. I have also achieved several certification through the beta exams. One advice to certification candidates is to remember that beta exams are gigantic. You have to be a quick reader and be very comfortable answering multi-choice questions with more than one correct answer.

OCP Advisor: Your blog is one of the most popular Oracle blogs. Please tell our blog readers what topics you discuss on your blog?

Laurent Schneider: I love to write SQL code. Sometimes I explain what I write. Sometimes it is trivial :) (OCP Advisor's note: It may be 'trivial' to Laurent, but is often a new learning for his blog readers) I have learned a lot from the readers that posted comments on my blog !

OCP Advisor: Can you please let us know one habit that has contributed most to your professional success?

Laurent Schneider: Test everything. There is no substitute for hands-on experience. Read about the new features and try them. I have reported many bugs for several beta releases following this method.

OCP Advisor: Thanks Laurent for taking time out from your busy schedule and chatting with our blog readers. Wish you continued success and acclaim in the coming years.

Laurent Schneider: Wish OCP Blog readers great success in their certification exams!

Solution Key For Nano9s on EBS R12 Fundamentals I

Oracle R12 E-Business Essentials: 1Z0-204 would perhaps be the first certification exam you are taking for any of the R12 certification tracks. The exam can be taken online from the comfort of your home or office. Of course, the exam is also available at the authorized testing centers.

The exam consists of 60-70 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. As far as other certification exam goes, this is perhaps the most easy paced one. There would be enough time to review the answers after you have finished. The passing score of 61% is among the lowest of all certification exams. This means you have to get just 40 correct answers out of 65 questions. On paper, this looks quite achievable but the multiple choice and multiple correct answer (MC square) causes inadvertent errors (E). So one has to be careful to avoid this waste of energy: E=MC square.

There are eight exam topics. At least one or two days should be devoted to reviewing the concepts for each topic. Hence, at least two weeks of preparation is advised. There are topics like 'Fundamentals of Workflow and Alerts' and 'Oracle Business Intelligence Products Overview' that you do not use frequently or may have been recently been introduced to. For these topics even a week's preparation is justified.

Check the solutions for the Nano9s for EBS R12 Essentials below.
The correct answers are in bold and italics.

================================================
Solution Key for EBS R12 Fundamentals Nano9s - I
================================================

Q#1: The new user interface (UI) in R12 is called _______________ and is a sub-class of _____________ (BLAF) that greatly improves the look and feel of Oracle E-Business Suite
[a] Silk ; Browser Look and Feel
[b] Swan ; Browser Lines and Frames
[c] Silk ; Browser Lines and Frames
[d] Swan ; Browser Look and Feel

Q#2: From the E-Business Suite Home Page which of the following operations can you perform?
[a] Create Top 10 List
[b] Create Favorites
[c] Set Preferences
[d] Use Worklists
[e] Choose a responsibility
[f] Access Oracle Metalink

Q#3: Which of the following terminologies are correctly matched?
[a] LOV - List of Values
[b] MDI - Multiple Download Interface
[c] AOL - Application Object Library
[d] SRS - Single Request Source

Q#4: Which is the field color that indicates that data entry is required ?
[a] White
[b] Yellow
[c] Blue
[d] White with green text

Q#5: What is the keyboard shortcut to execute a query on a form?
[a] [Fn] + F11
[b] [Ctrl] + F12
[c] [Ctrl] + F11
[d] [Shift] + F12
[e] [Alt] + F11

Q#6: Which of the keyboard shortcuts are correctly matched?
[a] Count Query - F12
[b] Duplicate Record - Shift+F6
[c] Enter Query - F11
[d] Clear Field - F11
[e] Duplicate Field - Shift +F5

Q#7: Which of the following are the optional layers of access control ?
[a] Data Security
[b] Role Based Access Control
[c] Registration Process
[d] Function Security
[e] Delegated Administration
[f] Self-Service and Approvals

Q#8: What are the 4 C's that define a Ledger?
[a] Chart of Accounts
[b] Functional Calender
[c] Functional Currency
[d] Transaction Currency
[e] Accounting Convention

Q#9: Sub-Ledger Accounting (SLA) includes which of the following features?
[a] Centralized Accounting Rules
[b] Full Audit Trail
[c] Unidirectional Drill downs
[d] Predefined validations
[e] Date effective policies

How much did you score? Did you score at least 5.5 out of 9 correct (61%) ?
There would be more Nano9s on 1Z0-204 to follow over the next two months.
So keep visiting this blog and attempting more mini practice tests.
Best of Luck!

