You can create a SOA composite application that includes BPEL process, business rule, and human task service components. These components are complementary technologies. BPEL processes focus on the orchestration of systems, services, and people. Business rules focus on decision making and policies. Human tasks enable you to model a workflow that describes the tasks for users or groups to perform as part of an end-to-end business process flow.

Some examples of where business rules can be used include:

• Dynamic processing

  Rules can perform intelligent routing within the business process based on service level agreements or other guidelines. For example, if the customer requires a response within one day, send a loan application to the QuickLoan loan agency only. If the customer can wait longer, then route the request to three different loan agencies.

• Externalizing business rules in the process

  There are typically many conditions that must be evaluated as part of a business process. However, the parameters to these conditions can be changed independently of the process. For example, you provide loans only to customers with a credit score of at least 650. This value may be changed dynamically based on new guidelines set by business analysts.

• Data validation and constraint checks

  Rules can validate input data or apply additional constraints on requests. For example, a new customer request must always be accompanied with an employment verification letter and bank account details.

• Human task routing

  Rules are frequently used for human tasks in the business process:

  • Policy-based task assignments dispatch tasks to specific roles or users. For example, a process that handles incoming requests from a portal can route loan requests and insurance quotes to a different set of roles.

  • Load balancing of tasks among users. When a task is assigned to a set of users or a role, each user in that role acquires a set of tasks and acts on them in a specified time. For new incoming tasks, policies may be applied to set priorities on the task and put them in specific user queues. For example, a specific loan agent is assigned a maximum of 10 loans at any time.

For more information about creating business rules in the Human Task editor of a human task component, see How to Specify Advanced Task Routing Using Business Rules.