The business rules allow you to set the match string, the target route options, and/or any of the additional built-in options (e.g., cheapest or fastest). The match string is used to evaluate the best option for sending a request based on your institution's needs, budget, priorities, etc.
Creating Business Rules
Business rules are created using the following elements. The default options are listed below; however, you may have additional options depending on your queues and DSP addons uploaded to the server:
- Rule Number- Number these just as you would routing rules. The business rules are unlimited.
- Pipeline- The DSP Borrowing Pipelines.
- BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline
- BorrowingArticle Pipeline
- BorrowingLoan Pipeline
- Rule Type- The rule type determines if the request will be sent automatically and routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue if it meets the conditions of the business rule(s) or if it will be routed to Awaiting Pipeline Request Review queue for staff review.
- Automatic
- Recommended
- Target Type- The type of target that will receive the request.
- System
- Addon
- Route
- Target - The target is the option being chosen for the recommended or automatic action if the rule is met.
- SystemTarget (e.g., Cheapest, Fastest).
- AddonTarget (e.g., Open Access Button addon)
- RouteTarget (e.g., DD Stacks Searching)
- *Optional: Description- A free text space to describe the purpose of the rule or any additional notes.
- *Optional: Match String- This field allows you to add custom conditions to the business rules. There is no character limit in the match string field.
Any business rules written to the addon(s) will take priority over the rules set in the Customization Manager.
Examples
While the example process may seem long, most of the work is done behind the scenes. Staff will only see the request in the Awaiting Copyright Clearance Pipeline queue, Awaiting Pipeline Request Review queue, or any queue targets (e.g., DD Stacks Searching) set in the business rules.
Example 1 demonstrates a DSP workflow utilizing the DSP addons created for the 9.1 Release. The other examples are possible; however, it may require the creation of new DSP Server Addons to enable the workflow described unless you are using the DOI, Reprints Desk, or Open Access addons.
Example 1- Cheapest Fulfillment Option
Goal: Obtain an article through the most cost-effective option.
Pipeline(s): BorrowingArticlePreCopyright & BorrowingArticle
Addon(s):
- DOI (Digital Object Identifier); BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline
- Open Access Button; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline
- Reprints Desk; BorrowingArticle Pipeline
Business Rules:
| Pipeline | RuleNumber | RuleType | Target Type | Target | MatchString |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 1 | Recommended | Addon | Open Access Button | |
| BorrowingArticle | 2 | Automatic | Addon | Cheapest | FulfillmentData.Cost < 20 |
Process:
- Request enters the BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline and executes through the following stages:
- Stage 1: The DOI addon gathers the DOI and inputs the number into the proper field of the Request Form.
- Stage 2: The Open Access Button addon checks open access for availability by DOI, article title, and loan title (if the article title field is blank). If the item is available, the link to the item is pulled into the custom data field of the Fulfillment Data table.
- Stage 3:
- The business rule tells ILLiad if the item is available through the Target Option Addon, Target Open Access Button, then stop the DSP feature since the request is ready for sending. Additional options don't need to be compared since the item doesn't require copyright.
- If the business rule was set to Recommended- The request will be routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Request Review queue for staff review.
- If the item is not available through Open Access, then the request will be routed to the Awaiting Copyright Clearance- Pipeline queue to obtain information on alternative fulfillment options.
- The business rule tells ILLiad if the item is available through the Target Option Addon, Target Open Access Button, then stop the DSP feature since the request is ready for sending. Additional options don't need to be compared since the item doesn't require copyright.
- Staff opens the Copyright Clearance form and processes the request as he/she would normally. The copyright pricing and any additional information are added to the Fulfillment Data table.
- The request is then routed to the Awaiting Request Pipeline queue in the BorrowingArticle Pipeline where it will execute the stages again:
- Stage 1: Skipped. There are no addons registered to this stage.
- Stage 2: The Reprints Desk addon checks for availability, pricing, and any additional information it can pull in from the external system.
- Stage 3: The business rule will compare the fulfillment costs from the CCC and Reprints Desk to identify the cheapest fulfillment option.
- If the business rule was set to Automatic- The addon will send the request to the external system with the cheapest option and route the request to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue.
Example 2- Checking Your Own Holdings
Goal: Check your institution's catalog for loan availability and convert any requests from Borrowing to Document Delivery if the item is available within your own local holdings.
Pipeline(s): BorrowingLoan
Addon(s):
- Z39.50; BorrowingLoan Pipeline
Business Rules:
| Pipeline | RuleNumber | RuleType | Target Type | Target | MatchString |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BorrowingLoan | 1 | Automatic | Queue | DD Stacks Searching | |
| BorrowingLoan | 2 | Automatic | Queue | Awaiting Request Processing |
Process:
- Request enters the BorrowingLoan Pipeline and executes through the following stages:
- Stage 1: The Z39.50 addon checks your catalog for Call Number and Location.
- Stage 2: Skipped. There are no addons registered to this stage.
- Stage 3: The business rule checks to see if you have the Call Number and Location Fields were populated.
- If the item is available- The request will be routed to the DD Stacks Searching queue where it can be processed as a Document Delivery request.
- If the item is unavailable- The request will be routed to the Awaiting Request Processing queue to search OCLC, select lenders, and create a work form.
