This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:
| Date | Feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 25 JAN 2019 | Created initial document. |
This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in this update.
ABOUT THIS RELEASE
This section contains general information about Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Cloud Service Release 18.2.
Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Cloud Service includes the following Oracle Utilities applications:
- Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Enterprise Edition v2.2.0.2
- Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Purchasing
- Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Connector for Enterprise Resource Planning
- Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management Connector for Geospatial Information Systems
- Oracle Utilities Cloud Service Foundation v18.2
- Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
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Support for Asset Location-Based Preventative Maintenance Routes |
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Support for Asset Location-Based Preventative Maintenance Routes
You can use new functionality added for preventive maintenance routes. The following updates have been implemented:
- Additional processing to support Preventive Maintenance forecasting of assets when they are referenced on a template Work Order (WO) where the asset list was added.
- You can see assets listed on a Preventative Maintenance Route/Asset list in the Asset portal.
- You can see assets listed on a Preventative Maintenance Route/Asset list in the Maintenance Schedule portal.
- You can reference a zero percent cost distribution on the asset location list within both a template and regular work activity. This allows you to designate an asset location to be referenced as the main Activity asset to denote the route location without having charges go against that location. Only the assets at that location are charged. For example: Substation or Pump station could be the main Activity asset, but the assets within that location would be the actual assets being maintained.
- You can reference an Asset Type for each Asset Location referenced on a work activity if multiple assets are installed in an asset location.
- You can add an initial schedule date on location specific Preventative Maintenance triggers.
Steps to Enable
- Set up Template WO(s) using the Location Specific Template work order business object .
- Set up Preventive Maintenance Trigger(s) referring to such Template work order.
Planned Service History Added to Activity Type
You can see Planned Service History in the Activity Type Admin portal. You can reference default planned service history types and mark them as required or optional for each Activity Type. This streamlines the planning process and eliminates the need to always define these within a Template WO or WO Activity. This also eliminates the need to create a Completion Event Type for each unique Service History Type you wish to define on an Activity Type.
Steps to Enable
When a default is needed, set up Planned Service History Types on Activity Type(s).
Load Data from Spreadsheets with WACS Accelerator
You can load data using a formatted spreadsheet to map records into a specific Work and Asset Manager business object.
Steps to Enable
Set up one Request Type for each "Loader Request Type" BO.
Quickly Add Asset Characteristics
You can add user-defined fields to the Asset form without having to create custom business objects for each Asset Type. Attribute fields only support the following types of fields: Free Form or list validated fields. The Asset Search capabilities were also enhanced to support searching by asset attributes. In the Asset Portal within the “Asset Attribute” search by option, you can select the asset type and a valid list of attribute fields appear for the query. The asset audit log was also enhanced to capture changes made to asset attributes. The log shows you the date/time stamp of the change, who made the change, and any previous values if the attribute data was changed.
Steps to Enable
- Create a Characteristic Type for each such asset attribute. Set the "Asset Attribute" in the Characteristic Entities list. You can also simply add "Asset Attribute" to the Characteristic Entities list of existing Characteristic Type(s).
- On Asset Type, choose attribute(s) that are applicable to such assets.
Quickly Add Work Orders and Activities from a Template
You can quickly create a work order and activities directly from the WO Template portal. Previously, you had to first create a work order, and then update the work order with selected activities from a work order template.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Applications Framework 4.3 Service Pack 5 Uptake
This release is certified for Utilities Global Business Unit (UGBU) Applications Framework for Service Pack 5 for Work and Asset Management Service Pack 2.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Preventive Maintenance Compliance Tracking
You can track Compliance within Preventive Maintenance Programs. You can define guidelines around completion that must be followed based on any user-defined compliance factor (for example, related to regulatory or financial incentives). These guidelines include a “drop dead” date (i.e., Compliance Date) for where you would be out of compliance if not done by that date. This feature allows you to easily track/report on work orders by compliance date. To support Compliance, you can also use two new admin portals: Compliance Category and Compliance Type. Work orders can be now be tracked/reported on by compliance date.
Steps to Enable
- Define Compliance Categories and Compliance Types for compliance class "Preventive Compliance'" See "Defining Compliance Category and Defining Compliance Type" in the Work and Asset Management Administration Guide for details about creating this data.
- Specify Compliance Type on PM Trigger(s) when applicable.
Follow Up Work Through Service History Type Configuration
Service histories document what's done or found for assets and/or locations. For example: grade 2 gas leak.Now service histories can trigger follow-up actions. For example: recheck and/or repair. You can configure follow-up actions on Service History Type(s) and, for each follow-up action, the Compliance Type (if applicable).
Steps to Enable
- Define follow up action(s) on Service History Type(s). You need to schedule the Service History Monitor Batch Job (W1-SVHST) if any of the follow up action(s) has waiting period specified.
