Deep Dive Thursday at Kscope14

Choices, choices, choices

I already wrote about the Planning deep dive I am hosting on Thursday, 26 June 2014 at Kscope14, two weeks ago and I encourage you to keep on sending deeply embarrassing and probing (not regarding me, regarding Oracle thankyouverymuch) Tweets using the hashtag #PlanningDeepDive.   This is your chance to, metaphorically at least, put Essbase and Planning Oracle product management on the spot.  Let’s not have all the questions come out of my not terribly imaginative mind lest the next release of Planning look like this:

Yes, that is somewhat unlikely, but there are many who would applaud the return of AppMan, or at least something that behaves like it for both Essbase and Planning.  So mark that down as one of my questions to Shankar and Gabby.

But the Planning Deep Dive is not the only Deep Dive happening on the last day of the conference.  Oh no, you are to be spoilt for choice as there are nine different Deep Dives happening at the same time.  In other words, the competition is on, and the competition is fierce, but that only means that you win as there will be great content no matter what session you attend.  I only point out that the Planning session that yr. obdt. svt. is likely to be the most interesting, entertaining, and generally awesome of the bunch.  Ahem.

The heart of the matter

As I wrote, there are nine Deep Dives in total, and I will not be crushed (a bit hurt, mind, but not crushed) if your interests do not revolve around Planning and Essbase.  ODTUG is catholic in its scope, and there is quite literally something for everyone.  What do I mean?  Cast your eyes down the page and gasp in wonder.

Application Express

Scott Spendolini of Enkitec will be leading a two hour session covering APEX security including instance and application level settings, architecture reviews, and eliminating coding vulnerabilities.  This is Important Stuff.

ADF & Fusion Development

Don’t know what Application Development Framework (I think I have that right) is?  Take a look at EPM 11.1.2.3.500 on the web.  ADF all the way.  So it is an important part of the EPM architecture and really the way forward for all of Oracle’s web-based development.

Luc Bors of AMIS Services will be showing how to go far beyond the documentation (almost always a good thing and that is sort of why you come to Kscope, right?) by showing the undocumented and not taught tips and tricks that make a mobile ADF application fly.

Developer’s Toolkit & The Database

I have to preface this summary by saying most of what Cary Milsap of Method R says about the Oracle database flees far, far, far over my head.  Having said that, Cary is a fantastic speaker and he has some very interesting takes on what it means to be a good programmer.  

Let me try putting it this way – often when I attend a session at Kscope I learn new technical features, knowledge about a product, or a way to fix something that doesn’t work.  That is all great, in fact better than great, but Cary explains how to think about problems.  That’s a very different proposition and one that I find fascinating.

His session on the Oracle database is all about finding slow code, timing it, and fixing it.  I daresay he will throw in a mix of why you should think about performance and how to think about it.  Powerful stuff indeed.

Business Intelligence

Kevin McGinley of Accenture and Stewart Bryson of Rittman Mead are two physically opposite geeks who think with one mind.  And apparently that mind is fixated on Late Night With David Letterman if only Dave did BI.  

Inquiring minds want to know:  do they do Stupid BI Tricks?  Join them and find out.

Essbase

Tim German of Qubix is trying something really ambitious – a very different and in depth approach to the content a panel covers.  Normally, a panel presentation takes questions from the audience during the session and the panelists respond.  There’s not a thing wrong with that approach and there are several such panels on Essbase and Planning during Kscope14.

What Tim is doing that is exciting and different is that he is asking you, oh Kscope14 attendee, to submit questions during the week that will hopefully stump, confuse, and inspire in-depth responses from the panelists.  I think of this as a way for you to propose mini-presentations (they may be minus fancy Powerpoint slides, but the quality of response should be there) to the panelists.  With luck, they will disagree with one another, sparks will fly, and good time will be had by all.  At the very least it ought to be entertaining.

