February 2022 Update

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

Date	Product	Feature	Notes
28 JAN 2022			Created initial document.

Overview

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Feature Summary

Strategic Workforce Planning

Monthly Update Schedule

Test Environments: Oracle will apply this monthly update during the first daily maintenance that occurs at or after 22:00 UTC on Friday, February 4, 2022.

Production Environments: Oracle will apply this monthly update during the first daily maintenance that occurs at or after 22:00 UTC on Friday, February 18, 2022.

NOTE: The monthly update will not be applied to any environment for which this monthly update is requested to be skipped using the EPM Automate skipUpdate command or service request to Oracle.

NOTE: Backing up the daily maintenance snapshot and restoring the environment as needed are self-service operations. Oracle strongly recommends that you download the maintenance snapshot every day to a local server.

The Oracle Help Center provides access to updated documentation. The updates will be available in the Help Center on Friday, February 4, 2022.

NOTE: Some of the links to new feature documentation included in this readiness document will not work until after the Oracle Help Center update is complete.

Documentation Updates Available One Week After Readiness Documents

Updated documentation is published on the Oracle Help Center on the first Friday of each month, coinciding with the monthly updates to Test environments. Because there is a one week lag between the publishing of the readiness documents (What's New and New Feature Summary) and Oracle Help Center updates, some links included in the readiness documents will not work until the Oracle Help Center update is complete.

https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/epm-cloud/index.html

Fixed Issues and Considerations

Software issues addressed each month and considerations will be posted to My Oracle Support.

NOTE: Fixed issues for EPM Cloud Common components (Smart View for Office, EPM Automate, REST API, Migration, Access Control, Data Management/Data Integration, Reports, Financial Reporting, and Calculation Manager) are available in a separate document on the My Oracle Support “Release Highlights” page.

This provides visibility into EPM Cloud release contents.

Please Join Oracle Cloud Customer Connect

Please take a moment to join the Cloud Customer Connect forums for EPM Cloud services. Oracle Cloud Customer Connect is a community gathering place for members to interact and collaborate on common goals and objectives. This is where you will find the latest release information, upcoming events, or answers to use-case questions. Joining takes just a few minutes. Join now!

https://cloud.oracle.com/community

NOTE: The Settings and Actions menu now contains a link to Cloud Customer Connect. To access this link, from the Home page, click the down arrow next to the user name (in the upper right-hand corner of the screen), and select Cloud Customer Connect.

Give Us Documentation Feedback

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content of the What's New document and the product documentation.

Please take our quick survey or send us your feedback at EPMdoc_ww@oracle.com. In the body or title of the email, state that you are inquiring or providing feedback, and indicate for which EPM Cloud service and the monthly update cycle.

Follow Us on Social Media

Follow EPM Cloud on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

These are great resources for the latest updates and information about EPM Cloud.

Features

New Videos

A new video is available.

Overview: Bring Your Own Machine Learning (ML)

This overview introduces you to Bring Your Own ML (Machine Learning), where Administrators can import a fully trained ML model and deploy it to an application. Planners can then leverage robust, ML-based forecasting that uses advanced predictive modeling techniques to generate more accurate forecasts.

Business Benefit: Videos provide 3-5 minute overviews and step-by step instructions to perform tasks and achieve an outcome.

New Tutorials

A new tutorial is available.

Planning and Forecasting Using Predictive Planning

This tutorial covers the essential tasks for using predictive planning as part of your planning and forecasting cycle.

Business Benefit: Tutorials provide instructions with sequenced videos and documentation to help you learn a topic.

Updates to the Clone Environment Feature

The Clone Environment feature has been updated to optionally clone Application Audit and Job Console data, and stored snapshots and files.

• The Application Audit check box allows you to clone application audit data.
• The Job Console checkbox allows you to clone Job Console records.
• The Stored Snapshots And Files checkbox allows you to clone the contents of inbox and outbox, and stored snapshots.

Updated Clone Environment Screen

Business Benefit: Including application audit and job console data while cloning an environment makes the target environment keep the application audit and job console history. Including stored snapshots and files while cloning an environment makes sure that the stored snapshots and files are not lost. This is useful especially while cloning a Classic environment to an OCI (Gen 2) environment.

Key Resources

• Cloning EPM Cloud Environments in Administering Migration for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

EPM Automate Updates

A new version of EPM Automate is now available. This version of EPM Automate includes updates to the cloneEnvironment, exportAppAudit, exportJobConsole, exportQueryResults, and uploadFile commands.

Updates to the cloneEnvironment Command

The cloneEnvironment command has been updated to accept the appAudit, jobConsole, and storedSnapshotsAndFiles optional parameters.

