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Single-variable circumstancing

Applications often need to customize behavior to match the needs of a specific situation or circumstance. For example, a call center may need to enforce one set of performance objectives for clients with elite status and a different set of performance objectives for clients without elite status.

When the value of a single variable satisfies a condition, you can use single-variable circumstancing.  For example, if you specify the property to evaluate a comparison value when circumstancing a rule, and the value of the property matches the specified value for a case, the application applies the circumstanced variant of the rule rather than the base rule.

The following example shows a Flow Action rule that is circumstanced to run when the value of the .ServiceType property is "Auto":

flow-action-rule-circumstance
Note: To learn more about creating a circumstanced rule, see Creating a rule specialized by circumstance.

Circumstancing by date

The Date property rule variant is effective when the value of a date property satisfies the circumstancing condition. This condition can be either a single date or a range of dates. If the value of the property is later than the specified date or falls within the range of dates, the application uses the circumstanced variant of the rule rather than the base rule.

You use the As-of date rule variant when the application must apply the circumstanced variant of the rule after a specified date or during a specified range. Unlike the Date property, which allows you to specify a comparison date such as a birth date, the As-of date property uses the system date/time as the date comparison.

Use the following table to configure the circumstancing condition to meet various business requirements:

Business requirement

Specify date property

Specify start date

Specify end date

Rule to be effective only if the value of the specified date property occurs within a date range

Yes

Yes

Yes

Rule to be effective only if the value of the specified date property occurs after a certain date

Yes

Yes

No

Rule to be effective only within a date range

No

Yes

Yes

Rule to be effective only after a certain date

No

Yes

No

Tip: You can use the pxCreateDate property to circumstance a rule based on the date when the case was created.

Methods of overriding circumstancing rules

You have two options for overriding a circumstanced rule: flag a base rule or withdraw a rule.

Base rule

To circumstance a rule, you first create a base rule and then create specialized versions, which are tailored to a specific exception in case behavior. You select the Base check box to indicate that the rule resolution algorithm should ignore all previous occurrences of this rule in the same major but lower minor and patch versions at the time of rule resolution.

In the following image, click the + icons to learn more about overriding a circumstanced rule by flagging a base rule:

Withdrawn rule

When a circumstanced rule is withdrawn, it is not considered for rule resolution, but all the remaining rule instances in the current version ruleset are considered. Rule resolution selects the base rule instance in the current ruleset despite meeting the circumstanced condition.

However, when a circumstanced rule and base rule is withdrawn, all rule instances that are in the current version ruleset and previous version ruleset are no longer considered. Rule resolution selects the rule instance in the parent class or the next highest ruleset in the application ruleset stack despite meeting the circumstanced condition.

In the following image, click the + icons to see an example of overriding a circumstanced mortgage loan rule by withdrawing a circumstanced rule:

Check your knowledge with the following interaction:

Methods of reviewing circumstancing conditions

In the Application Explorer, the circumstancing conditions for a rule are listed under each rule. Pega Platform™ indicates a circumstanced rule with a collapsable arrow. You can expand the rule entry to display the supported circumstances. In the following example, the PromptForEnrollment rule includes a circumstance that is used when the value of .ServiceType is "Auto".

See circumstanced rule

You can also use the Circumstanced link in the rule header to review the circumstancing condition for a rule.

See circumstanced rule

Check your knowledge with the following interaction:


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