Level 1, 2, 3, Business Rules

Definition: Business rule levels are defined by the breadth of the characteristics that must be checked. Level 1 rules are simple ones that can be verified using only readily available data; whereas, Level 3 rules may require referencing data from across the entire agency.

What This Means: Most applications check Level 1 rules whenever data are entered. The highest degree of enforcement of data quality requires that the relationship of a datum be checked against other data. For example, when a new student enrolls in a school, a Level 1 business rule might be to check that all the required information fields are filled in, e.g., name, date of birth, etc. A level 3 business rule might be to check whether the student was a former student who had been previously reported as a dropout.

After searching the Internet, Level 1, 2, and 3 business rules can be defined freely. The notion of levels is very esoteric—merely indicating a level of complexity. So, has anyone found a definitive definition of levels for business rules? Until then, let’s use these.

Level 1: a rule that describes characteristics of and relationships across data within a single record

Level 2: a rule that describes characteristics of and relationships across data within a single data set

Level 3: a rule that describes characteristics of and relationships across data among multiple data sets. What distinguishes level 3 rules is that they cannot be tested using only data within a single data set.

There is some definitional confusion about using other tables to test rules, e.g., identifiers, school codes, etc. Within each level are rules that are categorized as:

Look Up: Another table is referenced.

Historical: A series of past values is compared.

Projected: A value is compared based upon a projection of the value expected.

These rules are not Level 3 necessarily because the look-up table, historical values, or projected value can be readily available to test the rule without reliance upon other data sets being available.”

Need another definition?