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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 AUG 2022 | Digital Self Service - Transactions | Experience Link Route Modifications | Updated document. Delivered new feature in 22B. |
| 04 AUG 2022 | Created initial document. |
Oracle Utilities Digital Self Service - Transactions includes a suite of digital experiences that empowers customers to perform self-service transactions on any desktop or mobile device and reduces cost to serve. The responsive design allows customers to complete all transactions on any device or screen size and orientation, and ensures a consistent brand experience across access channels.
This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in this update, and describes any tasks you might need to perform for the update. Each section includes a brief description of the feature, the steps you need to take to enable or begin using the feature, any tips or considerations that you should keep in mind, and the resources available to help you.
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Column Definitions:
Report = New or modified, Oracle-delivered, ready to run reports.
UI or Process-Based: Small Scale = These UI or process-based features are typically comprised of minor field, validation, or program changes. Therefore, the potential impact to users is minimal.
UI or Process-Based: Larger Scale* = These UI or process-based features have more complex designs. Therefore, the potential impact to users is higher.
Features Delivered Disabled = Action is needed BEFORE these features can be used by END USERS. These features are delivered disabled and you choose if and when to enable them. For example, a) new or expanded BI subject areas need to first be incorporated into reports, b) Integration is required to utilize new web services, or c) features must be assigned to user roles before they can be accessed.
| Ready for Use by End Users Reports plus Small Scale UI or Process-Based new features will have minimal user impact after an update. Therefore, customer acceptance testing should focus on the Larger Scale UI or Process-Based* new features. |
Customer Must Take Action before Use by End Users Not disruptive as action is required to make these features ready to use. As you selectively choose to leverage, you set your test and roll out timing. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature |
Report |
UI or |
UI or |
|
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Customer Service Representative Entitlements for Partner Resources |
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Digital Self Service - Transactions
Digital Self Service - Transactions
Customer Service Representative Entitlements for Partner Resources
Utilities can configure Oracle Identity and Access Management entitlements to allow their Customer Service Representatives to access partner applications during a Digital Self Service - Transactions masquerade session. This provides Customer Service Representatives additional access to resolve issues customers experience with applications that they access from Digital Self Service - Transactions, such as paying a customer's bill.
This improves the customer experience by making it easier for Customer Service Representatives to investigate and resolve partner resources issues customers experience within Digital Self Service - Transactions.
Steps to Enable
To enable this feature you need to log a Service Request (SR).
Open a Service Request in My Oracle Support to coordinate configuration of the feature.
To open a Service Request:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Key Resources
- Refer to the Digital Self Service - Transactions Configuration Guide.
Preferred Language for Pre-Authenticated Notifications
The language used for web registration and password reset emails sent to the customer matches the language setting in the Digital Self Service - Transaction web portal. This ensures that language preferences are consistent across program channels.
This creates a more consistent language experience for the customer by ensuring that pre-authentication notifications are provided in the customer’s preferred language..
Steps to Enable
To enable this feature you need to log a Service Request (SR).
Open a Service Request in My Oracle Support to coordinate configuration of the feature.
To open a Service Request:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Key Resources
Utilities can control customer access to applications integrated with Digital Self Service - Transactions by organizing their web users into multiple roles or groups within Oracle Identity and Access Management.
This provides utilities with more control over identity and consumer-facing application access from a single Oracle Identity and Access Management instance.
Steps to Enable
To enable this feature you need to log a Service Request (SR).
Open a Service Request in My Oracle Support to coordinate configuration of the feature.
To open a Service Request:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Key Resources
Financial History Bill Download
Customers can download their historical utility bills directly from their account's financial history in the Digital Self Service - Transaction web portal. Customers can see an option to download their bill directly without having to open each bill summary to access the PDF file.
This provides customers with easy access to their historical bills in a centralized location.
Steps to Enable
To enable this feature you need to log a Service Request (SR).
A Cloud configuration is required to enable this feature. Contact your Service Delivery Manager to coordinate configuration of the module.
To open a service request for Cloud configuration:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Utilities can configure Digital Self Service - Transactions to provide customers with a payment experience that matches their preferred language setting in the Digital Self Service - Transaction web portal.