This example demonstrates an automated process for checking your own institution's withholdings prior to processing the borrowing request. The workflow can be modified to include additional addons that will evaluate borrowing options if the item wasn't available locally instead of routing to Search OCLC for manually processing.
Example 3- Fastest Fulfillment Option
Goal: Prioritize faculty requests to use the fastest service while all other requests use the cheapest service.
Pipeline(s): BorrowingArticlePreCopyright & BorrowingArticle
Addon(s):
- Rapid; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline & BorrowingArticle Pipeline
- Reprints Desk; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline & BorrowingArticle Pipeline
Business Rules:
| Pipeline | RuleNumber | RuleType | Target Type | Target | MatchString |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 1 | Automatic | Addon | Rapid | u.Status = 'Faculty' and fd.Cost <= 40 and t.NotWantedAfter > DATEADD(DAY, 5, GETDATE()) |
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 2 | Automatic | Addon | Reprints Desk | u.Status = 'Faculty' and fd.Cost <= 40 and t.NotWantedAfter > DATEADD(DAY, 5, GETDATE()) |
| BorrowingArticle | 3 | Recommended | Addon | Cheapest | FulfillmentData.Cost < 20 |
Process:
- Request enters the BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline and executes through the following stages:
- Stage 1: Skipped. There are no addons registered to this stage.
- Stage 2: The Rapid and Reprints Desk addons run in tandem to retrieve cost and turnaround time for each external system; adding information to the Fulfillment Data table.
- Stage 3: The business rule will check to see if the patron is a faculty member.
- If the patron is a faculty member-
- The request will identify the fastest turnaround time as long as it doesn't exceed 5 days or $40. If both Rapid and Reprints Desk have the same turnaround time and cost, then the higher ranking RuleNumber would take precedence. If any of the rules are met, the request will be sent automatically and routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue.
- If there is not enough information to meet the business rules criteria, the request will be routed to the Awaiting Copyright Clearance- Pipeline queue.
- If the patron is NOT a faculty member- The request will be routed to the Awaiting Copyright Clearance- Pipeline queue to obtain information on alternative fulfillment options.
- If the patron is a faculty member-
- Staff opens the Copyright Clearance form and processes the request as he/she would normally. The copyright pricing and any additional information are added to the Fulfillment Data table.
- The request is then routed to the Awaiting Request Pipeline queue in the BorrowingArticle Pipeline where it will execute the stages again:
- Stage 1: Skipped. There are no addons registered to this stage.
- Stage 2: The Rapid and Reprints Desk addons run in tandem to retrieve cost and turnaround time for each external system; adding information to the Fulfillment Data table. If there are any changes since the last time the addons were run, the information in the Fulfillment Data table will be overwritten.
- Stage 3: The business rule will compare the fulfillment costs from the CCC, Rapid, and Reprints Desk to identify the cheapest fulfillment option.
- If the business rule was set to Recommended- The request will be routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Request Review queue for staff review.
- The request is then routed to the Awaiting Request Pipeline queue in the BorrowingArticle Pipeline where it will execute the stages again:
Example 4- Prioritize External Systems
Goal: Prioritize requests in the Relais consortium over Rapid or Reprints if the price is below a pre-defined threshold.
Pipeline(s): BorrowingArticlePreCopyright
Addon(s):
- Relais; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright
- Rapid; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright
- Reprints Desk; BorrowingArticlePreCopyright
Business Rules:
| Pipeline | RuleNumber | RuleType | Target Type | Target | MatchString |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 1 | Automatic | Addon | Relais | FulfillmentData.Cost < 10 |
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 2 | Automatic | Addon | Reprints | FulfillmentData.Cost < 20 |
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 3 | Automatic | Addon | Rapid | FulfillmentData.Cost < 30 |
| BorrowingArticlePreCopyright | 4 | Automatic | Queue | Awaiting Copyright Clearance- Pipeline |
Process:
- Request enters the BorrowingArticlePreCopyright Pipeline and executes through the following stages:
- Stage 1: Skipped. There are no addons registered to this stage.
- Stage 2: The Relais, Rapid, and Reprints Desk addons run in tandem to check for availability, pricing, and any additional information it can pull in from the external system; adding information to the Fulfillment Data table.
- Stage 3: ILLiad will check the Fulfillment Data table to see if the item is available and the price.
- If the item is available through Relais and it costs less than $10, the request will be sent automatically and routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue. If the item doesn't meet these criteria, then the next business rule will be evaluated.
- If the item is available through Reprints and it costs less than $20, the request will be sent automatically and routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue. If the item doesn't meet these criteria, then the next business rule will be evaluated.
- If the item is available through Rapid and it costs less than $30, the request will be sent automatically and routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Sending queue. If the item doesn't meet these criteria, then the request will be routed to the Awaiting Copyright Clearance- Pipeline queue to obtain information on alternative fulfillment options.
- Staff opens the Copyright Clearance form and processes the request as he/she would normally. The copyright pricing and any additional information are added to the Fulfillment Data table.
- The request is then routed to the Awaiting Request Pipeline queue in the BorrowingArticle Pipeline. Since there are no addons registered to this pipeline, the request will be routed to the Awaiting Pipeline Request Review queue for staff review and processing.
- The request will now have gathered data from the addons and the CCC to help make a better decision.