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© 2009 SAP AG 1

Modeling Rules using SAP

NetWeaver Business Rules

Management 7.2

Applies to:

SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.2. For more information, visit the Business Rules Management homepage.

Summary

This article is an end-to-end guide meant to help you in understanding the different features available in BRM 7.2 and in how they can be used in modeling a set of simple rules. This guide makes use of simple rules scenario where we check whether or not the approval of a superior officer is required in an Investment Approval Process.

Author: Arti Gopalan

Company: SAP Labs.

Created on: 15th July 2009

Author Bio

Arti is a product manager in SAP NetWeaver Product Management BPM\BRM\CE team. She has been a software engineer in BRM before joining the Product Management team. She has over three years of experience in Business Rules Management.

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-rules-management


Modeling Rules using SAP NetWeaver Business Rules Management 7.2


© 2009 SAP AG 2

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Modeling Rules ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Create Rules DC ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Creating a new FlowRuleset ...................................................................................................................... 6

Importing Decision Table ........................................................................................................................... 6

Creating a simple Rule Script................................................................................................................... 11 Rule Script 1: ............................................................................................................................................................. 11

Rule Script 2: ............................................................................................................................................................. 14

Modifying Rule Flow ................................................................................................................................ 17

Default Rule Flow as provided with Rules DC .......................................................................................... 17

Modified Rule Flow .................................................................................................................................. 17

Testing Rules Created................................................................................................................................. 24

Build and Deploy Ruleset......................................................................................................................... 31

Testing Web Service already Generated .................................................................................................. 36

Copyright .................................................................................................................................................... 40



© 2009 SAP AG 3

Introduction

In this article you will be looking at how Netweaver Business Rules Management Component will help you in automating business decisions/rules. Here, Business Rules are defined as the policies or constraints which are applicable to any business.

In this end-to-end article, you will be modeling, implementing and executing rules using the SAP NW BRM 7.2 Component.

Modeling Rules

In this step we will be modeling rules using the Netweaver Development Studio BRM component.

Create Rules DC

For this purpose the first step is to create a new Rules DC. To do this –

1. Open the NetWeaver Development Studio.

2. Select the workspace

3. Open the Rules

Composer Perspective by navigating to Windows > Open Perspective. Select Rules Composer and skip the 4th step.

If this is not visible, select the option Other.



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4. In the dialog box opened, navigate to Rules Composer and select OK.

5. Select File> New> Project of type Rules Composer Development Component and click on Next.

6. Select the required Software Component and click on Finish.

7. Enter the name of the rules as iap_rules and

click on Finish. This will create the rules DC.



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8. Copy the xsd

provided - rulesdata.xsd -

into this rules DC iap_rules> src> wsdl folder.

9. To create the required aliases, open Project Resources.

10. Click on Aliases tab.

11. Select Add > XSD Element.



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12. Select the root element of the XSD – ApprovalNecessary.

13. Note that the radio button “Create all default XPath aliases for the selected element” is selected and click on Finish.

Creating a new FlowRuleset

To create a new flowruleset –

1. From the context menu of the Rules Modeling node, select New FlowRuleset. Enter the name of the ruleset as ApprovalNeededRuleset.

2.

Importing Decision Table

The next step is creation of a Decision Table to evaluate based on the region and the total amount of the order, whether or not the approval of a supervisor is required or not.

To create a Decision Table, we will be making use of the BRM7.2 feature of importing an excel sheet into rules. For this purpose, we have already provided the excel sheet here –



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Steps to import the Excel Sheet –

1. Select the node Decision Table. 2. From the context menu of this node

select the option to create a New Decision Table.

3. Enter the name of this new Decision

Table as – ApprovalRequiredDecisionTable –

and click on Next.



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4. Select the Conditions –

ApprovalNecessary/region and ApprovalNecessary/totalAmount -

in the Decision Table Wizard opened and click on Next.



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5. Select the Actions –

ApprovalNecessary/approvalNecessary – from the Decision Table

Wizard and click on Finish.

6. The Decision Table Editor gets

opened with the condition and action columns set as selected in the previous steps.

7. Now, you can import the Excel Sheet

which has been provided.



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8. To import this excel sheet, click on the option Import provided in the Decision Table Editor.

9. Confirm Save dialog box is opened.

This opens a dialog box Open. Select the Excel 2007 document to be imported into the Decision Table.

10. This will import the Excel Sheet values into the Decision Table.

11. Save the Decision Table.



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Creating a simple Rule Script

For the case scenario considered, we will be creating two rule scripts. The first to check if the inputted entry information is valid or not and the other to set the approval to necessary whatever may be the inputted entry.

