This document discusses Oracle Policy Automation (OPA) and how it can be used to automate policy decisions. OPA allows business users rather than technical experts to define rules in natural language. It provides transparency into how decisions are reached and can integrate with existing systems through web services. OPA can handle high volumes of automated decisions and is offered both on-premises and as a cloud service. Examples of where OPA could be used include social services, taxes, licenses and permits, human resources, and grants.

1. Oracle Policy Automation (OPA)
Making Policies Work For You..
Anil Nandakumar Thachapillil
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AST Corporation
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Agenda
• Industry Trends & Challenges
• Oracle Policy Automation (OPA) Overview
• Writing Rules
• OPA at Runtime
• Rules as a service
• OPA as a Cloud Service
• References
• Questions

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Industry Trends & Challenges
• Constantly changing legislation and regulations are driving the
need to automate policies
• Increased policy complexity is making accurate decision
making difficult to deliver to targeted audiences
• Resource intensive projects and IT teams are expected to
innovate and deliver more for less due to budgetary pressures
• Lack of agility in IT systems, ageing workforce and skill
shortages
• Customers are demanding superior services and experiences
• Accountability and transparency in decision making is forcing
compliance with policies and standards

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OPA Overview
• Policy Automation is the use of software tools to automate the
interpretation and application of policies.
• Uses natural language to define rules in any language. Does
not require technical subject matter experts to define them.
• Changes can be rolled out immediately as the solution
depends on the policy life cycle and not software life cycle.
• Out of the box features like decision reporting provides
transparency and lets you know how a decision was reached.
• Can be easily deployed to existing portals

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When/Why OPA?
 When - Consider three factors:
• The complexity and size of the policies
• The volatility of the policy (rate of change)
• The volume of the automated decision making
Is Policy Automation a good fit for my organization
 Why
• Best of Breed Policy Automation
• “Business Rule” products offering a technical/programming alternative e.g.
IBM Websphere ILOG, FairIsaac Blaze Advisor, Corticon, Pega, JBOSS
Rules or Drools
• Enables business users allowing reduced IT costs
• Promote transparency and traceability across all decisions made across an
enterprise
• Respond quickly to business changes/challenges
• Simplifies complex decision logic

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Where could OPA be used?
Some areas where OPA could be used are:
• Social Services - Eligibility Determinations (e.g. Health Insurance
Eligibility), Benefit Calculations (e.g. Medicaid benefit calculation), Risk
Assessment/Fraud detection
• Tax - Eligibility for tax credit, tax rebates, etc., Interactive tax guidance,
e.g. Interactive Tax Assistant on the IRS Website
• Registration, Licensing Permits & Inspections - Citizen self service
advice to determine what licenses to apply for and complex eligibility
rules for licenses
• Human Resources – Eligibility calculations for Compensation, Pension,
Leave & Allowances
• Grants - Guidance on which grants may be applicable to the applicant’s
circumstances and calculating grant amounts

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Rules in OPA (1/2)

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How Rules are Written (2/2)
• Source and Executable policies are similar in structure and
vocabulary
• Easy to understand
• Easy to trace back to source
• Easy to get started

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OPA Runtime

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How do I use OPA?
• Rules are available as a Web Service, Java/.NET API
• As an Interview Process
• Batch Processor
o CSV file
o Database Table

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OPA – Provides Transparency
• Know how a decision was reached
• Essential part of self-service application
• In business-friendly language
• Audit trail for compliance
• Automatically provided by OPA

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Abundant Testing Options
• Easily test rules for correctness
• Regression testing via point and click – no programming
• You can simulate scenarios for future policy changes.

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Rules as a service
• Provides rule services to transactional/operational systems
• Oracle Determinations Server
o Provides rules as web services
o Fully SOA Compliant
o Standards based approach to integration
o Simplified & centralized rules deployment
• Oracle Determinations Engine
o Provides Java/.NET API
o Offers ultra-high performance
o Great performance even for high volume
batches

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OPA on the cloud
Provides personalized web-based advice for
customers and agents to manage. Decrease errors
and training costs.
Increase customer satisfaction and reduces call
center volume. Allows to respond quickly to
changes in legislation and policy.
Provide documents that record and explain
decisions thereby reducing the number of customer
escalations.
Integrate policies via standard web services.
Allows for business-friendly policy authoring
experience.

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Policy Automation Cloud Service
• Consistent, personalized cross-channel guidance
• Easy integration with RightNow Customer Portal and
Knowledge Base
• Use the same business logic & deploy into any other
application through web services

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References
• Oracle Policy Automation reference on OTN
• OPA Training Videos on YouTube
• OPA Developers Guide
• Oracle Policy Modelling (OPM) User’s Guide
• Is Oracle Policy Automation a Good Fit for My Business?
• OPA workshops by Dave Hachey, Sean McGrath &
Christopher Yo.

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Q&A

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Anil Nandakumar Thachapillil
AST Corporation
anilnt@astcorporation.com
www.astcorporation.com