Hosted by Chandra Wobschall and Paul Houtkooper

Hey JDE Connection listeners – Chandra and Paul here! This episode was a special one because we recorded it live at INFOCUS 2025 in Denver. We sat down with our friend Clayton Seeley, Senior Product Manager for System Administration at Oracle JD Edwards, to dig into a topic that many of us have bumped into but don’t always fully understand: impact analysis.

From Frustration to Clarity

Chandra shared her own experience running an impact analysis report that came back at a whopping 14 pages. At first glance, it was overwhelming – what do all these sections mean, and how do you know what to pay attention to? Clayton helped us break it down:

• The summary page shows how many objects are included in an update versus how many will actually be impacted.
• A big “delta” often means your system isn’t very current (no shame – many of us have been there).
• The real focus should be on the few objects that are customized. Those are the ones that require retrofitting or extra care.

As Clayton put it, sometimes we overreact, but with the right tools and understanding, the report becomes a helpful roadmap rather than a source of stress.

Tools That Make Life Easier

We explored some of the newer features available to help both CNCs and BAs make sense of impact analysis:

• Change Assistant: lets you search for ESUs, understand dependencies, and run analyses without applying patches.
• Update Manager: provides a cleaner, integrated view of updates, dependencies, and even special instructions.
• Object Usage Tracking: helps you see which objects are actually being used, so you know where to focus testing after an update.

These tools give you actionable insights, like identifying which objects need testing or which customizations you might be able to replace with personalization’s instead.

Collaboration is Key

One of the big takeaways from our conversation was that impact analysis isn’t just for CNCs. BAs, developers, and administrators all bring different perspectives that make the process more effective. As Clayton reminded us, it’s a team sport.

Midwesternism of the Day

Even though we were live, we were able to sneak in a Midwesternism. This one helps describe those situations when you’re faced with an impact analysis report that looks intimidating, but with the right approach, you discover things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Why This Matters

Staying current with JD Edwards updates can feel daunting, but impact analysis and the tools that support it are designed to make the process manageable. Whether you’re prepping for a patch, troubleshooting a customization, or planning your next upgrade, understanding how to use these reports will save you time and headaches.

If you’ve been meaning to explore LearnJDE but didn’t know where to start, this episode is your sign to go take a look. Trust us—you’ll find something useful (and probably get lost in the best way).

Until next time, let’s keep learning, sharing, and laughing together.

Toodles!

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