Rule Script 1:

We will be creating a rule script which will check if the inputted entry value of the region is an allowed value or not - ValidateEntry rule script.

1. First step is to create a temporary variable to hold whether or not the inputted entry is valid.

2. To do this let us create a variable definition. This is a variable specific to this ruleset alone, so we will be creating a ruleset variable definition.

3. Open the ruleset overview page and select the Definitions tab.

4. To create a variable definition of type boolean,

click on and select the type boolean.

5. Select the default name of the definition and change it to valid.

6. Let the initial value of the definition be false.



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7. To create the rule script. Select on the Rule Scripts node of the Rules DC. From the context menu of this node, select the option to create a New Rule Script.

8. In the dialog box opened

enter the name of the new rule script as – ValidateEntry and click on

OK. 9. This will create the new rule

script and open the Rule Script Editor.

10. In the actions section of the

editor select the sign. 11. In the list of action types

displayed select the If-Else if action type.



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12. Set the if condition as –

If ApprovalNecessary/region In EMEA, AMER, APJ

13. Set the Then condition as – Assign valid = true.



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14. Select the <Add Else> option.

15. Select action type Assign and set the variable definition valid to false.

16. Select the option to Save this rule script.

Rule Script 2:

The next rule scrip to be created is to set the approval as necessary whatever may be the condition – ApprovalAlwaysNecessary rule script.

1. Select on the Rule Scripts node of the Rules DC. From the context menu of this node, select the option to create a New Rule Script.



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2. In the dialog box opened

enter the name of the new rule script as – ApprovalAlwaysNecessary and click on OK.

3. This will create the new rule script and open the Rule Script Editor.

4. In the actions section of

the editor select the sign.

5. In the list of action types displayed select the Execute action type.



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6. Select Approval Necessary/approvalNecessary = {boolean} as the action.

7. Select the default value and in the drop box opened change this static value to „true“.

8. The action is now set as Approval Necessary/approvalNecessary = true.

9. Save the changes made.



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Modifying Rule Flow

The newly created Flow ruleset has a default Main Flow already contained in it. In this step we will be modifying this Rule Flow.

Default Rule Flow as provided with Rules DC

Modified Rule Flow

Steps to modify the Rule Flow –

1. Open the main flow by double

clicking on the node in the Composite Explorer.



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2. This will open the Rule Flow Editor.

3. Select the Sequence flow from

Start step to End step and select the Delete button on your

keyboard.

4. Drag and Drop the rule script

from project explorer on to the flow editor.



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5. Create a gateway after the

ValidateEntry Rule Script Element by dragging and

dropping the Exclusive Choice Gateway from the Palatte provided in the Rule Flow

Editor.



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6. Drag and Drop the Decision

Table created – ApprovalNeededDT - from the Composite Explorer to the Rule

Flow Editor. Drop this Decision Table element in between Gateway and End Step.

7. Drag and Drop the Rule Script

created –

ApprovalAlwaysRequired - from the Composite Explorer to the Rule Flow Editor. Drop this

Rule Script element also in between Gateway and End Step.



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8. Now, we connect all the flow

elements. To do this select the connection element – Sequence Flow – from the Palatte of the

Rule Flow Editor.

9. Connect the Flow Elements

Start and ValidateEntry. 10. Connect ValidateEntry and

the Exclusive Choice Gateway.

11. The Exclusive Choice Gateway can have multiple outbound connections. Select the Gateway and connect to ApprovalRequiredDecisionTable Decision Table. Select the Gateway and connect to ApprovalAlwaysNecessary

Rule Script. 12. Connect

ApprovalRequiredDecisionTable to End step.

13. Connect ApprovalAlwaysNecessary Rule Script to End Step.

14. Select the Select option

provided in the Palatte.



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15. The next step, is to set the conditions to the Gateways.

16. Select the Properties option from the context menu of the Gateway

17. In the Properties View

opened, select the Conditions tab.

18. Select Alternative 1 to be the

Default Gateway. This means that if none of the other condition gateways gets satisfied, the invocation of rules flows through this gateway.

19. Select Order 1 : Alternative,

and click on Edit.

20. In the dialog box opened, select the Left Hand Side(LHS) default expression and select the dynamic expression – valid as the LHS

expression.



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21. Set the Right Hand Side (RHS) expression of the condition to a static value true, by selecting the default RHS value and entering the value through keyboard.

22. Now ‚Alt+Enter‘ to set this

comparision expression as condtion for the Alternative.

23. The names of the gateways

can be changed as required in this properties view. To do this, double click on the name of the gateway.

24. Here, double click on Alternative and type in the

condition gateway name Valid.

25. Double click on Alternative1

and type in the gateway name Invalid.



