What do you consider to be your main area of expertise?
A difficult question, statistically I would have to say I have spent more time on V8 workflow and some quite annoyingly complex SQR's than anything else. However during my time thus far with Congruent, I have experienced Application Engine, object oriented PeopleCode, Component Interface, translation workbench tools, VBA, MS Excel, MS Access, conversion, report writing, interfaces, bread and butter customisations, and bug fixing. I cannot honestly say where my particular specialisation is - I would like to say, given my experience and client facing skills that I am more adept at delivering a satisfactory and efficient solution to the client regardless of the situation than anything else.

What is the most interesting customisation that you have done or seen in PeopleSoft?
Possibly not the most interesting customisation I have seen, but definitely the most interesting customisation I have done personally, was to lead the technical translation for the Tesco implementation of PeopleSoft 8.3 HRMS into Thai. This was deceptively difficult considering the client had no multi-lingual personnel available to the implementation team in the UK and all development was undertaken from the UK. Considering I do not speak any Thai whatsoever, and that only one implementation to my knowledge had ever taken place before (albeit in v7.5) including translation to Thai, we were pretty much breaking new ground every time we touched a keyboard. In order to fulfill the clients needs, we managed to interface the new PeopleSoft translation tools workbench with some Excel based VBA and come up with a remote translation package. This managed the language translations and uploads into PeopleSoft and was able to supply the Project Managers with auto generated key performance indicators on a weekly basis. When the Thai team were finally available to us in the UK, it was with great satisfaction (not to mention relief) that they pronounced the PeopleSoft HR translation to be meaningful to a native Thai user, and more than they had hoped possible given the initial all English ERP package.

What is the best thing that you have done for a customer?
Definitely not the most sexy customisation, or most incredibly laborious workload, but the best the most impact I think I have had on a client site was during a second tier support role I performed for AMP (Pearl Assurance UK). I was recruited to assist the report writing team (PS Query and SQR but involving VBA, SQL, and associated code) not only was I able to quickly and efficiently reduce the outstanding workload of the department, but I was also responsible for training the key technical resources within the department in PS Query and SQL query/relational database design and data retrieval. I would like to think, (and believe company statistics would back up) productivity had increased following my time there.

What project have you most enjoyed working on and why?
The Translation of PeopleSoft HR v8.3 into Thai for Tesco. Considering this was a language I do not speak, and a technical task that had seldom had to have been undertaken before, coupled with the factors that we (the development team) had no direct access to Thai PS users and that just to make things more interesting the Thai users had never actually seen PS HR, I was extremely pleased to develop a remote translation solution that not only met the strict requirements of the client, but allowed the offshore Thai team to efficiently translate the application en masse. Not only this but to be given the blessing of the Director of Globalisation for PeopleSoft worldwide pretty much made my day.

What would you most like added to the PeopleSoft product?
A more interactive and efficient bug solution website/client hotline/solution centre. Often when using cutting edge solutions in PeopleSoft developers come across untested or undiscovered bugs in vanilla functionality/technical composition. Whilst this is to be expected of any product, sometimes it would be nice to see a more responsive fixative solution for the vanilla product than is currently available to the client (site) when implementing PeopleSoft. Technical developers should not have to code around vanilla problems.

What is the most frustrating thing about the PeopleSoft product?
The continuing disappearance of a debugging solution. As a technical developer I completely understand the need to move further and further towards a complete four tier solution. However, it is becoming more and more difficult to debug the application and considering the increasing complexity of Component Interface and Application Engine based object oriented code, the developer needs a stable and accessible environment in which to debug the application. Conversely it seems as if this is something that seems to be being designed out of the product. I would really really really really like to see a stable and accessible debugging environment to be made available to developers in 4 tier. This is something I think could be a real possibility for PS V9 considering the work put in by developers on V8.

What originally drew you to consulting or the computing field?
For me this would have to be consulting. During my time in Demand Management for a major global retailer I was involved in several Supply Chain projects, most notably, leading the logistics portion of the central European Warehousing project. I became aware that I was enthused and intrigued by project work, I was more interested in the hectic and sometimes downright chaotic timetable and start to finish life cycle that goes hand in hand with project work, specifically IT project work, than I was in the repetitive tasks of a "9 to 5" logistics job. The hours may have turned out to be longer and the commitment more significant, but the sense of delivering an end product and meeting the clients' needs is more than worth it. The obvious progression for me was to move into an ERP consulting package and continue this career, thankfully a trainee PeopleSoft consultant contract came along at just the right time, that was three and a half years ago.

What advice would you give to a new client starting with PeopleSoft?
I would tell a new or upgrading PeopleSoft client to think very seriously about the most fundamental of choices for any client - that of whether to "return to vanilla" or "go customised". Sometimes it may be viable for a client to return almost entirely to vanilla, and sometimes the converse may be true - the client may require and almost entirely bespoke system. However given personal recent experience with complex delivered PeopleSoft functionality of the Salary Review components of PeopleSoft, I would say give considerable thought to whether a customised solution is wise or not. With my current client the decision was taken to "return to vanilla", however as far as salary review is concerned, more functionality was required than was available from the vanilla product. In some cases it may be more prudent and cost effective to develop a new custom solution than it would be to bend the vanilla PeopleSoft supplied solution to meet the need. I would say far more money can be saved by the client if sufficient scoping and functional development work is undertaken before beginning an implementation.

Why did you join Congruent?
I was looking to join a consultancy but still retain the integrity I had as an individual. Congruent had both the business acumen and the technical expertise of the big five but retained a camaraderie and loyalty I had only experienced in a small business before. I was intrigued by this business model, and as I grow in experience as a technical PeopleSoft consultant I am constantly reminded that I have a ridiculously capable team of colleagues to call on - this is something that I rely on as a consultant from Congruent, and something a client can expect - I come with the backing of a supremely capable network of technical and functional colleagues, whilst I am with Congruent nothing is outside my capabilities.

Back to Our Team