I should mention that the panelists will be:

• Tim Tow
• Mark Rittman
• Glenn Schwartzberg
• Carol Crider
• Sarah Zumbrum
• Steve Liebermensch

So yeah, some interesting people. :)

Here’s how you can submit questions to Tim:

• Via the Twitter hashtag #EssbaseDeepDive
• Directly to Tim’s Twitter account at @CubeCodeDotCom
• Via email to EssbaseDeepDive@gmail.com

Planning

As I wrote at the end of May, I am moderating the Planning Deep Dive and I think it is as unorthodox as the Essbase session.  Both the Planning and the Essbase product managers, Shankar Viswanathan and Gabby Rubin, will be on stage, ready to take your questions.  It has been one of my frustrations that Essbase and Planning have their road maps discussed separately as Planning is so reliant on Essbase for its features and Essbase is equally driven by Planning’s requirements.  The two are symbiotically joined and finally we have the ability to quiz both of them on where the products are and where they are going.  Send in your questions either via this blog or on the Twitter hashtag #PlanningDeepDive.  Apparently I am an underachiever compared to Tim as I have only two ways to contact me – Twitter and of course this blog’s comment section.  

Regardless of my laziness, I am counting on your difficult and interesting questions to make Oracle inadvertently tell us all kinds of cool things that maybe they would have withheld.  Of course Gabby and Shankar may never come back, but one can at least hope for an interesting session this Kscope.  Next year is someone else’s problem.  ;)

Financial Close

Chris Barbieri of Ranzal is continuing his “What would happen if I did…in Hyperion Financial Management” series.  Will he:  split the atom, discover a cure for the common cold, or merely come up with something super cool in HFM?

My guess is on the last as from the description I see both hacks of HFM (what fun is it if the tool isn’t twisted into a pretzel?) and how to actually test if the hack works (Test? Why do that?  Oh yeah, the destruction of the earth is a possibility.)  All of this is to help you, HFMers, to understanding how the tool works at the lowest level.  Cool stuff and I should add that Chris is a very entertaining speaker.

EPM Foundations

Those of you foolish enough to read this blog on an ongoing basis know that I am somewhat challenged when it comes to infrastructure.  That is in fact a fiction, I am an infrastructure idiot – it is simply beyond me and my skill set.  Sigh.

The guy that I call when I am absolutely and positively stuck (and the guy that I unreservedly recommend to clients) is none other than the moderator of this session – John Booth of Huron Consulting.  John is kind enough to take pity on me and once in a while I sort of, kind of, barely repay him.  So basically it’s all giving on his side and all taking on mine.  

John continues his generosity with all of you by  heading up a three man panel (John, Rob Donahue of Rolta, and Eric Helmer) giving you 90 minutes of their combined knowledge and infrastructure good practices.  That is simply amazing and if you are responsible for your implementation’s trouble-free running, this session is for you.

Reporting

Tracy McMullen of interRel is heading a mix of EPM and BI reporting experts.  If her abstract can be believed, restaurant paper napkins are one of the media.  I think that might be tounge in cheek.

In fact what Tracy has on offer is a you-ask-‘em, they-answer-them panel that interestingly covers both sides of the Business Intelligence/Enterprise Performance Management divide.  Smart View, OBIEE, and Financial Reports are to be covered, and if you ask, maybe, just maybe those paper napkins could be in play.

And there you have it

As always, Kscope suffers from too much good content all at the same time.  What a conference, what a problem to have.  

Thursday’s Deep Dives continue that tradition and I know you will all be there for what promises to be a very interesting and innovative series of events.  If I wasn’t moderating, I would be flitting from room to room, trying to get all of the geeky wisdom I could into my brain.  You might just be able to do that.

See you in Seattle.

The Billion Dollar Bridges

Twice in recent days, all Metro-North (and Amtrak) train service was disrupted for three hours in peak travel times because of one broken bridge: the 118-year-old Norwalk River Bridge in the city of the same name. 

Because this swing-bridge is so old and in such bad shape, it wouldn’t close, severing all train service and forcing replacement bus shuttles incapable of handling the crowds.  These are but the most recent problems on this bridge, and they won’t be the last.

Governor Malloy says this is “outrageous” and is calling for a sit-down with Metro-North. (Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall at that bully-session?)

