HU Summer School 2016 - Business Process Management & IT Rule-based Design Managing complexity! Rogier van de Wetering, PhD The Open University of the Netherlands August 8th 2016, Utrecht Dia 1 Short introduction Professional experience • 2015-now Assistant Professor, Management, Science & Technology, Open University • 2005-2015 Manager at Deloitte Consulting • 2010-2013 External lecturer, medical informatics, Utrecht University • 2007-2011 PhD research, Utrecht University Education • PhD research (‘11), Faculty Mathematics & Computer Sciences, Utrecht University (A Strategic PACS Maturity Approach) • Information Sciences (‘05), Utrecht University, Melbourne University Dia 2 The path we will follow this morning…. 3 Formalizing ‘From natural language to relation algebra’ 10.00-10.50 BREAK Practice ‘Do it yourself’ 11.00-12.00 2 1 Rule-based Design ‘An introduction’ 09.00-09.50 BREAK Dia 3 Rule-based Design Dia 4 Organizations can in essence be viewed as complex, adaptive sociotechnical systems Dia 5 Familiar Complex Adaptive System… Adls, (2013), Charting the Changes [ONLINE]. Available at: http://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/adlsmedia/8725730/financialmarkets.jpg [Accessed 7 July 2016]. Dia 6 Familiar Complex Adaptive System… Shutterstock, (2013), Biomimicry [ONLINE]. Available at: https://s3-eu-west1.amazonaws.com/static.nextnature.net/app/uploads/2013/07/ant-bridge_2302146k-640x400.jpg [Accessed 29 June 2016]. Dia 7 Technologies and practices that enable innovation and deal with environmental turbulence Open data ecosystem Collaborative networking Data-driven business model Dia 8 IT-enabled Dynamic Capabilities Cyber security Business Rules Complex Adaptive Sytems Robotics Big data Internet of Things Social networks Cloud-computing Digital strategy & innovation Adaptive Enterprise Architectures Watson Mobile / app Business analytics What do you really need to know about Rule-based Design Better communication Design systems and processes Business/ITalignment Rule-based Design Make IT manageable Flexible organization Reduce complexity Dia 9 Business Rules, some definitions: 1 Business rules represent the primary means by which an organization can direct its business, defining the operative way to reach its objectives and perform its actions (Wikipedia) 2 Statement that defines or constrains some aspect of the business... [which is] intended to assert business structure, or to control or influence the behavior of the business. It cannot be broken down or decomposed further into more detailed business rules. (Business Rules Group) 3 Business rules formalize mutual agreements between stakeholders, commitments of managers, rights and obligations of employees, etc. into ‘laws’, intended to serve the purpose(s) of an organization (Joosten) Dia 10 Business Rules: verifiable statements Business rule definition: “A business rule is a verifiable statement that some stakeholders intend to obey, within a certain context.” ………as intended by the Business Rules Manifesto Dia 11 Mantra of Business Rules Manifesto Mantra: “ Rules build on facts, and facts build on concepts as expressed by terms.” Dia 12 Mantra of Business Rules Manifesto Client, Bill, Supplier, etc. Mantra: “ Rules build on facts, and facts build on concepts as expressed by terms.” Bills are sent to customers. Every sent item (to a customer) must be billed. Dia 13 Question: Are these examples of ‘Rules’? A. Our policies are transparent to the outside world B. Rogier goes to bed in the evening and gets up in the morning C. E = mc2 D. Johan Versendaal went to the club last night E. Pascal is an expert on BPM Dia 14 Rule examples Banking and insurance IT service desk Every application gets a decision Every (customer/client) call involves at least one hardware- or software component Order management Consumer business An order contains no other kinds of plant than the combined pick orders Every sent item must be billed Dia 15 Business Rules Manifesto: Principles of Rule Independence Articles 1-5 Articles 6-10 1. Primary Requirements, Not Secondary 6. Rule-Based Architecture, Not Indirect Implementation 2. Separate From Processes, Not Contained In Them 7. Rule-Guided Processes, Not Exception-Based Programming 3. Deliberate Knowledge, Not A By-Product 8. For the Sake of the Business, Not Technology 4. Declarative, Not Procedural 9. Of, By, and For Business People, Not IT People 5. Well-Formed Expression, Not Ad Hoc Dia 16 10.Managing Business Logic, Not Hardware/Software Platforms Business rules can be used to manage and