Business Rules
Business rules are reusable objects that can be embedded within your workflow and/or eForm to conditionally control how they should run and behave in various conditions. Business rules can be defined as simple conditions or sophisticated interrelated rule sets.
Business Rules can be used to return the result of a condition which allows complex business process to be used. Business Rules can also return a list of users, groups, string values, a single value, or run a custom task.
Creating a Business Rule
A Business Rule is created as a content object, which means that you can re-use the business rule in multiple places of the partition. To create a Business Rule, follow these instructions:
From the Content List navigate to the location you would like to create the Business Rule. Select Business Rule from the Create New dropdown.
Enter a name for the Business Rule and click OK.
Configure the Business Rule with the desired conditions and results. Then click OK to save. See Business Rule Configuration for option descriptions.
Business Rule Configuration
Business Rule Name and Description
The Business Rule name and description identify and describe the object. A custom icon can also be configured for this Business Rule. To change the icon used for this Business Rule, click on the icon.
Group in Value Picker
Specify a group to organize Business Rule names. When selecting a Business Rule, they will be then be categorized under the groups named in this field. This becomes useful when there are many Business Rules to choose from. Business Rules will be displayed alphabetically in all pickers, showing the Groups first, then all those Business Rules without Group names.
For example, the Group in the Value Picker for this Dept Head Approval is named “Expense” is displayed under the Selection category “Expense” whenever a Business Rule option is presented.
EForms Associated with Business Rule
You can optionally link a Business Rule to a specific eForm definition in the Content List. When this is configured you can choose a form field from this eForm from a dropdown list instead of selecting the eForm in every condition. Essentially, this makes the selected eForm the default eForm for the condition selections.
This is convenient if you have only one eForm that needs to be associated with the Business Rule.
Workflows Associated with Business Rule
You can optionally link a Business Rule to a specific Workflow definition in the Content List. When this is configured you can choose a step name from a dropdown list instead of typing in the step name when configuring the return result of a Business Rule.
Process Timeline Associated with Business Rule
You can optionally link a Business Rule to a specific Process Timeline Definition in the Content List. When this is configured you can choose an activity from a dropdown list instead of typing in the activity when configuring the return result of a Business Rule.
Returns
When a business Rule is evaluated a result is returned. There are many types of returns that can be used in your Business Rule. The following is a list of return types and their description.
Result of Condition
This return type will return the result of a condition. If selected, you can create a specific condition using the Condition Builder and it will return the result of that condition. For example: If a specific checkbox is checked the result would be true.
Value
This return type will return a value. If selected, you can select from the “Select the Value to Return” dropdown. This allows you to select a pre-defined value in the system or you can enter your own value. Optionally you can create a condition to only use that value if the condition is met.
List of String Values
This return type will return a list of string values in a comma separated list. If selected, you can add an item to the list by clicking on the Add Value button. This will add a value to the list. Optionally you can conditionally add that value by adding a condition to each value added to the list.
List of Users
This return type will return a list of users in a comma separated list. If selected, you can add a user to the list by clicking on the Add Users button. This will add a user to the list. Optionally you can conditionally add that user by adding a condition to each user(s) added to the list.
List of Groups
This return type will return a list of groups in a comma separated list. If selected, you can add a group to the list by clicking on the Add Groups button. This will add a group to the list. Optionally you can conditionally add that group by adding a condition to each group(s) added to the list.
Custom Task
This return type will return the result of a custom task. If selected, you can add a custom task by selecting one from the pick list and then clicking on the Add Custom Task button. Once you have added the custom task you can configure the custom task by clicking on the Configure button. Optionally you can conditionally return the result by setting a condition.
Business Rule Samples
Your installation of Process Director should come with sample Business Rules and accompanying eForms and processes in the [Samples] folder. If you do not have this folder, you can contact BP Logix technical support.