Learn options you have for removing or simplifying customizations within PeopleSoft
using RCF Event Mapping and PS WebSolution ReadyCloud.
We all know that ‘customization’ is a dirty 4 letter word. For definition purposes, let’s define ‘customization’ as a change to a delivered object that impacts future (PeopleSoft) updates. With Selective Adoption gaining steam, customizations to your PeopleSoft system and its objects can greatly impact the effort and the frequency of applying PeopleSoft updates. With each customization, someone will need to analyze its impact, evaluate if it’s needed, and attempt to reapply the logic, assuming the delivered object hasn’t changed. With lessons of the past, I think it’s time to embrace Selective Adoption; by applying the almost quarterly image updates and moving away from the major application upgrade cycle that used to occur every couple of years.
When speaking with many of our clients and PeopleSoft customers, the first response is “we can’t because we’re so heavily customized”, or “We’re a crazy organization with our processes and can’t get rid of our customizations”. If I only had a dollar for every customer that has said that, I could retire and write blog entries for fun ( inside joke, it’s only taken me 3 months to write this one….not that this isn’t fun). Every business has taken advantage of how easy PeopleTools is to enhance their PeopleSoft business process to meet their specific needs or regulatory requirements. With the release of PeopleTools 8.55, Peoplesoft has introduced functionality to allow customers to apply enhancements to Peoplesoft component PeopleCode WITHOUT customizing Peoplesoft. It’s called Related Content Framework (RCF), or Event Mapping. At PS WebSolution, we’ve utilized this functionally to apply specific enhancements to work with our industry leading self-service applications so as not to impact our customers delivered code line. Combined with our UserExit technology, we’re able to achieve solutions with almost no customization to PeopleSoft for our Package Solutions while achieving full integration with delivered Peoplesoft objects and features.
So how can this technology help you? Well it depends on the customizations you have and how they’re applied. With our ReadyCloud service, we’ve been able to convert and remove 70-80% of customers customizations while keeping their original business requirements in place. In some cases the enhancements are simple, while others might be fairly complex, but most can be removed/converted or simplified.
So how does it work? Well a little technology review. Meta data is what makes PeopleTools so powerful. What is meta data you ask? Well it’s data about data. For example, when we define a field in PeopleTools, we also define its properties, type, length, upper/mixed case, translate values, etc. All this information is stored in the system and retrieved when that field is referenced by other objects. It’s not hard coded in the system but saved as data and thus flexible. Event Mapping uses this same logic by allowing us to define and reference code to specific component PeopleCode events as meta data, but that information is stored in user tables (content references tables) and not in the delivered PeopleTools event tables, thus no impact on delivered PeopleSoft objects.
Here is a simple example we use with our SmartTax application that integrates to the PeopleSoft Address change application in Employee self-service. The requirement is to make the address change effective date display only so it is always the current date and thus matches with tax data. Before Event Mapping, we would have to modify or add code to delivered PeopleSoft objects to accomplish this, thus causing the customization to be reapplied for every update that might impact those objects. But when we utilize PeopleSoft RCF-Event Mapping technology, no customizations! No muss, no Fuss.
Take advantage of the PeopleSoft Related Content Framework Technology to reduce your customization footprint and achieve higher ROI with easier updates and less maintenance. And if you need help, contact us and we’d be happy to utilize our 20+ years of experience with our ReadyCloud service. Or join us at one our presentations this year at Collaborate, OHUG, HIUG, or ReConnect for in person examples and demos. This technology along with our experience will allow you to remove/convert many of your PeopleSoft ‘customizations’ that will facilitate faster/easier/cheaper upgrades and updates; thus enabling Selective Adoption and your migration to the cloud architecture. Till next time…..
By Tyger Vollrath
Tyger Vollrath is the Founder and COO of PS WebSolution. He has over nineteen years of experience in the PeopleSoft and is a frequent speaker and contributor of HCM content.