- If there is compliance requirement for a follow-up action, you need to specify the Compliance Type as part of the configuration of the follow-up action on the Service History Type. Refer to "Defining Compliance Type" in the online help.
Longer Maximum Length for "Building" Asset Field
You can add a value in the "Building" Asset field up to 100 characters. The previous limit was 30 characters.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
You can run a new report type from the Material Request portal. This report provides a summary of picklist items included on a material request.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Quickly Enter Bin Locations for Stock Items
You will see that the Bin field on the Material Receipt line is now a drop-down list of all valid Bin locations for the stock item being received instead of free-form text field.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Construction Work Activity Checklists
You can use new work activity checklist functionality in the Construction Work Activity portal. You can use checklists to define a sequenced series of steps that must be completed as part of the work activity. You can assign one or more distinct checklist types to a work activity. Each checklist type allows you to define if a step is mandatory or optional and if that checklist type should be tied to the work activity lifecycle. For example, if you create a checklist type that is tied to activation of the work order, then you are not allowed to activate the work order until all mandatory checklist steps have been marked as complete.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Improved Construction Work Management
You can use several new features for managing construction work:
- In the Work Design portal, the system will now refresh CU resources when duplicating a Work Design or creating a new version of a Work Design.
- If a Work Design references any Contractor Bids and that Contractor Bid has expired, then the expired status in the CU Bid info string will be highlighted in red.
- Contractor Bid search now includes the status field as a new filter.
- There is a new zone in the Work Design Portal to list all the contractor bids from the design. Within this new zone, the Contractor Bid status is a separate column so you can sort by this field.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) can track Service Calls for service and billable work. A key element is the ability keep a continuous call log that is seamless from the initial service call through the entire work process. CSRs can review past calls and add to the same call log as part of the active work document they have been assigned (i.e., work request, work order, work design, or construction work order). Another key element is the ability to automate the work document creation process. In the new Service Code admin portal, you can define if a follow- up work document (i.e., work order, work request, etc.) should be created once the service call has been processed. The admin portal also supports defining if a work order template should be used in the work order creation process, if the document should come out in Active Status and if a To Do/alert should be sent to out to one or more people.
Steps to Enable
Enabling this feature requires creating one or more Service Categories and Service Codes. See "Defining Service Categories and Defining Service Codes" in the Work and Asset Management Administration Guide for details about creating this data.
Streamlined Template Work Orders Processes
When a Template work order was used to create the work order Activities, the Asset and Asset Location ID are carried forward when the work order is created for a Work Request, the Asset Location, or Asset Portal.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Support Out of Service Status for Assets Still at the Location
You can take an asset out of service without changing the asset location to an out of service location. You can mark the asset as Retired or In Repair at the current Asset Location.
Steps to Enable
- Update Asset Disposition(s), e.g., Out Of Service and/or In Repair, to indicate Asset Location Allowed.
- Update the Valid Location Types list on Asset Type(s) so that Asset Location Type(s) are valid for such Asset Disposition(s).
NOTE: To allow Asset Location Types as valid Location Types for such Asset Disposition(s), you also need to set the "Not Installed Asset" flag on the Asset Location Type to "Multiple Assets".
Enhanced Work Order Activity Report
You can review the following information in the Work Order Activity report: Building, Room, Position, Work Location, Address Information (Street Address, Cross Street, City).
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
You can use a new set of work order APIs to pass work order data to Oracle and non-Oracle applications for integrations with mobile, GIS applications, etc. The following APIs are available:
- Activity Details: Includes passing the following information out of Work and Asset Management into another system: Work Information Details, Asset Information (including valid service history records, valid measurement types, valid failure codes), and Resource information (Labor, Materials, Equipment, Other/Misc. Resources).
- Inquire Activity: On-demand request by the external system for updated Activity Information.
- Canceled / Completed by Work and Asset Management: Passes cancellation or completion of a work order Activity from Work and Asset Management. These flows are to support taking these actions on the Work and Asset Management server application so the mobile user is aware of these status changes.
- Activity Completion: One time upload when work is completed. This updates the Work and Asset Management server application with work order Activity Status, Measurement information, and Service History information.
- Time Charge: Daily Crew Time Charges are passed to the Work and Asset Management server application.
- Equipment / Other Charges: Daily Equipment Charges and Daily Other Direct Charges are passed to the Work and Asset Management server application.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Support for Work Activities without Asset/Asset Location
You no longer have to record an asset location on a work activity.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Right to Erasure Configuration
As a result of the General Data Protection Regulation, which requires sensitive personal data to be removed from a software database once it is no longer needed, contact data is being removed from Work and Asset Management.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Utilities Application Framework
Change to the About Box for Cloud Implementations
In the About Box, you can see simplified product information for Cloud implementations. The About Box shows the Cloud product name and the Cloud version. It does not display all the products in the "stack". This information is still visible in the Installation Options - Installed Products page.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Required Indicator Added to Fixed Pages
You will see asterisks next to fields that are required as defined in the table / field metadata. Business objects are not considered for these types of pages. In the previous release, portal-based pages were enhance to automatically display an asterisk adjacent to fields that are required as defined in either the table / field metadata or in the business object schema.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Support for Defining File Alias Using Extendable Lookup
In a previous release, we provided the ability for you to define substitution variables for a file location definition using a properties file. This allowed you to configure file locations in the application in places like Batch Control "File Path" parameters and in various master configuration options to reference a "token" rather than the full file path. For this release, an alternate option has been provided that allows you to defined native file storage locations using an extendable lookup.
