Decision

Use Decision to make the process branch depending on whether or not a condition is true. If the condition is true, then the process goes in the Yes direction; if the condition is false, then the process goes in the No direction (see figure for an example).

Typical examples of conditions are:

•    A boolean variable has a true value.

•    An integer variable is equal to 10.

•    The current date is after a deadline date.

To add a Decision action to a state:

1. Drag the Decision action from the toolbox to the desired location in your state.
   
   IPA Designer displays the Edit Decision dialog box (see figure).
   
   

2. In the Description text box, type a brief explanation of the decision that the action makes.

3. If the decision will use multiple comparisons, select the radio button to use AND or OR.
   
   If the action only makes one comparison, then this radio button doesn't matter. For more information, see the help topics Understanding Boolean Expressions, The AND Operator, and The OR Operator.

4. Click Plus  to add a comparison to the list.
   
   IPA Designer displays the Comparison Item dialog box.

5. Add one or more comparisons:

   1. In the Value list, select a variable to compare. You can also use a function on the variable's value before using it in the comparison. See the help topic Understanding Functions for more information.

   2. In the Operator list, select the operator to use (equal, greater than, etc.).

   3.  In the Value text box, enter the value with which to compare the variable. You can type the value directly or use the Value list box to use a variable or calculation.

   4. To add more comparisons, click Plus  in the Comparison Item dialog box.

   5. When finished adding comparisons, click Finished.

6. Click the Close button to close the Edit Decision dialog box.