Task 1: Preparing to do the tutorial

You download the project files for the tutorial, and gain access to the cloud portal. Then, you import the Miniloan Service decision service, and create a branch in the service for your changes.

About this task

You update the Miniloan Service decision service in the Decision Center Business console in the development environment in the cloud portal. The decision service holds the business rules and related artifacts for developing and deploying a rule application that is used by a client application. The Business console contains editors for creating and editing rules, and tools for testing decision services and deploying their rules to the execution servers in the development, test, and production environments in the cloud portal.

To start the tutorial, you must first download a group of projects from GitHub. Step 1 explains how to download the files.

To use the Business console, you must have access to the cloud portal. Step 2 explains how to obtain access to the cloud portal if you do not have it.

When you have access to the cloud portal, you can work on the Miniloan Service decision service. The decision service must be imported into Decision Center through the Business console. You look for the decision service in the Business console in step 3, and if you need to import it, you follow the instructions in step 4.

Finally, when Miniloan Service is in the Business console, you create a branch for your work in the decision service. Your branch isolates your changes from the other branches in the decision service.

Step 1: Downloading the tutorial files

You download the source files for the tutorial from Github and install them on your computer. These files are required to do the tutorial.

Procedure

  1. Go to the GitHub repository for the tutorial Getting started in IBM®® Operational Decision Manager on Cloud External link opens a new window or tab.
  2. Download the contents of the repository to a directory on your computer. The files are downloaded in a compressed file that is named odm-cloud-getting-started-master.zip.
  3. Open the downloaded file <InstallDir>/odm-cloud-getting-started-master.zip.
    InstallDir is used throughout the tutorial to refer to your directory for the GitHub files.
  4. Extract the contents of the compressed file to the InstallDir directory.
    You get a new directory, named odm-cloud-getting-started-master, which contains the following items:
    • miniloan.zip: This compressed file contains the Miniloan Service decision service and the miniloan-xom Java™ object model. You import this file into Decision Center through the Business console.
    • Miniloan Service: This decision service contains the rule artifacts for approving loans. The decision service was created in Rule Designer.
    • miniloan-xom: This Java object model describes the classes that are used in the decision service.
    • miniloan-server: This client application uses REST to call the rules that are deployed from the decision services.
    • Documentation for the tutorial

Step 2: Gaining access to the cloud portal

Each tenant of the cloud portal has an administrator, who invites people to the portal and assigns user roles.

Before you begin

You need a user role that gives you access to the cloud portal and the Business console. You can do this tutorial with the business user role or greater. Check with your administrator. If you already have access to the cloud portal, you can skip this step and go to step 3.

About this task

The administrator gives people access to the portal by sending them invitations from the portal. The invitations enable people to connect to the portal for the first time.

The administrator also assigns user roles, which determine which components can be accessed by the users. For more information, see .

For this tutorial, it is recommended that you use one of the following user roles:

  • Business user: Works primarily in the Business console. Can update and create rules, but cannot deploy them.
  • Configuration manager: Can create new releases, update and test rules, and deploy decision services.

To gain access to your cloud tenant, you must contact the administrator of your client portal. For more information, see Setting up and administering cloud subscriptions.

Step 3: Checking the availability of the decision service

You determine whether the Miniloan Service decision service is already in the Business console of the development environment in the cloud portal.

Procedure

  1. Sign in to the cloud portal.
    The portal displays the resources that are available to your cloud user role.
  2. Launch the Decision Center Business console in the development environment.
    The console opens to its home page.
  3. Click LIBRARY to open the list of decision services that are currently in Decision Center.
  4. Enter Miniloan Service in the filter to look for the decision service.
    Image shows the filter results.

    If the Miniloan Service decision service is in the library, skip step 4 and go to step 5.

Step 4: Importing the decision service

You import the decision service into Decision Center.

Procedure

  1. In the Business console LIBRARY tab, click the Import Decision Service button "".
  2. Click Choose, and navigate to the miniloan.zip file in the directory <InstallDir>/odm-cloud-getting-started-master, which you created in step 1.
  3. Select the file, and click Open.
    Note: Do not select Use Decision Governance Framework. You do not use this feature in this tutorial.
  4. Click Import. The decision service is added to the library in the Business console.

Step 5: Creating a branch

You create a branch to isolate your changes to the decision service.

About this task

The main branch in the decision service contains the rule artifacts in their original form. To update the decision service, you create a branch based on the main branch, and work in the new branch.

Procedure

  1. Click Miniloan Service to open the decision service.
  2. Open the Branches tab. It contains the main branch.
    The main branch might contain branches. If so, click the arrow next to main to expand the branch. When you create your branch, do not use the name of an existing branch.
  3. Click the New Branch button "".
  4. Enter a name for your branch, for example, My Branch.
    Remember not to reuse the name of an existing branch. You can personalize your branch by using the initials of your name.

    You can also enter a goal for your branch, for example:

    Make policy changes in getting started tutorial.

  5. Select main as the parent branch, and then click Create.
    The Business console duplicates the artifacts of the main branch in a new branch that you can modify.
    Note: In the rest of the tutorial, My Branch is used as the name of the branch.

What to do next

In the next task, you explore the contents of the decision service before making changes.