Overview of the Production Data Fix tool

In typical conditions, PolicyCenter data changes in the database as a result of:

  • Users changing data through the user interface, defined by PCF pages.
  • External systems changing data through specific integrations exposed as web services.

You might need to change production data in a way that has not been defined in PCF pages or web services. In typical cases, you can write a new web service or other integration to satisfy your integration need. However, in rare cases there might not be an opportunity to bring your production server down for this improvement to the application.

PolicyCenter provides a tightly constrained system for updating data on a running production server. Guidewire calls this mechanism the Production Data Fix tool.

Warning: Use the Production Data Fix tool only under extraordinary conditions, with great caution, and upon advice of Guidewire Support. Before registering a data change on a production server, register and run the data change on a development server. Guidewire recommends that multiple people review and test the code and the results before you attempt the data change on a production server.

Separation of permissions

To decrease security risks, the Production Data Fix tool separates its actions into separate tasks, each of which has different permissions and entry points.
Permission Code Description
Execute a data change admindatachangeexec Permission to execute the data change code.
Register a data change wsdatachangeedit Permission to register a data change Gosu program.

Use one of the following to register data change code:

  • The data_change command prompt tool
  • The DataChangeAPI WS-I web service
View a data change admindatachangeview Permission to view the Data Change screen.

By providing multiple paths requiring different roles, there is no single point of attack.

Important: Guidewire recommends that you force separation of responsibilities into two different PolicyCenter users. Give one user the wsdatachangeedit permission (to register data change code), and give the other user the admindatachangeexecd permission (to execute the code).

Preserving results

ClaimCenter captures the results of script execution, which increases accountability and makes debugging easier.

Replay prevention

To prevent replay attacks, the Production Data Fix tool runs each registered script a maximum of one time. If you need to run it again, you must first re-register the script and create a new change control reference.

The Data Change screen

Administrative users with the admindatachangeview permission can view the PolicyCenter Data Change administration screen, which displays information about data change operations. To access this screen, open Guidewire PolicyCenter and navigate to Administration > Utilities > Data Change.

See also