One World, One Dream, One Exam

The introduction of R12 beta exam also provides an opportunity to E-Business Suite OCPs to upgrade to R12. Oracle Certification Program team has made the upgrade path relatively simple. Click on the 'Certification Upgrade Path' under the gadget titled 'Oracle Certification Links' on the left column of this blog.

One would be pleasantly surprised to find a single exam to obtain the R12 certification. For example, if one is a OCP on 11i Payables track, there is only one exam - 1Z0-215, to upgrade to R12 OCE certification. So instead of writing three exams like R12 E-Business Essentials, R12 General Ledger and R12 Payables, there is just one exam - Oracle EBS R12: General Ledger and Payables Fundamentals !

The theme of this year's Olympic Games is "One World, One Dream".

For those already certified as 11i OCP, let your theme be:
One World, One Dream, One Exam !!

For those planning to attempt the "One World, One Dream, One (Upgrade) Exam" a close look at the exam content is advised. As most blog readers are aware, R12 has introduced a whole new architecture for Financial modules. The exam content for 1Z0-215 or 1Z0-216 reflects this change with the introduction of new topics.

For the benefit of our readers, let's present an analysis of the difference in exam content for the 11i and R12 exams for the Payables track. This comparison is made with the exam content of 1Z0-215 (R12) with the two 11i exams: 1Z0-211 (11i GL) and 1Z0-212 (11i AP).

The R12 exam introduces new topics for the General Ledger section. The Oracle General Ledger Process topic now discusses integration of GL with Oracle subledgers and non-Oracle systems. Overview of Accounting Setup Manager, EPB, reporting and analysis are additional new subtopics. There is a entirely new topic on Accounting Setup Manager dealing with setup consideration and components. Similarly, a new topic on Accounting Setup has been introduced. The Basic Journal entries topics sees the introduction of Web ADI related subtopics and absence of ADI setups. Financial Budgeting and Financial Reporting topics also mention Web ADI and not ADI. As expected, the Set of Book topics has been replaced by a new topic called Ledger. Another new R12 features debuts as a topic called Advanced Security that discusses data access security for legal entities and ledgers. The retirement of MRC in Multi-Currency topic is evident. There are new subtopics of use of Currency Rate Manager. In Financial Reporting, FSG Reports with XML Publisher is a new subtopic that is introduced. The rest of the topics like Consolidation, Budgeting, Advanced Journal Entries and Period Close remain unchanged.

The R12 exam also introduces new topics for the Payables section. The Payables overview now includes setup and use of MOAC. Transaction taxes and E-Business Tax are new subtopics. Advances and Progressive Contract Financing is an entirely new topic. There is a new subtopic of Payment Manager under the Payments topic. The topic of Quick Invoices does a vanishing act. Topics of Invoices, Suppliers, Expense Reports and Credit cards and Period Close are unchanged.

A similar analysis would be presented for 1Z0-216 exam along with the Nano9s on Receivables Fundamentals next week.

Meanwhile, keep dreaming!

What's a Beta Exam?

The buzz about the beta exams from the Oracle Certification Program has also generated a very interesting question - "What is a beta exam?" and several other related questions around it.

In a typical software development and deployment life cycle, a beta phase arrives when a select group or individuals are chosen to test the software which is assumed to bug free by the developers. The intent here is to identify any glitches that are in the product before it is released commercially. A beta period can last for weeks or months or even years (like Google's GMail which is still is beta!)

For certification exams, a beta exam is the final tune-up for the exam before the exams are available to the public. In some cases it contains all the questions in the question pool for the test. Beta exams thus feature double or triple the number of questions asked in a production release. The reason is that if a question turns out to be too hard and everyone misses it or if its too easy and everyone gets it right, then the question may be dropped from the production release of the exam. In a way, a beta exam is the final test of the exam questions.

