Monitoring & Maintenance

This section provides comprehensive guidance for ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and operational management of business rules in production environments. Effective monitoring ensures rules continue to perform optimally, identifies issues proactively, and maintains alignment with evolving business requirements.

24.1 Daily Operations Checklist

Daily monitoring activities ensure rules operate correctly and problems are detected quickly. The daily checklist should take 10-15 minutes for most organizations.

Daily Task 1: Review Validation Log for Errors

Procedure:

1. Open Validation Log in Business Central

2. Filter by:

   • Entry Date/Time: TODAY

   • Result: Error

3. Review error entries:

   • How many errors occurred?

   • Which rules caused errors?

   • Which users encountered errors?

   • Are errors clustered around specific time?

Evaluation Criteria:

• 0 errors: Excellent - all rules functioning correctly

• 1-5 errors: Acceptable - likely edge cases or data entry mistakes

• 6-20 errors: Investigate - may indicate systematic problem

• >20 errors: Urgent investigation - likely rule misconfiguration or process change

Actions Based on Findings:

• Recurring same error: Rule logic may need adjustment

• Errors from one user: User training may be needed

• Errors from one rule: Review rule configuration

• Errors at specific time: Check if batch job or special activity triggered problem

Daily Task 2: Check High-Frequency Rule Executions

Procedure:

1. Open Validation Log

2. Filter by Entry Date/Time: TODAY

3. Group by Validation Set Code

4. Count executions per rule set

5. Compare to baseline/expected frequency

Evaluation Criteria:

• Within 20% of expected frequency: Normal operation

• 20-50% variance from expected: Investigate cause

• >50% variance from expected: Urgent investigation

Possible Causes of High Variance:

• Much higher than expected:

  • Scenario filtering not working

  • Trigger Field too broad

  • Unexpected transaction volume (sale event, month-end processing)

• Much lower than expected:

  • Rule accidentally disabled

  • Trigger configuration issue

  • Business process changed

Daily Task 3: Monitor Help Desk Tickets Related to Business Rules

Procedure:

1. Review help desk system for keywords: "error", "validation", "blocked", "can't save"

2. Identify tickets related to business rule messages

3. Check for patterns:

   • Same error reported by multiple users?

   • Confusion about what error message means?

   • Requests to bypass validation?

Actions Based on Findings:

• Multiple users, same error: May indicate legitimate process not accommodated by rule

• Confusion about message: Consider revising message text for clarity

• Bypass requests: Evaluate if rule is too restrictive or if additional Scenarios needed

Daily Task 4: Check for Performance Degradation

Procedure:

1. Ask users: "Are save operations noticeably slower than yesterday?"

2. If yes, check:

   • Which transactions are slow?

   • When did slowness start?

   • Correlation with recent rule changes or deployments?

Investigation:

1. Open Validation Log

2. Review execution times (if logged)

3. Identify rules with longest execution times

4. Compare to baseline performance

Threshold Guidelines:

• <200ms per rule: Excellent performance

• 200-500ms: Acceptable performance

• 500-1000ms: Monitor closely, consider optimization

• >1000ms: Optimization required

Daily Monitoring Summary Template:

Create brief daily summary (2-3 sentences):

Daily Business Rule Monitoring - [Date]
Errors: [count] ([increase/decrease/same vs yesterday])
High-frequency rules: [list any with >20% variance]
Help desk tickets: [count related to rules]
Performance: [Normal / Issues detected]
Action items: [List any follow-up needed]

24.2 Weekly Monitoring and Analysis

Weekly monitoring provides trend analysis and identifies patterns not visible in daily monitoring.

Weekly Task 1: Validation Log Trend Analysis

Procedure:

1. Export Validation Log for past 7 days

2. Analyze in Excel or BI tool:

   • Execution count by rule set (daily breakdown)

   • Error count by rule set (daily breakdown)

   • Execution count by user (top 10 users)

   • Execution count by time of day (identify peak periods)

Create Visualizations:

• Chart 1: Line graph showing daily execution counts by rule set

• Chart 2: Bar chart showing error rates by rule set

• Chart 3: Heatmap showing executions by hour of day

Analysis Questions:

• Are execution counts stable day-to-day, or highly variable?

• Are errors increasing or decreasing?

• Do certain days of week have higher execution/error rates?

• Do certain times of day show performance issues?