NOTE: Any code that references file paths for reading or writing must be updated to reference a new API in order to support this functionality. Contact customer support for more information.
Steps to Enable
The extendable lookup F1-FileStorage (File Storage Configuration) has been provided to support this feature. Using this extendable lookup, you can define a value referencing the "Native File Storage" file adapter option, and then define the file path that this value represents. The file path field follows the same rules as any other file path. For example, it can reference "@SPLOUTPUT@" or any other value defined in the Substitution Variables properties file. In addition, if the system has been configured to validate the value against a whitelist, this is also enforced.
A new syntax has been defined for referencing file locations during configuration. For example, in "File Path" parameters for a batch control: file-storage://{ExtendableLookupValue}.
Key Resources
- Refer to the online help for more information about the supported syntax.
Support for Cloud Storage Access
For cloud product releases, the system allows you to create code that reads or writes files to reference an Oracle Cloud Storage location rather than the native file system.
Steps to Enable
The extendable lookup F1-FileStorage (File Storage Configuration) has been provided to support this. Using this extendable lookup, a value may be defined referencing the "Oracle Cloud Object Storage" file adapter option, which allows for the details on how to connect to cloud storage to be entered.
Using this configuration, the same syntax described above may then be used when defining a File Path in the application (for example, a parameter for a batch control).
file-storage://{ExtendableLookupValue}/{bucket name}
NOTE: Any code that references file paths for reading or writing must be updated to reference a new API in order to support this functionality. This is the same API mentioned above for supporting defining a Native File Storage location using the F1-FileStorage extendable lookup. Contact customer support for more information.
Key Resources
- Refer to the online help for more information about the supported syntax.
Enhanced Bind Variable Support for Plug-in Driven Batch
The Plug-in Driven Batch functionality in the system supports product-specified bind variables for known batch related attributes like batch business date and batch run number. In previous releases, the mnemonic you used to specify the bind variables used a prefix of "f1.". This causes an issue in certain system configurations. In this release, the system has been enhanced to support the prefix "f1_". This is the recommended prefix you should use going forward. The prefix "f1." continues to be supported for backward compatibility.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Key Resources
- Refer to the online help for plug-in driven batch programs for more information.
Monitor Batch Programs Supports Restricting by Date
The monitor batch program now supports a Restrict by Date parameter. If you populate this parameter with the name of a date field on the primary table of the maintenance object, this limits the records selected to those whose data value is on or before the current date. This allows you to use business objects that have a business rule where a given state transition should only occur many weeks, months or even years in the future. If the record supports a date to mark the future event, the business object can be configured to monitor only the records whose date has arrived. This ensures that, when the monitor is run, it is not constantly picking up records that are not ready (just to check the date and move on).
Optionally, the parameter may include + / - a number of days to support. For example: "all records whose DATE is on or before 3 days from now" or "all records whose DATE is on or before yesterday".
Steps to Enable
Edit the batch control for the monitor process that you wish to restrict using dates and add the restrictToDate parameter using the syntax described above.
Add Start and End Date / Time to Batch Run
In previous releases, the system did not capture the start and end date and time for a batch run. The start and end of each thread was captured through messages linked to the thread.
Since many use cases are requiring information about the start and end of the whole batch run, you can see that the Start Date / Time and End Date / Time have been added to the batch run table. The system now stamps this information onto newly created batch runs.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Tips And Considerations
Backward compatibility: Note that due to the sheer volume of batch runs that would exist for upgrading clients, an upgrade script to populate the new start date / time and end date / time has not been provided. Instead, the system includes a business service and java methods to retrieve the start / end date / time for a batch run. This code will first check the columns on the batch run and use those, if populated. Otherwise, it will derive the information using earliest thread's start date / time and the latest thread's end date / time.
NOTE: The business service provided is F1-GetBatchRunStartEnd.
Enhanced Level of Service Support
The batch control - level of service plug-in spot has been enhanced to support multiple algorithms. As a result, you will see that various user interfaces and services that support retrieving level of service information have been enhanced accordingly. In all cases, if the batch control has a single algorithm, the existing behavior continues where the results from that algorithm are returned. If multiple algorithms are found, an overall response is set based on the detailed responses from each algorithm. In addition, the detailed responses are available.