• The appAudit optional parameter allows you to clone application audit data.
• The jobConsole parameter allows you to optionally clone Job Console records.
• The storedSnapshotsAndFiles optional parameter allows you to clone the contents of inbox and outbox, and stored snapshots.

Updates to the exportAppAudit Command

The exportAudit command now supports the excludeApplicationId optional parameter, which identifies whether the application identifier is not to be written to the export file. Default is false.

Updates to the exportJobConsole Command

The exportJobConsole command now supports the excludeApplicationId optional parameter, which identifies whether the application identifier is not to be written to the export file. Default is false.

Updates to exportQueryResults Command

A new optional parameter, fileOutputOptions, now allows you to identify the output format of the query results file. Default is ZIP_ONLY, which creates fileName.ZIP or queryName.ZIP depending on whether a value for the fileName parameter is specified. Other options are TEXT_ONLY to create the output file as a text file and ZIP_AND_TEXT to generate both a text file and a zip file.

Updates to the uploadFile Command

The uploadFile command has been enhanced to upload files containing data, metadata, rule definitions, dimension definitions, mapped transactions, templates, and backup snapshots to the outbox and profitoutbox locations in an environment.

Business Benefit: Including application audit and job console data while cloning an environment makes the target environment keep the application audit and job console history. Including stored snapshots and files while cloning an environment makes sure that the stored snapshots and files are not lost. This is useful especially while cloning a Classic environment to an OCI (Gen 2) environment.

Changes to the exportAppAudit and exportJobConsole commands can benefit customers who do not want application identifier to be included in the export file to help import into their own systems. This export file cannot be used to import into a Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud environment.

Changes to the exportQueryResults command allows you the option to generate the export file in multiple formats.

Key Resources

• Working with EPM Automate for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
  • Installing EPM Automate
  • cloneEnvironment
  • encrypt
  • exportAppAudit
  • exportJobConsole
  • exportQueryResults
  • recreate
  • uploadFile

REST API for Clone Environment Options to Clone Application Audit, Job Console Data, and Stored Snapshots and Files

When using REST APIs to clone an environment, you can now use these parameters:

• applicationAudit – Clone the Application Audit data in the source to the target environment
• jobConsole – Clone the Job Console data in the source to the target environment
• storedSnapshotsAndFiles – Clone the contents of the inbox, outbox, and stored snapshots in the source to the target environment

Business Benefit: Including application audit and job console data while cloning an environment makes the target environment keep the application audit and job console history. Including stored snapshots and files while cloning an environment makes sure that the stored snapshots and files are not lost. This is useful especially while cloning a Classic environment to an OCI (Gen 2) environment.

Key Resources

• Clone an Environment in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

REST APIs to Lock and Unlock POVs

Lock and Unlock REST APIs are now available that enable you to lock and unlock a POV for a location or application in Data Management.

The lock REST API prevents data from being loaded to a selected POV by the location or application associated with a current period and category. When a location has been locked, you cannot import, validate, export, or rerun a validation.

An unlock REST API is available so that you can unlock a locked location or application.

Business Benefit: This features gives customers the ability to lock a POV in Data Management so that a location or application cannot be updated by mistake.

Key Resources

• Lock and Unlock POV in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

REST API for Upload to Be Able to Specify Upload Location for Outbox

When using REST APIs to upload files, you can now use these values of the parameter extDirPath:

• Inbox[/directory_name] - Upload files into the inbox; Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud looks in this location for files to process
• outbox[/directory_name] - Upload files to the outbox

Business Benefit: Uploading files to these locations provides flexibility.

Key Resources

• Upload in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

Updated EPM Books Extension for Smart View

An updated EPM Books extension for Oracle Smart View for Office is now available to download and install. This update includes support for aliases in the Select POV dialog, along with general improvements and bug fixes.

Business Benefit: Downloading and installing the latest EPM Books extension for Smart View gives you access to the latest features, improvements, and bug fixes.

Key Resources

• Installing the EPM Books Extension in Working with Oracle Smart View for Office

EPM Books Extension: Alias Names Now Displayed in Select POV Dialog

In the EPM Books Extension, alias names now display in the choice list in the Select POV dialog when changing the POV.

Whether you're changing the POV upon importing a Book, or changing the POV after a Book has been imported, if aliases are specified for dimensions in the report, you will see the member aliases in the drop-down selection list of the Select POV dialog. In the following example, when changing the POV for the Segments dimensions, aliases are displayed for Segment members rather than a product code.:

Select POV Dialog with Aliases Displayed for the Segments Dimension

Business Benefit: With the updated EPM Books extensions, the Select POV dialog now allows users to view alias names for values in the POV choice list.

