This topic applies only to the IBM Business Process Manager Advanced configuration.

Decision table editor

A decision table captures multi-conditional decision-making business logic in tabular format.

Like the rule set, a business rule that takes the form of a decision table is driven by the interaction between conditions and actions. The main difference being that, in a decision table, the action is decided by more than one condition. The conditional logic is represented as a table where the rows and columns intersect to determine the appropriate action.

In the decision table editor, the rule is presented in a tabular format that you can edit as needed. The editor is divided into several distinct areas, each with its own individual use as shown here.

The distinct areas of the decision table editor

The decision table in this screen capture is an example of how an interest rate for a mortgage can be calculated by considering both a customer's salary and credit rating. When this business rule executes, the initialization action rule (in section 2) begins by taking the input values and assigning them to the output values. This is done so that the business process that calls this decision table can continue to work with the original values. The light gray conditions area of the table (section 6) shows the multiple conditions that will interact to determine the customer's interest rate. The row along the top represents the customer's salary, and the column on the left, the customer's credit rating. The intersection of the values that are passed into each of these two conditions specify the action (section 7) that will determine the customer's interest rate. For example, if a customer's salary is greater than 500, and the credit rating is 5, then they will receive the lowest interest rate of 5.0f.

The individual areas of the decision table

The areas of the decision table are as follows:
  1. The interface area
    • This area displays the interface that is currently being referenced, as well as the inputs and outputs that you can use in the decision table.
  2. The Initialize area
    • Use this area to configure an initialization action rule (an operation that will take place when data first enters a decision table), as well as create a template for one.
  3. The initialize tool bar
    • Use the icons in the Initialize tool bar to perform the following functions:
    Icon Description
    The add an initialization action rule icon Add an initialization action rule
    The Convert Rule or Table Cell Into Template icon Create a template from this action rule.
  4. The Table area
    • This area displays the table that shows the conditions and the actions that make up this business rule.
  5. The decision table tool bar
    • Use the icons in the decision table tool bar to perform the following functions:
    Icon Description
    The add a new condition icon Add a new condition
    The add a new condition value icon Add a new condition value
    The add an new action icon Add a new action
    The change orientation icon Change the orientation of the condition (this will not impact the runtime execution).
    The convert into template icon Create a template for one of the expressions in this table
  6. The conditions area
    • The conditions area appears in light gray. Use this area of the decision table to define the multiple conditions that will evaluate the incoming inputs in order to fire a corresponding action.
  7. The actions area
    • The actions area appears to the right and below the conditions area (in this particular configuration of the decision table layout). Use this area of the decision table to define the actions that will fire when the conditions intersect.
  8. The properties area
    • This area displays properties that are relevant to the object that is currently selected in the editor. Click the tabs to the left of this view to toggle through the pages. Some pages display properties in tabular format, and you can add or modify these properties by clicking the appropriate cell and then interacting with the graphical interface that appears.
    • The contents of the page will differ on the activity or object chosen. In all cases, you can type F1 to launch a dedicated help window.

Working with the decision table editor

This editor gives you complete control over the configuration of your decision table. Follow the links in the Related tasks section below to learn how to do any of the following tasks:
  • Add a condition or a condition value
  • Add an action
  • Add an initialization action rule
  • Using an otherwise condition
  • Change the layout of your decision table
  • Work with templates
Parent topic: Creating business rules
Parent topic: Creating a decision table
Related concepts:
Rule group editor
Rule set editor
Related tasks:
Working with conditions in a decision table
Configuring actions in a decision table
Working with initialization action rules
Using an otherwise condition
Changing the layout of your decision table
Creating decision table templates
Using templates in your decision table
Editing a decision table template