USoft Academy overview

This is a list of subjects for trainers and for human resources professionals who need to staff USoft projects or seek to train personnel.

For typical tracks that business rule specialists, beginning developers, and expert developers take through this structure, go to What is USoft Academy?

Each subject has a corresponding section in the Knowledge Base that you are visiting now. To see these Knowledge Base sections, click here.

Business rules specialist

Business rules

You learn to design and create specifications in the USoft Studio tool. You get to write business rules and draw diagrams with a view to supporting a USoft development team who builds required implementations based on your specifications.

This subject typically takes 2 days. There are no specific prerequisites but participants need general experience in a business analyst or product owner role.

Authoring

You improve your ability to assess and produce high-quality business rules. You look at relevant logical and linguistic foundations from OMG's SBVR, but you also get many best-practice tips from USoft projects.

This subject typically takes 1 day and elaborates further on what you learned in the Business Rules subject.

Developer essentials

Modeller & Rules Engine

You learn to design and build an optimal combination of a USoft data model and a USoft Rules Engine, and to understand and further develop such solutions.

A USoft solution stores and handles business data in an optimal way, conceptually and structurally. It enforces data integrity rules in such a way that a high level of data quality is ensured throughout. The low-code, rules-based mode of production ensures excellent adaptability to changing business rules.

A USoft solution has an automatic, generated web UI. This course takes a short look at this UI as a default, but it does not address UI implementations and adaptations.

This subject typically takes 3 days. You need general knowledge of the SQL language and of entity-attribute-relationship (EAR) modelling for relational databases.

Task flow

You learn to design and build USoft jobs. These jobs deliver traditional procedural processing of business logic, as if by “SQL scripts”, but this time in close cooperation with a Rules Engine, which delivers rules-based processing of business logic in the same area of application.

USoft jobs are leveraged in conventional batch-oriented settings, but also in interactive settings, in which case they are said to deliver "micro-flow".

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite. You also need general knowledge of XML/XSLT.

Authorisation & Access

You learn to define authorisation, in the sense of access rights to business data and application functionality, for different roles in a USoft solution. This includes role-based menus.

You also learn to use USoft Authorizer as a runtime configuration tool for delivering authorisation.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Collaboration

You learn to build a USoft solution in conformance with functional requirements, by communicating and working together effectively with clients, product owners, domain experts and others involved in software specifications. A special area of interest is USoft's use of business rules as a basis for software specifications.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Introductions and refresher courses

SQL for USoft

You learn to query and manipulate data stored in a relational database. This course does not provide a full account of the SQL language. Instead, it focuses on the subset of SQL constructs that USoft developers need in order to create a Rules Engine. Because this necessary subset is almost entirely non-USoft-specific, this course is a valid general introduction into SQL.

This subject typically takes 1 day. There are no prerequisites. If you have general SQL knowledge you don't need to take this subject when you onboard a USoft project.

Modelling for USoft

You learn to make key decisions that you face when creating a relational model or Entity/Attribute/Relation (EAR) model. This is an important skill for USoft developers.

This subject typically takes 1 day. There are no prerequisites. If you have general knowledge of EAR modelling you don't need to take this subject when you onboard a USoft project.

XML/XSLT for USoft

You learn XML as a data format and XSLT 1.0 as a technology for transforming XML-formatted data. Even though examples are mainly in USoft XML formats, this is a valid general introduction into XML and XSLT 1.0.

This subject typically takes 1 day. There are no prerequisites. If you have general knowledge of XML and XSLT you don't need to take this subject when you onboard a USoft project.

Developer advanced

Desktop UIs

USoft delivers an automatically generated client/server UI on top of each combination of data model and Rules Engine.

You learn to use the USoft Windows Designer tool to customise ("paint") this client/server UI to the precise needs of your client.

This subject typically takes 2 days if you prepare for creating client-facing client/server UI, which is increasingly rare now that the industry moves to web UIs.

This subject typically takes 1 day if you want to take advantage of USoft client/server UIs for internal purposes such as testing Rules Engines, quick prototyping, data management and debugging.

The Developer Essentials subjects are a prerequisite for this subject.

Web & app UIs

USoft delivers an automatically generated browser-based UI on top of each combination of data model and Rules Engine.

You learn to use the USoft Web Designer tool to customise ("paint") this browser-based UI to the precise needs of your client.

This subject typically takes 2 days. The Developer Essentials subjects are a prerequisite for this subject.

Services

You learn to use the USoft Service Definer tool to create a USoft services framework around your USoft rules-based solution.

One typical application of such a framework is to enable third-party software through a REST API to call a USoft Rules Engine, activate its functionality, and get access to the business data it governs.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Extensions

You learn to take advantage of USoft's RDMI capability. This is the capability to call, at rule level, custom software that you will have programmed or borrowed from other programmers. This software is custom in the sense that it is different than the standard USoft SQL access to the Rules Engine and the business data it governs.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Constraint writing

You improve your ability to write constraint SQL for the USoft Rules Engine by practicing with advanced examples, rehearsing USoft's constraint activation model, and debugging problem situations.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Repositories

You learn about the XML toolkit built into the USoft toolset for "moving data around" between USoft repositories and tools. XSLT is leveraged as the technology of choice for transforming data before or after it is transferred. Core USoft utilities in this area are introduced, for example Object Shopping and the USoft Blend scripting framework.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.

Continuous delivery

You learn to use the USoft Delivery Manager tool for controlled and continuous delivery of a USoft solution in a DTAP ecosystem.

This subject typically takes 1 day. The Modeller & Rules Engine subject is a prerequisite.