What the Governor doesn’t admit is that Connecticut is responsible for that bridge, not the railroad.  Any reasonable civil engineer (and CDOT has many) would have replaced that bridge decades ago.

Instead, in the last two years alone, Governor Malloy (like Rowland and Rell before him) diverted millions in Special Transportation Fundmonies into balancing his budget instead of replacing or repairing old bridges.  It is disingenuous for the Governor to express outrage at and blame others for a problem he exacerbated, but hey… that’s politics.  Blame everyone but yourself.

Instead, the Governor is asking Uncle Sam to use Super Storm Sandy money to pay 75% of the expected $465 million in replacement cost of that bridge, a six-year construction project.

But the old bridge will still be in use until at least 2018 and, doubtless, will fail again.  Each time it won’t close, rail service will halt.

Why not keep the bridge closed?  Too logical.  The handful of boats that use that river have historic and legal right-of-way over the 120,000 daily rail riders.  And that includes heating-oil-carrying barges, not just pleasure craft.

But this is but one of five railroad bridges in need of replacement.  The highly respected Regional Plan Association’s recent report said it will cost $2.8 billion to replace those five crossings, four of them in Connecticut, built in 1904.

Who’s going to pay all that money?  You guessed it, Connecticut taxpayers!  Why, because we delayed this work for so many decades and, more importantly, because our state owns the tracks, the bridges, the power lines and signals.  Remember, Metro-North owns nothing in Connecticut.

Back in 1970 when New Haven RR parent Penn Central went bankrupt and Conrail then got out of the commuter rail business, the MTA and Metro-North were born.  Both NY and Connecticut agreed they would own the tracks in their respective states while Amtrak went on to own the rest of the Northeast Corridor. Ownership has its privileges and obligations (costs).

So here’s a modest proposal:  why doesn’t Connecticut sell the New Haven mainline to Amtrak / Uncle Sam / “The Feds” for $1 and let them be responsible for fixing those bridges?  Remember… Amtrak trains run on those tracks as well as Metro-North.  This railroad is a national resource worthy of federal spending.

Cannondale HQ

Cannondale HQ



Here is a little piece I prepared many moths ago and forgot to post. It's a rundown of my time visiting the team behind the team behind the team in bethal Connecticut in October. 



With the 2013 racing season wrapped it's time for a little rest and relaxation. Well at least that was what I had planned on. I decided to start my off season vacation with a trip to New York to see some friends and also check out Cannondale HQ in bethel conneticuit  for a few days. I now know why they say it's the city that never sleeps! Surfice to say after a week there I feel exactly as the city feels! I had never stop of in that part of the world before and thanks to my friends and the cannondale clan in bethel I certainly had a jam packed day/night schedule for the 5 days I was in town.



Throughout the season we get the opportunity to meet the odd representative from cannondale at races around the globe. This is fantastic but when I went to the cannondale event in park city back in June I learnt there is an extremely dedicated passionate team of people working full gas back in Bethel ensuring that we are able to have such an awesome cycling team to ride for. There are so many details that us as riders take for granted that goes on behind the scenes before we get to through our legs over a Cannondale rocket ship. Things like the bike research development and design, the paint scheme, marketing and image of the team, tour groups that visit us during races, and to the way the team uses social media to ensure as many people as possible know as much about whats going on the team as possible. This is crucially important for our team being Italian at it's roots but becoming increasingly international every season, we have a very large demographic of fan base that need to be kept informed of what's going. To be able to witness how much work is going into all these things on a daily basis was a big wake up call for me. 



As a rider it's so easy to just role along and enjoy the spoils of being a professional athlete, you seem to be in an environment where everything simply just happens!  Personally did not appreciate enough just how much work goes on behind the scenes at Cannondale HQ to ensure that our team runs so smoothly with so much success. Also I often wonder if those who work for cannondale in the offices even have much interest in what is going on in the team. Its and American company after all and therefore dominated by football, baseball, hockey, and Basketball, do the staff really have any interest in cycling?? Absolutely there is nothing that goes on in the team and indeed the sport that all the staff at Cannondale HQ don't know about. They are super passionate about the sport and the team and therefore my trip to bethel gave me a greater understanding of why we have such incredible support from our major sponsor cannondale on all fronts. They will simply do whatever they can to ensure our wheels role as smoothly and successfully as possible.



In all honesty I had such an incredibly enjoyable time in park city earlier in the year with the cannondale clan that I had a pretty strong hunch that visiting HQ would be no different. Like in Park city Jonathan Gerran was my tour guide, the man it turns out that was in charge of ensuring we crammed as much into those few days as possible! As soon as we pulled into the parking lot I knew it was going to be a fun few days. All the cars in the lot had bike racks or ski racks on the roof and basically looked equipped for having a fun active lifestyle. Once I set foot inside the building those observations from the car park were confirmed, the place was a party house. Plenty of noise, laughter and people genuinely having fun doing what they were doing. I immediately thought that one day when I hang up the bike this is exactly the place I would like to work. So once inside it was time for a tour of the office. This would last a few hours!



The office is a very open space with booths and cubicles all over the place. As such if someone is being a little noisy then pretty quickly everybody knows or is hearing about it. I have a pretty load voice and I have been told it travels a fair distance on more than one occasion so I don't think it took long for entire office to know I had come to visit. I got see to all the familiar faces I had had such a great time with at park city and catch up on what had been going on since then. Everybody was naturally interested in the ins and outs of what's happening in the team and being someone that loves talking I was more than happy to answer every question that was fired my way. This was certainly an office filled with smiling faces and as I had already felt when I drove into the car park one that would be awesome to be apart of. I decided there and then for the next few days I was going to enjoy doing as many things as possible in the office over the following couple of days. I wanted to understand as much as possible how things happen at cannondale HQ and learn from as many staff as were happy to have me crash there desk space throughout the day. So with the tour done and dusted it was time to get to work and build up a prototype synapse road bike that would be my weapon of choice for a couple of rides checking out the sights of bethel.



Day 1 had given me the chance to meet and greet and catch up with everyone. Also the chance to learn the layout of the office and also set out some appointments with those whom wanted to have a bit of a chin wag with me. So with that said I hit office running on day 2. 



My first objective was to choose my desk! Fortunately the one I wanted happened to belong to Big Peter who was conveniently in Italy for a couple of days. All booths have wheely chairs and I quickly learnt have crucial they are as everyone is constantly scooting around all over the office. Infact it is a great way of getting about in thte office as if your looking for someone and there chair is not at there desk you know they are no more than a desk chair scoot away!



When you enter the office from the staff car park you are greeted by a giant blackboard. On it is all sorts of info regarding what's going at cannondale and GT (GT also share the same office building). Be it MTB, CycloCross, BMX or Road Bikes, if cannondale or GT are involved wherever in the world the blackboard keeps the staff updated as soon a study enter the building. This was the first realization that the staff definitely take a huge interest in what we are up to and no doubt when its littered with success's which it seems to be, it give the staff a real sense of satisfaction knowing the part they have played in the rider or team achieving the result. Basically the bike we through our leg over has literally had 100's of people's ideas and hard labor involved in its creation so to hear the excitement in the staff's voices when discussing the respective teams success's was so cool to hear. Aside from the blackboard there are pictures everywhere of everything involved with the team so it would come as no surprise that not only are all staff members updated with all that is happening across the disciplines but also have a real genuine interest in what we are up to in all corners of the globe.



I have always feared the prospect of having a full day in an office but not surprisingly this one went by in a flash. The morning was taken up with a few meetings  with various departments within the office and gave me a chance to get to know better those more directly involved with the team. These were all very intriguing and with my nature of talking to much every single meeting went way overtime and it was lunchtime before I knew it! Lucky cannondale don't pay me by the hour!