Weekly Task 2: Rule Effectiveness Review

For each active business rule, evaluate effectiveness:

Metrics:

• Execution Frequency: How often did rule execute this week?

• Block Rate: What percentage of executions resulted in Error action (transaction blocked)?

• User Impact: How many unique users encountered this rule?

• Override Rate: Did users find workarounds to avoid the rule?

Effectiveness Assessment:

High-Effectiveness Rule (Keep as-is):

• Executes frequently (daily or weekly)

• Block rate 2-10% (catches problems without being overly restrictive)

• Clear, actionable error messages

• Users understand and comply

Low-Effectiveness Rule (Consider modification):

• Never executes (misconfigured or trigger conditions never met)

• Block rate >50% (too restrictive, blocking legitimate transactions)

• High help desk ticket volume (users confused or frustrated)

• Workarounds prevalent (users bypassing intent of rule)

Weekly Task 3: Performance Baseline Comparison

Procedure:

1. Select representative transaction (for example, create and save sales order)

2. Measure execution time with Business Rules enabled

3. Compare to baseline measurement (from initial deployment or last week)

4. Calculate variance

Performance Trending:

• Create Excel chart showing weekly average transaction time

• Track trend over weeks/months

• Investigate if performance degrades >10% week-over-week

Causes of Performance Degradation:

• Data volume growth (more records to process)

• New rules added without optimization

• Linked Table relationships becoming complex

• Business Central environment issues unrelated to rules

Weekly Task 4: Documentation Accuracy Review

Procedure:

1. Select 1-2 business rules

2. Review deployment documentation

3. Verify documentation matches current production configuration:

   • Scenarios match?

   • Conditions match?

   • Actions match?

   • Business logic explanation accurate?

Update Documentation:

• If discrepancies found, update documentation immediately

• Document any undocumented changes discovered

• Investigate how undocumented changes occurred (process breakdown?)

Weekly Monitoring Summary Template:

Weekly Business Rule Monitoring - Week of [Date]
Total Executions: [count] ([+/-X%] vs prior week)
Total Errors: [count] ([+/-X%] vs prior week)
Top 3 Rule Sets by Volume:
  1. [Rule Set Code]: [count] executions
  2. [Rule Set Code]: [count] executions
  3. [Rule Set Code]: [count] executions
Performance: [stable/improved/degraded] ([X%] variance)
Help Desk Tickets: [count] ([+/-X%] vs prior week)
Action Items:
  - [Action 1]
  - [Action 2]
Next Week Focus: [Area to monitor closely]

24.3 Monthly Maintenance Tasks

Monthly maintenance ensures rules remain aligned with business requirements and technical best practices.

Monthly Task 1: Comprehensive Rule Audit

Procedure: For EACH active Business Rule Set, complete this assessment:

Assessment Question 1: Does this rule still reflect current business policy?

• ☐ Yes - policy unchanged

• ☐ Partially - policy evolved but rule not updated

• ☐ No - policy changed significantly, rule outdated

Assessment Question 2: Is this rule still necessary?

• ☐ Yes - actively prevents problems

• ☐ Uncertain - executes rarely, unclear value

• ☐ No - original problem solved by other means

Assessment Question 3: Is rule performance acceptable?

• ☐ Yes - <500ms average execution

• ☐ Marginal - 500-1000ms, optimization would help

• ☐ No - >1000ms, optimization required

Assessment Question 4: Are error messages clear and actionable?

• ☐ Yes - users understand and know how to fix

• ☐ Partially - users confused sometimes

• ☐ No - frequent help desk tickets about this rule

Assessment Question 5: Is documentation accurate and complete?

• ☐ Yes - documentation matches production

• ☐ Partially - minor discrepancies

• ☐ No - significant discrepancies or missing documentation

Action Based on Assessment:

• All "Yes" answers: No action needed, rule healthy

• Any "Partially" answer: Schedule minor updates/improvements

• Any "No" answer: Schedule comprehensive review and redesign

• Multiple "No" answers: Consider disabling rule until can be properly redesigned

Monthly Task 2: Identify Obsolete or Never-Executing Rules

Procedure:

1. Query Validation Log for past 30 days

2. List all Business Rule Sets

3. Identify rule sets with ZERO executions in past 30 days

For Each Never-Executing Rule:

Question 1: Is this expected?

• Example: Rule for year-end processing only executes in December

• Example: Rule for specific transaction type that occurs quarterly

Question 2: Or is this a problem?

• Trigger configuration issue?

• Scenario filtering too restrictive (short-circuits all processing)?

• Business process changed so trigger conditions never met?

Actions:

• Expected low frequency: Document execution frequency expectations, no action needed

• Configuration problem: Fix configuration, test, redeploy

• Business process changed: Evaluate if rule still needed; disable if obsolete

Monthly Task 3: Validation Log Archival and Cleanup

Business Central Validation Log can grow large over time, impacting performance and storage.

Archival Procedure:

1. Determine retention policy (recommend: 90 days in active log)

2. Export Validation Log entries older than retention period to archive:

   • Export to Excel or CSV file

   • Include all fields

   • Filename format: ValidationLog_Archive_[StartDate]_[EndDate].xlsx

   • Store in secure, backed-up location

3. Delete archived entries from active Validation Log

4. Document archival: date, record count, file location

Retention Considerations:

• Compliance requirements: Some industries require longer retention

• Audit requirements: Keep records for audit period

• Storage capacity: Balance detail vs. database size

• Analysis needs: Keep enough history for trend analysis

Monthly Task 4: Rule Group Membership Review

Procedure:

1. Open Rule Groups page

2. For each Rule Group:

   • Review user membership list

   • Verify users still in appropriate roles

   • Check for users who left organization (remove from group)

   • Check for new hires who should be added

Questions to Answer:

• Are Rule Group assignments still appropriate?

• Have organizational changes made Rule Groups obsolete?

• Do new departments/roles need new Rule Groups?

Monthly Task 5: Security and Permission Review

Procedure:

1. Review which users have permission to modify Business Rules configuration

2. Verify permissions follow least-privilege principle:

   • End users: No permission to modify rules

   • Business analysts: Read permission, maybe testing environment modification

   • IT administrators: Full permission in production

3. Review recent configuration changes:

   • Who made changes?

   • Were changes properly approved?

   • Was change management process followed?

Security Red Flags:

• Unauthorized users with modification permissions

• Changes made without approval/documentation

• Production changes made without sandbox/test progression

Monthly Monitoring Summary Template:

Monthly Business Rule Monitoring - [Month Year]
Total Executions (month): [count]
Total Errors (month): [count]
Error Rate: [X%]

Rule Audit Results:
  - Healthy rules: [count]
  - Rules needing minor updates: [count]
  - Rules needing major review: [count]
  - Never-executing rules: [count] (Expected: [count], Problems: [count])

Performance:
  - Average transaction impact: [Xms]
  - Slowest rule: [Rule Code] ([Xms])

Actions Taken:
  - [Action 1]
  - [Action 2]

Planned for Next Month:
  - [Plan 1]
  - [Plan 2]

Archive Summary:
  - Records archived: [count]
  - Date range archived: [start] to [end]
  - File location: [path]

24.4 Quarterly Strategic Review

Quarterly reviews assess business rules at a strategic level, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and identifying improvement opportunities.

Quarterly Task 1: Business Alignment Review

Procedure: Meet with business stakeholders (department heads, process owners) to discuss:

Discussion Topic 1: Are current business rules effectively supporting business objectives?

• Which rules provide the most value?

• Which rules cause the most friction?

• Are there business problems that rules SHOULD address but currently don't?

Discussion Topic 2: Have business processes changed in ways that require rule updates?

• New products or services?

• Regulatory changes?

• Organizational restructuring?

• Merger/acquisition integration?

Discussion Topic 3: What improvements would make rules more effective?

• More descriptive error messages?

• Different threshold values?

• Additional automation (Assign actions, integrations)?

• More granular control (Rule Groups)?

Outcome: Document list of requested changes, prioritize, plan implementation.

Quarterly Task 2: Performance and Capacity Planning

Procedure:

1. Analyze 90-day trend data:

   • Execution volumes trending up or down?

   • Transaction processing times trending up or down?

   • Database size impact from Validation Log?

2. Project trends forward:

   • At current growth rate, when will performance become problematic?

   • At current log growth rate, when will storage become issue?

3. Plan capacity adjustments:

   • Optimize high-frequency rules before performance degrades

   • Plan log archival strategy

   • Consider infrastructure upgrades if needed

Quarterly Task 3: Training and Knowledge Transfer Assessment

Procedure: Assess organizational knowledge of business rules:

Assessment Questions:

• Do end users understand error messages and how to resolve?

• Do help desk staff know how to troubleshoot rule-related issues?

