Business Rule Designer for IT Asset Management

Owned by Enterprise IT
May 08, 2024

Business Rule Designer for Asset Management

IT Asset Management involves tracking and managing an organization's hardware, software, and other IT assets throughout its lifecycle.
This involves processes such as asset inventory management, software licensing, compliance reporting etc.

The business rules configured through Business Rule Designer (BRD), streamline and simplify these processes by enabling users to develop and administer rules that govern how assets are allocated, deployed, maintained, and retired.

To understand the basics of Business Rule Designer, refer to Business Rule Designer page.

Note

This is a BETA release for Business Rule Designer- Asset Management feature.


How to Configure a Business Rule for Asset Management Module?

To configure a Business Rule, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to Admin >Basic > Infrastructure > Business Rule.
  2. On the BUSINESS RULE page, click ADD NEW on the ACTIONS panel. The following page is displayed.


    Figure: BUSINESS RULE page

  3. Select the Tenant and fill in the required details. For more information, see Field Description. 
    1. Fill in the other required details under RULE DEFINITION, TRIGGER, CONDITION, and ACTION sections.
    2. Click SUBMIT. A new Business Rule is configured.

RULE DEFINITION 

Define the general characteristics of Business Rule in this segment. 

Figure: Rule Definition 

The following table describes the fields in RULE DEFINITION segment on the BUSINESS RULE page:

FieldDescription
TenantSelect the desired Tenant from the drop-down, which is a mandatory field. 
Business Rule Name

Type in a name for the business rule. 

Note

The Business Rule Name can be viewed and modified after the configuration. 

Business Rule Description

Type in a detailed description.

Note

The Business Rule Description can be viewed and modified after the configuration.

Execution Order

By default, the execution order number is blank. Each Business Rule can be assigned an execution order number. The order number is the deciding factor, when same field is updating from different Business Rules. Rule with higher order number is processed first and given precedence over rules with lower order number. 

Note

If the execution order number is same, then the business rule is executed based on the created date. 

BR Processing Logics: 

  • Execution Order - Highest to Lowest 
  • Creation date - Earliest to Latest
Active

If selected, the Business Rule becomes active. 

TRIGGER

A trigger is an event or condition that causes a rule to execute. It can be defined on the creation and on updating of a task.
 Trigger can be any activity such as creating or updating any records for Fixed Asset, Accessories, Consumable, or Software.

Figure: Trigger

The following table describes the fields in TRIGGER segment on the BUSINESS RULE page:

FieldDescription
ModuleSelect Asset Management Module from the drop-down list. 
Asset Type

Select the desired Asset Type from the drop-down.

Note

As part of this release only the FIXED ASSETS option will be available under Asset Type.

Category

Select the desired Asset Category from the drop-down list and multi-select option.  

Note

The drop-down list will populate values based on the categories created under Fixed Assets.

When

You can define when this business rule should execute. 

Figure: When option

After: If selected, the business rule will trigger once the Asset is created or updated. Also, the Asset will be frozen i.e., no update will be allowed for the Asset until the Business Rule is processed. 

Async: If selected, the business rule will trigger once the Asset is created, updated.
In the case of Async, the Asset will not be frozen and the Business Rules will be processed asynchronously. 

Note

If update actions are configured for Async business rule, the business rule process may overwrite user update.

Trigger Type

Create: Select this check box to execute the business rule when an asset is created. 

Update: Select this check box to execute the business rule when an asset is updated. 

Note

The Administrator can select both the checkbox (This means, the rule should be executed when the asset is created and updated).

CONDITION

A condition is made up of a field, an operator, and a value. You can formulate complex conditions for rules that include several conditions by utilizing logical operators such as AND or OR operators.

Figure: Condition

The following table describes the fields in CONDITION segment on the BUSINESS RULE page:

Field / IconDescription
Conditions based on Criteria 

Specify the conditions (criterion) based on which the action will be executed. 

Note

The fields will be displayed based on the module selected in the Trigger section.

No ConditionSelect this radio button if there are no conditions.

For date fields, select the date range using this calendar icon.

Use + icon to add more fields.

Use delete icon to delete the selected fields.

The field conditions can be selected based on the following attributes:

ACTION

The Action is performed automatically once the condition is met. It lets you define what should happen if the trigger matches the set of conditions defined. 

The actions can be: 

  • Update fields

  • Send out Notifications.

Figure: Action

Update Fields

The following table describes the fields in ACTION segment on the BUSINESS RULE page:

FieldDescription
Update Values first timeIf selected, will update the fields only for the first time when the asset is updated.  
Update Values every timeIf selected, will update the fields every time when the asset is updated. 

