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Why is Why Business Rule Methodology is Different

by Ronald G. Ross

This column originally appeared in the July/August 1997 issue of the Data Base Newsletter.

Outwardly, the business rule approach produces many of the same deliverables as any other approach to building automated business information systems -- screens, processes, data, controls, etc.  In other words, the end result is almost sure to include some application system.  So why is the business rule approach any different from other system development methodologies?  Here's why.

As discussed in previous Newsletter issues, a business rule methodology places an emphasis on the following:

  • Balancing what the company 'knows' and what it 'does.'

  • Specifying requirements in a declarative manner.

  • Liberating rules from processes.

  • Producing thin processes and throw-away procedures.

These features have various technical advantages, but collectively they seek to ensure that the resulting application system produces an adaptable business.

This has two important implications.  First, to achieve that result, the 'application' components must be seamlessly integrated with the business itself.  To say that a business rule project aims toward producing application software misses the whole point.  The real objective is to produce a full business capacity that covers all the following areas.

business aspect   business component   IS component

knowing   terms and facts   data model
producing   business transformations   actions
communicating   business network   communications grid
collaborating   work   procedures
coordinating   precedence   states
guiding   ends and means   rules

The second implication is being able to address the issue of motivation.  A business capacity will be of little value if it addresses the wrong business objectives.  The key question is why the business capacity in its particular form is the right one for the company.

Traditional system development methodologies have done a poor job of answering that key question.  Information engineering, for example, sought to answer it by involving sponsors and key managers directly in producing deliverables.  This was not only expensive and time-consuming -- but worse, did not really even work.  Today, most projects are still directed based on cost.  Money is important, of course -- but it is not a substitute for knowing why.

The business rule approach offers a revolutionary new approach.  This is because core business rules are always about satisfying a particular set of business objectives involving a particular set of business risks.  These connections are not 'data' and they are not 'process.'  Instead, they represent something different altogether -- namely why.


standard citation for this article:
Ronald G. Ross, "'Why' is Why Business Rule Methodology is Different," Data Base Newsletter, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul./Aug. 1997), URL:  http://www.BRCommunity.com/a1997/a365.html

September 2005
The Fin de Siegle Legacy Mindset
By Ronald G. Ross -- (November/December 1999)

August 2005
Analysis Paralysis Just May Save Your Life
By Ronald G. Ross -- (September/October 1999)

July 2005
If We Had Started Coding Already...
By Ronald G. Ross -- (July/August 1999)

June 2005
Your Core Business Processes Need a Rule Engine
By Ronald G. Ross -- (May/June 1999)

May 2005
Four Things Wrong with the Way We Develop Information Systems
By Ronald G. Ross -- (January/February 1999)

April 2005
Push-Type Data Hub vs. Pull-Type Data Warehouse
By Ronald G. Ross -- (November/December 1998)

March 2005
What Knowledge Management is About (And What it Has To Do With Business Rules)
By Ronald G. Ross -- (September/October 1998)

February 2005
The Next Great Leap Forward ~ About the Changes You See
By Ronald G. Ross -- (May/June 1998)

 

January 2005
Business Rules as Customer Interface
By Ronald G. Ross -- (March/April 1998)

 

December 2004
Components and Business Rules: Do They Connect?
By Ronald G. Ross -- (January/February 1998)

 

November 2004
The Policy Charter: A Small-Sized Picture of the Big Picture
By Ronald G. Ross -- (November/December 1997)

 

September 2004

Implementing Application Packages: Is There A Better Way?

By Ronald G. Ross -- (September/October 1997)

 

August 2004

'Why' is Why Business Rule Methodology is Different

By Ronald G. Ross -- (July/August 1997)

 

July 2004

Never-ending On-the-Job Training

By Ronald G. Ross -- (May/June 1997)

 

June 2004

Re-Usability in the Business Rule Approach

By Ronald G. Ross -- (September/October 1996)

 

May 2004

The Newest Idea In Business Rules: Rules Normalize!

By Ronald G. Ross -- (March/April 1996)

 

April 2004

An Open Letter to DBMS Vendors: We Need Active Database Systems

By Ronald G. Ross -- (January/February 1996))

 

March 2004

The Greatest Irony Of The Information Age: Business Rules

By Ronald G. Ross -- (May/June 1995)

 

December 2003

Business Rules: Knowledge For Knowledge Workers

By Ronald G. Ross -- (November/December 1995)

 

November 2003

"Play Ball!"

By Ronald G. Ross -- (March/April 1994)

 

October 2003

Enterprise Architecture: Issues, Ingibitors, and Incentives

By John A. Zachman -- (November/December 1999 & January/February 2000)

 

September 2003

Packages Don't Let You Off The Hook

By John A. Zachman -- (July.August & September/October 1999)

 

August 2003

The History Of Steam-Powered Ships

By Ronald G. Ross -- (November/December 1988)

 

July 2003

Life Is a Series of Trade-Offs and Change Is Accelerating!

By John A. Zachman -- (January/February & March/April 1999)

 

June 2003

"Business Rules, At What Cost?"

By Ronald G. Ross -- (January/February 1994)

 

May 2003

"Yes Virginia, There IS an Enterprise Architecture"

By John A Zachman -- (November/December 1998)

 

April 2003

Business Rules:  Birth of a Movement

By Ronald G. Ross -- (May/June 1994)

 

March 2003

Business Systems And Information Support Systems 

By John Hall -- (January/February 2000)

 

January 2003

Enterprise Architecture:  Looking Back and Looking Ahead

By John A. Zachman -- (July/August 1998)

 

December 2002

Why I Like the Zachman Framework Architecture"

By Ronald G. Ross -- (July/August 1991)

 

November 2002

The Framework for Enterprise Architecture (The 'Zachman Framework') and the Search for the Owner's View of Business Rules

By John A. Zachman -- (January/February 1998)

 

October 2002

Business Process Re-Engineering

By Ronald G. Ross -- (March/April 1997)

 

 

 about . . .

 RONALD G. ROSS


Ronald G. Ross is recognized internationally as the "father of business rules." He has Chaired the annual Business Rules Forum since 1997. He was a charter member of the Business Rules Group in the 1980s, and an editor of two landmark BRG papers, The Business Motivation Model and the Business Rules Manifesto. He is active in standards development, with core involvement in SBVR.

Mr. Ross is Executive Editor of BRCommunity.com and its flagship publication, Business Rules Journal. He is author of eight professional books, including Business Rule Concepts (2009), a just released 3rd edition of his popular, easy-to-read 1998 handbook. Mr. Ross speaks frequently at industry events worldwide.

Mr. Ross is Co-Founder and Principal of Business Rule Solutions, LLC and is actively engaged in consulting, training and research. He co-developed RuleSpeak®. Mr. Ross gives highly regarded public seminars in North America through AttainingEdge and in Europe through IRM-UK.

For additional information about Mr. Ross, please visit his personal website at www.RonRoss.info.

 

 





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