User selectable approach for generating modifiable rules

• US 20050192916A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 09/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carlos A. Serrano-Morales, Chris W. Werner, David J. Mellor, Jean-Luc Marce, Marc Lerman
• Original Assignee: Carlos A. Serrano-Morales, Chris W. Werner, David J. Mellor, Jean-Luc Marce, Marc Lerman
• Inventors: Mellor, David J., Lerman, Marc, Marce, Jean-Luc, Serrano-Morales, Carlos A., Werner, Chris G.C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,277,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/046 Forward inferencing; Production systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A novel approach for generating and updating rules allows non-technical users to create and modify rules. A rules generation system includes a rules engineer interface, user interfaces and a rules generator. The rules engineer interface is an interface through which a rules engineer, such as rules engineer, may generate templates. Templates contain data that define rule “templates” that in turn specify a rule structure, rule elements that may be chosen by a user, and rule elements that may not be chosen by user. Templates may also define a set of choices, for example values, that user may choose for those rule elements. Templates may also be used to generate user interfaces. The user interfaces guide a user to create or edit rules.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating a rule, the method comprising the steps of:

generating rule element data that define a set of choices that a user may choose for a rule element;

receiving user choice data that specify one or more choices made by the user for the rule element; and

generating the rule based upon the user choice data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps further include presenting said set of choices to said user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising step of:

generating a user interface based on said rule element data; and

wherein the step of receiving user choice data comprises the step of receiving user choice data from a user interacting with the user interface.

4. The method of claim 1, method further comprising the step of:

receiving user input specifying a set of values defining said set of choices; and

wherein the step of generating said rule element data comprises the step of generating rule element data that define said set of values as said set of choices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said rule element comprises a value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said rule element data specify a source of data that define the set of choices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said source of data comprises a database system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said rule element comprises a condition.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of processing the rule.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of updating a rule repository to reflect said rule.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said rule element data further define how the user may select said set of choices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the rule based upon the user choice data comprises the step of generating the rule based upon the user choice data and other rule data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said other rule data define another version of the rule;

and wherein said user choice data specify modifications to said version.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said other rule data specify an attribute of the rule not defined by the rule element data.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of choices comprises any of a set of data types;

a set of data values;

a set of operators;

is a set of constraints; and

a set of business logic.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule comprises a business rule.

17. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating a rule, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method comprising the steps of:

generating rule element data that define a set of choices that a user may choose for a rule element;

receiving user choice data that specifies one or more choices made by the user for the rule element; and

generating the rule based upon the user choice data.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, said method further comprising the step of:

presenting said set of choices to said user.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising generating a user interface based on said rule element data;

and

wherein the step of receiving user choice data comprises the step of receiving user choice data from a user interacting with the user interface.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising one or more instructions receiving user input specifying a set of values defining said set of choices;

and

wherein the step of generating said rule element data comprising the step of generating rule element data that define said set of values as said set of choices.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said rule element comprises a value.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said rule element data specify a source of data that defines the set of choices.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein said source of data comprises a database system.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein said rule element comprises a condition.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising one or more instructions for performing the step of processing the rule.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising one or more instructions for performing the step of updating a rule repository to reflect said rule.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein said rule element data further define how the user may select said set of choices.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the step of generating the rule based upon the user choice data comprising the step of generating the rule based upon the user choice data and other rule data.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein said other rule data define another version of the rule;

and

wherein said user choice data specify modification to said version.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein said other rule data specify an attribute of the rule not defined by the rule element data.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the set of choices comprises any of a set of data types;

a set of data values;

a set of operators;

a set of constraints; and

a set of business logic.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the rule comprises a business rule.

33. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for generating a rule, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method comprising the steps of:

generating a template that defines;

a rule structure with one or more rule elements and an editable rule element;

an editable rule element type, and a set of choices that a user may choose for the editable rule element;

receiving user choice data that specify one or more choices chosen by the user for the rule element;

generating the rule based upon the user choice data; and

updating a rules repository to reflect the rule.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 further comprising one or more instructions for performing the steps of:

generating a user interface based on said template; and

presenting said set of choices to said user using said user interface.