The overall response is set to Error if any of the algorithms returned an error. Otherwise, it is set to Warning if any of the algorithms returned a warning. Otherwise, it is set to Normal.
The following functionality has been enhanced as follows:
- The Health Check business service (F1-HealthCheck). The business script schema still includes a single overall response. In addition, a new collection of detailed responses are included.
- The Health Check portal has been enhanced to show the overall response when multiple algorithms exist along with the message, "See results for details". An icon is also provided to expand the section to see the details.
- The Batch Control main page has been enhanced to show the overall response for Level of Service when multiple algorithms exist along with the message, "See results for details". An icon is also provided to expand the section to see the details.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Separate Business Services Provided for Adding / Changing Entries
In a previous release, "maintenance" business services were provided to support maintaining the various objects in the DBMS data model: Program, Chain, and Schedule. In this release, you can use additional business services for maintaining Program, Chain and Schedule when the required elements have been configured appropriately. The new business services are recommended for use when adding or changing a given object. The existing business services are still appropriate when reading or deleting an object.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Job Details Service Includes Error Details
The F1-DBMSGetJobDetails DBMS Scheduler Job Details business service returns an additional element in the Steps collection: error details. If the step's status is Error, you will be able to review the information about the error.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Support a Job Scope for Defining Option
In previous releases, the DBMS integration supported setting options globally or setting options for a specific program (batch code). In this release, you can now set options for a Job. The option applies to all the programs in the chain for that job.
This gives you the ability to set a Batch Business Date for all programs in the chain for a given job.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Additional Configuration Options for Job List Service
The F1-DBMSGetJobs DBMS Scheduler Job List business service returns information about running or completed runs (based on an input parameter) for a job stream. In previous releases, when requesting completed jobs, the service returned the most recent completed run for each distinct job stream for the input date range.
In this release, you can use additional input parameters to tailor the information returned about running or completed jobs.
- Return Type indicator. This is only applicable for completed runs. Using this indicator you can specify if the most recent run of each job stream should be returned or if all completed jobs should be returned for the date range.
- Job Name. If a job name is supplied only the details for that Job Name are returned. This is applicable for both running or completed jobs and works in conjunction with the new Return Type indicator.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
The system supports an algorithm to calculate a To Do Entry's priority by considering specific factors related to an entry. The Calculate Priority algorithms are executed when the To Do entry is created and updated.
To Do priority calculation logic has been enhanced as follows:
- A new batch control is provided to execute the Calculate Priority algorithms for non-closed To Do Entries (F1-TDCLP). This allows you to implement priority algorithms that use factors that may change over time.
- A log entry is created when the To Do Entry has been updated as a result of a Calculate Priority algorithm. It uses a new log entry type: "Calculated Priority". This is distinct from the log entry type that indicates you have overridden the priority.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
A new system event has been added to To Do Type: To Do Monitor. You can use To Do Monitor algorithms to periodically review information related to a To Do entry and take action, if appropriate. For example, To Do Monitor algorithms may be used to detect if the situation that caused the To Do Entry to be generated has been remedied in the meantime, allowing for the To Do Entry to be completed. Along with the new plug-in spot, a batch process has also been provided (F1-TDMON) that selects non-final To Do entries whose To Do type is configured with at least one monitor algorithm and executes the monitor algorithms.
A new base algorithm type has also been provided to close a To Do entry if more than X days have passed since its creation (where X is a configurable parameter). You can use this algorithm for To Do Types that create entries that may become obsolete if some number of days have passed with no action.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Expand Ability to Add Logs and Enter Comments on To Do
Previously, the ability to update To Do Entries is limited to users that are either assigned to the To Do Entry (for "being worked on" records) or are in a role for a record in "open" status.
The validation has been relaxed to allow other users to add comments or to add a User Log entry for any To Do Entry that is in Open or Being Worked On status. For example, if a call center user is speaking to a customer about an issue and the user finds a To Do that is related to the issue, the call center user can add information to the To Do Entry from the conversation with the customer even if the user is not authorized to work on the To Do.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
You can use the new schema editor on schema-based objects (Business Object, Business Service, Service Scripts / BPA Scripts, UI Maps, and Data Area).
Some of the features are highlighted below:
- The default view of the schema editor is a Tree view of the elements on the leftmost column and a tabular view of some of the most common attributes of each element.
- You can toggle to a Label view, which shows field labels or referenced objects' descriptions. For example, for any included business objects, data areas, UI maps, etc., toggling to the Label view shows the description of these objects.
- The edit button shows a more detailed panel to configure all the attributes of the element. This is the same panel used in previous releases.
- The user can toggle to the Text view. This view has been enhanced to use colors to distinguish element names from attribute labels from attribute values.
