A video introducing the concept of Rules as Code, ...
# devlog-together
j
A video introducing the concept of Rules as Code, and demonstrating my prototypical Rules as Code platform Blawx. Feedback (on the video, and the tool) is welcome. Video is 10m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgIln-K_2S4

Please don't share the link publicly. My bosses inside have recently become paranoid that anything I say in public is going to be perceived as an official statement of the government of Canada, and need to be vetted and translated into French, or something. 🙂
Also, this video took me four solid days to create, and I am not remotely certain it was worth the time. If anyone has any tips on how they communicate the complicated things they're working on, I'd be interested to hear 'em.
c
This is cool. I'm just seeing it towards the end of the day, so I don't have clear feedback to share. I really appreciate the beginning of the video breaking down the different personas interacting with the system.
k
Yeah, I love this. In the first few minutes, it's a little confusing that C and D both seem to be trying to follow the new rule, though you use the word 'compliance' for D. Perhaps C needs to update govt. software to enforce the rule, and D needs to follow or comply with it? Or am I misunderstanding you? Am I understanding right that tests specify "correct" output, while the scenario editor merely deduces consequences with some potential for running into unintended consequences?
j
Your undersatnding of C and D is correct, @Kartik Agaram. "Tests" are poorly named, at the moment, because there is no way to store input data and an expected output, yet. Effectively, they are queries. Whether the output is correct is up to the user to figure out, still, but I'm working on adding that as a feature in the future.
This is a first draft that will definitely see some revisions, once I have the mental energy to point myself at it again. Thanks for the feedback.
w
"video took me four solid days to create ... tips on how they communicate the complicated things" — Maybe a rule system! Communication is tricky. What have I learned as often collaborator with the Canadian government these many years? Exploring scenarios and edge cases is definitely important. Good QA? Iteration? Make sure the A, B, C, and D groups get a little window into what the other groups focus and concerns are. It's easy to silo oneself. Having a master list of categories and their properties can really help. It is easy for a person to get a very wrong idea about what the relevant pieces are let alone how they interact.