A guide to Business Decision Management

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Introduction

BusinessDecisionManagement(BDM)isaprocessorsetofprocessesdesignedtoimproveandstreamlineoperationaldecision-makinginabusiness.Gartnerdefinesitas"thedisciplineofdesigningandbuildingsystemsthatmakestructureddecisions,where'decisions'aredeterminationsofcoursesofaction”.

TheobjectiveofBDMistoimprovethedecision-makingprocessofanorganizationbyusinganyandallinformationatitsdisposal.Themoreallknownscenarios,conditionsandrisksaretakenintoaccount,themoreprecise,consistentandtransparentyourdecisionswillbe.

Atamoredetailedlevel,BDMoffersanumberofpotentialimprovements:

• Increasingtheuseofsophisticateddecision-making,leadingtomoreautomation• Enhancingtheclarityandtransparencyofbusinesspoliciesandrulesandprovidingtheabilityto

sharethemamongmultipleapplicationsandprocesses,forimprovedconsistency• Auditingdecision-makingprocesses,ensuringasolidfoundationforoptimizationofdecisionsaswell

ascompliancewithcorporateandregulatory/legalrequirements

UseofBDMresultsinmanybenefits,including:

• FastertimetomarketwithpolicyandotherchangestoBusinessLogic• Quickerresponsetomarketchanges• Loweroperationalrisksandtheirfinancialimpact(lessfraud,compliancefees,write-offs…)• Moreconsistentinterfaceswithcustomersandpartners• Moreefficientallocationofstaff,time,equipmentandotherresources,tobettersupport

operationalprocesses• Higherlevelsofcustomersupport

BDMcomplementsahostofbusinessdisciplinesincluding:

• Businessrulesengines(BRE)andmanagementsystems(BRMS)• BusinessProcessManagement(BPM)• Predictiveanalytics(modelingandbigdatamining)• Artificialintelligence(AI)• Businessintelligence(BI)• Continuousimprovement(kaizen)

BDMconsidersdecisionsreusableassetswiththeoptionfortechnologytobeinsertedatkeydecisionpoints–forfull,partialornoautomation–dependingonuserrequirements.Thepastfewyearshaveseenfinancialserviceorganizations,banksandinsurancecompaniesintegratingdecision-makingsoftwareintotheirbusinessprocesssystemsandcustomer-facingapplications.BDMisespeciallysuitedtohigh-volumedecision-makingbecauseautomationallowsformoreefficient,informedandconsistentresponsestoevents.

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ThereareanumberofdifferentapproachesusedtoapplyBDMprinciples.Ingeneral,thesefollowthreesteps:

1. DecisionidentificationandmodelingusingeitheropenstandardssuchasDecisionModelandNotation(DMN)orproprietaryapproaches

2. DevelopmentofaDecisionServicethatautomatesallorpartofthedecisionmodelproducedinstep1

3. Ongoingmonitoringandmanagementofthedecisionstakenusingthedecisionmodel,tokeepthebusinessrulesandpredictiveanalyticmodelsused,uptodate

BDMofteninvolvestheuseofA/Btestingandexperimentationaswell.

BDM may be right for you

Inmanycompanies,thousandsofdecisionsaremadeeveryday(e.g.,toprovideacustomerwithanaccuratequote).Evenifsuchoperationaldecisionsarerelativelylow-impactonanindividualbasis,whentheyoccurinhighvolumestheycollectivelybecomeasimportantasstrategicandtacticaldecisionstakenatthecorporatelevel.BDMenablesdecisionstobecarriedoutquicklyandefficiently–andtobeautomatedwhereverpossible.

Todeliverresults,decisionsneedtobeaccurate,reliableandfast.Assuch,BDMisespeciallyconcernedwiththeplanningandpreparingofthedecisionsthataremadefrequently(e.g.,whatpricetoofferorwhethertoacceptorrejectanapplication).

AfurtherBDMbenefitisthestandardizationofthedecision-makingprocessacrosstheorganization.Bytrackingalldecisionsallthetimeandassuringthattheymeetthesamecriteriaineveryinstance,notonlyareprocessesstreamlinedbutcustomerservicelevelscanalsobemet.

So,ifyourcompany...

• Needstoimplementpolicychangesquickly• Wouldliketotalvisibility,transparencyandconsistencyregardinghowandwhydecisionsarebeing

made• UndertakesprojectsrequiringBusinessLogic,rulesanddecision-makingmodels(e.g.,

transformation)

–thenBDMisamust.

TosucceedwithBDM,youwouldneeda:

• ProcessforcapturingBusinessLogic• Formalized,standardandeasy-to-understandrepositoryofyourentiresetofcurrentBusinessLogic• BusinessChangeInformation(BCI)process,whichfacilitateshowaparticularchangeinfluences

currentBusinessLogicdecisionsandimpactsanalysis• Waytotransformthemodelintoexecutabledecisions• Meanstomonitordecisionexecution

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Implementing BDM with Sapiens

Weaddressthesecriteriabyprovidingyouwithasinglesoftwaresolutionandimplementationapproachforformalizingandcapturingthedecision-makingprocess,featuringtractabilityoftheproceduresateverystepalongthewayandtheabilitytoautomaticallycreateexecutablerulesfromdecisions.

Sapiens'DECISIONformalizesandautomatestheprogressionfrominformationtodecisiontooperationalruleprocess,whileforcingadherencetostandardandnormalizedstructure.TheDecisionModel(TDM)isbecomingoneofthemajorstandardsfordecisionmanagementandisthebasisforDECISION–creatingrulestructureswhicharesimpletounderstand,communicateandmanage.

TDM – A proven methodology

TheDecisionModel(TDM)ensuresthatBusinessLogic–thesetofanorganization'spoliciesthatareconvertedintoavastamountofoperationalrules–iscreatedinaformalizedandmanageableway.Italsoenablestheabilitytoeasilyunderstand,trace,auditandfacilitatethecriticalprocessofmanagingchangeinever-changingcompetitiveandregulatedmarkets.

TDMenablesbusinessuserstotakefullcontroloftheentireprocessofdecisionmanagement,allowingthemtoeasilydevelopanddeploynewpoliciesandmethodologiesforoptimaldecision-making.Itisahighlycost-effectivemeansofBusinessLogicnotation,harvesting,maintenanceandmanagement,promotingahigherlevelofBusinessLogicunderstandingandsimplifyingcorporatebusinessprocesses.

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© 2015 Copyright Sapiens International. All Rights Reserved. October 2015