NOTE: This was also added to 4.3.0.5.0 as a hot fix. (Bug 27077859)
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Process Flow Configuration Tool
You can now use a new Process Flow Configuration tool. A process flow is an interface guiding a user through a series of actions in order to accomplish a specific task. The task can be as simple as the collection of information in order to update business data or involve more complex logic such as submitting and tracking batch processes, exchanging messages with an external system, etc. You can easily implement these user interfaces using the Process Flow Configuration tool. A process flow type defines the entire metadata needed to control the behavior of process flows of a given type. This includes the sequence of steps, the panel, the rules associated with each step, and more.
Steps to Enable
- Create the components, such as UI maps and scripts, to be used for displaying and managing each step in the process.
- Configure a Process Flow type for that process.
- Set up the appropriate navigation method for process flows of that type.
Key Resources
- Refer to online help for detailed information on how to design and configure a process flow.
Terminology Change in Add Element Dialogue
You will see new terminology when adding an element in the scheme editor. In the previous release, the option for including a Map in the schema via UI Hints was called Embedded HTML in the Add dialogue. When viewing the configuration details, the section heading was Embedded HTML Attributes. However, the schema element generated (and visible in the Tree view of the schema editor) is uiHint:includeMap. In this release, the text in the Add dialogue has been changed to Include Map Fragment. When viewing the configuration details, the section heading is now Included Map Fragment Attributes.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Optional Display of State Transition UI Map
There may be circumstances in which the status pre-processing logic can determine the value of the elements to be captured in the state transition map, and you may not find it necessary for the map to be invoked. A new data area (F1-StateTransitionCommon) has been provided that can be included in your pre-processing script. The data area contains a Boolean element called skipStateTransitionMap that you can set in your script logic. If this element is set to "true", F1-MainProc will bypass the state transition map processing step.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
You can now perform data analysis using Cube Views. Data cubes are multi-dimensional representations of data sets that can be "sliced" using various filters.
The Cube View enhancement includes the following features:
- A new Cube Type maintenance object to capture the configuration of a cube view, including a data explorer zone and corresponding business service that retrieve the data set for a specific cube view type.
- A new Cube View maintenance object and business object that captures various attributes of a cube view instance.
- A generic UI Map and supporting service script for displaying a cube view.
- A portal for viewing and maintaining cube view instances.
Steps to Enable
If your product provides business services that support pre-defined Cube Views you wish to use for analysis, you will need to define Cube Types for those views. If you wish to design new Cube Views, you will need to create a supporting business service and zone that follow specific technical guidelines in addition to the corresponding Cube Types.
Key Resources
- Refer to the online help for Cube Views for more information.
Support Configuration for REST Web Services
You can configure REST web services by leveraging the existing inbound web service (IWS) metadata. A new field, web service class, with values of REST and SOAP has been added to IWS. The existing inbound web service functionality is now referred to as inbound SOAP web services, or SOAP IWS. Inbound web service deployment is specific to SOAP functionality.
The following points highlight some of the features:
- In this release, only the POST HTTP method is supported.
- Inbound REST web services reference a resource category. The categories are defined using an extendable lookup. The resource category is a type of grouping attribute. This allows an implementation to associate multiple IWS records with a common resource.
- The REST IWS may define one or more operations. Each operation defines the business object, business script, or service script that is invoked when the REST service is invoked. For each operation, you configure a Resource URI, which along with the IWS name is used to compose the URL for the REST service.
- REST IWS records, like SOAP IWS records, may be associated with a Web Service Category, which is used to describe the functionality that uses the web service.
- The product uses OpenAPI Specification (formerly Swagger Specification) for viewing the REST API.
- A new REST servlet is provided that supports a new URI format that includes the IWS name and resource URI.
The web service catalog functionality used for the integration with Oracle Integration Cloud supports a REST catalog in addition to the existing SOAP catalog.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Tips And Considerations
Backward Compatibility: In previous releases, the product supported a REST servlet that allowed for a business service or service script to be referenced in the URI. This servlet is still supported; however, it now does a check that the business script or service script is referenced in operation for an IWS record. This provides an extra layer of security, allowing the product to limit the business script or service script records that are exposed via REST. For backward compatibility, the product provides IWS records out of the box for each business script and service script that is part of an existing integration that uses the existing REST servlet. New integrations should use the new REST servlet functionality specified using IWS metadata.
Explicitly Define Owner in Service Catalog Configuration
The integration with the Oracle Integration Cloud includes an owner flag for each web service using the owner flag of the main installed product. By using this functionality in the catalog, you can distinguish, for example, web services from Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing from web services from Oracle Utilities Work and Asset Management. You can now explicitly choose the owner value to include in the catalog for the web services for your installation using the Owner attribute added to the Service Catalog master configuration. Previously, the owner flag was taken from the Installed Products collection using the product marked to "display". When there were implementations where multiple installed products were marked for "display", the integration would potentially choose one that may not be appropriate for that web service integration.
Steps to Enable
If the "display" product in installed products is not the correct product to include, edit your Service Catalog master configuration record and select the appropriate owner flag.