The afternoon was set aside for a little bit of a ride and a bit of fun. It's a little chilly at that time of the year in connecticut so I was impressed that anyone was keen to venture outside in the 5 degree's to pedal with me! Anyways as always happens with an enthusiastic group we had a great little ride and in the fun and games spirit of cannondale the ride culminated in a little race! I knew that I am flat out sprinting my way out of a paper bag at the best of times so once I was a ware of the finish location i decided to attack everyone a couple of km's before and hope to hang on and avoid embarrassment! Fortunately my plan worked and they will never know that many of the staff members would have well and truly given me an absolute flogging in the sprint! 



Once back in the office it was time for a bit of fun. The staff were very complimentary of my attack and seemed to enjoy trying to chase me. They said they could not really comprehend how we can open the gas so much when required!! Well I guess we dedicate our lives to the sport so we should be good at it just like anyone is relatively better at there job than someone from another field. I came up with an idea that I should try and do one of there jobs. One of the sales guys was particularly interested wanting to know how much power I was pushing when I attacked and how long I sustained it for. Therefore I decided I would have a crack at his job and show him how difficult it was for me to get m point across. We can't be good at everything unfortunately! So on the phone I went still fully kitted up and the phone headset safely tucked under my helmet. Suffice to say the way a video camera summoned to document me making a fool of myself. Sure enough I had no idea what I was doing or what I was talking about, I was inventing parts that don't exist and definitely was not taking an order for extra bikes! My point had been made, the staff at cannondale do an amazing job in there roles and it would be best if I stuck to racing the bike and trying to do a good job of that! By days end I was totally spent, it had been full gas and gone by in the blink of an eye so m first ever full day in an office didn't turn out to be as scary as first thought!



Day 3 was an exciting day for many reason. Firstly it was Friday so the weekend was just about upon us. Secondly it was the day when all the staff would be loaded onto buses to go and check out the new offices being built about 20km away. And finally Friday mornings is bagels for breaky day! I love bagels! It was decided that being the new by in the office I would be on toasting and speeding cream cheese duty. So one by one the staff rolled in and I took there orders of type of bagel and type of cream cheese to spread ontop. I was literally up to my eye balls in bagels and cream cheese for a couple of hours so the staff enjoyed watching me keep up with the frantic toasting and spreading required to keep everyone happy. It's important I think in any new job to earn your strips and I have found when I have been in new environments that it's best to do this by showing your happy be starting at the bottom. No body likes an upstart so I think it was a absolute genius masterstroke by PR to put me on bagel duty as everyone certainly approached me in more of a normal manner than cam the cyclist! This attitude toward each other in the office is certainly very evident as in reality you would have no idea of the rank of individuals as you role around the offices in bethel. Everybody are simply cycling sports group employees in cool trendy casual clothes. Its really nice to not feel intimidated by anyone and only enhances the great environment in the company. Was another interesting little exercise and one I obviously greatly enjoyed. 



With everyone's tummy's full it was time for me to taste test the 6 different varieties of bagels and cream cheese for myself. After this feast I don't remember being hungry for a week but was definitely worth it and I made sure I washed it all down with a massive cup of American coffee, I wanted to have the whole experience. So my tummy now full was time for a little more fun with the video camera. After making a fool of myself as part of the sales team it was decided that I tackle a few more tasks with the video camera in hand.  Was starting to realize seeing me make a fool of myself was something everybody was enjoying seeing. Next up was the tour of the new offices.



We all boarded the bus and it's was seriously like a bunch of school kids going on a school excursion. The naughty ones were up the back and the sensible ones at the front, with the exception of me that is. I was peer pressured into being a back seat bully and distributing the contraband beverages that had been smuggled onboard. Not surprisingly we all arrived in high spirits and were shown the ins and outs of the new state of the art offices. Naturally the theme of the already vibrant office in bethel was being maintained with some tweaks and moderness thrown in. The basis of the office was again interaction between different departments and all questions regarding space usage seemed to directed in the way. Pretty nice to here questions being asked about ensuring the interaction between employees is as simply as possible in an office, much better than the contrary! But after almost 3 days hanging out with the cycling sports group I was hardly surprised, it was truly an environment that I never imagined could exist in a office work place. With the tour done and dusted we were bundled back onto the bus were the usual de brief of such an exercise takes place like, PR has more natural light than us, and marketing is closer to the coffee machine! All fun and games but was obvious that everyone was excited about the impending move to the new facility.



