Back Forward Understanding checkout and your personal RuleSet

When a rule belongs to a RuleSet that has the check-out facility turned on, to change that rule, the system enforces use of check-out and check-in operations. Before you can change that rule, you must perform either standard check-out or private check-out operation.

Basically, when you check out a rule, you are making a private copy of the rule, which you can then modify and test out until you are ready to replace the base (copied) rule with your modified copy. Usually, the standard check-out operation is used to make this copy. In some situations — and when you have the pxAllowPrivateCheckout privilege — you can use the private check-out operation to make the copy of the rule. The main situations for using private check out are when you cannot do a standard check out — for example, when you want to rapidly debug a rule that is in a locked RuleSet version, while avoiding affecting the rest of the application or its users by making additional RuleSet versions or introducing branches.

Using the standard check-out operation to change a rule

To change a rule that belongs to a RuleSet that has the check-out facility turned on, using the standard check-out operation:

  1. Open the rule. Confirm that the rule is not already checked out — that no lock icon () appears on the upper right of the form.
  2. Click the Check Out toolbar button (Check Out) to check this rule instance out. Your private checked-out copy of the rule is initially the same as the original instance.
  3. Update and save the checked-out copy as often as you want. When you update the rule, you are updating your private copy.
  4. Save and test your changes while the rule remains in your private RuleSet. Other users are unaffected by your changes. You can log off and return later with the rule instance still checked out to you.
  5. When your changes are complete, click the Check In button (Check In) to check the rule back in. Enter a brief memo describing your changes, and click Check In to complete the check-in operation. The system removes the changed copy of the rule from your personal RuleSet and replaces the original rule.
  6. If you decide not to replace the base (copied) rule with your checked-out copy, or if you want to start over, click the Delete Checked Out toolbar button (Delete Checked). The system deletes the checked-out copy of the rule from your personal RuleSet.
  7. If the RuleSet uses an approval flow, when you complete the check-in step, your copy of the rule is routed to an approver for approval before the system replaces the base rule with your copy.

Using the private check-out operation to change a rule

Any rule that would normally be available for you to check out, you can perform a private check out if you have the pxAllowPrivateCheckout privilege. This privilege is typically granted via an access role used in your access group. The standard access role PegaRULES:SysAdm4 provides this privilege.

If the rule is available for you to perform a standard check out and you want to make a private copy of the rule, the system makes the standard check out available to you to make the copy. The system determines whether the rule is available for you to perform a standard check out. If the rule is unavailable for you to perform a standard check out (for example, if it is checked out to another user or the rule belongs to a locked RuleSet version), and you have the pxAllowPrivateCheckout privilege, the system makes the private check-out operation available to you to make the copy.

  1. Open the rule. For a private check out, the rule can be checked out to another user or in a locked RuleSet version.
  2. Click the Check Out toolbar button (Check Out) to make a private copy of this rule instance. Your private copy of the rule is initially the same as the original instance.
  3. Update and save your private copy as often as you want. When you update the rule, you are updating your private copy only. As you run processes and test in the application, you see any changes you have saved to your private copy. Other application users are unaffected by your changes. You can log off and return later with your private copy still available to you in your private RuleSet.
  4. When are finished using your private copy, you can delete the copy, or — if you want your changes to be made available to the application and other users — click the Private Check In button (Check In). You can either replace the base rule (if the base RuleSet has an unlocked RuleSet version into which to save your changed private copy) or save your changed private copy to a branch RuleSet (if one is available in the application for the corresponding base RuleSet). After you click the button, the CheckIn Rule window opens. In the window:
    1. Select a RuleSet version from the Version field. The available choices are:
      • Any unlocked RuleSet versions for the base rule's RuleSet.
      • Any unlocked branch RuleSets for the base rule's RuleSet.
      If there are no unlocked RuleSet versions or unlocked branch RuleSets, you cannot check in your copy of the rule.
    2. Enter a brief memo describing your changes in the Description field.
    3. Click Check In.

    Note: When checking you copy into the base RuleSet, if the base rule has been updated in the time between when you did your private check out of the rule and when you are checking in your copy, a message displays to alert you that checking in your private copy will overwrite the base rule, and replace any changes made to it after you did your private check out. The message also displays the name of the user who last updated the rule, so that you can contact that user for information about the recent updates. In this situation, it is critical that you manually merge the base rule's updates into your private copy before completing the check in of your private copy. Clicking OK in the message is your confirmation that you have completed the merge process and that overwriting the base rule with your private copy will not cause any issues for the application and its users.

    If there are no obstacles to checking in your copy of the rule (such as another user has the base rule checked out), the system removes the copy of the rule from your personal RuleSet and replaces the original rule with your copy (if checking into the base RuleSet version) or saves your copy (if saving to a new unlocked RuleSet version or branch RuleSet).

  5. If you decide not to replace the base (copied) rule with your private copy or save it to a new version or into a branch RuleSet, or if you want to start over, click the Delete Checked Out toolbar button (Delete Checked). The system deletes the private copy of the rule from your personal RuleSet.
  6. If the RuleSet uses an approval flow, when you complete the check-in step, your copy of the rule is routed to an approver for approval before the system replaces the base rule with your copy.

Project Management Check-In Fields

If Project Management is enabled for your application, additional fields display in the Project Management section in the Check In window that allow you to link your development changes to project items assigned to you. Depending on the type of project item (user story, bug, task or issue) some or all of the information entered here is transferred via the Project Management communication link to the item in the Project Management Framework.

If you want to record and track rule changes related to a project item on your Project Worklist:

  1. Select the Project Item you want to link to this rule. The list defaults from your Project Worklist.
  2. The Description field defaults to the description of the project item you select.
  3. Check Work Complete if the work on this project item is complete. Appears if you select a bug, task, or issue item.
  4. If you select a bug or a task item the following two fields display.
    In the Additional Worked field, enter the amount of time you have spent working on this item since the last time you recorded effort. The time you add is added to the Actual Hours of the item.
    In the Remaining Hours field, enter the amount of time you think remains until the work on the item is completed. This time updates the Remaining Hours of the item. This field does not display when the Work Complete box is checked.
  5. Required. In the Note field, add a development note. Adds the note to the Notes tab of the item.
  6. Click Check In.

You can view a list of the rule changes in a separate window when you click the View Changes link from the worklist. You can choose display a list of your changes from the My Changes tab or all rule changes in the application from the All Changes tab.

For more information about the framework and tracking development progress, see the PDN publicationPDNProject Management Framework User Guide.

Tips and Notes

Customizing the check-in procedure

You system includes an extension point activity — Rule-.SetApprovalDependency — that you can override with an activity in your application to customize the check-in procedure for your development team. This standard activity contains no steps; it is an extension point activity for you to override.

Definitions rule management facility, check in, personal RuleSet, Project Management Framework
Related topics Using the Rule Check-In approval process
Working with the Show Checked Out display and Bulk Check-in

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