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Business Rule Framework plus
Whats New With SAP NetWeaver 7.02?
Wolfgang Schaper Product Manager BRFplus SAP AG December 2010
Disclaimer
This presentation outlines our general product direction and should not be relied on in making a purchase decision. This presentation is not subject to your license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. SAP has no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this presentation or to develop or release any functionality mentioned in this presentation. This presentation and SAP's strategy and possible future developments are subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. SAP assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except if such damages were caused by SAP intentionally or grossly negligent.
2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 2
Agenda
1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

Rules, Rulesets, and Variables Deep Contexts and Direct Access to Structure Elements Direct Value Assignment in Rules New and Improved Expression Types: Loop, Table Operation, Call Procedure, new Formula UI Configuration Catalogs Versioning Excel Import and Export Performance and Sizing UI Improvements and Other Features
Agenda

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02
Release Information

By December 2010 SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Enhancement Pack 2 (aka NW 7.02) is available That is the NetWeaver release SAP Business Suite 7 Innovation 2010 (including SAP ERP Enhancement Pack 5) is based on With SAP NW 7.02 comes a new release of BRFplus with drastically enhanced capabilities compared to SAP NW 7.01
Capabilities of BRFplus in NW 7.01

Supports

a model-driven approach to manage business rules throughout their lifecycle

Business users can define business rules artifacts such as decision table, decision trees, and formulas, and change system behavior without the need to code ABAP
Business users can test and simulate changes
Best

BRMS choice for any ABAP based application
high Performance: code generation and memory data access TCO: runs embedded in BW, ECC, CRM, ; no separate server needed, no frontend installation needed
Nesting of UI into application UIs

Direct access to business semantics and logic of SAP ABAP applications
integration with SAP NetWeaver Application Server and the ABAP based applications in SAP Business Suite and SAP Business ByDesign Local or remote (RFC, Web Service) business rules execution Successfully used in many business applications shipped by SAP (known to business and proven by many users)
erfect
Capabilities of BRFplus in NW 7.02

Business
users can define business rules artifacts in a multi step approach (ruleset) to implement not only simple derivations or calculations (such as in the Standard), but aggregate rules into rule sets and thus implement complex business logic without programming A ruleset provides a set of additional capabilities Can significantly reduce implementation effort for custom applications or even take away the need to implement ABAP code
Instead of specification, design, implementation, test as a process of multiple teams, it is possible to have business logic implemented in the system without any coding experience by non-technical users; communication and translation costs between different teams not requires Business users implementing business logic changes leads to more flexibility, higher agility at lower costs Business users implementing business logic changes leads to better decisions being implemented in the system and finally better results
Example
BRFplus
in NW 7.01 allows to define simple business rules. Customers can define decision tables, decision trees, formulas and other expressions to implement derivations, calculations, and decisioning. Limitations to model chains of expressions A simple scenario is for example, the determination of a unit price using the product and quantity. In this scenario only a decision table is used. Decision Table
Product Pen
Quantity 1 .. 9
Price per unit 50 cent
Pen
Pen Ruler
10 .. 99
>= 100 *
40 cent
30 cent 70 cent
Example (continued)
On
top of BRFplus in NW 7.02 allows to define high complex and large business rules. Rulesets allow for combining many expressions to reflect chains of decisioning, calculation and derivation logic, and for processing business rules in parallel A complex scenario using RULESETS allows combining several decision tables, formulas and other expression types for a complex price determination. The above decision table is just one rule out of a chain of rules to determine prices of products within a basket allowing to consider additionally the buying history, marketing campaigns, local taxes i.e. a chain of rules Ruleset
Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule 4
Get unit price Apply customer discount based on customer history Apply discount from marketing campaigns Apply taxes
Determine unit price (Decision Table) Read historic customer data (DB Lookup expression), apply discount (Formula expression) Check if campaign applicable (Decision Table), apply discount (Formula expression) Calculate tax (Formula expression), apply tax to net price (Formula expression)
Agenda

