IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Administer applications and processes in the runtime environment > Administer business rules and selectors

Business process rules manager

The business process rules manager is a web-based tool that assists the business analyst in browsing and modifying business rule values. The tool is an option of IBM Process Server that you can select to install at profile creation time or after installing the server.

Business rules are designed and developed in IBM Integration Designer using if/then rule sets and decision tables to implement their operations. Business rules can also be created in IBM WebSphere Business Modeler; however Modeler only supports the creation of business rule tasks, which become rule sets when exported out of Modeler. The rule sets and decision tables are set into templates. The templates control which aspects of a business rule you can modify and by exactly how much. They define the structure of if/then rules, condition cases, and actions for decision tables.

The templates provide the mechanism for business rule runtime authoring in the business process rules manager. Using the template, you can modify business rule values, create a new rule within a rule set or a new condition or action within a decision table, and publish changes to business rule definitions at run time.

Business rules are organized into business rule groups. Business rule groups are used to provide the interface to business rules and to invoke business rules. Rule sets and decision tables are never invoked directly.

• How the business process rules manager works
  The business process rules manager is the main IBM Process Server tool that a business analyst uses for runtime rule authoring.
• Access the business process rules manager
  

  You access the business process rules manager using a web browser.

• Business Rule Groups page and the business process rules manager page layout
  When the business process rules manager opens, the Business Rule Groups page opens, so you can browse all of the business rule groups and their defined operations.
• Adding, deleting, and modifying business rule group properties
  

  You can use custom properties on business rule groups for searches in order to retrieve subsets of business rule groups that you want to view and modify. You add new custom properties, delete or modify existing properties through the editing pages of business rule groups. The number of custom properties on a business rule group is unlimited.

• Search business rule groups
  

  You can perform a search query on a business rule group to locate or narrow a specified set of business rule groups that you want to work with.

  You create a search query based on the name, target name space, custom properties, or any combination of these.

• Work with scheduled rule logic entries
  A scheduled rule logic entry identifies information for a rule, such as its effective dates and the if/then rule set or decision table associated with the rule.
• Rule sets
  A rule set is a group of if/then statements or rules where the if is the condition and the then is the action of the rule. Rule sets are best suited for those business rules that have very few condition clauses.
• Decision tables
  A decision table is a scheduled rule logic entry, in table format, that consists of conditions, represented in the row and column headings, and actions, represented as the intersection points of the conditional cases in the table. Decision tables are best suited for business rules that have multiple conditions. Adding another condition is done by simply adding another row or column.
• Delete scheduled rule logic entries
  

  You can delete existing scheduled rule logic entries from the scheduled rule logic table. When a scheduled rule logic entry is deleted, the associated rule set or decision table definition remains with the rule group and is listed in the Available Rule Logic section of the page. The scheduled rule logic entry can be added back either as the default rule logic or with a specific date and time.

• Publishing and reverting business rules
  When you save any part of a business rule group, the changes are saved locally. In order to store the changes to the data source that resides on the application server, you need to publish the changes. Alternatively, you can cancel the changes that have been saved locally to a business rule by reverting the rule to its original state.
• Troubleshooting the business process rules manager
  Some of the problems you might encounter using the business process rules manager are login errors, login conflicts, and access conflicts.

Administer business rules and selectors

Related concepts:
Considerations for modules containing business rules and selectors
Overview of business rules
Overview of selector components
Audit logging for business rules and selectors

Related information:
Business Rules