Key Resources

• Working with Oracle Smart View for Office
  • Installing the EPM Books Extension
  • Working with Books

New "Missing Label" Field for Functions in Smart View (Mac and Browser)

In Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser), the new "Missing Label" field allows you to set a value for missing data in user-defined functions before performing an operation on a sheet. This new field is located In the Options panel, Advanced tab.

You can enter a value in the Missing Label field before performing any operations on the sheet, such as specifying a blank sheet for ad hoc analysis or for functions. The option is available immediately after connection when you click the Options button in the Smart View ribbon, as described in the following procedure. Note, however, that you can specify a value for the Missing Label field at any time.

To set the new "Missing Label" value in Smart View (Mac and Browser):

1. Ensure that you are using the latest version of Smart View (Mac and Browser) as deployed by your Service Administrator, and are connected to your business process.
2. Optional: Open a workbook that already contains functions.
3. In the Smart View ribbon, click the Options button to view the Advanced tab. At this point, only the Advanced tab is displayed in the Options panel; no other tabs are available.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the panel and, under User-Defined Functions, enter a value in the Missing Label text box. The default value is #Missing; however, you may specify a custom value and include special characters or capitalization, as you require.
5. Close the panel or, optionally, save this value for future use by clicking the Save Current Options as Default link, and then close the panel.
6. Proceed by adding functions to the sheet manually or using the Function Builder. Or, proceed with operations in the workbook containing functions that you opened in step 2 above.

Business Benefit: The new Missing Label field in the Options panel, Advanced tab, allows you to quickly begin working with functions and sheets containing functions.

Steps to Enable

To use the new "Missing Label" field in Smart View (Mac and Browser) to specify a value for missing data in functions, Service Administrators must create and deploy a new manifest file:

1. Create a new manifest file or reuse an existing manifest file.
2. In the Create Manifest File page, ensure that the Options button in the General group is selected..
3. Make any other selections and modifications in the Create Manifest File page, as you require.
4. Deploy the manifest file to Smart View (Mac and Browser) users.

Key Resources

• Deploying and Administering Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser)
  • Creating and Saving the Manifest File
  • Customizing the Manifest File
  • Deploying the Manifest File to Office 365 Users

• Smart View Options in Working with Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser)

Smart View (Mac and Browser) Options Panel Improvements

This update includes several performance and usability improvements to the Options panel in Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser).

Notable among the improvements are the following:

• Overall performance in the individual tabs in the Options panel is improved

• The Settings tab has been renamed to "Advanced"

• In the Advanced tab:
  • Items are grouped by category: General, Logging, and User-Defined Function
  • The Set Current Options as Default control has been moved from the bottom of the panel to the General group near the top of the panel for better visibility
  • A new option, Missing Label, allows you to specify a label to use for missing data for functions, as described in "New "Missing Label" Field for Functions in Smart View (Mac and Browser)" in this document

.

Options Dialog, Advanced Tab

These changes are intended to improve the performance and usability of Smart View (Mac and Browser).

Business Benefit: Performance and usability upgrades to the Options panel enhance the user's experience when working with Smart View (Mac and Browser).

Steps to Enable

To take advantage of the performance and usability improvements made in the Options panel of Smart View (Mac and Browser), Service Administrators must create and deploy a new manifest file:

1. Create a new manifest file or reuse an existing manifest file.
2. In the Create Manifest File page, ensure that the Options button in the General group is selected..
3. Make any other selections and modifications in the Create Manifest File page, as you require.
4. Deploy the manifest file to Smart View (Mac and Browser) users.

Key Resources

• Deploying and Administering Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser):
  • Creating and Saving the Manifest File
  • Customizing the Manifest File
  • Deploying the Manifest File to Office 365 Users

• Smart View Options in Working with Oracle Smart View for Office (Mac and Browser)

Ability to Export a Report Grid to Excel Ad Hoc

While in HTML preview mode, you can now download a Report Grid to Excel Ad hoc in Oracle Smart View for Office, on which you can then perform available ad hoc operations.

Download As Ad Hoc Excel Option

NOTE: Your browser will download a Smart View link file. Click on the file to launch Excel. You will be prompted to sign on to the respective Data Source login page. If you already have an active Data Source connection, the sign-on dialog will not be shown.

Limitations to Export a Report Grid as an Ad hoc Excel:

• The Download as Ad hoc Excel option is available for HTML Preview only.
• Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud data sources do not support Butterfly Report design in Smart View ad-hoc.
• Reports Formatting is not retained in Excel.
• The data within the Formula cells such as Total are rendered as static information.
• The output data in Excel are based on the Smart View Options. Review all the Formatting settings. For more information, see Setting Smart View Options.
• This feature is not available for hidden grids.

