U2312

toc Decision Table in Postal Services.

** Introduction **
In routine daily life or business processes we usually have to take serious decisions. Decision tables consist of a set of conditions and actions to be taken. This allows us to have clear view on what we have and which actions can be taken to have the best choice. Prologa is the software that makes it easier to analyze the situation and take an appropriate decision.

** Structure of Decision Tables **
The structure of decision tables is usually simple and comprehensible. It consists of conditions, actions and rules. Condition column helps to define the state of a condition while action column elaborates on what additional knowledge holds for certain cases.

** Selected postal services **
To have a clear understanding of Decision Tables let’s scrutinize one example. Assume that you need to send a parcel from your place to another. Your choice arrests on 2 postal services: DHL and FedEx. The DHL Express provides us with the global dispatch and delivery of parcel and express shipments over 220 countries and territories on all five continents. DHL Express's services include global courier, express and parcel shipment as well as industry-specific logistics solutions. From same-day services for extremely urgent jobs with special requirements to standard express parcels, DHL Express ensures that shipments sent round the globe arrive quickly and on time. DHL provides the following services to its customers: Both postal services offer wide range of services. But compare to DHL FedEx mostly provides the American continent. Here are some of them which are delivered to Europe.
 * DHL Express 9:00
 * DHL Express 12:00
 * DHL Europack
 * DHL Sameday Good Morning
 * DHL Paket International
 * FedEx International First
 * FedEx International Priority
 * FedEx International Economy
 * FedEx International Priority Direct Distribution

Comparison
This table allows us to make the right choice, i.e. which postal services we do need.

FedEx International Priority® ||  || DHL Worldwide Priority Express NA ||  ||~   ||
 * FedEx ||  || DHL ||
 * || **Same-Day Services** ||  ||   ||~   ||
 * FedEx® International Next Flight ||  || DHL Same Day ||
 * || **Time-Definite, 1–3 Business Days** ||  ||
 * FedEx International First®, outbound as early as 9 a.m., inbound by 8 or 8:30 a.m.
 * || **Time-Definite, 2–5 Business Days** ||  ||
 * FedEx International Economy® ||  || NA ||
 * || **Direct-Distribution Shipments** ||  ||
 * FedEx International Priority DirectDistribution® ||  || DHL Import Express ||   ||~   ||
 * || **Catalogs, Brochures and Other International Mail** ||  ||
 * FedEx International MailService® ||  || DHL Global Mail ||   ||   ||
 * || **Day-Definite Ground Delivery to Canada** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * FedEx International Ground® ||  || NA ||   ||   ||

** Developing the rules **
To create a decision table we have to have the list of conditions with the states, actions and rules which determines the relations between condition states and actions. The rules start to appear only after entering the actions. Then we have to fill in “if” in the rule section. There 3 types of “if”: definite, general and possible.

Download Prologa Decision Project file
