![What
are
Business
Rules?
4
Business
rules
are:
• Statements
that
define
or
constrain
par2cular
aspects
of
the
business
Used
to:
• Specify
the
behavior
of
a
system
under
development
• Specify
how
a
system
should
be
used
[The
Business
Rule
Group,
2000
]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/brinpractice4upload-140827071847-phpapp02/85/Business-Rules-In-Practice-An-Empirical-Study-IEEE-RE-14-Paper-4-320.jpg)
![17
no
separate
sec2on
for
business
rules
You
can
find
business
rules
in
requirements
specifica2ons,
source
documents,
process
descrip2on,
marke2ng
brochures,
(telecom)
regula,ons,
or
laws
[P5]
[P3]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/brinpractice4upload-140827071847-phpapp02/85/Business-Rules-In-Practice-An-Empirical-Study-IEEE-RE-14-Paper-17-320.jpg)
![20
Many
rules
were
discovered
during
the
implementa2on
and
tes2ng
when
we
needed
them.
[P6]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/brinpractice4upload-140827071847-phpapp02/85/Business-Rules-In-Practice-An-Empirical-Study-IEEE-RE-14-Paper-20-320.jpg)
![28
It
would
be
perfect
if
I
could
just
select
a
component
or
a
feature
and
my
tool
show
me
the
most
important
business
rules
which
I
should
take
care
of.
[P9]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/brinpractice4upload-140827071847-phpapp02/85/Business-Rules-In-Practice-An-Empirical-Study-IEEE-RE-14-Paper-28-320.jpg)
Business Rules In Practice - An Empirical Study (IEEE RE'14 Paper)
- 1. Capturing and Sharing Domain Knowledge with Business Rules Lessons Learned from a Global So<ware Vendor
- 2. All Started with an ObservaAon 2 One minor change in a UK regula2on (rule for growth rate of insurance funds) A significant ripple effect and maintenance effort which lasted for 6 months!
- 3. Our Working Hypothesis 3 Would a systema2c management of these rules decrease maintenance costs and increase reuse? Many of the “rules” are the same for the same region, domain, or company (customer)
- 4. What are Business Rules? 4 Business rules are: • Statements that define or constrain par2cular aspects of the business Used to: • Specify the behavior of a system under development • Specify how a system should be used [The Business Rule Group, 2000 ]
- 5. Outline of the Talk Summary Study Design Findings MoAvaAon 2 1 3 4 5
- 6. Research QuesAons 6 1. How do prac22oners perceive business rules and which types exist? 2. How do prac22oners capture and maintain business rules? 3. How are business rules used in soYware projects? 4. How does RE pracAces impact the usage and management of rules?
- 7. Research Method • Exploratory, qualita2ve research • Semi-‐structured interviews – open ques2ons • Sec2ons: – About you – Requirements engineering – Business rules • 90 minutes • 2-‐3 interviewers per session 7
- 8. 8
- 9. # Roles Exp(Y) Domain P1 Domain consultant, business process manager, requirements reviewer 13 Insurance P2 Business process manager, domain consultant, program manager 20 Insurance P3 Developer, project manager, analyst 4 SoYware, Banking P4 Developer, maintenance lead, project manager 20 Telecom, Insurance, Power P5 Developer, soYware architect, project manager 12 Telecom, Finance P6 SoYware architect, program/delivery manager 10 Automo2ve and Telecom P7 Program manager, product manager 16 Finance P8 Project manager, program manager 21 Finance P9 Product manager, presales lead 17 Banking, Finance P10 Tester, lead underwriter, program manager 14 Banking, Finance P11 Delivery center head 18 Finance Overview of ParAcipants 9
- 10. Result SummarizaAon 10 Interviews 17 Findings Take minutes Group quotes by quesAon Group similar quotes Describe findings Statement must be observed twice at least Sent to par2cipant within 48 h Independent tagging of quotes
- 11. Result SummarizaAon 11 Interviews 17 Findings Take minutes Group quotes by quesAon Group similar quotes Describe findings
- 12. Outline of the Talk Summary Study Design Findings MoAvaAon 2 1 3 4 12
- 13. PercepAons of Business Rules 13 Stakeholders have different percepAons of business rules depending on their roles and experience
- 14. 27 Types of Business Rules were MenAoned 14 # Rule Type Times MenAoned 1 Valida2ons rules & value ranges 7 2 System / applica2on specific rules 4 3 Calcula2on rules 4 4 Access control rules 4 5 External system interfaces 3 6 Laws & regula2ons 3 7 Sequencing / control flow 3 8 Geography specific rules 3
- 15. 27 Types of Business Rules were MenAoned 15 # Rule Type Times MenAoned 9 Business process rules 3 10 Procedural / Opera2onal rules 3 11 User interface rules 2 12 Company policies 2 13 Time restric2ons 2 14 Dynamic rules 2 15 Defini2ons 2
- 16. Capturing and Maintaining Business Rules Business rules are embedded as free text anywhere in the project and domain documenta2on 16
- 17. 17 no separate sec2on for business rules You can find business rules in requirements specifica2ons, source documents, process descrip2on, marke2ng brochures, (telecom) regula,ons, or laws [P5] [P3]
- 18. 18 The use of formal rule languages and rule engines is rather excep2onal in prac2ce
- 19. Use of Business Rules 19 Business rules are captured and used not only in RE but also in other project ac2vi2es
- 20. 20 Many rules were discovered during the implementa2on and tes2ng when we needed them. [P6]
- 21. Externalized business rules facilitate sharing knowledge with new team members and a cross projects 21
- 22. RE PracAces and Business Rules 22 Customers expect soYware vendors to have domain knowledge and to “develop” business rules
- 23. RE and Business Rules 23 Prac22oners allocate low effort for understanding special flows (rules) The lack of domain knowledge in development teams hinders the capturing of business rules
- 24. RE and Business Rules 24 To iden2fy the right level of detail in documenta2on is difficult (too much informa2on or only main flows without rules and excep2ons) Business rules (excep2ons) represent a specific type of requirements or domain knowledge, which oYen remains tacit
- 25. Outline of the Talk Summary Study Design Findings MoAvaAon 2 1 3 4 25
- 26. Business Rules = Crucial Domain Knowledge • SoYware vendors increasingly rely on the domain knowledge • Customers expect vendors to know the domain very well • “Knowing” the domain, the restric2ons, the constraints, and the excep2ons is very cost intensive 26
- 27. ImplicaAon for Researchers 27 1. Focus on the knowledge and documenta2on poten2als of business rules 2. Extract and trace rules to various ar2facts 3. Develop ques2on-‐answering systems to retrieve the required informa2on depending on task and context
- 28. 28 It would be perfect if I could just select a component or a feature and my tool show me the most important business rules which I should take care of. [P9]
- 29. 29 Business rules: The bomb or the treasure? Exploratory study of business rules in RE pracAce Business rules = an asset worth “externalizing” (automaAcally?) 17 findings on types of rules, management and use
- 30. Uni Hamburg, Germany Prof. Dr. Walid Maalej maalej@informa2k.uni-‐… mobis.informa2k.uni-‐… maalejw