Back in the office and being Friday early afternoon was decided by Bob Burbank that work could be abandoned and we could all go for a ride followed by traditional Friday Arvo beverages. Again it was freezing so to stay warm it was decided that was just race each other here there and everywhere. Fortunately I managed to play my bluff game again perfectly and survived the final obstacle of saving face as a cyclist in the eyes of the team behind our team. Once back in the office teamwork was taken to a level I had never witnessed before. When I had my first tour of the office 2 days before I had spotted a snow ski Cannondale'd up and bindingless. I had inquired as to it's function and was simply told it was the shot ski and I would be shown how it works when the time was right. Well mr Burbank decided upon returning from the ride that it was to introduce me to the "shot ski".



The shot ski as I said has no bindings. The blank ski is instead fitted with 5 pieces of velcrow around the size of a gambling chip. The accessories to the shot shit are you guessed it, shot glasses also with a piece of velcrow on the bottom. This instrument was another fine example that the office always works as a team! In this case 5 employees line up holding the ski level and on the count of 3 have to simultaneously raise the ski and subsequently the shot glass into your mouth. No room for backing out, once you pick up the ski your committed to enjoy the shot with your colleagues. Naturally it does not take long for everyone to be in a very jolly mood and the working week is finished of in fine style. For me was another amazing and perfect way to wrap up my time in the bethel offices to see even in enjoying themselves the cycling sports group ensure they do it all together. Was certainly the most amazing few days in an office I could ever dream of having so will keep all my fingers and toes crossed that should I one day switch my office from the outdoors to the indoors it has an environment just like the cycling sports group in bethel Connecticut.



So a amazing few days regrettably had to come to an end. I guess when I arrived in bethel a few days earlier I had expected to enjoy myself but certainly not as much as I did. Not only that had no idea that a company could make a work environment so motivating and energetic to be in. I think it was an important visit for me to make as it gave me an even greater appreciation for what everyone at cannondale does on a daily basis to ensure that all the bills of the team get paid and Roberto amadio and his men can continue to run out hugely successful cycling team. To witness the passion and dedication of all the staff in bethel and to know how interested they are in what we get up to and how excited they are about our successes was hugely motivating for me as a rider. There is never no "I" in team and my few days at cannondale HQ certainly must me appreciate so much just how important all those back there in bethel are to the road show that is the "Cannondale Pro Cycling Team".

The sessions I want to attend at Kscope14

What this post is all about

Oh dear oh dear oh dear, Kscope14 is almost upon us.  This year’s conference is fraught with desperate preparation on my part (this past weekend was spent up to my armpits writing my ASO Planning presentation – fun, fun, fun, kind of) as I desperately try to hit the conference date with everything done.  Fingers crossed on this one but if I pull it off, the presentations will be good and there are one or two fairly awesome hacks to go along with it all.  I am excited, if slightly frazzled, so business as usual.

But this post isn’t about my neuroses, instead its purpose is to highlight the sessions I am most looking forward to at Kscope14, aka other people’s sources of stress.  

Schedule

There is simply too much to write about in one blog post so my look forward will have three parts:

• This week – individual sessions
• Next week – Thursday Deep Dives
• Week of 15 June – Sunday Symposiums and oh yes I am flying to Seattle

As always with Kscope, there are way more sessions than there is time to attend.  Remember that many of these sessions are recorded so you can watch the screen and hear the presenters live and in person.  

For instance, to help figure out a component of my ASO Planning session, I listened (and listened and listened) to Josie Manzano’s Kscope13 session Using Calculation Manager with Essbase ASO until I finally got it.  This ability to go back and listen sessions when you need them is invaluable.  There are many, many, many sessions available at ODTUG’s web site and I encourage you take advantage of this valuable resource.  I have.

My top Kscope14 sessions

Essbase

Calc Manager Rules with an ASO Cube:  Yes, It Works!