Agenda

Rules
Rules
In NW 7.02 rules can contain several expressions and actions that are processed sequentially
Rules can be nested, i.e. rules execute other rules
Rules, Rulesets, and Variables
Rulesets
In NW 7.01 one expression was directly assigned to a BRFplus function With NW 7.02 there are rulesets assigned to a function A ruleset contains several rules that are processed sequentially Each rule can have a condition, determining if the rule is executed Several prioritized rulesets can be assigned to a function Each ruleset can have a precondition and is only triggered, if that precondition is fulfilled
Variables
Variables and initializations to store intermediate results or read additionally required data for the business rules evaluation Variables can be defined directly, or they can be bound to a BRFplus or DDIC object Variables are part of the context and can be used within rules, expressions, and actions
By defining rulesets business rules are simplified, and easier to understand and maintain Instead of having complex decision logic nested within one single expression, all rules are in lists, being processed sequentially, making multi step derivations possible Rulesets allow for combining many expressions to reflect chains of decisioning, calculation, and derivation logic, and for processing business rules in parallel By storing intermediate results in variables, it is possible to combine the outcome of several rules to be used in other rules Rules may have conditions, allowing for being processed only in specific cases Assigning several rulesets to a function allows for defining some default logic that can be adapted for specific cases by adding additional rulesets with higher priority
Rulesets
provide a set of additional capabilities
Preconditions
to dynamically include/exclude sets of business rules to/from processing and priorities to define sequence of processing of business rules Exit conditions to stop rules processing in a ruleset Restart conditions to restart interrupted rules processing at the place of interruption Ability to assign multiple rulesets to one business rules service (function) allowing different business units to implement their business rules independently Ability to combine business rules from various sources (e.g. from development system and production environment) within one business rules service Ability to change data directly in the context and trigger actions in the same rule/ruleset
Agenda

Deep Contexts and Direct Access to Structure Elements

Deep Contexts
In NW 7.01 only simple elements, no structures, could be used as context parameters With NW 7.02 input and output parameters of a function can have deep structures

Direct Access to Structure Elements
In NW 7.01 only some few features were available to deal with structures Direct access of structure elements was not possible With NW 7.02 structure elements can be accessed directly

either for assigning the result of some expression or to be used within some rule, expression, or action
Using deep contexts for input and output parameters makes it easier to hand over data to and from a BRFplus function
This especially holds for structures that are derived from DDIC objects
Structures also can be used as input and output parameters for expressions and actions Direct access to structure elements allow to work with these elements like with any other context parameter As each line of a table is represented by a structure, working with tables becomes feasible as well
Agenda

Direct Value Assignment in Rules
Direct Value Assignment in Rules
With NW 7.02 values can be assigned directly to variables, which was not possible with NW 7.01 In NW 7.01 the only way to do this was using a formula, which is possible as well, but more cumbersome and more complex
As this feature is needed quite often, its worth having it at your fingertips
Agenda

New and Improved Expression Types
Loop, Table Operation, Call Procedure, new Formula UI
Loop

With NW 7.02 there is a new expression type Loop It allows for looping in different modes

Do something n times Do something until a condition is fulfilled Do something while a condition is fulfilled Do something for each entry in a table
Expression type Loop allows for repetitive process steps
Table Operation
With NW 7.02 there is a new expression type Table Operation It allows for sorting, aggregating, manipulating, and searching in tables With expression type Loop, it is possible to access the whole table as one entity
The follwing modes are available

Has at least Has exactly Has no more than Count Minimum Maximum Total Average First line Last line All lines Sort Delete first line Delete last line Delete all lines
Call Procedure
With NW 7.02 there is a new expression type Call Procedure It allows for accessing ABAP methods and function modules Input, output, and error message can be handled Using expression type Call Procedure allows to do anything that is implemented within an ABAP method or function module
Formula UI