Use + icon to add more fields.

Use delete icon to delete the selected fields.

Override Values

  • If the Override Values = YES, then the values defined for the field in the Business Rule will override the values set for that field in the asset.
  • If the Override Values = NO, then the values defined for the field in the Business Rule will be applied only if the value is not set for that field in the asset.
    As stated otherwise, if there is a value already available for a particular field in the record, then the Business Rule Value will not be applied. 

Note

The Update Action Type field is displayed only when the Trigger Type is selected as Update.

Notification

Under this tab, you can configure the notification templates for the business rule. You can create new notification template or use the existing notification template to send a notification to users.


E- Mail Notification

To create E-Mail Notification, perform the following steps:

  1. Under the Notification tab, click ADD NOTIFICATION. The NOTIFICATION pop-up is displayed.

    Figure: Notification- Add Notification button


    Figure: Notification pop-up

  2. Fill in the required details. For more details, see Field Description.

    Note

    Use Dollar ('$') and type a character to trigger suggestions for Asset Attributes in Email Subject and Email Body.

  3. Click SAVE. A new E-mail Notification is created and displayed under the Unlinked Notifications section.

  4. Click SAVE AND SELECT to save and select the template under the Notification tab of ACTION section.


    Figure: Configured notification

    Note

    Send notification first time: If selected, will send notification only for the first time when the asset is updated.

    Send notification every time: If selected, will send the notification every time when the asset is updated.


The following table describes the fields in NOTIFICATION segment on the BUSINESS RULE page:

FieldDescription
Notification NameType in the name for the e-mail notification template. 
MediumSelect the medium as Email to configure E-mail notification.
To

Add the main recipients of the email.

Group

Members

By Designation

Enter the designation/role in the search text control.

By Customer

Enter the customer Email ID in the search text control.

Custom Email IDEnter a valid Email ID and click to add.
User Family
  • User
  • User's Alternate Supervisor
  • User's Reporting Manager
Asset Manager / Store Owner
  • Store Owner
CC

Add the recipients to receive a copy of the email that you sent to the people listed in the To: field.

GroupMembers
By DesignationEnter the designation/role in the search text control.
By CustomerEnter the customer Email ID in the search text control.
Custom Email IDEnter a valid Email ID and click to add.
User Family
  • User
  • User's Alternate Supervisor
  • User's Reporting Manager
Asset Manager / Store Owner
  • Store Owner
Email Subject

Type in the subject.

Note

Use Dollar ('$') and type a character to trigger suggestions for Asset Attributes in Email Subject and Email Body.

Email Body

Type in the body content.

Note

Use Dollar ('$') and type a character to trigger suggestions for Asset Attributes in Email Subject and Email Body.

Current Limitations 

As part of Beta release, there are currently few feature limitations for BRD configuration, which are listed below:

  1. API Configuration is not part of Business Rule Designer Configuration in this Beta release version.

  2. For Asset Auto Allocation functionality, the Standard attribute Logon Count  is the only condition working.

    Note

    All the other Attributes are not functioning as expected for Asset Auto Allocation condition.

  3. For Asset Deactivation functionality, the asset is not being moved to deactivation approval, even if Asset Deactivation Approval is enabled. The Business Rule is proceeding with the status change, without waiting / checking for the approval status.

    Note

    The Asset is updated to Inactive status successfully as per the Update fields, but the asset is not moved to deactivation approval.

  4.  The below mentioned fields are not available in Field dropdown in the UPDATE FIELDS grid on Business Rule configuration page, for Allocate\ Reallocate Asset condition.

    Alternative Supervisor

    Request Type

    Customer 

    Project

    Cubicle

    Request ID 

  5. The below mentioned fields are not available in Field dropdown in the UPDATE FIELDS grid on Business Rule configuration page, for Repair Asset condition.

    Phone No\ Mobile No

    Email ID

    Address

  6. The Sale Price field is not available in Field dropdown in the UPDATE FIELDS grid on Business Rule configuration page, for Inactive Asset condition.

  7. The below mentioned fields are not available in Field dropdown in the UPDATE FIELDS grid on Business Rule configuration page, for Return from Repair / In-Store Asset condition.

    Fault Type

    Repair Type

    Solution

    Replaced Mother Board

    New Asset Serial Number

  8. The below mentioned fields are not available in Field dropdown in the UPDATE FIELDS grid on Business Rule configuration page, for Deallocate / In-Store Asset condition.

    Asset Drop Location

    De-Allocate Software

    De-Allocate Accessories

For more information on known limitations, refer to Fixed and Known Issues- Elbrus HF01.