Improve Performance for Outbound Messages
In previous releases, implementations were required to use the Outbound Message Dispatcher business services to send an outbound message without instantiating it (but where the outbound message business object pre-processing algorithms need to be executed).This business service orchestrated a creation and deletion of the outbound message, which is not desired for performance reasons.
The alternate business service Outbound Message Mediator routes a message without instantiating anything. This business service is preferred when the outbound message should not be instantiated. However, this did not execute the business object pre-processing algorithms. In this release, the Mediator business service has been enhanced to also execute the business object pre-processing algorithms.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Configuration Migration Assistant
Algorithm to Purge Unchanged Transactions
If desired, you can use a new business object exit algorithm to purge "unchanged" migration objects for a migration data set. This algorithm is meant to be used on the Migration Data Set Import business object (F1-MigrDataSetImport). The algorithm is not plugged in by default.
Steps to Enable
Edit the lifecycle of the F1-MigrDataSetImport business object and configure F1-MGDPURGE as an Exit algorithm for the Ready to Compare status.
Introduce Cryptography Key Support
You can use cryptograph keys for Cloud implementations. Signature keys are required for connecting to cloud object storage. The system provides an object called key ring, which allows for a key pair to be generated. To support key rotation, new key pairs can be generated over time. When configuring the Cloud object storage details, you configure the key ring to use for the signature.
Steps to Enable
Define Key Ring codes and generate keys to be used for Cloud strorage.
Key Resources
- Refer to "Introduce Support for Cloud Storage Access" for more information.
Introduction of Object Erasure
You can use an enhanced framework to manage erasure of personally identifiable information (PII). A person’s right to erasure of their information is an important data privacy issue.
This release of the object erasure functionality supports the following:
- The ability to mark a maintenance object as eligible for erasure and define the retention period for the data.
- A new Object Erasure Schedule maintenance object to capture the key fields and erasure date for records whose PII must be removed.
- Support for creating and monitoring the erasure schedule, including the method to be used for erasure.
- A portal for viewing erasure configuration and a context-sensitive zone to view erasure status for an object.
- Support for erasing an object by purging its records and for erasing user PII through obfuscation.
Steps to Enable
- Identify the maintenance objects that have personally identifiable information that you need to erase or obfuscate.
- Configure each maintenance object with appropriate values for the Erasure business object and Erasure Period options.
- Configure the appropriate Manage Erasure Schedule algorithms on each of the maintenance objects.
Key Resources
- Refer to the online help for data privacy and object erasure for more information.
You can use new drop-down values of Optional and Not Allowed when indicating that a particular address component is enabled instead of using the Boolean checkboxes that used to be used. This allows edge products to introduce additional values, if desired. For example, if an edge product wants to support marking an address component as Required, that value can be added to the list of valid values.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Tips And Considerations
Backward compatibility: The Boolean values are still maintained so that any code relying on those values will still work as before. The user interface has been updated to display the dropdown instead of the checkbox.
You can reference two new columns in the Attachment table:
- External Reference ID: This value is available when attachments are added from another system with IDs. The system supports capturing this value in the record and it is displayed in the user interface when populated.
- Comments: You can add additional information when creating an attachment.
The system has also introduced a setting to limit the size of the attachment. A new option, Maximum Attachment Size, has been added to the General System Configuration feature type. You can define a value here to issue an error if an attachment greater than this size is uploaded.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Customization Setting for Extended Data Area Removed
The Extended Data Area field on the Data Area table was incorrectly defined as customizable (or "CMable"). This was incorrect and has been fixed in this release. If your implementation has populated the Extended Data Area column on any base-owned data area, that information will be overwritten when this field is corrected.
NOTE: You can achieve the same functionality by simply including the base-owned data area in the custom data area's schema.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Business Service F1-RetrieveCharValDescription Updated
You can see that the Retrieve Characteristic Value Description business service has been updated to use logic that does an exact match on the input characteristic type and characteristic value. In previous releases, the business service to Retrieve Characteristic Value Description was "wrapping" the online characteristic value search. This supported a "likeable" search on the characteristic value. This is not correct behavior for a business service, which is usually used by code that expects one and only one result.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Master Configuration List Usability Enhancement
You can see the following master configuration list enhancements:
- You are only shown the master configuration business objects that you have appropriate security rights for.
- A filter by Description has been added to support the ability to limit the rows based on the input value. The filter area is collapsed by default.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
New ILM Algorithms - Proactively Update ILM Switch
The ILM Eligibility algorithm on a maintenance object, invoked by the ILM crawler batch control, has the responsibility of reviewing records whose ILM Date has arrived and marking the ILM Archive switch to "Y" based on specific criteria. A common criterion for marking the ILM Archive switch to "Y" is that the record is in a final status.
