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Decision Management

Don’t Fall Victim to the Whirlpool of Decision Hype

by Ronald G. Ross on February 9, 2012

Consider the following behavioral business rule: A renter must not have possession of more than one rental car.
In discussing enforcement of this rule, one reviewer said something to the effect, “We have to think about what happens ‘at the time of the decision’.
Hold on. What ‘decision’?! I don’t see any decision. What ‘decision’ could he [...]

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A Buzzword Like ‘Decision’ that Covers Everything May Soon Cover Nothing

by Ronald G. Ross on February 7, 2012

One thing that concerns me about ‘decision’ or ‘decision management’ is that everything potentially becomes a decision. Software vendors love it when complex problems can be reduced to a single buzzword. Engineers of true business solutions should hate it.
I’m sure I’ll be accused of negativism, so for the record, let me say that top down [...]

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The Fundamental Problem of Software Engineering is Not about Decisioning

by Ronald G. Ross on February 6, 2012

I am always very careful to talk about ‘business rules’, not ‘rules’. We define ‘business rule’ as a criterion used in business operations to guide behavior, shape judgments or make decisions. We have not perceived any poverty of guidance that fits that definition(!).
One reason we always say ‘business rules’ is because we make no attempt [...]

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How Business Rules, Decisions, and Events Relate in True-to-Life Business Models

by Ronald G. Ross on November 10, 2011

What is operational business know-how? How can you model it? What results can you achieve by doing so?
The answers lie with creating true-to-life business models based on behavioral rules, decision rules, operational business decisions, and operational business events — all as first-class citizens. Understanding their intertwined roles is key to creating top-notch business solutions and [...]

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Business Analysis & Business Rules – Announcing Our New Book and BBC 2011 Conference – **Special Discounts** for Friends and Colleagues

by Ronald G. Ross on September 23, 2011

Let me mention two important things happening soon and special discounts for them – Both discounts good only through **Friday, September 30**  
1. ANNOUNCING OUR NEW BOOK … Coming in October!
BUILDING BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: BUSINESS ANALYSIS WITH BUSINESS RULES … an IIBA Sponsored Handbook (304pp) … It’s all about taking Business Analysis to the next level of [...]

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Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think

by Ronald G. Ross on September 22, 2011

Several comments on a must-read HBR article for an organization considering any IT project of significant size ….
Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think
by Bent Flyvbjerg and Alexander Budzier 
Harvard Business Review – September, 2011
http://hbr.org/2011/09/why-your-it-project-may-be-riskier-than-you-think/ar/1
I found several points in this article particularly insightful:
 
1. “As global companies become even more reliant on analytics and data to drive good decision [...]

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I talk about business rules – Roger Burlton and I both talk about recent problems of the financial sector

by Ronald G. Ross on September 8, 2011

Here’s a short clip about business rules from an interview in Amsterdam not too long ago. I actually agree with what I said …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhv7bGf3r3Y&feature=related
There are several related clips there with John Zachman, Roger Burlton, and Silvie Spreeuwenberg (LibRT) worth a few minutes of your time — business rules, decisions, business processes, enterprise architecture, and more.

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Laws of Commerical Semantics … by Curt Monash

by Ronald G. Ross on August 26, 2011

Ever suspect a high B.S. factor in the categories vendors use for their products? Wait, let me ask that differently: Has anyone not suspected a high B.S. factor in the categories vendors use for their products?
I came across some older posts by Curt Monash that formalize the rules of software category B.S. I invite you [...]

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