All resources, including articles and video instruction, related to Deployment Rules can be found in the Deployment Rules Learning Resources article.
This article contains responses to common questions related to Deployment Rules in Terra Dotta Study Abroad.
Questions
2. How long will it take for an office to switch to Deployment Rules?
5. What are some best practice steps to take before enabling Deployment Rules for an app cycle?
10. What classic features are not compatible with Deployment Rules?
11. Can you use multiple programs in one deployment rule?
12. Can you transition an app cycle that is using process maps to Deployment rules mid-app cycle?
13. Do Deployment Rules have an impact on an app cycle using process maps?
15. How do I order my site's terms?
16. What best practice should I keep in mind for a naming convention to use with my rules?
Responses
1. I created/edited a rule, but the new requirements are not appearing in applications/old requirements are still present.
It can take up to an hour for new requirements to appear in applications, or for requirements that are no longer applicable to fall off of applications. To see your changes immediately, try refreshing the rules.
If refreshing the rules does not work, double check your deployment rule configuration, paying special attention to the starting app cycle and how that interacts with your term order.
Note: If the applicant has already saved or completed the requirement, their version of the requirement is locked in- it will remain in the application and they will not get the updated version of the requirement until their responses are erased by the admin or, if the requirement is material, it is marked as unreceived.
2.. How long will it take for an office to switch to Deployment Rules?
This answer is going to vary from office to office. Factors might include the number of process elements on your site to go through and audit, the number of staff available to devote time to this project, the number of rules you need to create, and other priorities your office is managing. You might anticipate a few weeks, give or take, depending on the amount of rules you need to create.
3. Can I use Deployment Rules and process maps at the same time? I'm currently only using process maps but want to get started using rules-based app cycles.
Deployment Rules and process maps are two completely different systems that tell the software which requirements to deploy to applications in your application (app) cycles. An app cycle can use either process maps or Deployment Rules to manage that deployment.
We refer to an app cycle that has Deployment Rules enabled as a "rules-based" app cycle.
With this in mind, yes, it is possible to have some app cycles on your site that use process maps while others use Deployment Rules. This will likely be the case for offices who are currently only using process maps and want to transition to using Deployment Rules one app cycle at a time. It is not possible to use both Deployment Rules and process maps for the same app cycle at the same time.
The goal is to fully transition all app cycles to using Deployment Rules, thus permanently eliminating your use of process maps on your site.
4. What steps do I need to take before beginning the transition to using Deployment Rules on my site?
Watch the Rules Roadmap: An Admin's Guide to Getting Started with Deployment Rules webinar recording. First, it provides an overview of what Deployment Rules, how they are created, and their benefits. Those benefits include:
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More Intuitive Business Process
- Reliable logic with "If/Then" statements.
- Shift from thinking about where each requirement should be applied to what each program application should contain.
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Stay Organized with Dedicated Work Spaces
- Content Management: Create and maintain (less) content.
- Deployment Rules: Manage content deployment.
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Flexibility
- Deploy one requirement across multiple program types.
- Create rules now to deploy in future app cycles.
- Use any number of rules to manage complex program applications.
Next, the session covers key points to keep in mind, a summary of which is as follows:
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Communication
- Inform and involve your team.
- Schedule time in advance.
- Read articles. Watch videos. Discuss and ask questions.
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Change
- Moving away from process maps and classic functionality.
- Transition to the tools of the Admin Console.
- Opportunity to utilize new and updated functionality.
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Considerations
- Applicant Experience must be enabled.
- Classic functionality that is not compatible with Deployment Rules.
- Prepare to change! Your work experience will be transformed.
Finally, the recording walks you through the recommended approach to take to implement Deployment Rules. A summary of those steps are:
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Content Management
- Review and update process elements.
- Retire content as needed.
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Deployment Rules
- Use the Rules Audit Template.
- Consolidate rules.
- Build your rules in production.
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App Cycle Management
- Check the order of your site's terms.
- Set app cycle dates.
- Enable Deployment Rules to create your "rules-based" app cycle.
5. What are some best practice steps to take before enabling Deployment Rules for an app cycle?
First, make sure that you have watched the Rules Roadmap Webinar recording and have gone through the steps outlined in that session to audit your process elements, create your rules, order your terms, and configure your app cycles.
