Business Process & Rules Repository - Central Queensland University

http://mahara.cqu.edu.au/view/view.php?t=UlHr27FsEci58wpabIQy[23/01/2014 3:46:05 PM]

Dashboard Content Portfolio Groups

Business Process & Rules Repository

BackBusiness Rules PrincipleIn executing a business process, there are logics and compact statements

embedded in the information systems that govern the business operation

known as Business Rules (Li et al, 2013). Overtime organisations are faced

with the need to evolve their business processes and legacy systems so as to

catch up with changing market demands and compete adequately to maintain

their market share.

This report was chosen because it addresses the need for businesses to

follow certain principles when converting from legacy systems to newer

information systems without eluding existing business rules. Li et al (2013)

have proposed a framework which supports the principle of extracting

business rules from legacy systems and re-hosting them in the newer system.

Framework of the proposed scheme (adapted from Li et al, 2013)

A summary of the model above indicates that existing business rules in the

legacy system have to be properly identifiable and understandable

(Comprehension) which may be represented in the form of class diagrams.

Afterwards it is broken down into sub-systems which is easier to manage

(Partition) and subsequently the business rules are extracted from each

corresponding sub-system (Extraction). The final phase is to deploy and

integrate the extracted rules into the new system (Migration) using various

methods such as syntax language (XML) or entity relationship diagrams

(ERD) as a facilitator (Li et al, 2013).

Business Rules ImplementationThe ability to deploy business rules across processes with a great deal of

rapidity and flexibility cannot be overemphasised. This has prompted

investigations by Nelson & Sen (in press) to analyse how business rules are

implemented with a focus on the healthcare industry. These rapidity and

Business Rules Management SystemsBusiness rules have to be managed properly and one of such ways of

achieving this is by using dedicated software which aligns information systems

with business functional requirements (Andreescu & Mircea, 2009). According

to them business rules should be identifiable, specific (understood by all),

implemented within the right sphere of the business process and managed

properly.

This report was chosen because it explains the structure of managing

business rules within the scope of business rules management systems

(BRMS) citing the relevance of business rules engine or inference engines in

achieving this.

Architecture of a BRMS (adapted from Andreescu & Mircea,2009)

From the architecture above, the underlying system environment contains the

programming languages and data structures, while the knowledge base

consists of the actual representation and access of the business rules. The

Business Rules Management SolutionsBusiness rules are stored throughout different applications in organisations

and the repository serves as the common source of truth and metadata for the

rules. This video item was chosen because the authors have emphasised the

need for applications to make business decisions to customers (an example is

an insurance claim) based on applicable business rules. In order to achieve

this, they have recommended a software interface known as JBoss which

serves as an environment to make business rules visible, accessible and

versioned without the need to be involved in writing complex codes in

specifying these rules (Redhatvideos, 2012).

ReferencesAndreescu, A & Mircea, M 2009, Managing knowledge as business rules,

Informatica Economic, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 63-74.

Athenahealth 2010, How athenahealths rules engine works, video, 29

November, viewed 30August 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=dhr87EAajzc

Li, H, Guo, H, Guan, H, Feng, X, Xu, Y & Yang, H 2013, An evolution

scheme for business rule based legacy systems, Journal of Theoretical and

Applied Information Technology, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 369-376.

Nelson, ML & Sen, R in press, Business rules management in healthcare: A

lifecycle approach, Decision Support Systems.

Redhatvideos 2012, Focus on: JBoss enterprise business rules management

system 5.3 (BRMS), video, 25 June, viewed 30 August 2013,

Business Process & Rules Repository - Central Queensland University

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flexibility arose from the need to regulate and standardise business rules in a

very robust and at the same time volatile industry often compounded in a

mesh of legislative laws and medical protocols.

This report was chosen because it explains the sequence in implementing

business rules within a business domain such as the healthcare industry.

Nelson & Sen (in press) highlighted a sequence of implementation procedures

that can be applied in any business domain. It follows that business rules

have to be captured from various sources, the rules then have to be

organised for authoring, stored in a central repository for easy management,

share the rules across sub-domains because processes may cut across

different organisational functions, test for interoperability and finally go live

(automate) the rules. Nelson & Sen (in press) grouped this sequence into

three higher levels groups known as; Align, Rule Management and

Implementation.

Healthcare business rules lifecycle (adapted from Nelson & Sen,in press)

inference engine or rule engine serves as the moderator between these rules

in order to obtain accurate and valid conclusions. The repository is where the

rules are stored and allows for manipulation, management and sharing

(Andreescu & Mircea, 2009).

Business Rules EngineEven though business rules may have been previously defined in an

organisation, the changing nature of processes may necessitate the change of

these rules at time intervals. This video was chosen because it narrates how

the health industry which is often posed with rapid changing business rules

can cope. The authors of this video have recommended a business rule

engine that works on the premise of web based interfaces of various health

practices that are inter-connected to a common rules database. This service

will add new business rules evaluated from previous denial trends so that

clients will not face the same problem again. It also keeps clients up to date

of clinical guidelines, allergy alerts, protocols and performance requirements

(athenahealth, 2010).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJHCJ0Kddvk&list=FLd2a_m-

1EodrkMyQ4mntvSQ&index=3

chughrTypewritten TextDisclaimer- This sample portfolio is the work of a past student enrolled in this course and is meant as a guideline only. Do not copy. Your submitted work may be of better quality than this!

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