IBM ODM : How to ensure there are no duplicate rules in decision table

Question

We have a need to manage large number of rules in ODM decision table. Is there a way I can enforce validation within ODM that prevents rule authors from duplicating rules. ODM does have overlap/GAP validation, but it is limited to one condition column. It does not go across multiple columns to look for overlap. example: I can have 4 conditional columns resulting in specific charge. I want to make sure authors cannot use same data in these 4 columns and assign different charge.

A B C D ==> $1

A B C D ==> $2

Answer 1

Here is an example, with more data to show the issues:

It is standard practices to use merged rows and overlap validation -- when possible. Not only does this eliminate the possibility of duplicate rules, but usually it makes it much easier to grasp what is going on in the table. Here is the exact same decision table and rules, with the cells merged:

Of course, structuring a decision table so that cells can be merged is not always possible. One common issue is wanting to have the same condition yield multiple actions; often the row will just be duplicated with the same conditions and different actions. If you can't merge, programming standards can dictate that rows are sorted by column from left to right, which makes it more obvious when a duplicate row is added by mistake.