Data and Integration Designer Introduction

The Data and Integration Designer offers a case-based approach that empowers users to extend and integrate the Pega Common Application.

The key features of the Data and Integration Designer are:

• Extend the data model: Add properties, both simple and complex, and create new entities to tailor the data model to specific needs.
• Seamless Integration: Integrate with external data sources, ensuring that your applications remain connected and up-to-date.
• Flexible Views: Customize and add properties to different views, so you can present data according to business requirements.
• Entity Testing: Test newly added entities by running data pages to ensure accuracy and reliability before deployment.
• Comprehensive Summary: View a detailed summary of all changes made within a case, which provides clear oversight and control.

The Data and Integration Designer creates or modifies the underlying rules to update the model for your application. It saves you the effort of manually configuring these rules and ensures that the changes comply with the Common Data Model design patterns.

The following figure shows the first screen of a new case where the user selects the existing Contact entity that they want to integrate with an external data source.

Before you can use the Data and Integration Designer, your Pega application must have Common Application in its application stack. As an alternative, you can import the Common App and Common Tools App into your application.

To enable Data integration and designer for your application, you need to configure the following:

• Add the DataIntegrationDesigner Case Type to your application definition on the Cases & data tab.
  
• Create a new branch and enable branch development.

  Using a branch allows safe and controlled development by ensuring that you can test and validate changes before going live.

  On your application definition, you lock and save all application rulesets, and then create a branch.

  

  In the header of Dev Studio, click the Toggle branch development icon to enable branch development.

  
• In the Data Portal, add your application information to the CDM - General Settings. You can get the Data and Integration rulesets from the application definition. For the rulesets, do not enter the version information. The service package is customer-service.
  
• In Dev Studio, review and submit the settings for the Data and Integration Designer.

  To view the configuration page, click Configure > Common Data Model > Server configuration.

  Following the instructions on the landing page, shown in the following figure, to complete the configuration: