Published Release Notes

Data migration enhancements

Ensure a successful data migration by using a configuration template for setting up your environment before you migrate data into your application. From the new Migration settings landing page, configure dynamic system settings for migration and turn off database indexes and processes that might affect data migration performance. After you have finished migrating data, you can revert your system to its normal working state.

For more information, see Creating a migration configuration template.

Ability to import and export Intelligent Virtual Assistant or Email Bot training data

You can now copy Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant™ (IVA) or Pega Email Bot™ training data between Pega Platform™ application environments by performing an export and import action. Importing and exporting training data between Pega Platform application environments results in greater accuracy of entity detection. Entities are detected by the system in a chat conversation, including attachments, to help respond to the user correctly, and consist of proper nouns that fall into a commonly understood category such as a person, organization, or a ZIP code. The ability to copy training data also makes it easier to maintain IVA or Email Bot, and build its artificial intelligence.

For more information, see Copying training data to another environment and Copy training data and model to another IVA or Email Bot environment.

Visual Data Model enhancements

View your application's full data model, see how its entities are related, edit and delete fields, and add fields to the model without exiting the Visual Data Model. In addition, you can now search the entire data model for fields and select a case or data type class to see its fields and relationships.

For more information, see Exploring the data model.

Use a JSON file to create a data type

You can now use a sample JSON response to create a data type in the Data Type wizard in Integration Designer. Using a sample JSON response reduces development time by providing the response schema when your REST endpoint is not available.

For more information, see Use a JSON file to create a data type.

Indicate download size in offline-enabled mobile apps for iOS

When you publish a client-based mobile app in the Apple App Store that needs to download additional resources before it starts, the app must indicate the size of the download and obtain user consent. To comply with this requirement, you can now build offline-enabled mobile apps that prompt the user before they perform the initial data synchronization. If the user chooses not to download data, the application closes.

For more information about disclosing the data size and how the data size is calculated, see Defining advanced offline configuration for an access group.

Support for decision tables in offline-enabled applications

You can now use decision tables to reduce the implementation time of your offline-enabled applications. By using decision tables you can further automate case processing and derive the logic from the data model. Decision tables can be referenced in a flow rule as a type of decision shape or called from the declare expression rule. No additional configuration is required to use decision tables in offline-enabled applications.

For more information, see Decision table support in offline mode.

Application settings categorization and reuse

Application settings are enhanced so that you can categorize and reuse application settings in all rules. You can reference an application setting in a rule and specify separate values for each production level. At run time, the setting holds the correct value for the application's current production level. This functionality helps you manage your application settings more effectively.

For more information, see Creating an application setting and Categorizing application settings.

Support for sending emails by using Microsoft Graph

Email integration with Microsoft Office 365 now supports sending emails by using Microsoft Graph. With this enhancement, you can send email with a more secure protocol that complies with your organization’s security policy.

For more information, see Creating an email account.

App Studio enhancements further support Pega Express methodology

App Studio now includes improvements that you can use to plan your Microjourney™ in a more convenient way. The Overview workspace now includes a button to edit application details, such as name, description, and business objectives, without having to switch to Dev Studio. You can also access relevant information faster, because Case Designer displays additional details about channels, data objects, and attachments associated with a case type directly in a properties pane. For improved management of your features, feature categories are now available in the application inventory so that you can clearly communicate to your development team what type of features need implementation.

For more information, see:

• Editing application details in App Studio 
• Associating personas with channels 
• Adding features to application inventory 
• Creating a Microjourney for customer success

Conversation flow and smart shapes for the Digital Messaging chatbots

When creating Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant™ (IVA) for Digital Messaging, chatbot developers can now use new conversation smart shapes in a dedicated flow, making the design process simpler, more robust, and intuitive. With the new smart shapes, the chatbot displays text messages or asks questions to users in one of several ways. In addition, developers do not have to create additional rules, switch tabs, or perform manual validation. You can associate the conversation flow that you create for your IVA with a business case, use the flow on its own, or reuse it in another conversation flow, improving the overall chatbot design process.

For more information, see Adding a stand-alone conversation process for a conversational channel, Adding a case type conversation process for a conversational channel, Editing the conversation smart shapes and Flow shapes.