82 CHAPTER 4 Types of rules Rules that place an obligation on a business process to occur in specific situations (referred to in this book as activity obligation rules 14 ) ideally require that process to occur within a maximum time after a particular event (such as the completion of some other process): for example, 1. A service level agreement may dictate that certain events must be responded to within a particular time period: for example, each incoming paper form must be processed within 1 business day of receipt of that form. 2. A reorder process must be performed before midnight on any day that the stock level of a spare part or consumable drops below the reorder point for that item. 3. Weekly or monthly processing must be performed during the business day following the comple- tion of the relevant week or month respectively, whereas quarterly or end of financial year proces- sing must be performed during the 5 business days following the completion of the relevant quarter or financial year respectively. 4. A customer may be required to respond to an offer before a certain date to qualify for a particular product or discount. Less satisfactory are those that merely require a business process to occur as soon as practical after a particular event: the possibility of such rules cannot be entirely ruled out. Rules that determine what action a business process is to take in specific situations are referred to in 15