Editing a Decision

A decision can contain rule flows, models, and conditions, which consist of IF clauses and ELSE clauses. The IF and ELSE clauses of a condition can contain additional rule flows, models, and conditions.
Controlling the Order of Elements in a Decision
Add a Rule Flow
Add a Model
Add a Condition
Select Input and Output Variables
Map Variables to Vocabulary Terms
Change a Rule Flow or Model Used in a Decision
Delete an Item in a Decision

Controlling the Order of Elements in a Decision

When you add a new item to a decision, where the decision editor adds the item depends on whether another item is currently selected and, if so, what the selected item is.
  • If no item is currently selected, the decision editor adds the new item at the beginning of the decision.
  • If the currently selected item is a rule flow or a model, the decision editor adds the new item immediately below it.
  • If the currently selected item is a condition, the decision editor behaves differently depending on whether the condition is collapsed or expanded.
    • If the condition is collapsed, the decision editor adds the new item immediately below it.
    • If the condition is expanded and the currently selected item is the IF or ELSE clause, the decision editor adds the new item as the content of the clause.
You can move an item up or down, including into and out of a condition, by selecting the item and clicking Move selected item up or Move selected item down. You can also move the selected item using Shift + Up arrow and Shift + Down arrow on the keyboard.

Add a Rule Flow

  1. Select an item according to where you want the new rule flow to be added. See Controlling the Order of Elements in a Decision for more information.
  2. Click Add Rule Flow. The Open window appears.
  3. Select the rule flow and click Open. The Select Rule Flow Version window appears.
    Note: You cannot add complex rule flows to a decision.
  4. Select the version of the rule flow that you want to add to the decision, and click OK.

Add a Model

  1. Select an item according to where you want the new model to be added. See Controlling the Order of Elements in a Decision for more information.
  2. Click Add Model. The Open window appears.
  3. Select the model and click Open.

Add a Condition

  1. Select an item according to where you want the new condition to be added. See Controlling the Order of Elements in a Decision for more information.
  2. Click Add Condition.
  3. Enter the expression for the IF clause.
    1. In the first field, select a variable for the left side of the expression.
    2. Select the operator.
    3. For the right side of the expression, select Value or Variable.
      • To compare the first variable to a constant, select Value.
      • To compare the first variable to another variable, select Variable.
    4. In the last field, either enter the constant or select the comparison variable.
  4. Add content to the IF and ELSE clauses. You can leave an IF or ELSE clause empty. A clause can contain any combination of rule flows, models, and conditions.
For example, the expression EmpStatus == ‘Employed’ appears in Decision Builder as shown in the following figure.
IF condition for the expression “EmpStatus equals ‘Employed’”
The expression Credit_Score < Score_Minimum appears in Decision Builder as shown in the following figure.
IF condition for the expression “Credit_Score < Score_Minimum”

Select Input and Output Variables

Decision Builder expects all input variables in a decision to be mapped to columns in an input table. All output variables are included in the output data sets by default. You can exclude variables from the mapping process and from the output data sets.
To exclude variables:
  1. Click the Variables tab.
    Note: You can use the radio buttons and the Filter field to limit the display to variables to certain object types or to a specific model or rule flow.
  2. (Optional) For each variable that you do not want to map to an input column, clear the Input check box.
  3. (Optional) For each variable that you do not want included in the output, clear the Output check box. To exclude all variables from the output, clear the check box next to the Output column heading.
    Tip
    To use a variable only while a decision is executing, clear both the Input and Output check boxes.

Map Variables to Vocabulary Terms

The variables referenced in a decision must be mapped to terms in the vocabulary that the decision uses. Decision Builder automatically maps a variable to an existing term if the variable and term have the same name and the same data type. If a matching term does not exist, Decision Builder creates a matching term and maps the variable to the term. To change the default variable mappings:
  1. Select the rule flow or model for which you want to map variables.
  2. Click Show properties of the selected object. The Properties window appears.
  3. On the Variables tab, under the Maps To column, select or change the term for each variable as needed.
  4. Click Close.

Change a Rule Flow or Model Used in a Decision

  1. Select the rule flow or model that you want to change.
  2. Click Edit selected object. The Open window appears.
  3. Select the rule flow or model that you want to use in the decision, and click Open.

Delete an Item in a Decision

To delete a rule flow, model, or condition, select it and click Delete selected object.
If you delete a condition, the contents of the condition (both clauses) are retained in the same position that the condition occupied.
Note: You cannot delete empty ELSE clauses.
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Last updated: February 22, 2017