Build a decision table

Build a decision table for the employee travel request application that determines which regional head to route travel requests to.

Before you begin

Role required: admin, decision_table_admin, or delegated developer permissions

About this task

The first phase in adding logic and automation to the employee travel request application is to build a decision table. Our decision table evaluates where an employee is located and uses that information to determine which regional head to route their travel request to.

Phase 1		Build a decision table
Phase 2		Create a flow

For more information about using decision tables, see Create decision tables in Workflow Studio.

Follow along with the tutorial to build a decision table for the employee travel request application.

Table 1. Video sections

Timestamp	Section
0:05	Create a decision table.
0:12	Create a new decision table.
0:13	Enter a unique name and choose the scope for the decision table.
0:28	Add an input.
0:36	Add a condition column.
0:52	Add conditions.
0:59	Add a result column.
1:09	Add results.
1:16	Add more conditions.
1:34	Save your changes.
1:36	Verify that the decision table has been added to your application.

Procedure

1. Navigate to All > App Engine > App Engine Studio.
2. Select the travel request application.
3. On the application dashboard, select + Add next to Logic and automation.
4. Select Decision, then select Begin.
5. Select Create a new decision table.
6. Define the properties of the decision table.
   1. Enter Regional head approvals in the Name field.
   2. In the Accessible from field, select This application scope only to have the logic in the decision table apply to only the selected application.
      If you want the logic in your decision table to apply to all applications, select All application scopes.
   3. Select Continue.
7. Select Edit decision table to continue setting up your decision table.
8. Add an input to the decision table.
   Note:

   Inputs define the data that is evaluated in the decision table.
   In our tutorial, we set the input as the travel request table so that the decision table can evaluate employee information associate with each travel request.
   1. Select + Add an input.
   2. In the Type field, select Reference, then select the travel request table from the list.
   3. In the Label field, enter Employee travel requests.
   4. Optional: Repeat this procedure to create as many inputs as you need for your decision table.
      In our tutorial, we don’t create additional inputs.
9. Add a condition column to the decision table.
   Note:

   Condition columns act as filters that refine the input data by specifying which values should be evaluated by the decision table.
   In our tutorial, the condition column refines the input data to evaluate only the employees' country codes. Employees' country codes determine which regional head their travel requests should route to.
   1. Select + Add condition column.
   2. In the Condition column label, enter Employee regions.
   3. In the Input field, select the travel request table input.
   4. For Data to evaluate, select Field.
   5. In the Field field, select Opened by > Country code.
   6. In the Default operator field, select is one of.
   7. Select Done.
   8. Optional: Repeat this procedure to create as many condition columns as you need for your decision table.
      In our tutorial, we don’t create additional condition columns.
10. Define individual conditions for the condition column.
    Note:

    Conditions represent the individual values that the decision table evaluates to return results.
    In our tutorial, the conditions that we define represent each country that corresponds to a different regional head. We define individual conditions for the countries that make up the Americas (AMS) region, the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
    1. Select in the empty box in the condition column.
    2. Select is, then select is one of from the list.
    3. In the empty space beneath is one of, select Brazil and United States.
    4. Select OK.
    5. Select + Add a new decision row to add additional conditions to the condition column.
    6. Optional: Repeat the process in steps a-e to define additional conditions.
       In our tutorial, we define two additional conditions for the countries that make up the APAC and EMEA regions. The following table outlines the condition column values that we set:

       Operator	Value
       is one of	China Japan
       is one of	France Germany Italy Spain United Kingdom

11. Add a result column to the decision table.
    Note:

    Result columns determine the type of data to return after evaluating the input and condition values.
    In our tutorial, the result column determines which regional head to route travel requests to. As the regional heads are individual users in the system, the result column references the User [sys_user] table.
    1. Select + Add result column.
    2. In the Result column label field, enter Regional heads.
    3. Optional: In the Description field, enter a description for the result column.
    4. In the Type field, enter Reference, then select Reference from the list.
    5. In the Reference table field, enter User, then select User [sys_user] from the list.
    6. Select Done.
    7. Optional: If you want to define additional results for your decision table, repeat this procedure to create as many result columns as needed.
       In our tutorial, we don’t create additional result columns.
12. Define the results for the result column.
    Note:

    Results are the individual values, or decisions, that are generated based on inputs, conditions, and results defined in the decision table.
    In our tutorial, the results represent the regional heads for each region.
    1. Select in the empty box in the result column.
    2. In the empty field, enter the name of the regional head.
       For the Americas (AMS) region, enter Lucius Bagnoli.
    3. Select the regional head from the list, then select the Enter key.
    4. Optional: Repeat the process in steps a-c to create as many results as needed for the decision table.
       In our tutorial, we create two additional results for the APAC and EMEA regional heads. The following table outlines the regional head user information for each region:

       Region	User
       Asia Pacific (APAC)	Rob Phil
       Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)	Abel Tuter

13. Select Save.
14. Optional: Verify that your decision table has been added to your application.
    1. Navigate to your application home page.
    2. Confirm that your decision table appears in the Logic and automation section.

Result

You have built a decision table for your application.

What to do next

Proceed to the next phase in adding logic and automation to the employee travel request application: Create a flow.