Configuration Recommendation Rules

The Set Type that defines how a Recommendation rule will set an attribute can be defined in three places:

• In the attribute
• In a Recommendation rule that acts on the attribute
• In a Configuration Flow where the attribute is on the layout (Override must be checked)

When a Recommendation rule is fired, the system will look at all three of these locations to determine the Set Type. The “strongest” Set Type (with Forced Set being the strongest, Set being in the middle, and None being the weakest) will be used, regardless of where it is defined.

If one location says “Forced Set,” one says “Set,” and one says “None,” the attribute will be Forced Set. If two places say “Set” and one says “None,” the attribute will be Set, and so on and so forth.

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If multiple Recommendation rules fire simultaneously on the same attribute, and if the attribute is not a Multi-Select Menu attribute, then only one Recommendation rule will set the value of the attribute. Recommendation rules are sorted for precedence according to the following criteria (in order):

1. Descending order by where the rule is defined in the product hierarchy (Model level first and All Product Families level last)
2. Descending order by number of attribute inputs for an advanced action’s function. For example:
   1. Advanced action function with 5 attribute inputs
   2. Advanced action function with 3 attribute inputs
   3. Advanced action function with 1 attribute input
   4. Simple action

3. Ascending order by the order number in the Recommendation Rules List.

   See the section Reordering Rules in the topic Configuration Rule Overview.

For any Text, Float, or Integer attribute that has Multi-Select Menu selected for its attribute type, it is possible that multiple Recommendation rules could fire simultaneously and act on different selections within the same attribute. For example:

• Attribute X has options A, B, and C.
• Recommendation rule 1 force sets Attribute X to A.
• Recommendation rule 2 sets Attribute X to B.
• Recommendation rule 3 sets Attribute X to C.

In this case all three options, A, B, and C will be force set. The strongest set type will apply to all Recommendation Rules if there are multiple rules acting on the same multi-select attribute at the same time.

As in prior releases, recommendation rules help buyers configure products by offering suggested attribute values. For each configuration model, administrators can create recommendation rules to set suggested or likely attribute values. When recommendations trigger, they appear to buyers on the Model Configuration page. In addition to the "Standard" and "Table Lookup" recommendation rule action types available in prior releases, Oracle CPQ Release 18D provides a "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule action type.

Administrators can use the "Bulk Table Lookup" action type in a recommendation rule to set the value of any Configuration attribute to which a model has access. For example: If a layout contains a Product Family attribute, a Product Line attribute, and a Model attribute, a "Bulk Table Lookup" based recommendation rule at the Product Family, Product Line, or Model level can set all of the attribute values.

"Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rules can set the values for many attributes using a single rule based upon conditions and recommended attribute values defined in a Data Table. This adds flexibility while reducing the number of recommendation rules and the administrative effort required to set Configuration attribute values.

In contrast to the "Table Lookup" recommendation rule action type, the attribute variable name for the "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule action type is stored in a Data Table. Administrators do not choose action attributes explicitly at the rule level, providing them with an easier way to setup a generic rule where attributes are determined from the Data Table itself. Administrators can use this new action type to streamline the Configuration process by applying Configuration attribute value changes based on content in a Data Table column. The "Bulk Table Lookup" action type is available for all recommendation rules. When using a "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule, the attribute variable name, attribute value, set type, and messaging can be provided dynamically.

To create a "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Admin Home page.
2. Select Catalog Definition under Products.
3. Drill-down to the Product Family, Product Line, or Model to which you are adding the recommendation rule.
4. Select Recommendations from the Navigation menu next to the Product Family, Product Line, or Model to which you are adding the recommendation rule.
5. Click List.

6. Click Add.

   

7. Enter the recommendation rule properties (e.g. Name, Variable Name, Description, and Status).
8. Select a Condition Type.
   Options include Always True, Simple Condition, or Advanced Condition.
9. Select an Apply rule to value:
   
   •  Configuration: Apply the rule to the Configuration. This is the default value.
   •  Selection: Apply the rule to Search Flows.
   •   Both: Apply the rule to both the Configuration and Search Flows.
     
10. Select Bulk Table Lookup as the Action Type.
11. From the Select Table tab, select the Data Table from which data is retrieved.

12. From the Specify Filter for Table Rows tab, click Add Row to define a filter that determines the rows to return in the result set. At least one filter is required. If there are multiple Data Table rows referencing the same attribute, the filter is used to determine the recommended value.

    

13. From the Evaluate Row With drop-down, select one of the following options and complete the row.

    • Attribute: Select entries from the Table Column, Operator, and Value columns. The Value column becomes a drop-down showing Configuration attributes. Administrators can look up attribute variable names from the Value column. Upon making selections, the rule logic displays in the Select Rows in Table When section at the bottom of the page.
    • Static Entry: Select a Table Column from the drop-down and enter a value in the Value column.

    Administrators can look up attribute variable names from the Value column. Upon making selections, the rule logic displays in the Select Rows in Table When section at the bottom of the page.

14. Enter the logical grouping of the matches in the Row Grouping (Order of Operations) section. If there is only one condition, this field is auto-populated.

15. Use the Map Bulk Recommendation tab to dynamically select the attribute on which the recommendation rule acts to set a value. The tab displays four read-only properties used to reference the bulk recommendation data table. Administrators select a Property Source and a Property Value for each Property.

    

The asterisk (*) symbol in the below table represents a read-only Property or Property Source.

Property	Property Source	Property Value
*Attribute To Populate	*Table Column	Select the Table Column that contains the attribute variable name of the attribute to populate.
*Value To Populate	*Table Column	Select the Table Column that contains the attribute value to populate. The only Table Columns that are selectable are those with text content. Setting the value of numeric attributes is only successful when the Data Table row that calls out the numeric attribute has a properly formatted value in the selected value column. A properly formatted value includes Integer or Floating Point with the decimal separator as noted in the "Tips and Considerations" section.
* Set Type	Select a Set Type for the rule: Table Column Static	If Table Column is the Property Source, select the Table Column that contains the Set Type to use. The valid Set Type values for the Table Column are None, Set, or Forced Set with a default of None for invalid values. Values other than Set, Forced Set, and None are invalid values. The values are not case sensitive. For example: Set and set are both valid values. If Static is the Property Source, select None, Set, or Forced Set from the Property Value drop down.
* Message To User	If administrators want to provide a message to the user, specify the source of the message: Table Column Static	If Table Column is the Property Source, select the Table Column that contains the recommendation rule message to the user. If Static is the Property Source, enter the message to display to the user.

16. Select the Test Table Results tab.
17. If any of your filtering is done dynamically, you must specify the filter criteria and click Run to test the recommendation rule output. The output represents the values visible to sales users on the Model Configuration page.
18. Click Add.