You can use two new business object level plug-ins:
- A business object Enter Status plug-in to set the ILM Archive switch to "Y". You can use this for records that are configured for ILM and have a business object with a lifecycle. You can plug this into the final state(s) to proactively set the switch to "Y". This will reduce the number of records to be reviewed by the ILM Eligibility algorithm when the crawler is run.
- A business object Exit Status plug-in to set the switch back to "N". This is provided for those final states where the record may transition back to a non-final state and where you have plugged in the above Enter status.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Support Including Column Headers in Sync Request Extract
You can use a new parameter added to the Sync Request Extract batch process (F1-SYNEF): Add Column Header. If you indicate "Y" for the parameter value, a header record with the column names taken from the data area referenced in the snapshotDA element of the Sync record is included.
NOTE: This was also added to 4.3.0.5.0 as a hot fix. (Bug 27472229)
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Return All Errors on COBOL SQL Updates
You can see that all errors encountered during a COBOL update will be returned as an error. In previous releases, only the duplicate error was handled and returned a duplicate error. All other errors were ignored and returned OK.
NOTE: The hot fix was done in 4.3 SP1.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Removal of Product-Specific Domain Templates
In past releases, Oracle Utilities Application Framework domain templates were shipped with each product to allow for a standard installation experience using the Oracle WebLogic Configuration Wizard. The use of the domain template with the wizard automates the creation of the WebLogic domain used to house the Oracle Utilities products. Due to the standardization efforts between Oracle Utilities Application Framework and the Oracle WebLogic team, you can now use the standard Oracle WebLogic domain templates supplied with Oracle WebLogic with Oracle Utilities Application Framework products. As a result, product-specific templates are no longer necessary and are no longer shipped with the products. You can use the standard templates with a few minor post installation steps.
This enhancement allows greater flexibility when creating the domain for the product in terms of the domain setup as well when in the installation process the domain creation can occur.
Steps to Enable
No steps are required to enable this feature.
Tips And Considerations
If necessary, you can continue to use the WebLogic Domain Builder as in previous releases (post installation to create custom domains).
Key Resources
- Details of the new process are documented in the Installation Guide and a new whitepaper covering optimization of the Oracle WebLogic domain for Oracle WebLogic 12.2.x.
This section provides information about new and updated system data delivered in this release that may need to be reviewed for possible impact by implementations.The following application services were added or updated. Review and determine which user groups, if any, should be granted access to the application service/access mode.
The following application services are used with the cryptography key support feature.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1-CRYPTOKEYRING |
Key Ring MO | A, C, D, R |
| F1KEYRNG |
Key Ring Portal | R |
The following application services are used with the Cube View feature.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1-CUBETYPE |
Cube Type MO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1-CUBEVIEW |
Cube View MO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1-CUBEVIEWBOAS |
Cube View BO |
A, C, D, F1AC, F1IN, R |
| F1CUVWM |
Cube View Portal |
R |
| F1CUVWQ |
Cube View Query Portal |
R |
| F1CVTYPE |
Cube Type Portal |
R |
The following application service is used by the object erasure feature.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1ESRCFG |
Erasure Configuration Portal |
R |
| F1OBERSC |
Object Erasure Schedule Portal |
R |
| F1-OBJERSRSCH |
Object Erasure Schedule MO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1-OBJERSRSCHBO |
Object Erasure Schedule BO |
A, C, D, F1DC, F1ED, PE, R |
| F1-OBJESRSCD |
Object Erasure Schedule Zone |
R |
| F1-OESCRL |
ILM Crawler - Object Erasure Schedule |
F1EX |
| F1-OESMN |
Object Erasure Schedule Monitor |
F1EX |
The following application services are used with REST Web Services.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1-GETWSDL |
Retrieve Inbound SOAP Web Service WSDL BS |
F1EX |
| F1-MOBILESWS |
Mobile Web Services |
F1EX |
The following application services are used by the Process Flow feature.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1PROC |
Process Flow Type Portal |
R |
| F1_PROC |
Process Flow Portal |
R |
| F1-PROCDEFN |
Process Flow Type MO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1-PROCSTORE |
Process Flow MO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1-PROCSTOREBOAS |
Process Flow BO |
A, C, D, R |
| F1PRSTRQ |
Process Flow Query Portal |
R |
The following application services are used with To Dos.
| Application Service | Description | Access Mode |
|---|---|---|
| F1-TDCLP |
Recalculate To Do Priority |
F1EX |
| F1-TDMON |
To Do Monitor |
F1EX |
Oracle is removing the following features.
XML Application Integration (XAI) and Multi-Purpose Listener (MPL)
The XML Application Integration (XAI) Servlet and Multi-Purpose Listener (MPL) have been removed. Customer migrating to this release should migrate to the recommended alternatives as recommended in the Oracle Service Bus Integration (Doc Id: 1558279.1) and Migrating from XAI to IWS (Doc Id: 1644914.1) whitepapers available from My Oracle Support.
