FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
/. Title of the invention: RULE CONFIGURATION
2. Applicants)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
TATA CONSULTANCY INDIAN Nirmal Building, 9th Floor, Nariman Point,
SERVICES LIMITED Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021, India
3. Preamble to the description
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates, in general, to rule configuration and, in
particular, to systems and methods for configuring rules in software tools.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Conventionally, a software tool is used to automate various business processes
associated with the operations of an organization or an enterprise. The software tool is usually configured in such a manner that the automated business process comply with the various laws, regulations, administrative guidelines of the jurisdiction in which the operations of the organization are being carried out. For example, an organization may use a software tool to automate the payment of taxes, such as direct taxes, indirect taxes. The various tax payment parameters, for example, rate, due date for payment, frequency of payment, and mode of payment, associated with each of the direct taxes and indirect taxes usually vary from one jurisdiction to another.
[0003] Conventionally the software tool has various logic, workflows, etc., defined as
rules in the software code. Hence, whenever there is a change in any of the business processes associated with the operations of the organization or there is any change in any of the laws, regulations, administrative guidelines of the jurisdiction in which the operations of the organization are being carried out or the organization initiates operations in a new jurisdiction, the software tool has to be upgraded so that the automated business process complies with the new laws, regulations, administrative guidelines, etc. Upgradation of a conventional software tool usually involves addition, deletion, or modification of the software code by a software development team. After completion of the upgradation, the software tool may have to be reinstalled, tested for functionalities, performance, etc., and thereafter deployed.
SUMMARY
[0004] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to systems and methods
of configuring rules in software tools and the concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is neither intended to identify essential features of the

claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0005] In one implementation, the operation of a software tool having configurable rules
comprises receiving a query from a computing device and identifying at least one rule parameter associated with the query based on at least one pre-defined rule template. The method further comprises retrieving an active rule based on the at least one query parameter and ascertaining an inference to be sent as a response to the query based in part on the at least one active rule.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures.
In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.
[0007] Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment implementing a rule configuration
system, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0008] Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary method depicting the operation of the software
tools associated with the rule configuration system, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Systems and methods for configuring rules in software tools are described
herein. The systems and methods can be implemented in a variety of computing systems. Examples of such computing systems include, but are not restricted to, mainframe computers, workstations, personal computers, desktop computers, minicomputers, servers, multiprocessor systems, laptops, network servers, and the like.
[00010] Conventionally, a software tool is used to automate the various business
processes associated with the operations of an organization. The software tool has various rules defined in the software code for implementing the business processes in such a way that

the automated business processes comply with various laws, rules, administrative guidelines, etc., that are specific to each jurisdiction in which the operations of the organization are performed. Conventionally, the development cycle of the software tool requires involvement of three categories of users. The first category of the users is the software developers who write the software code for the software tool. The second category of the users is the domain experts who define rules in the software code so that the automated business processes comply with the various laws, rules, administrative guidelines, etc., of the jurisdiction. The third category of the users is the software testers who test the developed software tool for functionalities, performance, etc. The software tool, once developed, tested, and deployed, is accessed by one or more end-users for using the various functionalities of the software tool to perform the business operations.
[00011] The development cycle for developing a software tool for automation of
payment of taxes of the organization typically involves the following stages. The software developers would write the software code for development of the software tool. The domain experts who have knowledge and experience of the taxation system of the jurisdiction may help the software developers to define the various taxation rules in the software code. Finally the software testers would subject the developed software tool to verify the various functionalities of the software tool, ascertain if the software tool is generating expected results, performance of the software tool, etc., before deploying the software tool for usage. The software tool might be used by the end users, such as staff of the finance department to automate the payment of taxes of the organization.
[00012] In course of the time, laws, regulations, administrative guidelines of a
jurisdiction may be amended; or the organization may grow and extend its operations to other jurisdictions. It is well known that the laws, regulations, administrative guidelines governing the operations of the organizations differ with each jurisdiction. Thus, the software tool may need to be upgraded so that the business processes of the organization comply with the new laws, regulations, and administrative guidelines. The upgradation of the software tool usually pertains to defining new rules or modifying existing rules already defined in the software code. Even for the upgradation, the involvement of all the three categories of users, who are