• Is there sufficient documentation for new team members?

• Are there single points of failure (only one person understands configuration)?

Actions:

• Update user training materials based on common help desk questions

• Create or update troubleshooting guides for support staff

• Cross-train team members to eliminate knowledge silos

• Schedule refresher training if needed

Quarterly Task 4: Technology and Integration Review

Procedure: Review technical aspects and integration points:

Review Area 1: Business Central Version

• Is BC version up to date?

• Are there BC updates/patches that impact business rules?

• Is QUALIA Rule Engine version current?

Review Area 2: Integrations

• Are Power Automate flows (if used) still functioning correctly?

• Are Custom Actions (if used) still compatible with BC?

• Are email notifications delivering reliably?

Review Area 3: Best Practices Compliance

• Are we following best practices from Section 21?

• Are there optimization opportunities we have not implemented?

• Are there new QUALIA features we should leverage?

Quarterly Summary Template:

Quarterly Business Rule Strategic Review - Q[X] [Year]

Execution Statistics:
  - Total executions (quarter): [count] ([+/-X%] vs prior quarter)
  - Average executions/day: [count]
  - Error rate: [X%] ([+/-X%] vs prior quarter)

Business Alignment:
  - Stakeholder satisfaction: [High/Medium/Low]
  - High-value rules: [list top 3]
  - Problematic rules: [list any]
  - New requirements identified: [count]

Performance:
  - Average transaction impact: [Xms] ([+/-X%] vs prior quarter)
  - Capacity concerns: [None/Monitor/Action Required]
  - Optimization opportunities: [list]

Strategic Initiatives for Next Quarter:
  1. [Initiative 1]
  2. [Initiative 2]
  3. [Initiative 3]

Training/Documentation:
  - Knowledge gaps identified: [list]
  - Training planned: [description]
  - Documentation updates needed: [list]

24.5 Incident Response Procedures

When business rules cause production incidents, rapid, methodical response minimizes business impact.

Incident Severity Levels:

Severity 1 - Critical (Immediate response required):

• Business operations completely blocked

• All transactions for critical process failing

• Data corruption or incorrect data modifications occurring

• Multiple departments unable to perform job functions

Response Time Target: <15 minutes
Escalation: Immediate notification to IT management and business leadership
Action: Disable rule immediately (see Section 23.5 Rollback Procedures)

Severity 2 - High (Urgent response required):

• Some transactions blocked but workarounds exist

• Significant user impact but not complete stoppage

• Performance severely degraded (>5 second delays)

• One critical department unable to function

Response Time Target: <1 hour
Escalation: IT management notification
Action: Assess if temporary rule disable needed, implement fix within business day

Severity 3 - Medium (Scheduled response):

• Minor transaction blocking with easy workarounds

• User confusion or inconvenience

• Performance degraded but acceptable (1-2 second delays)

• Help desk receiving elevated ticket volume

Response Time Target: <4 hours
Escalation: Team lead notification
Action: Diagnose issue, plan fix, deploy during next change window

Severity 4 - Low (Monitor and plan):

• Cosmetic issues (typos in messages)

• Minor edge cases causing rare errors

• Feature enhancement requests

• Documentation inaccuracies

Response Time Target: Next business day
Escalation: None required
Action: Add to backlog, address in normal change process

Incident Response Procedure:

Step 1: Assess Severity (2 minutes)

• How many users affected?

• What business processes impacted?

• Workarounds available?

• Assign severity level

Step 2: Initial Notification (3 minutes)

• Send brief status message to affected users: "We are aware of the issue with [description] and are investigating. Updates every 30 minutes."

• Notify appropriate escalation contacts based on severity

• Create incident ticket in tracking system

Step 3: Immediate Stabilization (5-15 minutes)

• For Severity 1: Disable rule immediately (Section 23.5)

• For Severity 2: Determine if immediate disable needed or if issue can be addressed with fix

• For Severity 3-4: No immediate action, proceed to diagnosis

Step 4: Diagnosis (15-60 minutes)

• Review Validation Log (Section 22.7)

• Check recent configuration changes

• Attempt to reproduce issue in test environment

• Identify root cause

Step 5: Implement Fix

• Severity 1: Fix in sandbox, fast-track testing, redeploy immediately

• Severity 2: Fix in sandbox, expedited testing, deploy same day

• Severity 3: Fix in sandbox, normal testing, deploy in next change window

• Severity 4: Fix in sandbox, normal change process

Step 6: Verification

• Confirm fix resolves issue

• Monitor Validation Log for recurring errors

• Verify no new issues introduced

• Confirm users can proceed normally

Step 7: Communication and Documentation

• Send resolution notification to affected users

• Update incident ticket with root cause, fix description, actions taken

• Conduct post-incident review (for Severity 1-2)