Monday, 23 June 2014, 10:45 am to 11:45 am

Oh yes, I know, it works.  And then bits of it don’t.  I am doing a ton of stuff with this right now in ASO Planning and am super curious to see if Ludovic De Paz and Paul Hoch have gone down the same path I have or if they have figured out another way.  Like anything, there’s a good, bad, and mediocre way to do something – I wonder where my work falls.

Next Generation Essbase Outline Extractor Tips and Tricks

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

I was part of the beta team (a very bad member of the beta team; I like to think I have somewhat redeemed myself with post-release bug finding, but then again maybe not), and I have seen some of the improvements Tim has come up with whilst in the Tim Tow Reality Distortion Field (The one where I feel almost smart enough to be a Java, aka real, programmer.  Alas, it goes up in a cloud of smoke as soon as the call ends.).  I’m not sure how much of what I’ve seen is going to make it in this release.  For sure it is a time of change for the tool, all for the better.

Essbase Technology Evolution

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 11:15 pm to 12:15 pm

Kumar is the manager of Essbase development.  That’s right, the guys that write Essbase.  Do you suppose he might have some interesting insights into the future of Essbase?  Could be.

MDX Simplified: A Methodical Approach to Writing Complex Functions

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Do I suffer when I write MDX?  Oh yes I do.  Hopefully Jennifer Hanks can make at least this part of my coding life not be a soup sandwich.

ASO Design Principles for Financial Reporting

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Yes, you read that right, two MDX sessions at the same time.  And this one is by my colleague Gary Crisci who always does stellar work.  Let’s hope Jennifer’s (or Gary’s or each) session is recorded.

Essbase Studio: Why in the Name of Glenn Are You Not Using This Awesome Tool

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Why, Glenn, why?  Why am I not using it?  Perhaps because I have yet to attend your session oh older-not-really-brother?

Essbase New Features and Roadmap Update: 2014 Edition

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 9:45 am to 10:45 am

Gabby Rubin will cover how Essbase and Exalytics are moving forward, sometimes in lockstep, other times in parallel.  I am super interested in this and hope fervently that commodity hardware continues to be supported as I’m not likely to hit an Exalytics project any time soon.

Kumar and Dan Go to Kscope: How ASO Works (Based on Your Questions)

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

Dan Pressman will be the moderator (buffer?) between you, the panel audience, and Kumar, the Essbase development manager.  Ask your question, see if Kumar answers it.  :)

Evolution or Revolution: The New Hybrid Essbase

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 11:15 am to 12:15 am

Yr. Obdt. Svt. is copresenting with Tim German, aided by Dan Pressman, and I think this session will be eye opening to say the least.  We will cover the biggest advance to Essbase since ASO both in its currently available 11.1.2.3.500 release and some as yet unreleased functionality.  You’ll see from this why Hybrid BSO Essbase will likely be the future of many of your projects.  Yes, I am excited.  :)

Planning

Beyond the P&L: Balance Sheet Planning Made Easier Using Movement Members

Monday, 23 June 2014, 10:45 am to 11:45 am

Movement, not balances, is what I think Amy Del Rosario will be presenting.  This can be a difficult concept to grasp but is quite a bit more efficient.  At least that’s what I think the session is about – of course the only way to know for sure is to attend.

ASO Planning:  Don’t Do That, Do This

Monday, 23 June 2014, 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm

Yr. Obdt. Svt. is copresenting with Tim German, aided by Dan Pressman, and this is a subject near and dear to my heart (and my wallet as almost all of my implementations contain at least a component of Planning).  I think we have some really great good practices for ASO Planning that aren’t discussed anywhere else, a hack or two that ought to make your eyes pop, and of course all of the things that will only bring Pain and Agony so they are best avoided.  

Using Project Financial Planning (PFP) to Streamline Budgeting at Biogen Idec

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

I was never a fan of Planning’s Capital Expenditures application, finding it was easier and more flexible to roll my own.  Oracle must have heard my whining as they have released Project Financial Planning (PFP).  Matt Ward’s customer success story should be interesting.