Once you are ready to enable Deployment Rules for an app cycle, here is a quick checklist to review:
1. Make sure the Applicant Experience is enabled on your site.
2. Check Content Management.
- In Content Management, review the process elements that you've assigned to a Deployment Rule as requirements. Are they active? Do any changes need to be made?
3. Check your Deployment Rule.
- The rule is "active".
- The rule is set to the desired phase ("pre-decision" or "post-decision").
- If the rule uses a Starting App Cycle, compare it to the app cycle for which the application was created. If the Starting App Cycle used in the rule falls after the app cycle for which the application was created, then the rule will not apply to the application. How does the system determine this order? It looks at how your terms are ordered under Settings > Terms.
- Check the conditions of the rule. All conditions of the rule must be true in order for the requirements to be deployed to an application.
- Check the requirements assigned to the rule.
4. Check Your Terms.
- Another reminder to check how your terms are ordered on your site. The system looks to this order to determine how a Starting App Cycle, if used for a rule, should be applied. If the order of your terms is alphabetical and not in your desired chronological order, then you should take action.
5. Check App Cycle Management.
- The app cycle is set to "active".
- The app cycle has Deployment Rules enabled.
- The app cycle's "Opening Date" is in the past.
- The app cycle's "Closing Date" is in the future. (If it is in the past, then applications in this app cycle will not be included when the scheduled task runs to update applications. Why? Because this task only looks at applications that are in app cycles where the "Closing Date" has not yet passed.)
6. What happens if I use the auto-generate option to create rules and then click on "Generate Rules" again in the future? Will my rules be deleted?
If you click on the "Generate Rules" link, this action will create a list of rules based on the current configurations of your process elements in your process maps. These rules will be listed with the naming convention of AUTO 001, AUTO 002, and so forth. When you click the "Delete Generated Rules" link, this action will permanently remove the rules that were auto-generated as long as they were not modified in any way. If you make a change, such as modifying the title of the auto-generated rule, then the rule will no longer be considered "Auto Generated" and will remain/be saved when you perform the "Deleted Generated Rules" action.
If you were to click "Generate Rules" a second time, this action is still going to create a list of rules based on current configurations of your process elements in your process maps. This action has no impact on any manually created rules that exist on your site. The act of generating rules will not delete pre-existing rules. The act of deleting auto-generated rules will not delete pre-existing rules.
The "Generate Rules" link will be permanently removed after your site has at least ten manually-created rules.
7. Do I need to uncheck my process elements used in my process maps before enabling Deployment Rules for an app cycle?
No. Process maps and rules are two separate systems. Once Deployment Rules have been enabled for an app cycle, the system is no longer looking at your process maps for that app cycle.
8. What is the difference between the batch "Refresh Requirements" action, manually refreshing an individual application, and waiting for the task that runs to update applications in rules-based app cycles?
The batch "Refresh Requirements" action in Application Finder allows you to select multiple applications in rules-based app cycles and flag them as needing to be "refreshed", or updated. The action does not immediately refresh all of the applications. The refresh action will occur when one of the following actions subsequently takes place (whichever happens first): an admin views the application in full from Application Admin Manager, the applicant views the application from their application page, or the Application Requirements task runs.
The "Refresh Rules Requirements" action in Application Admin Manager allows you to manually force the rules task to run on a single application at a time.
On average, the rules task runs at intervals of every five minutes to pick up changes to a deployment rule or program. In turn, this informs the task which applications it should cycle through and update. Depending on the number of applications that must be refreshed, the amount of time that it will take for the task to run to completion will vary.
9. Is it possible to deploy a requirement to an application based on a certain date with Deployment Rules?
No, it is not possible to deploy requirements based on a designated date. However, we would recommend you take advantage of the Advising Program. With this feature, an applicant would complete a respective list of requirements as part of the advising program application. When the admin is ready to change the program (or grant approval for the applicant to do so on their own), the applicant would be presented with a subsequent set of pre-decision requirements to complete as deployed to the application by that program's rules.
10. What classic features are not compatible with Deployment Rules?
A transition to Deployment Rules means a shift in how you might have approached certain business processes in Terra Dotta Study Abroad in the past. The following list is of classic features that are not compatible with Deployment Rules:
- The classic progress audit.
- Use the Application Finder's Progress Audit tool for applications in rules-based app cycles.
- The classic advising phase functionality.
- Use the Advising Program, which is its own program type, with rules-based app cycles.
- The classic due dates system based on calendar dates.