This allows utilities to provide customers with a comprehensive multilingual experience.
Steps to Enable
A Cloud configuration is required to enable this feature.
To open a service request for Cloud configuration:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Key Resources
- Refer to the Program Enrollments section of the Digital Self Service - Transactions Configuration Guide.
- Refer to the Payments section of the Digital Self Service - Transactions Configuration Guide.
The Report Service Issues widget gathers information about the customer's problem and requires limited manual entry since information about the location can be automatically detected and included automatically. This includes the account number, address, service point, and contact information. The flow allows customers to report issues that affect their direct service with you and problems that they have found in their community, such as a problem with a street light. This experience is integrated with the outage call functionality of Oracle's utility billing systems and supports configurable fields, so you collect the details that will help your operations team diagnose and address the problem as efficiently as possible. This feature can recommend additional troubleshooting steps to a customer when only part of their service is experiencing a problem (for example, a partial outage) to further optimize your operations and only log trouble calls for issues you can resolve.
This feature decreases calls to a call center by intaking information from the customer and logging it within the billing system in real-time. This gives utility service agents intelligence into issues the customer might be experiencing and pushes the same information downstream to an outage management system for investigation and restoration. This integrated solution may also increase enrollment in outbound alerts by prompting customers to set a notification preference while they are thinking about service interruptions.
Steps to Enable
A Cloud configuration is required to enable this feature.
To open a service request for Cloud configuration:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
A patch install is required to enable this feature.
To install the patch:
- Locate the applicable patch. See Supported Versions And Required Patches And APIs For Oracle Utilities Opower Digital Self Service for a full list of available patches.
- Install the applicable Customer Care and Billing patch and make the required Customer Care and Billing configuration updates.
Key Resources
- Refer to the Digital Self Service - Transactions Configuration Guide.
- Refer to the Report Service Issues training.
Utilities can use the multi-jurisdictional utilities feature in Digital Self Service - Transactions to provide unique experiences to customers that belong to different divisions and states.
This allows utilities to provide more targeted customer experiences while lowering maintenance costs.
Steps to Enable
A Cloud configuration is required to enable this feature.
To open a service request for Cloud configuration:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com). Click Cloud Support and log in.
- Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
A patch install is required to enable this feature.
To install the patch:
- Locate the applicable patch. See Supported Versions And Required Patches And APIs For Oracle Utilities Opower Digital Self Service for a full list of available patches.
- Install the applicable Customer Care and Billing patch and make the required Customer Care and Billing configuration updates.
Utilities can use the Opower Configuration Tool to configure feature behavior, messages, and branding for Oracle Utilities Digital Self Service - Transactions Cloud Service. This tool makes it easy for utilities to manage their own configurations and branding changes.
Utilities can use the Opower Configuration Tool to manage their own configuration and branding changes.
Steps to Enable
A Cloud configuration is required to enable this feature.
To open a service request for Cloud configuration:
- Go to My Oracle Support (https://support.oracle.com).
- Click Cloud Support and log in.Click the Create Service Request button and follow the prompts to complete the Service Request.
Tips And Considerations
- Refer to the Opower Configuration Tool training.
Experience Link Route Modifications
Digital Self Service - Transactions widget experience link mappings were updated to align with the Opower Configuration Tool format. Updates were made to the following widgets:
- Bill Summary
- Announcements
- Bill Details
- Budget Billing
- Contact Us Questions
- Contact Us
- Account Balance Overview
- Notification List
- Payment Selection
- Toast Notification
This update supports the Opower Configuration Tool, which allows system implementers and utility administrators to manage their own configurations and branding changes.
Steps to Enable
You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.
Tips And Considerations
These changes affect all customers upgrading to Digital Self-Service Transactions 22B and later who use and have customized the experience links in the widgets mentioned above. To prevent broken experience links, it is recommended that utilities re-test their experience link customizations to ensure that they are functional after upgrading to the newer version of the product. Utilities should compare the link label and destination in production to the links in their stage environment and test the links prior to promoting the upgrade to production. No action is required for utilities that do not use the widgets or have not modified the experience link from its default value.