As part of this effort, the user documentation has been updated to remove all the topics related to the XAI servlet and MPL.
Batch on Weblogic
Batch on Weblogic node is no longer supported.
NOTE: This was an implementation that was possibly usable for GBUCS, but the implementation is no longer viable with OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure/BMC).
Ability to Add Child Rows for Several Maintenance Objects (MOs)
There are several maintenance objects where base delivered entries are supplied by the product. In some use cases, implementations can extend the base functionality by adding child rows to the base delivered configuration. For example, implementations may add algorithms to a base delivered business object. However, there are some use cases where implementations are not able to extend base functionality by adding child rows. For example, implementations are not able to add additional algorithm type parameters to a base delivered algorithm type. For several use cases, there was validation missing and has been added in this release. If your implementation has added child rows for the maintenance objects in this list, they will be removed at upgrade time:
- Algorithm Type - Parameters
- App Service - Access Mode
- Maintenance Object - Table.
- Navigation Option - Context Fields.
- Script - Step Prompt
- Table - Field
- Table - Constraint / Field
- To Do Type - Sort Keys
- To Do Type - Drill Keys
- Zone Type - Parameters
This is a list of functionality / system data that Oracle plans to remove in a future release.
Support for Master / Subordinate Servers for Web Services Catalog
The Service Catalog Configuration (master configuration) supports defining subordinate servers. This functionality is no longer applicable for the Oracle Integration Cloud and will be removed in a future release.
Miscellaneous System Data
- Environment Reference. This administrative maintenance object was related to ConfigLab and Archiving, which are no longer supported. In a future release, the following will be removed:
- Migration Plan F1-EnvironmentRef. Note that no base migration request references this plan. Implementations should ensure that no custom migration request references this plan.
- Business Object F1-EnvironmentRefPhysicalBO
- Maintenance Object ENV REF
- The To Do Type F1-SYNRQ (Sync Request Error) is not in use and will be deleted in a future release. Errors for the Sync Request Monitor (that also has the name F1-SYNRQ) are reported using the To Do Type F1-SYNTD (Sync Request Monitor Errors).
- The following algorithm types and algorithms provided for the current LDAP import functionality do not include any logic. They will be removed in a future release.
- Algorithm Type / Algorithm F1-LDAPIMPRT
- Algorithm Type / Algorithm F1-LDAPPREPR
- The lookup value CHAR_ENTITY_FLG / F1SE (Characteristic Entity / Sync Request Inbound Exception) is not in use and will be removed in a future release.
- The database table F1_IWS_SVC_OPER_L will be removed in a future release.
- The zone F1-MGRREQDSP will be removed in a future release.
Support for HTTP Proxy Functionality
HTTP Proxies are a common technique for firewalling outbound communications within and outside an enterprise.
In past releases, the configuration of a HTTP Proxy was done on individual senders and other connections. This increased the amount of duplication across the implementations with multiple places to update proxy settings. In this release, these settings have been delegated to the JVM level using proxy features at the JVM level rather than individual connections. This will reduce the amount of configuration and maintenance of proxy functionality by allowing implementations to use the inbuilt proxy support from Java directly. This will require additional command line settings to be configured on the online WebLogic Servers and command lines within our configuration for batch.
For more information about the settings, refer to the Java Networking and Proxy documentation.
CMA Migration Requests
The migration requests F1-FrameworkAdmin (Framework Admin) and F1-SchemaAdmin (Schema Admin) are no longer recommended and are not going to be updated with new administration / control tables in future releases. The product may deprecate them in a future release.
CMA Import Algorithm
In a future release, the CMA Import algorithm plug-in spot will be deprecated. As an alternative, review any existing algorithms and create appropriate Pre-Compare algorithms.
Business Object Read in F1-MainProc When Pre-Processing Exists
In the original implementation of configuration tools, if a pre-processing script was linked to the business object via options, the main framework maintenance BPA (F1-MainProc) would not perform a Read of the business object (leaving it to the responsibility of the pre-processing script).
In a subsequent release, to solve a UI Hints issue related to child business objects, a business object Read was included in F1-MainProc even if a pre-processing script existed. This solution introduced a problem only visible for specific scenarios and a different fix has been introduced. In the meantime, the business object Read is no longer necessary in F1-MainProc. Since there are many pre-processing scripts that are properly performing the Read of the business object, ideally the business object Read should be removed from F1-MainProc so that multiple reads are not performed.
However, there may have been pre-processing scripts introduced after the business object Read was included in F1-MainProc that were coded to not perform a business object read in the pre-processing script. Due to this situation, the business object Read is still performed as part of the processing of F1-MainProc.
The product plans to remove the business object Read from F1-MainProc logic when a pre-processing script exists. Review your custom pre-processing scripts that are linked to your business object options to ensure that it properly performs a Read of your business object.
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