Business Benefit: Export to Excel Ad-hoc provides the ability to perform Smart View ad-hoc operations using a Report grid as a starting point.

Key Resources

• Report Designer Toolbar in Designing with Management Reporting for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
• Viewing Reports in Working with Management Reporting for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Displaying Trailing Characters for Data and Formula Row Segments in a Grid

You can now enable trailing characters (dot, dash, or underscore), for data and formula rows, to be displayed at the end of the header label that extends the width of the row header. Trailing characters are enabled and specified by selecting one or more data or formula rows and in Row properties, setting the Trailing Characters property to Dot, Dash, or Underscore. The default setting is None.

This feature does not apply to text or separator rows. If there are multiple dimensions in the rows, the trailing characters are only displayed for the inner-most dimension.

Displaying Trailing Characters for the Inner-Most Dimension

Business Benefit: The ability to view the trailing characters at the end of the header label that extends the width of the row header.

Key Resources

• Grid Properties in Designing with Reports for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Quick Mode Data Export

In Data Integration, you can now export data from Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud to a file, on-premises database, and an Oracle autonomous database using the Quick mode method. This method provides significant performance improvement over the standard workflow method. It supports simple transformations using import expressions and does not support member mappings. Data is not loaded to a staging table so you cannot view the data in Workbench. Period processing in Quick Model does not use periods defined in the Period Mapping option. Instead periods are handled like other dimensions and can be filtered in the Source Filters option.

Data can be extracted from Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud using the existing extract methods: "Stored Data," "All Data," or a new method called "Level 0 Data." The Level 0 extract method allows you to apply filters and select columns to include in the output file. This method is ideal for extracting large data slices from the system without reaching query processing limits.

For customers interested in consuming data “as-is” in Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud without any additional transformation, you can now export the data to a file using an EPM Data File adapter.

The new data export options are available from the Data Extract Options field (formerly called Extract Dynamic Calculated Data ) on the Options page.

Business Benefit: The primary benefit of this method is that it enables you to load large data volumes faster than the non-quick load method. In addition, you can export only level-0 members. This feature also helps eliminate timeout issues when exporting large data volumes.

Key Resources

• Administering Data Integration for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
  • Performing a Quick Mode Load using the EPM Integration Agent
  • Using Quick Mode to Export Data As-Is

Navigation Flows - New Check Boxes Added for Visibility

Navigation Flows now feature check boxes to more easily hide and unhide cards, clusters, tabs, and sub tabs.

To view the new visibility check boxes, click Tools, and then click Navigation Flows. Click the name of the navigation flow you want to edit. The new check boxes are positioned in the Visible column next to each cluster and card on the navigation flow listing page. Select the check boxes to make clusters and cards visible or deselect them to hide them from view.

Navigation Flow Listing with Check Boxes for Visibility

To view the new visibility check boxes for tabs, select a card with a tabular page type. Check boxes are positioned in the Visible column next to each tab in the listing.

Navigation Flow Tabular Page with Check Boxes for Visibility

Business Benefit: You can now toggle visibility of a cluster, card, tab, and sub tab for navigation flows in a single click.

Key Resources

• Hiding and Unhiding Clusters, Cards, and Tabs in Administering Planning

Navigation Flows - New Context Menus for Adding Clusters, Cards, Tabs, and Sub Tabs

Navigation flows now feature context menus to more easily add and reorder cards, clusters, tabs, and sub tabs.

To add cards, clusters, tabs, and sub tabs to navigation flows using a context menu, right-click a node on the listing page and select a context menu option to add a new or existing node to the list. The new node will be added as a sibling to the node that is currently selected.

Business Benefit: It now takes fewer clicks to add clusters, cards, tabs, and sub tabs to navigation flows. And adding nodes as siblings to the selected node eases the reordering process.

Key Resources

• Adding Cards in Administering Planning

Navigation Flows - Long Label Names Truncated on Horizontal Tabs

Label names on horizontal tabs now have a maximum limit of 30 characters.

Label names on horizontal tabs will display up to 30 characters at runtime. Hovering your cursor over the tab will reveal the entire label.

Business Benefit: Limiting the length of label names on horizontal tabs enables more tabs to be visible at runtime, improving usability.

Key Resources

• Navigation Flow Design Best Practices and Naming Considerations in Administering Planning

Increased Maximum Limit of Horizontal Tabs and Open Dynamic Tabs

You can now have up to 20 horizontal tabs on a card or a vertical tab in navigation flows, and up to 30 dynamic tabs open on a page.

