Configuring business rules

Any time that you want the system to take action on a ticket or other item based on specific criteria, you can create a business rule. For example, you can create a rule that changes the priority of a ticket based on the subject of a request or the title of a ticket. You can also set up email reminders and set field values using formulas. You can create business rules for any type of container except address books.

A rules consists of three parts:

• Trigger that defines a frequency or event causes the criteria of a rule to be checked.
• Criteria that determine if the action should be performed (such as "Title contains 'Printer'" or "Cost is greater than 100"). Multiple criteria can be defined and are connected by AND or OR operators.
• Actions that are performed when the criteria are met. Multiple actions can be defined and are connected by the AND operator.

For detailed information, review the topics in the Business rules tutorial section.

The following instructions explain how to configure business rules in general. For instructions about defining rules for specific purposes, see the Related topics.

To view the rules already defined for a container, go to the Business Rules page in the container or run a configuration report from the Actions menu on the container Administration page.

To define a business rule

1. Open the item where you want to define the rule:
   1. Click the Administration tab.
   2. In the appropriate section, click the container that you want to modify or click Manage to open the container Administration page. Then double-click the container.
   3. In the container details page, in the left pane, click the item link (such as Record Definitions for workspaces).
   4. In the Items page, double-click the item that you want to modify.
2. In the Item details page, in the left pane, click Business Rules.
   Icons for the rules associated with this item appear in the right pane.
3. Click New Business Rule and select the type of business rule that you want to add. Make sure to select the correct rule type because you cannot change it.
   The New Business Rule page appears. If you find that you selected the wrong rule type, you must create a new rule with the correct type. You can delete the incorrect rule or modify it for another purpose. For detailed information about configuring different types of rules, see Types of business rules.
4. In the Business Rule Name field, type a descriptive name for this rule.
5. (Optional) In the Description field, type a description that explains the purpose of this rule.
   This is especially useful when looking for a particular rule in the list.
6. (Optional) In the State field, select Not active if this rule is not ready for use.
   You can deactivate a rule temporarily and return to this page to activate it again. The Business Rule Type field is read-only.
7. (Optional) In the Business Rule Schedule field, select any work schedule configured for this container (such as Normal Work Week).
   If you select the default work schedule, be aware that the rule may not run as you expect if the Administrator changes the default schedule between the time that you configure a business rule and when the rule checks the schedule.
8. In the Triggers section, define the action or event that will trigger this rule, such as a user updating a ticket:
   1. Click Add new trigger.
      The new trigger form appears. Triggers are user-action or time based. For detailed information about selecting triggers, see Selecting triggers for business rules.
   2. Select the events that will activate this rule, such as On Create or On Linked Item Update, and fill in any other fields provided for the selected trigger.
   3. Click Create.
      The Triggers section refreshes to show the new trigger statement with icons to the right.
   4. (Optional) To add another trigger, click the plus sign .
      A new trigger form appears. Fill in the options as explained above.
   5. (Optional) To edit an existing trigger, click the pencil icon. The trigger form appears. Modify the settings as needed and click Update.
   6. (Optional) To remove a trigger, click the trashcan next to the plus sign.
9. In the Criteria section, add any conditions that apply for this rule, such as when a particular field is updated:
   1. Click Add new condition.
      The new condition form appears. For detailed information about defining criteria, see Defining criteria for business rules.
   2. In the first field, select the field that you want this rule to reference.
   3. In the Condition field, select the condition (such as is equal to or is not equal to).
      The options vary by the selected field. Additional fields may appear based on your selections. You can select multiple field values (using the CTRL key). To add more parameters, create additional criteria.
   4. Click Create.
      The Criteria section refreshes to show the new condition statement with action icons to the right.
   5. (Optional) To add another condition, click the plus sign to the right of a condition statement in the Criteria section.
      A new condition form appears. Select whether the condition should be considered in conjunction with previous conditions (AND) or as an alternative to them (OR). The system gives precedence to AND operators. Fill in the other options and click Create.
   6. (Optional) To edit an existing condition, click the pencil icon. The condition form appears. Modify the settings as needed and click Update.
   7. (Optional) To remove a condition, click the trashcan next to the plus sign.
10. In the Actions section, add the actions that should result from triggering this rule, such as sending email or setting a field value:
    1. Click Add new action. A new action form appears.
    2. In the Action field, select the action that should occur when this rule's criteria are met.
       The fields displayed to the right change depending on the option that you select. For detailed information about configuring actions, see Defining actions for business rules.
    3. Fill in any other fields in this section.
    4. Click Create.
       The Actions section refreshes to show the new action with action icons to the right.
    5. (Optional) To add another action, click the plus sign to the right of an action statement in the Actions section.
       A new action form appears. Fill in the options as explained above.
    6. (Optional) To edit an existing action, click the pencil icon. The action form appears. Modify the settings as needed and click Update.
    7. (Optional) To remove an action, click the trashcan next to the plus sign.
11. Click Save.
12. In the breadcrumb trail, click the Item link and review the rules configured for the item.
    The information shown for each rule includes:
    • Rule name
    • Rule description
    • Impact: The number of records that were affected by the last run of this business rule. This number is 0 or 1 for any rule type except time-based and may be more than 1 for time-based rules.
    • Number of times executed: Number of times this business rule was executed.
    • Last run on: This is a date or the word "Never".
13. (Optional) To change the order in which the rules are triggered:
    1. Click Grid View at the top right of the page
    2. Select a rule in the grid and move it to the correct location:
       • Click the up and down arrows.
       • Type a number in the first part of the Order column.
       • Drag the rule to a new location.

14. To implement your changes, in the breadcrumb trail, click the container link, click Save and Publish.

Related topics

Managing business rules

Activating and deactivating business rules

Creating workspaces

Getting started quickly for administrators

Creating approval processes

Configuring rules for assigning tickets

Configuring rules for sending notifications

Configuring rules for updating tickets

Configuring time-based rules

Defining rules for linking records

Defining rules that use mathematical formulas

Defining rules for sending customer surveys

Defining rules to create records

Defining rules to execute an external action

Defining rules to manage approvals