- Use relative due dates as detailed in the Due Dates for Rules-Based Requirements article.
- OneStep and Proxy registration.
- All application requirements can be viewed on the same page in the Applicant Experience. If your programs have been using OneStep registration, you will want to change any HTML for your "Apply Now" buttons to use the HTML found on the "Settings" tab of your respective program. Refer to the Using the Program Wizard article for details on the "Create Apply Button" feature.
- The program types of Travel Registration and Incident Report always allow users to create multiple applications for the same program in the same app cycle when the Modern Login is enabled. View details in the Adjusting Application Limits article.
- The application parameter types of "file", "number", and "date type" are not supported as conditions for rules.
In addition:
- Rules-based app cycles should use Reviewers Management for Terra Dotta Study Abroad.
- Rules-based app cycles should use Recommendations for Terra Dotta Study Abroad.
11. Can you use multiple programs in one deployment rule?
Yes, you can select the condition type of "Programs" and then select as many programs as needed for one rule. The logic used within the same condition type category is "OR", so the rule would deploy requirements when the program is program A or program B or program C, etc. Here's an example of how your "if/then" statement could read when selecting multiple programs in one rule:
"If the program is in Global Players Amsterdam OR Global Players Guatemala, then deploy the $50 application fee material."
On a related note, you might find that at times it is more efficient to use "Program Group" as one condition type. Let's say you have 300 programs in your Affiliate Programs program group, and you need X requirements to be deployed to all programs in that group EXCEPT for two of those programs. Instead of creating a rule where you select 298 programs, you would create a rule that might look like this:
"If the program group is Affiliate Programs AND the programs are NOT IN Global Players Amsterdam or Global Players Guatemala, then deploy the $100 application fee material."
12. Can you transition an app cycle that is using process maps to Deployment rules mid-app cycle?
It is possible to switch your existing process map-based app cycles over to using Deployment Rules as long as you have gone through all of the suggested steps and configured your rules accordingly. Because you will have applications in an app cycle already when the Deployment Rules feature is enabled, it will be extremely important that you understand what to expect when this change is made. After you have enabled Deployment Rules for your app cycle, then any pre-existing applications in the app cycle will be refreshed so that applications are reflective of the rules which apply.
13. Do Deployment Rules have an impact on an app cycle using process maps?
Process maps and Deployment Rules are two separate systems. If an app cycle is using process maps, then requirements will be deployed to program applications in that app cycle based on how your process maps are configured. If an app cycle has enabled Deployment Rules, then requirements will be deployed to program applications in that app cycle based on how your Deployment Rules are configured.
14. Can you set up a deployment rule to deploy a requirement based on the response in a questionnaire?
No, Deployment Rules cannot deploy requirements based on the response to a question item. However, you could consider using an applicant parameter as a condition. For an example, if the app parameter of Financial Aid has a value of "Yes", then the rule would deploy a requirement. Another option separate from using Deployment Rules might be to create a questionnaire that uses a conditional question item. For example: Do you receive Financial Aid - and use a single selection type with the responses of "Yes" or "No". If the applicant selects "Yes", then they are presented with the subsequent child questions about financial aid. If they select "No", then they move on to other questions no related to financial aid.
15. How do I order my site's terms?
To access your site's global terms, navigate to the Settings > Terms menu. These terms should be ordered in chronological order and not in alphabetical order so that the "Starting App Cycle" and "Ending App Cycle" dates function as expected.
Re-ordering your terms will not impact the order in which terms are displayed in public-facing program searches.
16. What best practice should I keep in mind for a naming convention to use with my rules?
Start by approaching this from what might be most general down to the most specific. Think about what most of your programs would need as requirements and then get more granular with what might be program group specific, program specific, applicant specific, etc. Your naming convention could reflect this from "general to specific" process. For example: Summer Programs_Non-US_Graduate. Whatever you use, it should be something that you understand and is helpful for you to locate what you need.
17. I'm running the progress audit in both Application Finder and the classic interface, and I'm seeing discrepancies between the two. What is happening?
If you are using Deployment Rules, then you need to be using the administrative tools of the Admin Console. This includes the Application Finder's progress audit. The classic progress audit functionality only supports applications in process map-based app cycles and should not be used with applications in rules-based app cycles. Deployment Rules is a completely separate system and data model from process maps. Attempting to use applications in rules-based app cycles with the classic progress audit will likely deliver problematic results.