Published Release Notes

Robotic Desktop Automation (RDA) support for Pega 7 applications

You can use Robotic Desktop Automation (RDA) to integrate and unify processes that run on a user's desktop to streamline work and free your staff to focus on higher-value, customer-oriented tasks. You can use automations to retrieve information from applications that run on the desktop and send them to your Pega 7 application, and you can also use automations to send information from your application to applications that run on the desktop.

In an example Call Center application, you can use an automation to retrieve information from a legacy application running on a customer service representative's (CSR) desktop and display it in your application. You can also send information that users enter in your application (for example, an address change) to an automation to update the legacy application.

​For more information, see:

• Configuring Remote Desktop Automation
• Robotic Desktop Automation

Data pages can source information from a robotic process automation

When you use robotic process automation (RPA), you can now configure data pages to source information from robotic automations so that you can connect your Pega® Platform application to legacy applications in your enterprise. By using automations to retrieve data and save it to a data page, you can use data virtualization to encapsulate your Pega Platform data model from the physical interface of a legacy system against which the automation is running.

For more information, see Obtaining information from robotic automations.

Data pages can source information from a robotic desktop automation

You can now configure data pages to source information from robotic desktop automations (RDA). Using an RDA to source a data page allows you to connect your Pega Platform™ application to any application that is accessible from an end-user's desktop. By using automations to retrieve data and load it into a data page, you can use data virtualization to separate your Pega Platform data model from the physical interface of a legacy system against which the automation is running.

For more information, see Obtaining information from robotic automations.

Add Robotic Automation capabilities to your application by using the Connect Robot rule

Pega Platform™ supports a new Connect Robot rule that you can use to integrate robotic automation capabilities into your application. You can publish information about automation bundles from Robotic Automation Studio directly to Dev Studio and automatically generate and display new rules. Also, when you source data pages from robotic desktop automations (RDA), Pega Platform displays a list of automations from which you can choose.

For more information, see About Connect Robot rules.

Pega Express methodology in App Studio for successful Microjourneys

App Studio now supports the Pega Express™ methodology to help you visualize the key factors of your Microjourneys™ - case types, personas, and data objects. With Microjourneys, you can analyze and clearly communicate who the parties that interact with your cases are, what channels of communication they use, and what data they need to resolve a case. Associating personas and data objects with case types also helps you manage your development team's workload by using a list of the draft elements that they need to develop.

For more information, see Plan successful microjourneys in App Studio (8.4), Creating a microjourney for customer success.

Upgrade impact

During a Pega Infinity™ upgrade to 8.4 and later, clients using App Studio are asked to update their applications to support use of the Pega Express™ methodology. Without this application update, the Persona landing page and Data objects and integration landing page are empty. For more information, see Pega 8.4 Deep Dive: Pega Express methodology in App Studio.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

In order to utilize the Pega Express methodology in App Studio and use the Inventory page, click Start now to complete the update of your application and add the required rules to it. If you choose to cancel, App Studio continues to work as expected without the Pega Express methodology features; you can click Start now at the top of your application overview page at any time to install the required rules in your application.

Relationships between elements of Microjourneys in application inventory

A new Inventory page in App Studio helps you manage a delivery of your projects by giving you an overview of the elements of your application and how they interact with your Microjourneys™. The new Inventory page lists draft relationships between the case types, personas, and data objects that you want to implement through development. By checking releases that correspond to the items that you need to develop, you can prioritize your work accordingly. 

For more information, see Plan successful microjourneys in App Studio (8.4), Creating a Microjourney for customer success, Managing application inventory.

Upgrade impact

During a Pega Infinity™ upgrade to 8.4 and later, clients using App Studio are asked to update their applications to support use of the Pega Express™ methodology. Without this application update, the Persona landing page and Data objects and integration landing page are empty. For more information, see Pega 8.4 Deep Dive: Pega Express methodology in App Studio.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

In order to utilize the Pega Express methodology in App Studio and use the Inventory page, click Start now to complete the update of your application and add the required rules to it. If you choose to cancel, App Studio continues to work as expected without the Pega Express methodology features; you can click Start now at the top of your application overview page at any time to install the required rules in your application.

Consistent search experience in App Studio

Pega Platform™ now supports a unified search mechanism in App Studio. Instead of manually locating a single item, such as a case type, a channel, or a data object, you can simply use the Search option in the navigation pane. You can also use Search in case types and personas landing pages, to conveniently access the information that you need, for example channels and case types associated with a persona.  

For more information, see Plan your Microjourneys more conveniently in an improved Case Designer (8.5), Creating a Microjourney for customer success.

Automated project estimation in App Studio

App Studio now supports estimating projects in an intuitive and automated way, so that you can plan your work with greater efficiency and accuracy. Estimations include the number of hours that you will need to deliver an application, based on multiple factors such as the delivery methodology, the number and complexity of features to implement, and the number of teams involved. After you provide the required data, the project estimator calculates the expected duration of application development. To share your project estimates outside Pega Platform™, for example with your stakeholders, you can also export estimates to an .xlsx file.

For more information, see Estimate projects automatically in App Studio (8.5), Estimating application development.

Enhanced application inventory to support features

Now the application inventory in App Studio also includes features that represent elements of your application to implement, such as language packs, along with personas and data objects. The inventory provides the option to add new features or reuse existing features from built-on applications. With the enhanced inventory, application development planning and tracking is faster and more intuitive because you can now easily check the features that your development team needs to implement. For greater clarity, the inventory supports different methods of grouping features, for example, by release or complexity.     

For more information, see Managing application inventory.

Enhanced Case Designer in App Studio

For greater clarity when visualizing your business processes, App Studio now has an improved Case Designer. In Pega Platform™ 8.5, every persona displays a list of associated channels, and every data object lists associated systems, instead of showing multiple entities for different channels or systems. Additionally, for better distinction every channel and system displays a unique icon. To fully convey your business process using just one screen, Case Designer now also supports visualizing attachments required for your microjourney, as well as creating draft associations between personas and channels.

For more information, see Plan your Microjourneys more conveniently in an improved Case Designer (8.5), Creating a Microjourney for customer success.