Smarter Project Contract Management and More with WebCenter (UCM)

Contracts are part of project management life. They can be very varied, from their terms and conditions to their duration or renewal dates. The challenge for enterprises in general and project managers in particular is do better than just the default level of contract management which only swings into action when a contract has expired. The use of multiple content systems within an enterprise is a further complication. It becomes difficult or impossible to track or leverage contract content. The first advantage of Oracle WebCenter is to provide a repository capable of centralizing and managing as much of the unstructured or semi-structured project content of an organization as is required.

Universal Content Management for Projects

WebCenter (formerly called Universal Content Management) offers a number of components to facilitate enterprise content management. Besides the same underlying WebCenter content data store for all the components, WebCenter also brings collaboration tools (WebCenter connect) to users to optimize access to contracts, construction documents, purchase orders and other content associated with live projects. User permissions can be managed, and decisions made on accurate and up to date information.  In general, WebCenter lets enterprises effectively manage all types of content for all business activities, independently of format, storage location, and archival and retention policies.

The User Experience Web and Office Style

The web interface in WebCenter offers a personalized portal for each user with extensive, yet intuitive content search facilities. The query builder allows users to put together queries to practically any level of complexity without the need for deep technical expertise. Searches on project contracts can be narrowed using metadata associated with contract documents. User-specific searches are saved in a personal search area. Users can also interact with WebCenter to contribute project content from business applications that include Microsoft Word and Excel. Document access is possible with different in-context interfaces that cover not only web browsers, but also Microsoft Windows Explorer and Microsoft Outlook.

Integration of WebCenter content with P6 EPPM

The same improvements in the organization of project assets are also available to P6 EPPM users by configuring the use of WebCenter content core capabilities (WCCC) when P6 is installed. There are two ways to set up access for users to the content repository. In single user mode, the same administrator login is used by all P6 EPPM users. By comparison, in multiple-user mode, P6 EPPM users are authenticated for access based on their individual logins. Multiple-user mode is the default mode, providing a higher level of security and an audit trail of individual file creation and modification. Both modes facilitate cataloguing, accessing, searching and reusing documentation.

Enhancing P6 Content Management Operations

WCCC supports a wide range of document formats including HTML, XML, DOC, XLS, GIF and PDF. Project participants using P6 EPPM can upload documents for categorization and review, and benefit from version control functionality (document check-in and check-out management). Projects, WBS (work breakdown structure) elements, activities and issues can all be linked to documents. And finally, Oracle WebCenter also allows the documents to be converted into mobile formats and communicated via email and internal or external websites for managed sharing of project-related information with project team members working off-site, management, stakeholders and other interested parties.