Understanding and Using the Rule Builder

Overview

Several features within Practifi require System Administrators to specify criteria, such as when creating rules in the Rulebook or validation rules for Active Form Fields. The Rule Builder is a tool that assists in creating complex criteria logic by breaking it down into a series of conditions, each made up of individual settings. This article outlines information about the Rule Builder, including establishing rule logic and creating a condition. 

• Understanding the Rule Builder
• Defining a Rule's Evaluation Logic
• Creating a Condition
  • Resources
  • Operators
  • Values

Understanding the Rule Builder

The Rule Builder is used to set validation and visibility rules for Active Form Fields, define which records should appear in Active Form Tables and create rules within the Rulebook. The Rule Builder powers these features, allowing Practifi Administrators to define the rule's logic and create conditions for when the rule should run.

There is no maximum number of rules you can build for a given object, but we recommend no more than 10 rules per object. This is not a hard limit, so you can add more when required, but having too many rules on an object can cause performance issues.

Conditions within the Rule Builder are built using resources, operators and values to determine when the rule should run. The evaluation logic in the Rule Builder determines how many conditions need to be met before the rule is run within your organization. There is no maximum number of conditions a rule can have, but we recommend no more than 10 criteria per rule. While not a hard limit, defining too many criteria for a rule can cause performance issues.

Defining a Rule's Evaluation Logic 

A drop-down menu at the top of the Rule Builder allows you to select how your rule will be evaluated. This logic selector has three options to define a rule's evaluation logic. The options are as follows: 

• Any condition is met - If any of the conditions within the rule are true, then the rule is true. The word "OR" appears next to each condition as a reminder of how this works. For example, if condition 1 OR condition 2 OR condition 3 is met.
• All conditions are met - If all of the conditions within the rule are true, then the rule is true. The word "AND" appears next to each condition as a reminder of how this works. For example, if condition 1 AND condition 2 AND condition 3 are met.
• Custom logic is met - The conditions that need to be true depending on a set of logic that you define using a combination of AND and OR operators and brackets to indicate groupings. A number appears next to each condition to indicate how they should be referred to within the custom logic statement. For example, 1 AND (2 OR 3) means condition 1 must be met, as well as either conditions 2 or 3. 1 AND 2 OR 3 means that either conditions 1 and 2 must be met, or condition 3.

Creating a Condition

Each new rule starts with a blank condition for you to fill in. More conditions can be added by using the Add Condition button below it. A condition is comprised of Resources, Operators and Values, described in the following sections. 

Resources

Resources are the items that the condition evaluates. For example, when creating an Active Form validation rule with a condition that checks the related Entity's Client Segment, that Client Segment field is the resource. 

To select a resource in the Rule Builder, click the Select Resource button to reveal the resource selector. The first step is to select which resource type you're using from the following options:

• Active Form Field - A field on the workflow task's Active Form.
• Custom Permission - User permissions that come from Practifi, other installed apps or that have been created locally.
• Custom Setting - Settings are found within the Custom Settings section of Salesforce Setup. These could have come from Practifi or other installed apps or have been created locally.
• Record Field - Fields on records. When selecting a field, the "starting position" is based on the object selected within the Rule Builder's context. For example, when creating a Rulebook item, the starting position is based on the object specified in the Object field on the Rule Criteria record.
• Standard Permission - User permissions that come as part of Salesforce's core platform.
• Standard Setting - Settings found in Salesforce Setup, such as fields on the Company Information page.
• User Field - Fields on the User record. Who that user is varies depending on the Rule Builder's context. Still, it's typically the end user making changes in the system, e.g., the user updating an Active Form Field, which triggers validation rules.
• User Role - The role of the User, as captured on their User record, along with other related information such as the Parent Role.

Not all resource types are always available, as resource availability is based on context. For example, the Active Form Field resource type appears when configuring criteria related to Active Form Fields but not criteria within the Rulebook. Once you've selected a resource type, you'll pick a specific resource from within it, such as a setting or field, and then click Insert to finalize your choice.

Operators

These are the methods available for comparing the Resource and the Value. For example, if your condition is AUM is less than or equal to $1,000,000, "less than or equal to" is the operator. Operators are selected from a drop-down list next to the selected resource, and their availability is also based on that resource. Using the same example, "less than or equal to" is an appropriate way to compare currency fields, but it will not work for text-based resources.

Values

The value is what you compare your resource with based on the selected operator. Values can be either resources or static values. Static values are specified within the Rule Builder and are not found elsewhere in Practifi. This is controlled by the Value Type drop-down menu, which appears next to the operator.

Once the Type is selected, select a resource or specify a static value. Static values have to be compatible with the resource's field type. For example, if your condition has a currency field as its resource, you can't include text in your value, only numbers. The Rule Builder validates values during the creation process to avoid these issues.