Understanding Absence Assistant
A chatbot is a computer program that maintains a conversation with a user in natural language, understands the intent of the user, and sends a response based on business rules and data of the organization.
The Absence Assistant is a chatbot for Absence Management designed to assist the employee with absence related services using a conversational interface. Absence data and functionality from PeopleSoft is leveraged by the assistant, using a conversational format, and, an employee can ask absence related questions, or direct the assistant to perform self service transactions.
The Absence Assistant supports the employees in the following scenarios:
Request Absence
View Absences
Current Balances
Future Balances
Cancel Absence
On selecting Absence Assistant tile, a chat window appears on the homepage for assistance. The employee can enter a welcome or introductory message or can request for the service or assistance in a conversational way.
The Absence Assistant is available for both desktop and mobile users.
The Absence management users can use the Absence Assistant tile to access the Absence Assistant Chatbot for quick answers to queries and to perform simple transactions related to absences using Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA), Oracle chatbot technology platform. Oracle Digital Assistant is a platform that allows enterprises to create and deploy digital assistants for their users. With Oracle Digital Assistant, you create:
Digital assistants, which are AI-driven interfaces that help users accomplish a variety of tasks in natural language conversations. For each digital assistant, you assemble one or more skills.
Skills (formerly known as chatbots), which are individual bots that are focused on specific types of tasks, such as tracking inventory, submitting time cards, and creating expense reports.
You can add skills to digital assistants or deploy them to a channel on their own. Intents allow your skill to understand what the user wants it to do. An intent categorizes typical user requests by the tasks and actions that your skill performs.
For more details, refer to Oracle Digital Assistants and Skills.
Video: Absence Management Chatbot Video Feature Overview.
Note: Import Absence skill using Import Skill option from Oracle Cloud Website. The Absence skill location is PS_APP_HOME/setup/chatbot/ PS_SKILL_TMPL(1.0).zip.
For more information, refer to the Red Paper on Chatbot Integration Framework https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=2558379.1 and Chatbot Install Guide
For Absence Management Chatbot, the Absence Assistant skill consists of the following Intents:
EntryGreeting
AbsenceBalance
CancelAbsence
FutureBalance
RequestAbsence
ViewAbscenceRequest
ExitGreeting
The entities associated with each intent are defined within the skill.
|
Entities |
Associated Intents |
|---|---|
|
AbsenceBalance |
Absence Name |
|
DATE |
|
|
CancelAbsence |
Absence Name |
|
DATE |
|
|
InputStatus |
|
|
FutureBalance |
Absence Name |
|
DATE |
|
|
RequestAbsence |
Absence Name |
|
DATE |
|
|
RequestAbsence |
Absence Name |
|
DATE |
|
|
InputStatus |
The services can be used to call relevant application functionality as part of a transaction or query. The Chatbot Integration Framework delivers some services that can be used to help the chatbot carry out various tasks that these services allow to perform. To integrate the chatbot with the application services, you need to create a proxy user. This proxy user is used for the chatbot to communicate with the application services.
The dialog flow definition is the model for the conversation itself, one that lets you choreograph the interaction between a skill and its users.
The Services used in Absence Assistant are:
HCM.absence.GetCnclAbsenceRequests
HCM.absence.GetCancelReason
HCM.absence.CancelAbsence
HCM.absence.GetEmpAbsenceRequests
HCM.absence.ValidateAbsenceName
HCM.absence.GetEmpAbsTakesPrompt
HCM.absence.GetEmpAbsenceBalances
HCM.absence.ValidateFcstDate
HCM.absence.ForecastBalance
HCM.absence.CalcAbsDuration
HCM.absence.CheckEligibility
HCM.absence.GetAbsenceReasons
HCM.absence.CreateAbsenceRequest
HCM.absence.GetEmployeeJobs
HCM.absence.GetUserFields
HCM.absence.GetUserProfile
HCM.absence.GetAbsRequestUrl
If users need to create new service, then they can use the Application Service Framework to create custom services.
For more information please refer to the documentation on Application Service Framework https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=2557046.1
For more details, refer to Configure a Component Service and Understanding Application Service for Chatbot Integration Framework.
PeopleSoft Intelligent Chatbot ASsistant from Oracle (PeopleSoft PICASO) is a consolidated, single-point access chatbot where your employees can ask questions spanning multiple PeopleSoft applications like Absence, Benefits, Employee Directory, Expenses, North American Payroll, and more. For information on PeopleSoft PICASO, see Understanding PeopleSoft PICASO.
With Tools 8.59, the chatbot skill services (such as Absence, Employee Directory, and so forth) are REST API enabled to manage the Oracle Digital Assistant instances. For information on REST API, see Understanding REST API Endpoints for PeopleSoft and Understanding REST API Endpoints for PeopleSoft Absence Management Application Services (absence).
This section explains the Absence Assistant interface.
The Absence Assistant helps employees to view absence-related information such as Absence balances and Absence requests as well as perform simple absence-related tasks like requesting or cancelling Absences.
Note: To enable the Absence Assistant tile to Employees homepage, associate the corresponding chatbot service role types. The Absence Chatbot ESS Services permission list ID is HCCPAMCB01. There are corresponding Chatbot administrator and client user lists.
Roles and permission lists are part of standard PeopleTools security administration, used to grant access to components and pages. Roles and permission lists are discussed in the PeopleTools: Security Administration documentation.
Request Absence Transactions
The Absence Assistant can apply absence on behalf of the employee with inputs from employee. If approvals are not configured, absence gets created without approval. The Absence Assistant requests for entities and the inputs are validated by PeopleSoft. The chatbot asks for absence begin and end date. In case of attachments or partial days information required, the employee will be navigated to Request Absence page.
The chatbot supports all the configurations selected for an absence. It prompts for up to four user fields that are marked required. The user is transferred to the Request Absence page if he/she wishes to provide partial days and attachments
If request approval is required, it triggers an approval process. The user is transferred to the Request Absence page if he/she wishes to provide partial days and attachments. The chatbot prompts for up to four user fields that are marked required.
View Absences Query
The Absence Assistant, on selecting View Absences responds with the list of matching requests in descending order of request start date in the form of a card layout. The information includes absence name, status, dates and date range.
The View Details shows the absence details.
From the set of absence requests results, based on the cancel configurations selected for the absence, you can select Cancel link to directly cancel the absence. Using View More button, you can scroll horizontally through the listed absence. The More Requests avails you the next set of absence requests matching the user requirement.
Note: The What can I do next button is the global support that displays at the end of every interaction.
Current Balances Query
The Absence Assistant displays absence balance for the employee for a specific absence or for a particular absence name or for all users absences, if the user does not provide an absence name. It displays the Absence Names to select for viewing more details. The chatbot displays Balance information in the units configured for the logged in employee.
Future Balances Query
The Absence Assistant retrieves accrued balances as of a specific date. You have to configure forecasting to enable this entity. The employee can request for forecasted balance, then the assistant requests for entity values and provides the forecast values.
When user provides a date before last calendar run for future balance information, the chatbot responds that it does not support past dates and provides the absence balance as of last calendar run.
Cancel Absence Transaction
The Absence Assistant can cancel absence on employee request. The Assistant requests for entities and the inputs are validated by PeopleSoft. If request approval is required, approval process is triggered. If request approval is not required, absence is cancelled and confirmation message displays.
The chatbot displays one or more matching requests for user input. You can have a quick look at the absence and select the cancel option. You can select Cancel Absence link which asks for reason for cancelling the absence. The Absence Assistant displays one or more matching requests for user input.
Note: Alternately, you can provide Begin Date or End Date with the Absence Name for canceling a specific Absence Request.