We've increased the number of horizontal tabs allowed on a card or a vertical tab in navigation flows from 10 to 20. We've also increased the maximum limit of dynamic tabs open on a page from 25 to 30.

NOTE: When a navigation flow with more than 10 sub tabs is migrated to an earlier version, the additional sub tabs will continue to display as visible. However, if you've added more than 10 sub tabs (horizontal tabs), and then change the tab orientation to vertical, only the first 10 vertical tabs will remain visible and the rest will be hidden because we only support 10 visible vertical tabs in earlier versions.

Business Benefit: Increasing the maximum number of tabs improves usability. For example, you can create a "2021" vertical tab with 12 horizontal tabs, and each horizontal tab links to a monthly report for that year.

Key Resources

• Navigation Flow Design Best Practices and Naming Considerations in Administering Planning
• Using Dynamic Tabs in Redwood Experience in Administering Planning

REST API for Export Job Console Parameter to Not Write the Application Identifier in the Export File

When using REST APIs to export job console data, you can now use an optional excludeApplicationId parameter to not write the application identifier in the export file. Exported job console files without the application identifier cannot be imported back into the application.

Business Benefit: This parameter can benefit those customers who do not want the application identifier to be included in the export file to help import into their own systems.

Key Resources

• Export Job Console in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

REST API for Export Audit Parameter to Not Write the Application Identifier in the Export File

When using REST APIs to export audit reports, you can now use an optional excludeApplicationId parameter to not write the application identifier in the export file. Exported audit reports without the application identifier cannot be imported back into the application.

Business Benefit: This parameter can benefit those customers who do not want the application identifier to be included in the export file to help import into their own systems.

Key Resources

• Export Audit in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

IMPORTANT Actions and Considerations

One-Week Lag Between Readiness Documents Live and Help Center Live

Because Oracle readiness documents (What's New and New Feature Summary) are live one week before the monthly update is applied to Test environments, some links to documentation included in the readiness documents will not work until after the Oracle Help Center update is complete when the monthly update is applied to Test environments.

Loaner Program for Cloud Infrastructure Generation 2 Testing and OCI Migration Assistance Early Adopter Program

Oracle Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud is now live on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Gen 2 environments. If you are interested in testing your application performance on an OCI environment, open a service request following the process at https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/enterprise-performance-management-common/tsepm/op_procs_loaner_envs.html and request for a loaner environment in an OCI data center for a duration of 30 days with the business justification as “Want to test application performance in an OCI Gen 2 data center”.

After you have performed the testing, submit Provide Feedback from the loaner environment. Create a service request using the normal support process, if you have any issues or feedback for the OCI environment. For more information, see What is a Gen 2 Cloud?

Additionally, Oracle has instituted a program to assist a limited number of early adopters on Oracle Cloud Classic to migrate to OCI. For more information, see Oracle Cloud Classic to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Migration Assistance Program for Early Adopters.

Upcoming Changes to Reports POV Selection Behavior Due to Upcoming Filter Members by Security Updates

In the March 2022 (22.03) update, Reports will introduce a new feature and behavior for member and POV selection, where members will be filtered based on the data source security. Today, all members, regardless of data source security for a user, are listed in POV, Prompt and member selection. The member hierarchies and choice lists will always be filtered by security defined at the data source throughout Narrative Reporting. For example, this change will affect the Reports designer, preview, prompts, POV, Named POVs, books, bursting and Notes.

This new feature and behavior will not need to be enabled; it will be the behavior going forward.

NOTE: In Reports where a single member, with no choice list, is defined for a POV dimension, the following new behavior will exist going forward for books, bursting definitions and report packages with Reports reference doclets:

Books, bursting definitions and report packages will now display the POV dimensions as selectable, therefore members for these dimensions will need to be selected to match the report’s POV selections.

Default EPM Task Manager Option During Application Creation

In a future update, we're adding a new task flow type to Strategic Workforce Planning called EPM Task Manager. EPM Task Manager helps you define, execute, and report on the interdependent activities of a business process. It provides centralized monitoring of all tasks and provides a visible, automated, repeatable system of record for running a business process. When implemented, you'll see two task flow type options during Strategic Workforce Planning application creation: Task List and EPM Task Manager. EPM Task Manager will be the default option.

Current Task List based Strategic Workforce Planning applications will not be impacted by this new option and default setting in the App creation wizard. There will be no migration from existing Task Lists to the upcoming EPM Task Manager. Customers who wish to continue using the current Task Lists should choose the Task List Option during application creation.