About Inclusion Rules

There are three kinds of inclusion rules: feature, option, and part. Each kind contains three components:

Target. The target is the feature, option, or part that is to be included or excluded. Every feature, option, and part added to the product structure is a target.

Rule Type (operator). There are two rule types: inclusion and exclusion. If the rule type is inclusion, then the target is included whenever the expression, the third component of an inclusion rule, is true; excluded if the expression is false. If the rule type is exclusion, the target is excluded whenever the expression is true; included when the expression is false.

Expression. The third component of an inclusion rule is the expression that contains one or more feature/option pairs together with operators such as AND, OR, NOT.

Inclusion rules are created irrespective of the sequence order of the feature/option pairs used in the expression. The top-level features of products are included as selectable items in the inclusion rule construction for part family features.

For example, you could define an inclusion rule that says to include a sound card whenever a speaker is selected. Alternatively, you could define an inclusion rule that says to exclude a power cord for the UPS whenever the feature/option pair UPS/No is selected.

Default Inclusion Rules

ENOVIA Variant Configuration Central creates an inclusion rule for every feature and option added to the product structure and for every part connected to the product structure, even if you don't specifically define an inclusion rule for the features, options, or parts. These default inclusion rules have a rule type of inclusion and an empty expression which always evaluates to true. The result is that if you do not define an inclusion rule for a feature, option, or part, that component is included unless some other kind of rule, such as a compatibility rule or resource usage, excludes it.

Feature Inclusion Rules

Feature inclusion rules let customers configure and order products over the Web. Feature inclusion rules work with the feature type to determine if an option must be selected for the feature. For example, only offer the Hauling Capacity feature if the Truck Body Style option has been selected.

The Product Manager defines feature types when adding features to the product. For example, suppose a feature's type is Must Select Only One and the feature inclusion rule determines that the feature should be included. In such a case, a product configuration must include exactly one option for the feature in order to be valid. If the feature's type is Must Select at Least One, then a product configuration must include at least one option for the feature.

Option Inclusion Rules

Feature and option inclusion rules are an alternative way to make features and options compatible/incompatible. For example, suppose certain speakers are incompatible with the flat screen monitor. You could create an inclusion rule that says whenever the flat screen monitor is selected, exclude these speakers.

In this case, the customer who chooses the flat screen monitor during the Web ordering process will not be able to select those speakers. An error icon will appear next to the speakers when the configuration is validated using the Validate Configuration button. Alternatively, you could create an option compatibility rule that says these speakers are incompatible with the flat screen monitor. If the customer really wants those speakers, then a monitor compatible with those speakers must be selected.

The difference between option compatibility and inclusion rules is that inclusion rules can be applied on logical features. In this case, a logical feature will be automatically selected/deselected when an inclusion rule is defined on it. Logical features are not viewable by the user, hence inclusion rules help in defining rules on logical features.

Part Inclusion Rules

Inclusion rules whose targets are parts have a very different function from feature and option inclusion rules. Part inclusion rules specify whether a part should be included in the Precise BOM based on the options selected for a product configuration. For example, include the Power Cord, France part if the Destination Country, France option is selected.