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Selling Point	Business Executive Private Thoughts	Programmer / Developer Private Thoughts	Subject Matter Expert Private Thoughts	Inherent Problem
All rules in one place; no duplication of same rule across systems.	If the black boxes continue to give the right answers without extra investment, who cares about duplication.			Why spend money and take a huge risk on a complete overhaul when incremental fixes will keep the thing running?
Empower business people to write their own rules.	Business people deploying to a live server? They have no idea about version control; backups. DO NOT let them touch the system.	IT RULES (no pun intended). We'll be taking a back seat to the business guys in or OWN little domain? What will happen to my new BMW when they realize they don't need me?	Me changing live programs? I thought that's what we paid IT for.	Business people simply do not have enough rules experience to WRITE applications. As far as MAINTAINING them, there are significant barriers in terms of role changes and change management.
The BRE will make the right decision every time.	Great, I can get rid of Joe.	Man, Joe is going to lose his job.	(Joe) I'll be as cryptic as possible in divulging my rules of thumb. If they can digitize me I'll be gone, and so will my new BMW.	The standard line is SMEs will not need to do routine work anymore, they can concentrate on higher level work — it's a hard sell especially in today's economy.
A knowledge base provides live documentation of how your business works.	Interesting from an intellectual viewpoint, but we have been making our product/service for 30 years with little documentation.			It can seem like adding one more layer, one more software package to an already overcrowded and complex mix.
The Rules Revolution is here according to Gartner / Forrester / Higher Powers Above.	There's a revolution?	There's a revolution?	There's a revolution?	Awareness of BREs and business rules has grown, but it's still not widely known.
Industry rules, Sarbanes Oxley, and general compliance can all be managed from one place.	I know what rules affect MY department regardless of where they come from. Why should I give up control to someone who doesn't understand this level of detail?			If a rules solution is to be successful, as many affected parties as possible should be on board so decisions are truly maintained in one place. Difficult to convince ALL affected parties.
American Express, Southwest, Blue Cross, etc. have saved millions / billions using rules.	That's great, but we sell toilet paper. What does that have to do with my business? Do you have a toilet paper manufacturer who has saved billions?		Why are all their examples about building airplanes? We're trying to sell toilet paper here!	Many people have difficulty in understanding how a success story or an example in an unrelated industry has any relevance to their own.
Haley can be programmed in spoken English. Mindbox uses an existing concept model for mortgage. ILOG does backward chaining, etc.	Where can I find a generic BRE? These things are COMPLETELY different from each other. Their UI can be English, spreadsheet, IF-THEN boxes, and that's just what I see.	I think I'll wait to see what BRE they choose before I start looking into it.	What's a BRE again?	It is a difficult enough to understand the concept of a BRE, but much more so since any explanation will be tied to one vendor's product, and that product is unique in user interface, syntax, generated code, etc.
You can define your own rules; order of rules is irrelevant.	In our eligibility program, we select parameters from dropdown boxes, fill in the text fields, hit "submit" and we get the decision. What could be simpler? What order are they talking about?	It's a completely different way of thinking and I won't be able to leverage my procedural mindset. I'm feeling depressed; drinking always makes me feel better.	I don't know whether I think sequentially or not, I just know what to do in specific situations after being here 15 years.	It is difficult for business people to understand differences between system code and business code. This is all "stuff that happens behind the UI." Others are not much more excited about it.
Fortune 10 companies are using it, but it's such a competitive advantage that they won't discuss it.	That's about as much detail as Madoff gave on his Ponzi scheme.			Difficult to obtain Case Studies and Testimonials from the really big players, because it really is a competitive advantage.
This particular BRE comes with its own methodology, standards, procedures, models, and processes.	What do these great methodologies actually PRODUCE? Why should we pay for the extra stuff when we just want code that works?	Just what we need, a "new way of thinking." Please.		Even if these methodologies and standards truly work, they are hard to quantify. Also difficult to explain how a particular methodology produces better results.
A. This particular BRE does Truth Maintenance. B. This particular BRE provides an x% ROI.	I have no idea what Truth Maintenance is, and any investment can provide a high ROI. Where is some detailed information I can actually understand?		What's a BRE again?	Most discussions of BREs touch on two extremes — A is too technical, or B is too generic and salesy. Nothing hits the spot because the technology is unfamiliar.