associated with the development cycle of the software, may be necessary. For example, the software developers have to write new software code or modify existing code; the domain experts would have to assist the software developers in comprehending and implementing the new rules pertaining to the new laws, regulations, and administrative guidelines; and the software testers have to test the upgraded software tool for functionality, performance, etc. Due to the involvement the three categories of users, the time and costs of upgrading a software tool are quite high.
[00013] The present subject matter describes systems and methods for configuring
rules in software tools. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that though the systems and methods for configuring rules in software tools are described in the context of automation of business process associated with an organization, the same should not be construed as a limitation. For example, the systems and methods for configuring rules in software tools may be implemented for various other purposes, such as in education industry, travel and tourism industry, albeit modifications as would be known by those skilled in the art.
[00014] In one implementation, the method of configuring rules in software tools
includes storing of the rules of implementation of the business process in a rule repository, such as a database or an extensible markup language (XML) file instead of implementing the rules in the software code of the software tool. In said implementation, the software tools may have one or more variables defined in the software code of the software tool. Based on the operation of the software tool, the one or more variables would call or retrieve a different rule from the rules repository based in part on the laws, rules, and administrative guidelines of the jurisdiction. For example, a rule may be defined as the income tax for an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2009-10 is X%, whereas the income tax for an American male working in India for the financial year 2009-10 is Y%. In an implementation of the present subject matter, the above rule may be parameterized and a rule template, comprising of one or more parameters, may be generated or defined as "the for working in for the financial year is ." Whenever, the operations of the organization expand to a new jurisdiction, a new rule in the pre-defined

template is stated and saved in the rules repository. In operation, whenever, the operations of the organization expand to a new jurisdiction, the domain expert adds a rule in the format of the pre-defined template. For example, the domain expert may add a new rule that the income tax for a French male working in France for the financial year 2009-10 is Z%. Thus new rules can be dynamically defined without requiring any change in the software code and hence the conventional steps of the upgradation including testing and deployment of the software tool are eliminated making the methods of rule configuring in software tools fast and efficient. Moreover, the existing rules can also be edited or modified based on the the rule templates. For example, in the above example, the domain expert can edit any parameter associated with any rule. Further, in the said implementation, a particular rule can be activated or deemed to be in effect or in use for a pre-defined time interval by specifying a start date and an end date of applying the rule.
[00015] The present subject matter also facilitates creation of new rules using pre-
defined rule templates, modifying or deleting existing rules, and activating or deactivating rules for a time interval by specifying a start date and an end date. Further, the present subject matter facilitates assigning certain weights to various parameters in the rule template based on the degree of importance. Moreover, the method for configuring rules in the software tools also facilitates verification of the rules and also ensures that no two rules with same parameters and conflicting inferences are active simultaneously.
[00016] Thus, the systems and methods for configuring rules in the software tools
reduce time, costs, and risks involved in upgrading a software tool so as to make the automates business process compliant with the new laws, regulations, and administrative guidelines. These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail in conjunction with the following figures. While aspects of described systems and methods for configuring rules in the software tools can be implemented in any number of different computing systems, environments, and/or configurations, the embodiments are described in the context of the following exemplary system(s).
[00017] Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment 100 implementing a rule configuration
system 102, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. In said embodiment,

the network environment 100 includes the rule configuration system 102 designed to configure rules based on which one or more software tools implement business processes associated with operations of an organization. In one implementation, the rule configuration system 102 may be included within an existing information technology infrastructure or an existing application tool of an organization. The rule configuration system 102 may be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a mainframe computer, a server, a network server, and the like. It will be understood that the rule configuration system 102 may be accessed by users through one or more client devices 104 or applications residing on client devices 104, such as software code editing tools. Examples of the client devices 104 include, but are not limited to, a portable computer 104-1, a mobile phone 104-2, a handheld device 104-3, a workstation 104-N, etc. As shown in the figure, such client devices 104 are communicatively coupled to the rule configuration system 102 through a network 106 for facilitating one or more end users and domain experts, collectively referred to as client users, to access and operate the rule configuration system 102.
[00018] The network 106 may be a wireless network, wired network or a combination
thereof. The network 106 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and such. The network 106 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network, which represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the network 106 may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, etc.
[00019] In one implementation, the rule configuration system 102 includes a
processor(s) 108, input-output (I/O) interface(s) 110, and a memory 112. The processor(s) 108 are electronically coupled to the memory 112. The processor(s) 108 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate

signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) 108 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 112.
[00020] The I/O interface(s) 110 may include a variety of software and hardware
interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, allowing the rule configuration system 102 to interact with the client devices 104. Further, the I/O interface(s) 110 may enable the rule configuration system 102 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external data servers (not shown in figure). The I/O interface(s) 110 can facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface(s) 110 may include one or more ports for connecting the rule configuration system 102 to a number of devices to or to another server.
[00021] The memory 112 can include any computer-readable medium known in the art
including, for example, volatile memory, e.g., RAM, and non-volatile memory, e.g., EPROM, flash memory, or both. In one embodiment, the memory 112 includes module(s) 114 and data 116. The module(s) 114 further include a rule generation module 118, a rule validation module 120, a rule modification module 122, and other module(s) 124. It will be appreciated that such modules may be represented as a single module or a combination of different modules. Additionally, the memory 112 further includes data 116 that serves, amongst other things, as a repository for storing data fetched processed, received and generated by one or more of the module(s) 114. The data 116 includes, for example, one or more software tools 126, data rules repository 128, template data 130, and other data 132. Additionally, the aforementioned data can be organized using data models, such as relational or hierarchical data models.
[00022] In operation, the rule configuration system 102 includes one or more software
tool(s) 126 which has one or more rule parameters defined in the software code. Based on the rule parameters, one ore more custom made templates are defined and saved as template data 130. For example, a rule may be income tax for an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2010-2011 is 15% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees. In this

rule "an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2010-2011" is a fact and the income tax is "15% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees" is the inference. The same rule, when implemented in the software code, is parameterized. In one implementation, the strings "income tax", "Indian", "male", "India", "2010-2011", "15%", "income", "exceeding", "two lakhs", "Indian rupees" may be identified so as to be designated as rule parameters. The parameterized rule may be defined in the software code as rule template, for an working in for the financial year is on the , and the same is saved as template data 130. In the above example, the rule parameters are , , , , , , , .
[00023J In one implementation, the rule generation module 118 is used to generate a
new rule based on one or more rule templates. In operation, the domain expert, through an input facilitated by hardware or software or firmware or combination thereof, initiates the generation of a new rule. The rule generation module 118 retrieves various rule templates from the template data 130 and prompts the domain expert to select one or more appropriate rule templates for generation of the new rule. As mentioned earlier, the rule template includes one or more rule parameters. The rule generation module 118 facilitates the domain experts to define rule values for each of the rule parameters of the rule template selected by the domain expert. Further, the rule generation module 118 allows the domain expert to associate a weightage parameter, indicative of the level of importance or priority, with each of the rule parameters. Moreover, the rule generation module 118 also facilitates the domain expert to choose the duration for which the new rule would be active or in force by specifying a start time period and an end time period with the new rule. The new rule is saved as the rule repository 128.
[00024J In one embodiment, the rule configuration system 102 includes the rule
modification module 122 which facilitates the domain expert to modify an existing rule. In operation, the domain expert, through an input facilitated by hardware or software or

firmware or combination thereof, initiates the modification of an existing rule. The rule modification module 122 retrieves the existing rules from the rule repository 128 and prompts the domain expert to select an existing rule for editing. The rule modification module 122 facilitates the domain expert to modify the various rule parameters associated with the existing rule. Further, the domain expert may also modify the weightage factor associated with any of the rule parameter of the existing rules. The domain expert may also change the duration for which the existing rule would be active by modifying the start time period and the end time period with the existing rule. The rule modification module 122 saves the modified exiting rules in the rules repository 128. Moreover, the rule modification module 122 may also save the old values of the rule parameters associated with the exiting rule thus facilitating rollbacks to an earlier version.
[00025] Further, the rule validation module 120 facilitates the domain expert to validate
the existing rules stored in the rule repository 128 based on one or more rule validation parameters. For example, the rule validation module 120 ensures that duplicate rules are not defined by notifying the domain expert that a rule having same values of the rule parameters already exists in the rule repository 128. Further, the rule validation module 120 is configured to ensure that no multiple rules having conflicting inference are active simultaneously. For example, if a first rule states that income tax for an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2010-2011 is 15% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees and a second rule states that a rule may be income tax for an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2010-2011 is 10% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees, the rule validation module 120 would ensure both, the first rule and the second rule, are not active or in force simultaneously.
[00026] Thus the rule configuration system 102 reduces costs, time, and risks involved
in making a software tool 126 compliant with new laws, regulations, or administrative guidelines by eliminating the step of making changes in the software code. Further, the rule configuration system 102 facilitates configuration of new rules, modification of existing rules, deletion of existing rules associated with the software tool 126.

