Oracle Policy Automation November 2016 (12.2.5) is now available for download from Oracle Technology Network (OTN) ( http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/apps-tech/policy-automation/downloads/index.html ) and Oracle® Software Delivery Cloud ( http://edelivery.oracle.com/ ). The latest OPA Mobile application is available in Google Play ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oracle.opa ) and Apple App Store ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oracle-policy-automation/id885569091 ).
Updated products:
- Oracle Policy Modeling
- Oracle Policy Automation server components
- Oracle Policy Automation application for iOS and Android
- Oracle Policy Automation for Mobile Devices
What's new in Oracle Policy Automation November 2016?
( http://documentation.custhelp.com/euf/assets/devdocs/november2016/PolicyAutomation/en/Default.htm#Guides/Welcome/Whats_New.htm )
Next generation interviews
Oracle Policy Automation (OPA) now enables you to provide modern dynamic interviews on any channel. Interviews respond in real-time to customer input with automatic formatting, calculated fields, display of additional questions and more. There are several new control options including image toggles, masked inputs, switches, sliders, password fields, button groups and multi-input time fields. The interview styling options available in November 2016 apply to both web and mobile app interviews to ensure the same look and feel and behavior are available for disconnected mobile advice.
Note that upgraded projects will continue to use the August 2016 behavior and appearance. When you are ready to start using the new interview features, follow the steps in Switch to Latest Version interviews.
Dynamic behavior
Any control on an interview screen can now be updated live, even if the rule controlling its display needs data on the same screen. That is, after a short delay, any data the user has filled in, or options they have selected, are automatically reflected in other fields on the same screen without the user having to click the Next or Submit button. This functionality is perfect for what-if type scenarios which allow the user to try out different situations on a single screen with no navigation required.
Live formatting and validation
In an interview, when the user leaves an input control:
- its value is automatically formatted. For example, currency values get currency symbols and any number values get thousand separators and so on.
- validation rules and mandatory fields are automatically checked to give the user immediate feedback that a correction is required.
Enhanced navigation styles
New navigation styles are available for interviews. For top navigation, the options are single-line ribbon or train stops, and a screen list can also be included when required. For left navigation, the menu is now cleaner. Each of these options can be configured to change the colors and icons used.
Enhanced navigation behavior
In an interview, when the user navigates away from a partially complete screen, all valid information on the current screen will be automatically saved. They will no longer be shown a warning about unsubmitted data. This makes free navigation interviews, in particular, much easier to use.
New input control types
Key new input control types include:
- Toggles - Use any pair of images to reflect a two-state choice
- Button groups - Use mobile-style text, image or text+image choice buttons for any group of choices. Can be arranged vertically or horizontally.
- Switches - Use mobile-style switch buttons for a yes/no or on/off choice
- Sliders - Use a slider for choosing between one or more options, or for picking from a numeric range
- Passwords - Password input field is now available without any customization
- Masked inputs - Enter phone numbers or social security numbers, for example, and the text field is automatically formatted and limited to the appropriate input shape
Capture user location
The user's latitude and longitude location can now be captured from any interview screen. This enables you to apply location-specific behavior to the interview, such as distance between the user and other known points.
Unified mobile and web styles
The same set of style options now apply to both web and mobile app interviews. This makes it easy to maintain a consistent look and feel for both web and mobile app interviews.
Explanation usability
The navigation of explanations is now easier with detail available in at most two clicks.
Enhanced timeout warnings
Interview timeout warnings have been improved in appearance. They are now overlaid on the screen to be obvious regardless of screen scrolling position. The timeout warnings are now also fully accessible to screen readers.
No custom controls
The customization framework is not yet available for next generation interviews. This means that existing custom controls will not work with the new interview experience. For this reason, projects that need custom controls should continue to use August 2016 interviews for now.
Embed fonts and barcodes in generated forms
The built-in form generation capabilities of OPA now support both font embedding and barcodes.
Font embedding allows any embeddable font to be included with generated PDF documents, ensuring that customers will see documents as they were intended to appear, and that stored documents will always be presented correctly when they are retrieved at a later time. Any font that permits itself to be embedded can be used.
Scannable barcodes can now be placed anywhere in a generated PDF document by using a specific field code in combination with a supported bar code font (UPC, Code128 or Code39). This enables printed forms to be uniquely identified and integrated into business processes.
Collect data for inferred entities
It is now possible to collect data on inferred entities. That is, rules can be used to create the necessary entities and then you can allow the user to enter information for those entities. You can also allow users to pick from a dynamic set of entity instances when setting reference relationships.
This new functionality will simplify integration with other applications by avoiding the need for placeholder records to be supplied to the OPA interview.
Access control for policy models
Repository projects and deployments can now be organized into collections. Each user can then be assigned the roles that they have for each collection, and connections can be limited to particular collections. The Hub Administrator creates collections and assigns roles on the Permissions tab in Policy Automation Hub (previously called the Users tab).
All existing permissions in Policy Automation Hub are retained on upgrade to November 2016. All repository projects and deployments are placed into a Default Collection, and users are given their existing roles for the Default Collection. The Default Collection is given access to every connection. The Default Collection can be renamed and edited as required.
When adding new projects to the repository or deploying new projects from Policy Modeling, you will be prompted to choose a collection to add the project to.
Other enhancements
Self-service compatibility mode for deployments
There is now the ability to put a deployment into compatibility mode. This runs the deployment in the previous product release and extends the time to resolve any post-upgrade issues.
Static metadata-only connections
For projects where policies are referencing a known data model, it is now possible to upload the metadata model to Policy Automation Hub to create a static metadata-only connection.
Additional value list data types
Value lists can now be provided for any data type (previously, value lists could only be used with text and number attributes). Images can be associated with the values in a value list and these will be used in image button controls. An existing list of values, defined on the Interview tab for a control, can now be converted in to a value list.
Policy Modeling environment enhancements
Oracle Policy Modeling now installs 64-bit Java on a 64-bit system. This enables large test suites and complex debugging sessions to use all available memory. Note that Policy Modeling now uses Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2. Diagnostic information is available by clicking the build number on the Welcome screen.
Create Policy Modeling projects on the command-line
New Policy Modeling projects can be created on the command-line.
New text functions
Two new text functions have been included in this release:
- the NewLine function, and
- the Quote function.
Launch an interview in a browser window from Policy Modeling
The shortcut Ctrl+F5 can be used to launch an interview in a browser window from anywhere in Policy Modeling.