Rapid Rules Discovery

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Rapid Rules Discovery

When Business Cant Wait
Dan Chaput, Lambert Technical Services
www.lambert-tech.com
Business Process Management Conference
New York, NY November 7, 2006
Rapid Rules Discovery, When Business Cant Wait
Dan Chaput Lambert Technical Services
2006 Lambert Technical Services, Lebanon, CT
2
Introductions
Dan Chaput
Lambert Technical Services
Knowledge Partners, Inc (KPI)
The attendees
2
3
Overview
A brief introduction to business rules and a
business rules approach
Case study overview
How the approach was adapted
Project management considerations
Planning, SWOT Analysis, defining threats and
success
Measurements
The approach in action
Results, lessons learned, Good Practices,
pitfalls
4
Business Rules An
introduction
What are business rules?
Where are business rules found?
What is a business rules approach?
In what ways do organizations use and
manage business rules?
3
5
KPIs Rule Maturity Model
Change is driven
by business
analysts. Analysis
of BRs and
business process
is possible and
automated. Ability
to predict business
impact of change is
still low.
BRs are separated
through structured
BR templates and
BR analysis/design
techniques. BRMS
technology is
adopted.
Business analysts
define and change
the business
process and
business form of
rules.
Cost of change is
lower. Ability to
predict business
impact of change is
still low. Analysis
of BRs is possible,
but is manual.
Business Rules are
understood as
separate aspects of
business logic.
BRs exist in a
separate source
rule repository,
maybe separate
automation
technology.
Business analysts
know the business
process and
challenge the rules.
I/T traces rules to
systems.
Level 1
Cost of change is
high. Ability to
predict business
impact of change is
low.
Business Rules
(BR) are
intermingled and
buried in code,
documents, and
peoples heads.
There is talk about
harvesting BRs
from people or
docs and mining
BRs from code.
Business Value MINIMUM MAXIMUM
Technical State
IMMATURE MATURE
Business Control MINIMUM MAXIMUM
Auto-analysis of
BRs is common
practice, reducing
cost of BR change
and testing even
lower. Ability to
predict business
impact of change is
better.
BRs are separated
as a standard
practice through
integration of
source repository
and execution
technology.
What if scenario
capability enables
business analysts
to generate and
test automated
BRs.
Ability to predict
business impact of
change is possible.
BRs are defined in
repository,
associated with
business metrics,
and traceable to
business value.
Business analysts
can assess
business impact
because relevant
data is integrated
with BR infra-
structure for
business
prediction
purposes.
Ability to predict
business impact of
change and protect
business integrity
is common place.
BR governance is
integrated into
business
processes.
The Agile, Learning
Organization
is born and sustained.
RULES SHARED ACROSS PROJECTS RULES AT PROJECT LEVEL ONLY RULES SHARED ACROSS ENTERPRISE
Level 0 Level 3 Level 2 Level 4 Level 5
Knowledge Agility Consistency
and Alignment
Prediction Stewardship Unaware
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Business Rules an example
Sample rule, expressed in English:
"Regardless of anything to the contrary in this booklet, if your
medical insurance terminates for any reason including death, you...
may elect within 30 days... to continue such medical insurance..." -
Attributed to the booklet: Group Insurance for 1-14 Employees, Consolidated Group Trust, The Hartford
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7
The KPI STEPProcess
Our case study utilized the STEP process. Other rules methodology or
software development life cycle with a rules component could be
adapted to a rapid rules discovery approach.
Separate the rules sothe business knows where to find them, can apply
them consistently.
Trace rules sothe business knows where the rules come from (policies,
legislation), why they exist (objectives) and where they are utilized (manual
procedures, automation).
Externalize rules sothe business audience can understand the rules in
their own language and can challenge them.
Position rules for change sothe business can evolve at its own pace in its
own way.
Barbara Von Halle, Business Rules Applied, Wiley 2002
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Case Study - Profile
Business Focus
Insurance underwriting
Business Rules Background
Some exposure
No formal experience
Goals Objectives
To move the project along
100% Rule Discovery
Delivery of rules to IT for implementation
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Case Study - Profile
Process
Business driven initiative
All relevant stakeholders present
All work done together, as single group
IT present as observer
Some pre-work, document gathering of
current rules, process models and other
documentation
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Scoping
Rule
Discovery
Document
Processes
Rule
Formalization
Glossary
Development
Rule
Analysis
Typical Process
Iterations of the
discovery process
Iterations of the
analysis
process
Adapted from Barbara Von Halle, Business Rules Applied, Wiley 2002
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Scoping
Rule
Discovery
Document
Processes
Rule
Formalization
Glossary
Development
Rule
Analysis
Adapted Process