[00027] Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary method depicting the operation of the software
tools 128 associated with the rule configuration system 102, according to an embodiment of
the present subject matter. The method 200 may be described in the general context of
computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include
routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions that
perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The method 200 may
also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by
remote processing devices that are linked through a communication network. In a distributed
computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both the local
and the remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.
[00028] The order in which the method 200 is described is not intended to be construed
as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 200 or alternative methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the method 200 without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method 200 can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. The method 200 is presently provided for operation of the software tool 126 associated with the rule configuration system 102.
[00029] At block 202, the software tool 126 receives a query from a computing device
such as the client devices 104. In one implementation, the end-user may send query pertaining to a business process. For example, the end user may generate the query requesting the rate of income tax for an Indian male working in India for the financial year 2010-2011
[00030] As shown in block 204, at least one or more rule parameters associated with
the received query is identified. For example, the rule values present in the received query may be utilized for the identification of the rule parameter. In the above example, the rule values identified would be "income tax", "Indian", "male", "India", "2010-2011".
[00031] As shown in block 206, a rule template corresponding to the received query is
determined. In one embodiment, the rule template associated with the received query is retrieved from template data 130. The rule template associated with the received query may be determined by the order of rule values present in the query. In the above example, the rule

template identified would be for an working in for the financial year .
[00032] As depicted in block 208, a weightage parameter associated with each of the
rule parameters of the received query. Further, if there is no weightage parameter associated with any of the rule parameters of the received query, the rule configuration system 102 is configured to assign equal weightage or importance to all the rule parameters. In the above example, each of the rule parameters would be assigned equal weightage or importance.
[00033] As illustrated in block 210, a rule value corresponding to each of the rule
parameters present in the received query is retrieved. In one implementation, the rule values corresponding to the rule parameters present in the received query is retrieved from the rule repository 128 of the rule configuration system 102. In said implementation, an active rule corresponding to the determined rule template is retrieved from the rule repository 128 to determine the rule values. An active rule is a rule which is in effect or in force as indicated by the domain expert by specifying the start time period and the end time period of the rule. In the above example, the rule values determined would be "15% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees".
[00034] At block 212, based on the retrieved rule values and weightage parameters
associated with each of the rule parameters of the received query, an inference to be sent as a response to the received query is generated and presented to the end user. In the above example the inference would be "15% on the income exceeding two lakhs Indian rupees".
[00035] Thus the rule configuration system 102 facilitates defining rules in the software
tool 126 dynamically and hence the software tool 126 does not have to be upgraded due to changes in business process or laws, regulations and administrative guidelines governing the business process in a jurisdiction. Hence time and costs involved in developing software code to make the software tool 126 compliant with changes in the business process or laws, regulations and administrative guidelines governing the business process in a jurisdiction and subsequent costs and time involved in testing and deploying the upgraded the software tool 126 is saved.

[00036] Although implementations for configuring rules in software tools have been
described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as exemplary implementations for configuring rules in software tools.

I/We claim:
1. A method for configuring rules in a software tool, the method comprising:
receiving a query from a computing device;
identifying at least one rule parameter associated with the query based on at least one pre-defined rule template;
retrieving an active rule based on the at least one rule parameter; and
ascertaining an inference to be sent as a response to the query based in part on the at least one active rule.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ascertaining is further based on a weightage parameter associated with the at least one rule parameter.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retrieving further comprises determining a rule value associated with the at least one rule parameter of each of the at least one active rule.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising validating the active rule based on at least one rule validation parameter,
5. A rule configuration system (102) comprising:
a processor (108); and
a memory (112) coupled to the processor (108), the memory (112) comprising:
a rule generation module (118) configured to generate at least one new rule based on at least one pre-defined rule template; and
a rule modification module (122) configured to edit at least one rule parameter of an existing rule based on the at least one pre-defined rule template.
6. The rule configuration system (102) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rule
modification module (122) is further configured to edit a weightage parameter
associated with the at least one rule parameter.

7. The rule configuration system (102) as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a rule validation module (120) configured to validate the at least one new rule and the existing rule based on at least one rule validation parameter.
8. The rule configuration system (102) as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a template data (130) configured to store the at least one rule template.
9. A computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing a method comprising:
receiving a query from a computing device;
identifying at least one rule parameter associated with the query based on at least one pre-defined rule template;
retrieving an active rule based on the at least one rule parameter; and
ascertaining an inference to be sent as a response to the query based in part on the at least one active rule.
10. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein the ascertaining is
further based on a weightage parameter associated with the at least one rule parameter.