Fields and controls in the Add/Edit Specification dialog box

You can launch the Add/Edit Specification modal dialog by clicking the Create specification button at the top of the specifications table, or by clicking on any entry (row) in the table.

Note: Only specifications in unlocked ruleset versions can be modified. If you launch this modal dialog by clicking on a specification that is in a locked ruleset version, the fields display in read-only mode.

The Add/Edit Specification modal dialog has the following fields:

  • Application – Select an application from the list in your stack. This field is read-only after a specification is created.
  • Case/supporting type – Select the case type or supporting type being processed by the specification.
  • RuleSet – Select the ruleset that will contain the specification from the list available to your current application stack. After a specification is created, its ruleset name cannot be changed and is displayed as a link. Click to open the rule in the work area of Dev Studio.
  • RuleSet version – Select the version number corresponding to the specified ruleset name from the list of available, unlocked versions. After a specification is created, its ruleset version cannot be modified. The ruleset version displays as part of the ruleset name link.

The information on the Details tab describes how a specification is processed and provides supporting information, such as business objectives and business impact. Complete the following information:

  • Short Description – Enter a short description for this item. The short description is limited to 64 characters.
  • Name – The name you specify becomes a key part of the specification and uniquely identifies the rule. Once a specification is created, its name cannot be changed and is displayed as a link; click to open the rule in the work area of Dev Studio. Begin the name with a letter, and use only letters, numbers, the ampersand character, and hyphens. If you provide a name with spaces, the system automatically creates a concatenated string with camel-case formatting.
  • Status – Select the current development state of the specification. You can define custom status values for your project team to use.
  • Type – Select the method by which this specification is implemented. For example, select Human based step for a flow action or Decision for a decision shape in a flow.
  • Complexity – Select the estimated level of effort (i.e., high, medium, or low) to implement this specification. If you do not specify a value, the complexity level is set to blank.
  • Release – Select the target release for this specification. The text you enter in this field appears next to the specification in worksheets generated by the Sizing wizard. Specifying a target release facilitates accurate project sizing.
  • Iteration – Select the target iteration for this specification. The text you enter in this field appears next to the specification in worksheets generated by the Sizing wizard. Specifying an iteration facilitates accurate project sizing.
  • Primary business objective – Select a business objective that is met by this specification.
  • Business impact – Select the relative value (i.e., high, medium, or low) achieved by implementing this specification.
  • Description – The expected behavior of the specification and required steps to complete it. Do not enter information about exception paths. These are defined by other specifications in the application.
  • View/Edit in Microsoft Word – Click to externally edit the specification description in Microsoft Word. This option is available for all browsers, except Google Chrome.

    Close any other Pega-initiated Word sessions first. After you save and close the Word document, a "Description" file is attached to the specification. The rich text editor is replaced with the message "Specification description was last modified using MS Word on [date]." Make future edits externally in Word until you delete the "Description" attachment, or clear the Use as Description? check box in the Attachments section of the form.

  • Upload Word document as description – Click to upload a Word document that contains the description of the specification. This option is available only for Google Chrome.

    After you upload a Word document, you can use the Replace option to upload a different file. Use the Remove option to remove the document from the specification, and enter the description in the rich text editor.

  • Export to Word — Click to export the description that you entered in the rich text editor to a Word document. You can then use the Upload Word document as description option to use the document as the specification description. This option is available only for Google Chrome.

The Implementations tab displays all of the rules that implement the specification. The following information is provided about the rules that implement the specification:

  • Rule type – The type of rule.
  • Applies to – The name of the Applies to class.
  • Name – The name of the rule.
  • Description – The description of the rule.
  • ruleset version – The ruleset version for the rule.

You cannot save duplicate or invalid entries. Remove duplicate and invalid entries before submitting your changes.