Iterations of the entire process
Adapted from Barbara Von Halle, Business Rules
Applied, Wiley 2002
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SWOT Analysis
Threats:
Running out of time
Maintaining energy
Missing detail in the speed
Opportunities:
To train in a real world
situation and deliver usable
project deliverables
Weaknesses:
Little rules experience
No breakout sessions
Strengths:
Belief in the concept
Stakeholder participation
Business Driven
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13
Threats to success
Small, unseen and very
dangerous threats
Disasters with no hope
of recovery
http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/biology/mosquito/index.htm, 3/06
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/696017.stm, 3/06
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Declaring Success?
Rule Maturity Model what level do you
want to get to, why and when?
Critical Success Factors At multiple
levels
for the organization, the project and the rules
engagement
Project planning is it complete?
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What and how to measure?
Number identified
number documented
Glossary, terms, and fact
models
Number identified,
comfort factor
Rule groups identified
Number identified,
number documented
Business processes refined
Estimated percent
complete, and
comfort factor
Scope completed
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Completeness
and quality
Other modeling (e.g.
data/object) and traceability
documented
Completeness
and quality
Business traceability
documented
Number identified,
number
documented
Rules documented
Number identified,
comfort factor
Rules discovered
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Formal process
applied to rule
groupings
Rule Analysis Quality
Complete, unambiguous
Formal process
applied to major
components
Quality reviewed, signed
off, agreed to, correct
and if it is good?
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The Training Component
Who was trained?
Training for the entire group
What was included?
Defined business rules
Discussed where business rules are found
Exercises in gathering, documenting, analyzing, and
managing business rules
Why train?
To establish baseline understanding, stakeholder
buy-in
To train future business rule stewards
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The approach First Iteration
Setting project scope
Current and future state of rules
Account for new business strategies
Roles and responsibilities
Review of existing business process models
Business rule Identification
Extensive exercise in rule identification and
documentation
Beginning the glossary
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The second Iteration
Scope revised
Importance realized through meanderings
from first iteration
Business process revised
Details added, parallel, duplicate paths
documented
Added rule analysis, decision tables
New rule sets, group consensus process
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The third iteration
Scope revised
Process major revisions
Parallel, duplicate paths recognized
Exception, override processes extracted from
rules
Rule Analysis review and revision
Rule Analysis duplicate and overlapping
rules revealed
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The wrap-up
Business presentation to IT
Scope discussion
Business process model walk-through
Rule walkthrough
Implementation model
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Good Practices for rapid rule
discovery?
Must do processes
Scope definition
Roles & Responsibilities, discussed, documented and
assigned
Negotiable processes
Depth and type of business process modeling
Depth of glossary
Deferred processes
Formal rule management and rules governance
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Conclusions Lessons
Learned
People
Make sure the right people (e.g. decision
makers) are really present
Have a core team that gets the initial training
Subject matter experts can get by with a
shorter overview
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25
Conclusions Lessons
Learned
People
Participants and leaders must be flexible, able
to table tasks, able to time-box, be
comfortable with partially complete
deliverables
Assign a librarian who knows the organization
and its systems and documents
Assign communication and document
distribution responsibilities
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Conclusions Lessons
Learned
Process
Best to have an initial needs assessment and
communications to identify existing rule
sources
Establish roles and responsibilities up front
This approach is not for everyone, not
everyone can do it, not everyone will like it
Identify critical success factors (CSFs) for the
business process and rule training and
discovery processes
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Conclusions Lessons
Learned
Process
Capturing terms is a must, a fully developed
fact model can wait
Scope, absolutely required, must be
constantly revisited
Process modeling painful but you must, this
is where new decision points and groups of
business rules are discovered
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Questions
and answers
Contact information:
Dan Chaput
email: dchaput@lambert-tech.com
phone: 860.208.1464

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