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DMN Workflow

This guide walks through uploading, deploying, testing, and exporting a DMN decision model as part of a service definition.

Prerequisites

  • A .dmn file (DMN 1.3 XML format)
  • The service metadata tabs (Service, Organisation, Legal) filled in — the service identifier is used to construct DMN URIs
  • Access to the Operaton rule engine (default: https://operaton.open-regels.nl)

Step 1: Upload the DMN file

In the DMN tab, click Upload DMN File and select your .dmn file.

On upload, the editor:

  • Parses all <decision> elements from the XML
  • Filters out constant parameters (p_* prefix) automatically
  • Extracts the primary decision key (the main output decision)
  • Auto-generates a test request body from the <inputData> elements
  • Shows a badge: "N testable decisions detected (p_* constants filtered)"

If you do not have a DMN file yet, click Load Example to use the provided AOW example.

Screenshot: DMN tab after file upload showing the file card with decision count badge, the auto-populated Decision Key field, and the auto-generated request body

Step 2: Configure the API endpoint

The API endpoint defaults to https://operaton.open-regels.nl/engine-rest. Change it if you are using a different Operaton instance.

Step 3: Deploy to Operaton

Click Deploy to Operaton. The editor sends the DMN file to the engine via POST /engine-rest/deployment/create.

On success, the button changes to Deployed — ID: {deployment-id} and the deployment ID and timestamp are stored. These are included in the Turtle output.

Step 4: Test the decision

Review the auto-generated request body in the test panel. Edit variable values to match your test scenario.

Click Evaluate Decision to call POST /engine-rest/decision-definition/key/{decisionKey}/evaluate. The response is displayed inline.

For multi-table DMNs, expand the Intermediate Decision Tests section and click Run Intermediate Tests to evaluate each sub-decision individually — useful for isolating which part of a complex DRD is producing an unexpected result.

Step 5: Export TTL with DMN metadata

Click Download TTL. The exported file includes:

  • The cprmv:DecisionModel entity with deployment ID and API endpoint
  • All input variables as cpsv:Input entities
  • All extracted decision rules as cprmv:DecisionRule entities, each linked to the relevant legal article via cprmv:extends

The DMN section is appended after the core service metadata.

Tips

  • Fill in the Service identifier before uploading the DMN — it is used to construct the DMN model URI.
  • Use descriptive decision keys in your DMN XML (e.g. zorgtoeslag_resultaat rather than Decision_1).
  • Do not use spaces in decision keys — use underscores or camelCase.
  • Deploy and test before exporting. Undeployed DMN metadata in the Turtle output has no deployment ID, which limits its usefulness.