Atom Server and SOAP Server rule forms are deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
The Atom Server and SOAP Server rule forms are deprecated. Use the Connect CMIS rule form instead.
Existing rules that were created with the deprecated forms still work, but you cannot create new ones.
End of support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and Internet Explorer 10
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
In accordance with Microsoft’s announcement to discontinue support for Internet Explorer 9 and Internet Explorer 10 in January 2016, Pega 7.2 will be the last version of the Pega 7 Platform to support Internet Explorer 9 and Internet Explorer 10.
For Pega 7.2.1, you must upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or later, or use Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.
For more information about browser support, see the Platform Support Guide or contact Pegasystems Global Customer Support.
Processes run by default when a stage is restarted
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
The Run on re-entry check box in Case Designer has been removed. As a result of this change, processes run by default each time that a stage is restarted. Users who previously had this check box cleared can use the Start when option in Case Designer instead to define the criteria for skipping a process.
For more information, see Adding a process to a stage.
Conversion of single-step assignments is no longer required
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
You no longer need to create a single-step assignment in a case type and then convert it to another supported step type. Instead, you can use the + Add step option in Case Designer to add any step type directly to a process in a stage. This change delivers a more consistent experience to users who are working in Case Designer and Process Modeler.
The following table lists the step labels in Case Designer that were updated to support this change.
Step label in previous versions | Step label in Pega 7.2 |
|---|---|
| Single-step assignment | Collect information |
| Approval | Approve/Reject |
| Attachment | Attach Content |
| Case | Create Cases |
For more information, see Adding a step to a process in a stage.
Unused agents run in background
Valid from Pega Version 7.2
The Update PegaRULES database table statistics agent and the Collect PegaRULES database blob size statistics agent have been added to support future development. These agents run in the background, but they do not do anything. You can, but do not need to, disable them from the Edit Agent Schedule landing page.
For more information, see Agent Schedule form - Completing the Schedule tab.
Unit testing support for more rule types
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
You can now create unit tests for the following additional rule types. You can also create assertions to validate activity status. The expanded rule types for unit testing enable developers to more thoroughly perform regression testing of their application, thereby improving application quality.
- Collection
- Declare expression
- Map value
- Report definition
For more information about unit testing rules, see Pega unit test cases.
Upgrade impact
With the four new rule types, unit test execution and unit test compliance metrics will change. Reports on automated unit testing of the customer application decrease due to the increased pool of supported rules.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
After a successful upgrade, create Pega unit test cases for the newly supported rules to see updated and accurate unit test metrics.
Use Page-Change-Class method to change a Page class
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
With the release of Pega Platform™ 8.3, using the Property-Set method to change the Page class shows a guardrail warning. Use the Page-Change-Class method to change the Page class instead.
For more information about the Page-Change-Class method, see Changing the class of a page and Page-Change-Class method.
Cassandra 3.11.3 support for Pega Platform
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
Increase your system's reliability and reduce its memory footprint by upgrading the internal Cassandra database to version 3.11.3.
For on-premises Pega Platform™ users, after you upgrade to Pega 8.3, it is recommended that you manually upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3. You can upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3 on all operating systems except IBM AIX. If you do not want to upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3, you can continue to use Cassandra 2.1.20, which is still supported.
For Pega Cloud Services 2.13 and later versions, Cassandra automatically upgrades to version 3.11.3 after your environment is upgraded to Pega Platform 8.3.
For information on how to manually upgrade to Cassandra 3.11.3, see the Pega Platform 8.3 Upgrade Guide for your server and database at Deploy Pega Platform.
Upgrade impact
After an on-premises Pega Platform upgrade, you still have the older version of Cassandra and must manually upgrade.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
To upgrade Cassandra, you must create a prconfig setting or a dynamic system setting with the new Cassandra version and then do a rolling restart of all the Decision Data Store nodes to upgrade them to the latest version of Cassandra.
Support for the decisioning-enabled NLP text analyzer in IVAs and Email Bots
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
You can now use the new intelligent natural language processing (iNLP) text analyzer in Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistants™ (IVAs) and Pega Email Bots™. This advanced text analyzer is decisioning-enabled and empowers IVA or Email Bot for all conversational channels to provide smarter responses. The decisioning capability in the system integrates text analytics with strategies, prepositions, and interaction history, to provide the context for making better next-best-action decisions.
For more information, see Use the decisioning-enabled NLP text analyzer in IVAs and Email Bots, Defining advanced Facebook text analyzer configuration and Facebook channel behavior.
Upgrade impact
Existing channels remain with the current configuration, and their current functionality does not change. Channels created after the upgrade automatically use the new text analyzer.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
The new text analyzer is enabled or disabled using a new interactive API (iAPI) selection, which is selected by default for new channels. You can disable the iAPI for new channels if you want to maintain current functionality. You can also enable it for existing channels if you want to move existing channels to the new functionality.
Simple associations for quickly joining classes
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
Associations now have a simple mode. Use a simple association to quickly and easily join a class to another class. The simple association defines a left join, using a foreign key in the source class and the class key in the target class. Use an advanced association for all other conditions. In addition, simple associations are drawn in the Visual data model reporting mode to visualize the relationships that are available for reporting.
Upgrade impact
The new simple mode draws a map of where all the classes defined in the application rule are drawn as nodes. Relationships between the nodes that are defined by relevant properties are drawn as lines linking the two classes. This feature only includes Case and Data classes that are defined on the Application rule form's Cases and Data tab. It also only includes relevant fields for those classes in order to define the relationships from one class to another.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
After a successful upgrade, add the data and case type classes to the application rule in Dev Studio to have the selected classes appear as a node. In addition, if you want a relationship to display as relevant, set the properties (of the class that defines that relationship) as relevant.
For more information, see Exploring the data model.