control business processes • Business rules actually define the business process • Signal violations (in real time) and act to resolve them • Business rules are sufficient as an instrument to design compliant business processes and information systems • The role of information technology is to help maintain business rules • If any rule is violated (perhaps temporarily), a computer can signal that and prompt people to resolve the issue Dia 17 There are several important categories of business rules: 1 Condition-action-rule 2 34 Event-condition-action-rule Imperative rules 5 Dia 18 Computation / Derivation rule Invariant rules Business Rule Management; dealing with various challenges Some challenges Communicate with right stakeholders Getting stakeholders to commit Key challenges Balance between ‘Rules’ and ‘People’ Alignment with business goals Complete and consistent Dia 19 Rule-based Design draws on research on business rules, software engineering, relation algebra, and design methodology • Puts functional requirements at the focal point of the design of business processes and information systems • Elicit requirements from various audiences, helping these audiences to make their wishes concrete • This requires communicative and advisory skills • Requirements engineer must interpret requirements to select or write business rules • This requires technical insight in information systems that support business processes • Requirements engineer must help stakeholders with solutions rather than endless questions • Rule-based Design helps requirements engineers with tools that automate large parts of the design process Dia 20 Rule-based Design vs workflow based approaches • Systems and people together form a system that lives by rules; this leads to compliance • Business process management (BPM) is in fact also included: BPM is all about handling cases • Cases are governed by a set of rules (e.g. the credit approval procedure) • When all rules are satisfied (no violations) the case is closed: rule based BPM! • There is a big difference: workflow based approaches derives actions from workflow and process models • We define business rules declarative; invariant rules Dia 21 Within Rule based BPM any violation of a business rule may be used to trigger actions • If rules are found to be violated, the detector signals a process engine • The process engine distributes work to people and computers, who take appropriate actions • Follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle • Actions are not specified, but derived! • Use business rules to define business processes Dia 22 The Rule-Based design approach has some important implications • You define the process • Common basis for data and process side of IS/IT • Requires formal method • System boundaries can be articulated • Functional behavior of the system is defined • Proof that the system meets specification Dia 23 Designer’s perspective for rule based process management Design artifacts IS development environment Rule base Dia 24 Rule Maturity: Five Steps to an Agile Enterprise Dia 25 10 min. Dia 26 Formalizing Business Rules Dia 27 A brief recap: what have we learned Business Rules are verifiable statements Rules build on facts, and facts build on concepts as expressed by terms There are various types of Rules Actions are not specified Systems and people together form a system that lives by rules; this leads to compliance Requires formal method Dia 28 Rulebased Design Concepts and relations concept identifier verb concept identifier Target Source Employer works at Employee Shell works at Joris HU works at Pascal OU works at Rogier Microsoft works at Johan Mark Rutte Dia 29 Concepts and relations: a conceptual model Relation NO RULES Concept Dia 30 Concepts and relations: an instance diagram Dia 31 Concepts and relations: : instance diagram of a composition Actor possesses at least one of the Skills required for the Role Dia 32 A client name and call identifier is entered. Are there any violations? Rule 1: Every call must get an acceptable response. Rule 2: Every call is entered by exactly one client. Rule 3: Every call involves at least one hardware- or software component Rule 4: Every response describes at least one problem solution that applies to at least one component involved in the call. The engine will detect various violations Dia 33 Formalizing rules from Natural language to computer code Normal sentence Only plants in stock may be ordered From ‘Natural language’ For...(concept)... Must (not) be...(...)...if if an Order is for a Species, then some Stock exists such that the Order affects that Stock and that Stock is of that Species To ‘Semi-formal language’ (e.g. RuleSpeak and other CNLs) IF..THEN..MUST is_for  affects ; is_of To ‘Formal notation’ (using mathematical principles, e.g. relation algebra, predicate logic, Boolean algebra, etc.) To ‘Application’ (Script language) Dia 34 Founders of the calculus of relations; relation algebra Augustus De Morgan Ernst Schröder Dia 35 Charles Sanders Peirce Alfred Tarski Rules assertion within relation algebra Left-expression  Right-expression ..implies.. consequent Set theoretic perspective consequent Dia 36 Rules assertion within relation algebra Specific case General case is_for  affects ; is_of if an Order is_for a Species, then some Stock exists such that the Order affects that Stock and that Stock is_of that Species Dia 37 RS • • • IF ..R.. THEN..S.. R implies S If something exist in R, then that also must exist in S RuleSpeak®: set of guidelines for expressing business rules in concise, business-friendly fashion Dia 38 RuleSpeak®: some guidelines • Omitting a Rule Keyword is not good Every Business Rule Statement should include “must” or “only”. (An order must indicate the customer who places it.) • “Can” is not good A customer may purchase a pesticide from a supplier only if the supplier sells that pesticide) • Extra words for emphasis are not good A shipment must have a status with no exceptions. • “To have” is often not good A team must have a manager. => A team must be managed by a manager. • Starting with ‘if’ is not good If an employee is retired, then he must not be assigned an employment counselor => A retired employee must not be assigned an employment counselor. • Plural subjects are not good Programmers must work on a system. • Actor subjects are frequently not good A customer may make a withdrawal only if their account is active => A withdrawal for an account may be made only if the account is active Dia 39 DEMO using Ampersand method RAP2 http://is.cs.ou.nl/rap2/index.php Dia 40 10 min. Dia 41 Practice Dia 42 A brief recap: what have we learned Relations Rules Business Rules are verifiable statements If something exist in R, then that also must exist in S Relation algebra / script language Left-expression  Right-expression Formalizing From ‘Natural language’ To ‘Semi-formal language’ ..implies.. consequent To ‘Formal notation’ To ‘Application’ Dia 43 Assignment introduction for teams 1. Select a case (see next sheet) 2. Select a typical (simple) process (or sub-process) 3. Identify a business ‘problem’ (be creative!) – related to this process, or as a result of executing this process 4. Define 3-4 concepts and their ‘atoms’ (Course: BPN, EA, RBD, ITgovernance, etc.) 5. Draw a conceptual diagram 6. Define some relations 7. Formulate a couple of ‘Rules’ (e.g. in natural language, CNL, RuleSpeak, etc.) – Cycle chasing We will work on this in teams of 4. After 30 minutes, the teams shortly present their outcomes! Dia 44 Various cases, pick one! 2. Education: course registration 3. FSI: loan / mortgage approval A) HR-process: Bonus payment B) Order management: sending bill IND: application decision making Process / case Industry 1. Healthcare: patient registration Dia 45 Q&A Dia 46 Further reading on adaptive principles, alignment and dynamic capabilities • Van de Wetering, R., & Bos, R. (2016). A meta-framework for Efficacious Adaptive Enterprise Architectures, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Information Systems. 2016, Springer International Publishing: Leipzig, Germany. [download] [download] • Van de Wetering, R. (2016). Modeling Alignment as a Higher Order Nomological Framework, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Information Systems. 2016, Springer International Publishing: Leipzig, Germany. [download] [download] • Mikalef, P., Pateli, A., & Van de Wetering, R. (2016). IT flexibility and competitive performance: The mediating role of IT-enabled dynamic capabilities, in the Proceedings of the 24th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). [download] [download] • Van de Wetering, R., & Batenburg, R. (2014). Towards a Theory of PACS Deployment: An Integrative PACS Maturity Framework. Journal of Digital Imaging, 27(3), 337-350. [download] [download] Dia 47 Contact dr. R. (Rogier) van de Wetering Assistant Professor Faculty Management, Science & Technology nl.linkedin.com/in/rvandewetering twitter.com/drvandewetering researchgate.net/profile/Rogier_Van_de_Wetering2 openuniversiteit.academia.edu/RVanDeWetering Dia 48