Let’s model the first rule: Cargo weighing <= 20,000 kilos must be packaged in a standard container.

Step 1—Defining the rule statement

Enter the plain-language business rule into the Rule Statements section of the Rulesheet as shown.

Step 2—Define rule conditions

Let’s model the condition of our first rule—Cargo weighing <= 20,000. This condition can be represented as Cargo.weight <= 20000.

  1. Click the Rule Vocabulary tab, expand the Cargo entity, and then drag weight from the Vocabulary and drop it in Row a of the Conditions pane.

  2. Next, we need to specify a value expression for cargo weight in cell 1a (row a, column 1). Enter <= 20000 in the cell. Note: Don’t use commas in value expressions because commas are used to indicate multiple values in Corticon rule modeling.

Step 3—Define rule actions

Now, we need to define the second part of the rule (Cargo weighing <= 20,000 kilos must be packaged in a standard container). To do this, we define the rule action:

  1. Drag and drop Cargo with volume >container from the Vocabulary and drop it in Row A of the Actions pane.media/image24.png
  2. Next, we need to specify a value expression for cargo container in cell 1A (row A, column 1). Select “standard” in the drop-down menu in the cell. Note: The drop-down menu options were defined in the Vocabulary, which we will edit later. This action assigns the value of “standard” to Cargo.container.

Step 4—Link the rule statement to the rule

Now that we have defined the rule, we link the rule statement to the rule. The rule statement is used when the rule is executed. If the conditions in the rule are met, the rule ‘fires’, triggering the rule action and sending the rule statement as a message to the application that uses the rule.

To link the rule statement to the rule, enter the Rule Statement’s Reference number. This connects the Rule Statement to the corresponding rule column in the Rulesheet. In our example, the rule is defined in column 1, so enter 1 in the Reference column of the rule statement.

media/image26.png

The rule column is highlighted in orange, indicating that the rule is linked to the rule statement.