Unleashing Hyperion Planning Security Using ODI

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 9:45 am to 10:45 am

Ricardo Giampaoli and Rodrigo Radtke de Souza are both huge fans of ODI (as am I) and really understand and hack it to pieces (as alas, I do not at their deep level).  I have however been known to twist Planning into a pretzel for fun and profit and I do have at least a basic appreciation of ODI.  Hopefully that all means I will be able to keep up.  Hopefully.

Planning with ASO: An Implementation Roadmap

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 11:15 am to 12:15 am

As I am (as noted above) hip deep in a competing presentation, I am beyond interested to see how Jake Turrell has approached ASO Planning and what he has on offer.  Jake does good stuff and will be sure to have at least a somewhat different take on the tool.  Unfortunately, I am going to be presenting my Hybrid Essbase session at the same time so I do hope this is a session ODTUG records.

Running with Scissors and Other Things You Shouldn't Do With Hyperion Planning

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm

Brian Marshall is going to catalogue Things That Planning Cannot Do, And How To Do Them.  This ought to be fun.

Planning on the Cloud

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Shankar Viswanathan is the Planning product manager, so if he speaks about the functionality of Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) I daresay he will lay down the definitive word.  I just hope he keeps his energy levels up, because he’s 50% of the Thursday Planning Deep Dive panel session.

EPM Business Content

Leveraging Essbase Throughout the Enterprise to Increase Productivity and Profitability: A Use Case for Essbase at The Kroger Co.

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 11:15 am to 12:15 pm

Elizabeth Ferrell will be covering one of my favorite tools, AppliedOLAP’s Dodeca, works as a budgeting tool in an environment of 500 (!) Essbase cubes.  This ought to be fascinating stuff.

Transition from Traditional Forecasting to Rolling Forecasts

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 9:45 am to 10:45 am

Juan Porter will cover the business and functional side of moving from yearly to rolling forecasts.  Important stuff, and important for customers (and EPM geeks, come to think of it) to understand.

Bulletproofing Excel and Smart View   

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Did Charles Beyer wrap Smart View in many layers of Kevlar?  Shelter it behind armor as thick as a King George V class battleship?  Sometimes I am blown away by the awesomeness of Smart View, other times I have a visceral desire to blow it away.  Hopefully Charles can make it all better for me and everyone else.

Reporting

One Spreadsheet, All My Data

Monday, 23 June 2014, 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm

Matt Milella and Toufic Wkim, both of Oracle Corp, will show how to exploit Smart View to the fullest extent with every data source imaginable.  Matt and Toufic are excellent and entertaining speakers.

How GE Lit Up Smart View and Brought Good Things to Life For Its Users

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

Gary Adashek will cover how he managed the transition from the Excel Essbase add-in to Smart View.  I imagine he has a few new gray hairs because of that but I also he also has more than a few tips to help all of us make the transition.

PDF Bursting into Workspace

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Celvin Kattookaran dives deep into the Workspace API to manage reports like never before.

Implementing Advanced Financial Reporting Concepts for Rolling Trend Reports

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

If you build rolling forecasts in Planning you must build rolling reports.  Come to Scott LeBeau’s session to find out how.

Smart View Advanced Topics

Wednesday, 25 June 2014, 8:30 am to 9:30 am

Glenn Schwartzberg, older-not-really-brother will be presenting on Smart View.  His session is short on details but Glenn always does excellent work.

Transitioning Functional End Users from Add-In to Smart View - A Change Management Study

Tuesday, 24 June 2014, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Sarah Zumbrum will cover the transition for functional users of Smart View.  I hear the transition is a bit akin to chopping one’s hand off with an axe held in that same hand.  In other words, a difficult and frustrating task, so this should be a session worth attending.

Is that enough?

Yes, that isn’t every hour of every day (you will note that Saturday’s volunteer event, Sunday’s symposium, and Thursday’s Deep Dives are all not, yet, covered), but it sure is an awful lot.  Will I get to attend all of these sessions?  Given my role(s) behind the scenes at the conference, probably not, but I am as always hopeful.

I’m sure you have your favorites – what are they?  Send ‘em in to the comments section of this blog.

Be seeing you.