Major improvements to formula editor Editing formula becomes easier and more user friendly Additonal functions available Filtering capabilities by functions category or text Embedded documentation
Agenda

Configuration
Configuration
With NW 7.02 it is possible to configure the BRFplus Workbench according to your needs and preferences
Can be done individually by user or centrally by administrator to tailor the UI to specific user groups
Agenda

Catalogs
Catalogs
Catalogs, with NW 7.02 embedded into the BRFplus workbench, offer a filtered view to that objects that are important for a user Catalogs are not bound to the repository structure Catalogs can either be created by a user, or by the administrator to offer user group specific views It is possible to guide users directly to role specific catalogs
Agenda

Versioning
Versioning
Versioning allows for archiving previous versions of objects or object trees for documentation, validation, legal reasons, ... Compare different versions of an object Return to previous versions Track changes
Agenda

Excel Import and Export
Excel Import and Export
Decision Tables can be exported to and imported from Microsoft Excel files That allows to maintain decision tables in a user interface business users are familiar with Common spread sheet tools like sorting, search/replace, filtering, ... are available
Agenda

Performance and Sizing
Performance and Sizing

Performance and sizing capabilities of BRFplus was improved drastically with NW 7.02 The effects are most visible for mass data processing and for all mass operations like transport, import, export A major reason for the better performance is a new data model that for instance treats decision tables as single objects Decision tables with 1000 lines became up to 100 times faster with NW 7.02 compared to NW 7.01 Decision tables with 10000 rows or more are possible with NW 7.02 With NW 7.02 there are no more gaps in code generation, where some parts needed to be interpreted with NW 7.01 For details see article in SDN
Agenda

UI Improvements and Other Features
UI Improvements
With NW 7.02 there are lots of user interface improvements that makes using BRFplus workbench even more a pleasure
Most visible are the icons in the object tree and catalog, indicating object types
Other examples are the improved formula editor, display of rulesets, and many more
UI Improvements and Other Features
Other Features that are new with NW 7.02

Improved texts in function simulation that help to better understand the decision logic New modus Quality Match in expression type Search Tree, allowing to go for the best match available Defaults, like versioning, can be set on application level and are inherited by all subsequent objects Additional features were added to the repository tree, e.g. grouping of objects of the same type By switching between technical names and object texts (to be done by configuration), all users get their preferred view

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Business Rule Framework plus

Whats New With SAP NetWeaver 7.02?

Wolfgang Schaper Product Manager BRFplus SAP AG December 2010

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 2

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 3

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 4

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 5

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02

Capabilities of BRFplus in NW 7.01

a model-driven approach to manage business rules throughout their lifecycle

Business users can test and simulate changes

BRMS choice for any ABAP based application

Nesting of UI into application UIs

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02

Capabilities of BRFplus in NW 7.02

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 7

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02

Price per unit 50 cent

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 8

BRFplus in SAP NetWeaver 7.02

Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule 4

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 9

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 10

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 11

Rules can be nested, i.e. rules execute other rules

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 12

Rules, Rulesets, and Variables

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 13

Rules, Rulesets, and Variables

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 14

Rules, Rulesets, and Variables

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 15

Rules, Rulesets, and Variables

provide a set of additional capabilities

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 16

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 17

Deep Contexts and Direct Access to Structure Elements

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 18

Deep Contexts and Direct Access to Structure Elements

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 19

Deep Contexts and Direct Access to Structure Elements

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 20

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 21

Direct Value Assignment in Rules

Direct Value Assignment in Rules

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 22

1. Overview 2. New Features in Detail

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 23

New and Improved Expression Types

Loop, Table Operation, Call Procedure, new Formula UI

Expression type Loop allows for repetitive process steps

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 24

New and Improved Expression Types

Loop, Table Operation, Call Procedure, new Formula UI

The follwing modes are available

2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. / Page 25