Organizing rules into rulesets
To identify, store, and manage the set of rules that define the reusable
elements of an application, organize rules into rulesets. When you group rules into a ruleset,
you save time, because you can reuse an entire ruleset within different applications in your
system instead of reusing or creating individual rules.
For example, if you create
a ruleset to store service-level agreement (SLA) rules, you can reuse the ruleset in many
applications that process cases requiring the same SLAs.
You identify each ruleset by name and version number. Each version number consists of the
following parts:
- Two first digits that correspond with a major version, or a release of an application. A release change represents extensive changes to application functionality. For example, if an accounting department uses an application to process expense reports, and the department wants to extend the functionality to track employee time off for payroll purposes, you create a new release of the application.
- Two middle digits that correspond with a minor version or an enhancement. For example, if you want to include an automatic audit in an application that processes expense report, you create a minor version of the application.
- Two last digits that correspond with a patch version. For example, if you notice that one field in your application has the wrong label, you create a patch version to correct the label.
When you create a ruleset, you define whether the ruleset is locked or unlocked. By creating a locked ruleset, you protect the ruleset from accidental changes because developers must enter a password before editing the ruleset. You can also define passwords for other actions, such as adding a new ruleset version, or updating the ruleset.
To allow members of your development team to work simultaneously on different features, create branch rulesets that developers use as isolated sandboxes. As a result, you reduce the risk of overwriting work, and improve the quality of your application.