Views:

Scenario Overview

This example shows how to set up a Multi-Sheet Decision Table to apply the residency rules that full-time students attending Oxford University must adhere to.

The documentation for these requirements can be found under Place of residence here.

These rules require that a student live within a certain distance of the Carfax Tower as it considered to be the center of Oxford City.

In order to work out the distance between the Student's address and Carfax Tower we use the Locations API in Bing Maps to geocode the Student postcode and then use the Haversine function to calculate the distance in miles from the target point.

Student Residency Rules

Rule # Description
1

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students must live within 6 miles of Carfax Tower. This limit is increased to 25 miles if:

  • You hold the status of Senior Student
  • Already have an undergraduate degree from Oxford
  • Reside in the home of your parent / guardian
2

Graduate Students

Graduate students must reside with 25 miles of Carfax unless given special permission to work away from Oxford for a period.
3

Dispensation

You may apply for dispensation from the residence limits set out above to your college or other society, who will apply to the Proctors’ Office on your behalf, together with a written statement of support. A statement of support from your department or faculty is also required. Applications received directly or without the necessary support will not be considered.

To accommodate these business rules we have added the following fields to the Contact entity:


North52 Decision Suite Solution

The North52 Decision Suite solution works like this:

  • A formula of type Save - Perform Action is created on the Contact entity
  • The Source Properties are set to Student Level, Address 1, Senior Student and Lives in Parent's Home
  • The Event is set to Create & Update
  • Exit this Decision Table on First Match is turned On on all Decision Tables
  • Exit All Decision Tables on First Match is turned Off on all Decision Tables

Multi-Sheet Decision Table

Dispensation Requests

Evaluate Accommodation

As well as deciding if the Student's accommodation is acceptable under Oxford University rules, this Decision Tablewill update the Distance from Carfax Tower field on the Contact record.

Calculations

This Multi-Sheet Decision Table uses 2 Calculations: 

  • DistanceCalc - This is used to determine the distance between the students resident postcode and the the postcode of Carfax Tower
  • PreviousDegree - This is used to check if the student has previously been awarded a degree from Oxford University

Calculations : 

DistanceCalc  
 SmartFlow(   
   SetVar('Result1', GeoCodeBing('', '', '', [contact.address1_postalcode],'')),
   SetVar('Lat1', Split(GetVar('Result1'), '|', '0')),   
   SetVar('Long1', Split(GetVar('Result1'), '|', '1')),   
   SetVar('Result2', GeoCodeBing( '','','', xCacheGetGlobal('Oxford_Uni_Carfax_Postcode'),'')),   
   SetVar('Lat2', Split(GetVar('Result2'), '|', '0')),   
   SetVar('Long2', Split(GetVar('Result2'), '|', '1')),   
   SmartFlowReturn( HaversineDistance(GetVar('Long1'), GetVar('Lat1'), GetVar('Long2'), GetVar('Lat2'))) )    
PreviousDegree 
If( FindCount('new_award', 'new_awardedto', [contact.contactid], 'new_awardid', 0) > 0, true, false)

 

Note 1 : 

In this example the CRM system doesn't store all the data and instead lifts it from other systems via web service calls etc. This way the Decision Table is able to execute without the need to store vast amounts of data within the CRM system itself.

Did you know?

North52's Decision Suite has over 60 functions specifically for Client Side business rules

With over 60 functions for implementing client side business rules, North52 is likely to meet any of your client side specific requirements. From simple rules for showing and hiding form elements to complex rules for changing the way users work with Business Process Flows, the North52 business rules engine for Dynamics 365 has you covered.

Learn more about the range of  client side functions

Keywords: xCache, Decision Table, WebFusion, FindCount, Split, HaversineDistance, GetVar, SmartFlow, SetVar, GeoCodeBing, xCacheGetGlobal, Formula Manager