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Testing Rules Created

Here, we will be making use of the feature to create a Test Case. Steps to do this -

1. Select the folder Rules Modeling > Test Cases of the Rules DC in the project explorer view.

2. Select the option to create New

XML Test Case from its context menu.

3. In the dialog box opened, enter

the name of the Test Case as – ApprovalRulesetTestCase -

and click on OK.

4. This creates the Test Case and the Test Case Editor will be opened.

5. Select Targer Ruleset for this Test Case as ApprovalNeededRuleset.



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6. Now, we need to create an XML file and place it in the required folder. To do this, open src> wsdl folder.

7. Select the xsd available here – rulesdata.xsd.

8. From the context menu of the xsd. Select Generate > XML File option.

9. In the dialog box opened to

create the New XML File. Select brmstests folder to create the file.

10. Click on Next.



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11. In the dialog box opened, select the option Finish.

12. This will create the required XML File in the brmstests folder.



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13. Open your Test Case Editor.Here you need to add the XML just created, by clicking on the Add XML button.

14. In the Select Xml Files to Add dialog box opened, Select the required Xml.

Here, there is only one xml available – rulesdata.xml –

select this file to be added to the test case.

15. Select this Xml File and click on OK.

16. Open Detailed Configuration tab.

17. In Input Mapping, select the Mapping Element – src/brmstests/rulesdata.xml –

and click on Add XPath.



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18. In the next dialog box opened, select the inputs required by the Rules.

Here, select the XPaths to region and totalAmount.

19. Once the XPaths have been selected. Click on OK.



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20. The next step is to set the required Output Mappings.

21. To do this, select the Mapping Element – src/brmstests/rulesdata.xml –

and click on Add XPath. 22. In the next dialog box opened,

select the inputs required by the Rules.

Here, select the XPaths to approvalNecessary.

23. Once the XPaths have been selected. Click on OK.

24. The Input and Output Mappings have now been created.



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25. Set the Input and Output Values to be tested.

Here let us set

Input Values region as EMEA

totalAmont as 100000

Output Values approvalNecessary as

false.

26. Save the Test Case created. 27. The Test Case can now be run

and tested. 28. Buttons to Run Test Case and

to Validate Test Case have

been provided on the top left hand side of the editor.

Click on the button to Run Test Case.

29. The test case runs and the report is generated in the Rules Testing Console.

30. As the output expected (false) is not same as output observed(true), the test case row has failed.

31. A Report file is also generated. The file path to this report file is provided in the Console.

32. The values can now be changed and tested.



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Build and Deploy Ruleset

1. Select the Rules DC. From the context menu of Rules DC select Development Component > Build.



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2. In the Build DCs dialog box opened click on OK.

3. If there are any errors in the Building process, the messages will be displayed in the Infrastructure Console.

4. Before deploying the

DCs check if SAP AS Java has been set.

5. Open Window > Preferences.

6. In the wizard opened,

enter SAP AS Java in the filter.

7. The view to Add or Remove SAP Systems can be seen on the left hand side of the page.



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8. Click on Add. 9. Enter the

Instance Hostname : , Instance Number : ,

Add to Domain:Default. 10. Click on OK.

11. The SAP System is

now added. Click on OK.



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12. Select the context menu of the Rules DC. Select Development Component > Deploy.

13. In the Deploy DCs

dialog box opened click OK



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14. Enter

username:administrator

password:abcd1234 15. Click on OK.

16. Once the DC has been deployed, the status can be checked in Infrastructure Console.



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Testing Web Service already Generated

Generating Web Service –

1. Select Web Services > Create WSDL Artifact from the context menu of the ruleset - ApprovalNeededRuleset

2. In the wizard opened, set the required service name, port name, operation name and target namespace. Click on Next



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3. Select the input and output variables.

4. Click on Next

5. The WSDL preview is displayed in the web service wizard.

6. Click on Finish.



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7. A csdl file – ApprovalNeededRuleset.csdl - is

created in src > brms > ws folder of the Rules DC.

To test the web service generated –

1. Navigate to wsnavigator portal by opening your Internet Explorer and entering http://<server>:<port>/wsnavigator

2. Enter

Username:administrator

Password:abcd1234

3. Select Provider System Radio

Button.

4. Enter „A*“ in the Search For Text Field



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5. Select invokeRules and click

on Next button.

6. Enter the following Input

Parameters.

region: EMEA

totalAmount:90000 7. Click on Next.

8. In Result approvalNecessary

box has not been checked.

That is Approval of senior

officer is not necessary for the

region and totalAmount

entered.



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Related Content

For more information, visit the Business Rules Management homepage.




© 2009 SAP AG 41

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