All of the Focus Powers for Occultist implement schools seem to be spell-like abilities, which provoke attacks of opportunity. Side Step, from the Conjuration school, specifically states that it is *part* of a move action and that passing through the fissure does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If the occultist is in a square threatened by an enemy, can she use Side Step to move a bunch of squares away without casting defensively or provoking attacks of opportunity, or does it just mean that once Side Step is cast the occultist can then move through it without provoking further attacks?
By my reading, benefiting from the effects of side step allows you to not provoke attacks of opportunity, but you would still provoke for using the spell like ability.
From what I can tell, you would start your side-step-move-action, and the act of using a spell like ability would provoke unless you cast it defensively, and then you can continue. Should you fail to cast it defensively, the side step portion would fail and you would provoke for moving normally.
There's room to interpret that if you fail to cast defensively, you lose the ability AND you lose your move action, but I don't think I want to be that mean with the ruling if I were a DM.