For Oracle certification exams, beta Exam numbers begin with "1Z1" while the production exam number start with "1Z0". Since, both versions have the same suffix, the beta exam for R12 Sys Admin Fundamentals:1Z1-206 would be released as 1Z0-206 in the production version. So, a quick way to identify if it's an Oracle beta exam is to look for "1Z1" prefix. For a complete list of beta exams available now, click here

Beta exam are usually available worldwide and one can register on the Prometric website. Exams are delivered at Authorized Prometric Testing Centers and are proctored exams. Beta exams are a test of skill and endurance. There may be 180-220 questions to be answered within 3 to 3.5 hours. For the production exam, there may be 60-90 questions to be answered within 1.5 to 2 hours. It's a race against time and one may not have as much time to spend on each question of a beta exam as one would have during the production version. Needless to say, there would not be much time (if any) at the end of the exam to review the answers.

Feedback for beta exam questions are highly encouraged. One can include comments on specific exam questions while working through the questions or one can mark specific questions and return to add comments at the end of the test. There's also a brief confidential demographic survey administered at the end of the exam to 'calibrate' the test scores and for statistical analysis.

A candidate is scored only on the questions that are chosen for the production version of the exam. While it takes about 8 weeks for the production release of the exam after the beta testing period closes, an additional 2-4 weeks is required to receive the exam results from Prometric. The good news about passing a beta exam is that is it the same as passing a production exam. For example, if one were to pass all the beta versions of the exams required within an Oracle Certification path, one will earn your Oracle Certified Associate, Oracle Certified Expert or Oracle Certified Professional credential as the case may be. One need not take the production version again to get certified. For each certification track, there is a hands-on course (HOC) requirement that needs to be fulfilled. The course/s can be taken before or after writing the beta exams since there is no pre-requirements for beta exam registration. However, attending a course and then attending the corresponding certification exam is a more logical order.

The beta exam cycle may be a six months cycle covering the following stages -

1: Pre-registration - when the beta exam is announced but testing has not started yet

2: Open - when beta exam testing dates are available

3: Closed - when beta exam testing period is over

4: Post-beta review - the intensive process when the Oracle Certification Program team analyzes the beta exam questions and select the list of questions for the production release.

Beta exam benefit both Oracle as well as the Oracle certification candidates. Oracle Certification program team gets a statistically significant number of test takers to validate the questions, improve the exam content and maintain its superior value. Certification candidates get the opportunity to get certified at a significant discount (discounts are often 50%-75% of the production release registration fees) and get the privilege to announce themselves as one of the first in the world to be certified on that exam track!

The above discussion is based on the blog editor's experience, conclusion and understanding of the beta exam announcements and its contents. Every blog reader is encouraged to write to the Oracle Certification Program team at ocpexam_ww@oracle.com for any clarifications and an 'official' response to any of their questions.

Nano9s on Sys Admin Fundamentals

Ever since the R12 Sys Admin beta exam has been released, there has been renewed interest from our blog readers to request practice tests for the 1Z0-232 (R11i) or 1Z1-206 (R12) exams. The OCP blog presents a Nano9 on Sys Admin fundamentals. As mentioned in the previous blog post on the Sys Admin exam, there has been some changes in the R12 exam. This set of Nano9s cover areas that are common to both the R11i and R12 exams.

Take the Nano9s by clicking the link here or copying this URL: http://tinyurl.com/5dk9sr on your browser.

For the Solution Key, click here or copy this URL: http://tinyurl.com/5m9qf9

Have you registered for R12 Sys Admin beta exam yet?

Openworld Blog Features OCP Blog on "Around The World"

Oracle Openworld Blog featured the OCP blog on it's blog post entitled "Around The World"
It's never too early to start planning your Oracle OpenWorld agenda. So read the blog post above to see what sessions and events people from around the world are talking about this week.

Take the R12 Beta Exam Challenge!

The Oracle Certification Program team announced today that the beta testing period for several beta exams including Oracle EBS and Peoplesoft Expert certifications has been extended!

So here are the new beta exam deadlines:
1Z1-206 Oracle E-Business Suite R12: System Administration - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-215 Oracle EBS R12: General Ledger and Payables Fundamentals - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-216 Oracle EBS R12: General Ledger and Receivables Fundamentals - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-218 PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 HRMS Fundamentals - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-225 Oracle EBS R12: Inventory and Purchasing Fundamentals - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-226 Oracle EBS R12: Inventory and Order Management Fundamentals - Extended to December 01, 2008
1Z1-238 Oracle EBS R12: Install, Patch and Maintain Applications - Extended to October 31, 2008
1Z0-228 PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 General Ledger - Extended to October 31, 2008
1Z0-244 Oracle EBS R12: Advanced Supply Chain Planning - Extended to December 01, 2008

The blog editor encourages readers from all across the globe to accept the R12 beta exam challenge. This blog will assist you over the next three months to prepare for the exams. As an added bonus, if you become an Oracle Certified Expert in a given track your name would be entered in a raffle. One lucky winner for each exam track would have their certification exam fees reimbursed. So it's like getting R12 certification for free!!

Are you ready for the R12 Beta Exam Challenge?

KnowOracle.com Blog Interviews OCP Advisor

The Know Oracle blog published an interview with the OCP Advisor.

Please click here to read what your blog editor said to Know Oracle.

Even More Reasons To Attend Oracle Openworld 2008

The ever enterprising Oracle Certification Program team has now provided even more reasons to register for Oracle Openworld 2008.
Onsite certification testing will be offered to registered conference attendees, subject to availability.

Here’s the strategy to get an admission ticket. Show up bright and early on Monday (Sept 22) before 9am in front of Moscone South Room 252 . Session tickets will be given out starting at 9:30am and would be limited to only one ticket per person. If you are planning to take more than one exam, check with the onsite staff at the OCP Lounge after you have taken the first exam. If you are lucky, there may be open slots still available (typically for Wednesday or Thursday).
Be sure to take your conference badge, photo ID, credit card and Prometric ID to the testing center. In case you have never tested with Prometric, you can go online right now and create one at http://oracle.prometric.com/ For updates regarding the onsite certification, please bookmark this page and check back regularly
As in past years, the testing room is located at Moscone South, Room 252.
A total of 8 testing windows have been announced as follows:

Mon, September 22	Session 1at 11:30am	Session 2 at 2:00pm
Tue, September 23	Session 3 at 9:00am	Session 4 at 11:30am
Wed, September 24	Session 5 at 9:00am	Session 6 at 11:30am
Thu, September 25	Session 7 at 9:00am	Session 8 at 11:30am

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Nano9s on 1Z0-204 R12 E-Business Essentials

Many of our blog readers are taking the first steps of getting certified on R12 tracks. A lot of requests have come in for sample questions on 1Z0–204: E-Business Essentials exam. Since Tutor documents are available for the 11i version, topics related to new R12 features have to be reviewed either from the E-Business Fundamentals Student Guide or the User Guides. To get a quick overview of the differences in the exam topics for 11i and R12 versions, please review to earlier blog post – “What’s the Diff?”

For the next four weeks, Nano9s on this exam would be posted with particular emphasis to R12 functionalities. Answering the Nano9s would provide you a quick assessment of your preparedness. The topics for this exam may be familiar to most certification candidates and hence there may be a strong urge to cram for the exam over a week or even a weekend. It is advisable to avoid such an exam preparation strategy. Instead make a study chart by assigning at least 2–3 days on any given topic (a day or two for reading and hands-on practice on the system and another half or full day revising the key concepts). Since most of the test takers also have a day job, the time unit of measure of a ‘day’ here may be equivalent to just two to three hours since that’s what one can spare early morning or in the evening after a full day at the office. Even with this relatively slow and steady approach, the exam preparation time would be less than a month. The idea here is to make small improvements daily in one’s knowledge base – a kaizen approach instead of a big bang kamikazee cram.

Click on the link here to answer the Nano9s on 1Z0–204 E-Business Essentials.

This blog entry was written on a desktop application called BlogJet. Get your copy here: http://blogjet.com

Updated on 08/13/08: For the Solution Key, click here