Quick Reference for Basic SBVR Terminology (4)
| The Semantics of Business Vocabulary andBusiness Rules (SBVR) uses thefollowing designations, with informal meanings as indicated. Terms new this article are in blue. |
- element of guidance
- a means that guides, defines, or constrains some aspect of an enterprise
- business policy
- an element of guidance that is not directly enforceable, whose purpose is to guide an enterprise
Compared to a business rule, a business policy is not directly enforceable and tends to be less structured, less discrete (not atomic), and less carefully expressed in terms of a standard vocabulary.
- behavioral business rule (or operative business rule)
- a business rule that obligates a given state of affairs
(informally) a business rule that is intended to shape the behavior of people — even when that behavior is automated; a prescribed guide for conduct or action [MWCD 'rule']
- definitional rule (or structural rule)
- a rule that necessitates a given state of affairs
(informally, a rule that is intended as a definitional criterion)
- definitional business rule (or structural business rule)
- a definitional rule that is a business rule
- enforcement level
- a position in a graded or ordered scale of values that specifies the severity of action imposed in order to put or keep a behavioral business rule in force
- rule statement
- a guidance statement that expresses a behavioral business rule or a definitional rule
- behavioral business rule statement
- a rule statement that expresses a behavioral business rule
- obligation statement
- a behavioral business rule statement that is worded as the state of affairs being obligated
- prohibition statement
- a behavioral business rule statement that is worded as the state of affairs being prohibited
- restricted permission statement
- a behavioral business rule statement that is worded as the state of affairs being permittedonly if a given condition is met
- definitional rule statement
- a rule statement that expresses a definitional rule
- necessity statement
- a definitional rule statement that is worded as the state of affairs being necessary or beingalways the case
- impossibility statement
- a definitional rule statement that is worded as the state of affairs being impossible or beingnever the case
- restricted possibility statement
- a definitional rule statement that is is worded as the state of affairs being possible only if agiven condition is met or being possibly the case only if a given condition is met
- body of shared meanings
- a set of concepts and elements of guidance for which there is a shared understanding in a given semantic community
- business rule
- a rule that is practicable and that is under business jurisdiction
- Business Rules 'Mantra'
- an approximation that provides a simplified explanation of the business rules approach for business people and others new to approach
(simple form) "Rules are based on facts, and facts are based on terms."
(more precise form) "Rules build on facts, and facts build on concepts as expressed by terms. Terms express business concepts; facts make assertions about these concepts; rules constrain and support these facts."
- Business Rules Team (BRT)
- the multi-national consortium, formed expressly to respond to the OMG's "Business Semantics of Business Rules" RFP
After the BRT's RFP submission was selected, BRT members, along with other individuals, then worked as the SBVR Finalization Task Force, the group that brought SBVR 1.0 to completion in December 2007.
- business vocabulary
- a vocabulary (structured set of terms and other symbols together with their meanings and relationships among them) that is under business jurisdiction
- business vocabulary+rules
- a business vocabulary plus a set of business rules specified in terms of that business vocabulary
- community
- a group of people having a particular unifying characteristic in common
- concept
- a unit of knowledge created by a unique combination of characteristics
- concept model
- a set of concepts within a body of shared meanings, structured according to the relations among them
- designation
- a representation of a concept by a sign which denotes it
- expression
- something that expresses or communicates, but [is] independent of its interpretation
- extension
- the totality of objects [every thing] to which a concept corresponds
- ISO terminology standards
- • ISO 1087-1 (2000) "Terminology work — Vocabulary — Theory and application"
• ISO 704 (2000) "Terminology work — Principles and methods"
• ISO 860 (1996) "Terminology work — Harmonization of concepts and terms"
- logical formulation
- a semantic formulation that formulates a proposition
(informally) the SBVR conceptualization of formal logic
- meaning
- what is meant by a word, sign, statement, or description; what someone intends to express or what someone understands
(informally, how we think about things)
- Object Management Group (OMG)
- an international, open membership, not-for-profit computer industry consortium whose members develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies
Numerous standards organizations and other consortia maintain liaison relationships with the OMG.
- representation
- an actuality that a given expression represents a given meaning
- rule
- a proposition that is a claim of obligation or of necessity
The two fundamental categories of 'rule' are:
• behavioral rule (obligations), also known as 'operative rule'
• definitional rule (necessities), also known as 'structural rule'
- SBVR
- shorthand for "Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules" (pronounced "S-Beaver")
- SBVR Metamodel
- the standard metamodel for representing the semantics of business vocabulary and business rules
(specifically) the MOF-based metamodel that supports a MOF representation of theconcepts represented by the SBVR Vocabulary, as described in SBVR Clause 23
- SBVR Vocabulary
- the vocabulary that is standardized by the SBVR specification, as presented in SBVR Clauses 8 through 21
(informally) the vocabulary that makes up SBVR itself and that is used for talking about semantics, vocabulary, and rules
- semantic community
- a community whose unifying characteristic is a shared understanding (perception) of the things that they have to deal with
- semantics
- the meaning or relationship of meanings of a sign or set of signs [MWCD]
- Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR)
- the OMG specification that standardizes a vocabulary and rule set that are the foundation for the SBVR Metamodel
- speech community
- a subcommunity of a given semantic community whose unifying characteristic is the vocabulary and language that it uses
- term
- a verbal designation of a general concept in a specific subject field [ISO 1087-1]