Post-Incident Review Template (Severity 1-2 incidents):

Post-Incident Review
Incident #: [ID]
Date/Time: [when incident occurred]
Severity: [1-4]
Duration: [time from detection to resolution]

Impact:
  - Users affected: [count/department]
  - Business processes impacted: [list]
  - Transactions blocked: [estimate]
  - Financial impact: [if measurable]

Timeline:
  - Incident began: [time]
  - Detected: [time] ([X minutes after start])
  - Severity assessed: [time]
  - Stakeholders notified: [time]
  - Initial response: [time]
  - Root cause identified: [time]
  - Fix implemented: [time]
  - Incident resolved: [time]
  Total duration: [X minutes/hours]

Root Cause:
  [Detailed description of what went wrong]

Contributing Factors:
  - [Factor 1]
  - [Factor 2]

Immediate Actions Taken:
  - [Action 1]
  - [Action 2]

Preventive Measures:
  - [How to prevent recurrence]
  - [Process improvements]
  - [Testing enhancements]

Lessons Learned:
  - What went well: [list]
  - What could improve: [list]
  - Process changes: [list]

24.6 Backup and Recovery

Regular backups of business rule configurations enable rapid recovery from configuration errors, accidental deletions, or system failures.

Backup Strategy:

Backup Frequency:

• Before ANY production change: Immediate backup (see Section 23.2)

• Weekly: Scheduled backup of all Business Rule Set configurations

• Monthly: Comprehensive backup including Validation Log archives

Backup Content:

• Business Rule Set configurations (all rule sets)

• Rule Group definitions and user memberships

• Business Rule Setup (global settings)

• Linked Table configurations

• Custom Action mappings (if applicable)

• Documentation and change logs

Backup Methods:

Method 1: Configuration Export (If supported by QUALIA Rule Engine):

1. Navigate to Business Rules page

2. Select all Business Rule Sets

3. Use Export function to generate configuration file

4. Save file with timestamp: BusinessRules_Backup_YYYY-MM-DD.xml

Method 2: Documentation-Based Backup (If export not available):

1. Use deployment documentation templates (Section 23.3)

2. Document each Business Rule Set completely

3. Include screenshots of configuration pages

4. Save as: BusinessRules_Backup_YYYY-MM-DD.docx

Backup Storage:

• Primary location: Secure network share with restricted access

• Secondary location: Off-site backup or cloud storage

• Retention: Keep all backups indefinitely (minimal storage requirement)

Recovery Scenarios:

Scenario 1: Accidental Configuration Change

Symptom: Rule behaves differently than expected after someone modified configuration

Recovery Procedure:

1. Identify when change occurred (review change log or ask team)

2. Locate backup from immediately before the change

3. Compare backup configuration to current production configuration

4. Identify specific differences

5. Manually revert changes OR restore from backup

6. Test to verify correct behavior restored

7. Document what was changed and by whom

Scenario 2: Accidental Rule Deletion

Symptom: Business Rule Set no longer exists in production

Recovery Procedure:

1. Locate most recent backup

2. Recreate Business Rule Set from backup documentation

3. Verify all Scenarios, Conditions, Actions match backup

4. Test in sandbox before enabling in production

5. Enable in production

6. Monitor Validation Log to confirm functioning correctly

Scenario 3: System Failure or Database Corruption

Symptom: Business Central system failure, need to restore from database backup

Recovery Procedure:

1. After BC database restored, verify Business Rules functionality

2. Check if rule configurations preserved in database restore

3. If rule configurations lost, restore from configuration backups

4. Recreate all Business Rule Sets from backup documentation

5. Test each rule set before enabling

6. Verify Linked Tables configurations

7. Verify Rule Group assignments

8. Enable rules incrementally, testing each

Backup Testing:

Periodically test backup recovery procedures to ensure backups are usable:

Quarterly Backup Test:

1. Select one Business Rule Set

2. Attempt to recreate it in sandbox using only backup documentation

3. Verify recreated rule functions identically to production

4. Identify any gaps in backup documentation

5. Update backup procedures to address gaps