Implementing Oracle Tutor using Author and Publisher

This post explains what Oracle Tutor is and contains links to some very good online examples of organisations that have implemented Oracle Tutor using Author and Publisher

Tutor Overview

According to the Tutor Page on Oracle Appsnet: -

Oracle Tutor, a critical training product for the Oracle E-Business Suite, provides you with a powerful tool to document and track your business processes, determine workflow, and develop and deploy applicable training materials to end-users. It includes a repository of Oracle applications procedural and instructional content that can be dynamically customized to apply to a company’s unique business processes. The result is a set of job-specific desk manuals and student guides that are easy to update and can be deployed online.

The Tutor CD can be found amongst the 11i CD pack you will receive when you purchase Oracle E-Business Suite (a lot of people don’t know that it’s there!). After installing Tutor Author and Publisher as well as the associated documentation, probably one of the most important files to know about is the DOCREG.xls file which is normally located in the following directory \\Tutor11i\User Manuals. The DOCREG.xls file contains the following sheets: -

Legend
Procedures
Instructions
Business Forms
References
Coding Conventions
EDUC Abstracts (abstracts related to the training slides)
EDUC Powerpoints (generic training slides for each module)

Each of these sheets will provide you with a listing related to the sheet title. For example, the "Procedures" sheet will provide you with a list of all the generic Oracle procedures that you undertake to perform the processes in a particular module. The related procedural documentation as per the listing is delivered as part of the Oracle Tutor installation. The thing I like about having the procedures in this kind of listing is that you can easily filter and sort the listing to identify the procedures that are relevant to your area of business. Then you only have to find the associated documentation in the Tutor folders created when installing on your local machine.

Tutor Author and Publisher Examples

Despite Tutor being such a wonderful product I haven’t come across many organisations that have implemented. My guess is that with IT Budgets being cut
to the bone, businesses do not have the necessary resources to implement it. The following are some really good online examples of how Tutor can be implemented
for your organisation and distributed across the web: -

US Department of Transportation

Here there is an online implementation of Tutor for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Management, Fixed Assets, General Ledger, Project Accounting, Purchasing and Reports (Web and Discoverer).

University of Virginia

Here, Tutor documentation is available for Oracle Financials, Human Resources and Payroll.

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

According to the site: -

The USACE Project Management Business Process (PMBP) Manual was developed as an web-based on-line tool to assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operation as a team-based organization, operating regionally, and focused on delivering projects on-time, within budget and meeting both the customers’ expectations and public interests. The Corps culture must be closely aligned with the project management business process environment. The Manual provides the Corps with business processes that are applicable in every organization:

to enable the Corps to consistently manage all work under the Project Management Business Process (PMBP), using corporate automated information systems

to transcend organizational and geographical boundaries, resulting in more efficient and effective work relationships

to promote a more project-focused organization, while also serving public interests

to more effectively and efficiently use limited resources

to enhance the use of cross-functional project delivery teams (PDT) and regional business centers

to further guide the organization into a team-based, learning organization that operates corporately

The PMBP Manual was developed using Oracle Tutor to facilitate integration of the business processes with P2. This on-line software allows for continuous update and improvement and provides both written processes as well as a flowchart supplement designed to reach all users. Tutor also provides for specific role identification, using the Tutor term “author,” to allow users to recognize their responsibilities. As a web-based on-line tool, the PMBP Manual offers immediate access to policy documents, reference documents and an ease of navigation through the execution of a program or project from work acceptance through planning and execution to closeout.

Oracle Tutor will also allow the user to relate actions directly to software usage and provide screenshots of entry pages aiding in navigation of new software.By allowing users to quickly see results (incorporation of comments and feedback), Oracle Tutor will assist in the continuous improvement of the PMBP Manual.

You can read more about the development of the Project Management Business Process (PMBP) Manual here

Key areas of the USACE site that you should take a look at are: -

Processes Index - here you can access all Process and Reference Documents by their phase in the project life cycle.
Desk Manual - See the processes as they relate to different roles.
“Tutor Best Practices” document
The purpose of this document is to provide the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with a reference guide that outlines general information regarding Oracle Tutor as well as some of the best practices as identified by the BP/P2 Project Delivery Team (PDT).This guide is not intended to be an Oracle Tutor User Manual, but a guide to aide in standardizing and implementing Tutor as a documentation tool for USACE. The Tutor tool, methodology, training, and roles and responsibilities will be covered along with information on support and installation requirements.

Related White Papers, Presentations and Articles

An article by Howard Penn of Solution Beacon in the R11i quarterly newsletter, entitled “Oracle Tutor 11i”, provides a brief explanation of what Tutor is and why it should be used.

This presentations page at the Perthos Consulting Site contains the following excellent Tutor presentations by Thomas A. Perkins: -