ILOG JRules User Guide > Testing Rules with Rule Scenario Manager > Getting Started > Overview: Rule Scenario Manager

Overview: Rule Scenario Manager

Rule Scenario Manager is a test and simulation framework for ILOG JRules. It allows developers to create a business rule testing and simulation environment for rule developers, business analysts, and policy managers.

Depending on individual user's needs, different services provided within the framework can be applied. For example, rule developers can create Excel workbooks that can be filled in by business analysts or policy managers with test data, which the rule developers can then use to execute test suites.

The Rule Scenario Manager framework is designed to be flexible, suiting a wide variety of needs related to testing and simulation. An example of a testing and simulation application for Rule Scenario Manager is the Rule Scenario Manager Console, which is available when Rule Scenario Manager is installed with JRules.

It is composed of two main elements:

Scenario Service Provider: The Scenario Service Provider is a (non-GUI) web application that executes scenarios on the Rule Execution Server on behalf of a testing application, and returns test execution reports to the testing application for display or archiving. In a typical installation, the Scenario Service Provider is invoked via its extensive API by a custom testing application that provides a testing front end to users.
Web Console: The Web Console is a GUI web application that provides a generic front end to the Scenario Service Provider through which you can define scenarios, request their execution, and view and archive execution reports.

Rule Scenario Manager also provides an integration with JUnit and a comprehensive API to allow developers to test and simulate their rules in their development environment. In addition, many of the artifacts used by Rule Scenario Manager can be defined quickly and efficiently in Rule Studio using a set of wizards.

Rule testing involves executing an XML file that defines a test scenario, which is a statement of a ruleset path, input data to execute the rules on, and tests on the results of the ruleset execution. A scenario execution produces a report showing the results of the ruleset execution and the tests on those results.

Features of Rule Scenario Manager

The main features of Rule Scenario Manager are as follows:

Users of Rule Scenario Manager

Creating and managing scenarios involves the work of several types of user. The users of Rule Scenario Manager include:

Developers--Configure the test and simulation environment; define KPIs, supply report templates, test extractors, test operators and databinding classes; set up automated scenario executions; create custom testing applications for end users.
QA Analysts--Define and execute scenarios; view and manage reports using the Console.
Policy Managers--Define and execute scenarios, suites, and simulations in custom testing applications; view and manage reports.

Some Rule Scenario Manager elements require preparation by a developer before they can been used by the policy manager in the Console. For example, KPI classes must be defined and made available for selection in the Console before they can be applied in scenario suites and simulations. These developer actions are described in this guide.

An RSM archive is a feature of Rule Scenario Manager that allows elements to be transferred between developer and policy manager or QA analyst. Archives of scenarios, scenario suites, and simulations and all artifacts required to execute them, such as input data and tests, can be created by developers and imported into custom testing applications or the Console by a policy manager or QA analyst. Likewise, a Console user can download an RSM archive from the Console to file, allowing, for example, a developer to set up automated rule testing.

Architecture

Rule Scenario Manager is a framework within ILOG JRules that allows you to test a business rule environment by executing a ruleset on selected input data and applying tests on the ruleset execution results. Such test cases are called scenarios.

The ability to store scenario reports, which contain the results of a scenario execution, provides a means of auditing ruleset evolution. Scenarios can be organized into scenario suites of related scenarios with a key performance indicator (KPI), which is a user-defined test on the results of multiple scenarios. In turn, suites can be combined into simulations with a global KPI calculated over the scenario suite results.

Scenarios can be defined easily via the Console, directly in scenario definition files in XML format, or using wizards in Rule Studio to generate the XML files. Configuration of Rule Scenario Manager is done in a series of hierarchical XML configuration files.

The components of a Rule Scenario Manager deployment are as follows: