You are here: Home / Fact Models

Fact Models

‘Concept Model’ vs. ‘Fact Model’ … Where in the World are the Instances?

by Ronald G. Ross on February 16, 2012

In a dramatic development, the new release of SBVR (1.1) has replaced the term “fact type” with “verb concept”, and the term “fact model” with “concept model”, for all business-facing use.[1] Why the problems with “fact type” and “fact model”? Let me see if I can explain.
First some background: Since its inception in the [...]

Read the full article →

Moving the Goalposts for Data Models … Deliberately

by Ronald G. Ross on January 12, 2012

A practitioner recently said this: “Even if we assume that a technical methodology might exist to generate a complete and correct data model from a set of articulated business rules / facts, in my opinion this approach just moves the target from the data modeling area to the need to verify the articulation of business [...]

Read the full article →

Data Modeling: Art or Science?

by Ronald G. Ross on January 11, 2012

A practitioner recently commented: “Everyone has their biased view of what a data model is. Data modeling is art – not science. Give 6 data modelers one set of requirements and you’ll get 7 solutions all distinctively different.”
My response: To me that’s a huge problem. No, ‘data’ modeling is not a science, but nor should [...]

Read the full article →

More on Concept Model vs. Conceptual Data Model

by Ronald G. Ross on January 10, 2012

As part of a continuing dialog, I recently asked these questions: What does the term “conceptual data model” really mean? Is it the best term for what is meant?
To me, it sounds like “conceptual data model” might be about “conceptual data”. Surely not(?). What exactly then? (Some of my thoughts on the matter: http://goo.gl/8GX5o.)
A practitioner [...]

Read the full article →

How Business Process Models and Business Rules Relate … What State Are You In?

by Ronald G. Ross on December 11, 2011

Business Process Models: A completed transform often achieves a business milestone and a new state for some operational business thing(s). Example: claimant notified.
Fact Models: In fact models (structured business vocabularies) such states are represented by fact types, for example, claimant is notified (or claimant has been notified if you prefer). A fact model literally represents [...]

Read the full article →

Why So Much Ambiguity and Miscommunication in Requirements? … Something We’ve Learned from Business Rules

by Ronald G. Ross on December 1, 2011

Let me share something we’ve learned from our work on business rules. The world’s leading cause of ambiguity in expressing business rules is missing verbs. Stay with me now.
Consider this sample business rule: An order must not be shipped if the outstanding balance exceeds credit authorization. As a first-cut statement, that’s perhaps not bad. The [...]

Read the full article →

Typical Dialog When You Don’t Know the Concepts or Vocabulary … Can Anyone Explain This Soccer Rule to Me??

by Ronald G. Ross on October 25, 2011

I’m an avid fan of soccer … and, of course, business rules. I recently found the following business rule via a Twitter search and just had to ask what it meant.
FootballRascal – Can’t sign a player and then loan him out to another Premier League club in same window, business rule as fee charged
Ronald_G_Ross – [...]

Read the full article →

Requirements and Business Rules … All Just a Matter of Semantics (Really)

by Ronald G. Ross on October 24, 2011

It almost goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that you must know exactly what the words mean in all parts of your business requirements. In running a complex business (and what business isn’t complex these days?!), the meaning of the words can simply never be taken as a ‘given’.
Some IT professionals believe that [...]

Read the full article →

Something Important All Business Analysts Owe to Business People … Probably Not Something You’d Expect?

by Ronald G. Ross on October 6, 2011

One of the first rules of business analysis should be never waste business people’s time. One of the fastest ways to waste their time is not knowing what they are talking about … literally … and do nothing about it. So you end up just wasting their time over and over again. Unacceptable.
Is there a [...]

Read the full article →

Just Organizational or Application Silos? … Worse, You Have Semantic Silos

by Ronald G. Ross on October 3, 2011

Difficulties in communicating within organizations are by no means limited to communications among business workers, Business Analysts, and IT professionals. In many organizations, business workers from different areas or departments often have trouble communicating, even with each other. The business workers seem to live in what we might call semantic silos (reinforced by legacy systems). 
A [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries