Definition
A Business Rule Engine (BRE) is a software system that executes one or more business rules in a runtime production environment. It allows businesses to define, deploy, execute, monitor, and maintain the agility and decision logic that is used by operational systems within an organization. The primary purpose of a BRE is to separate the execution code for business rules from the system’s main application code.
Phonetic
The phonetics of the keyword “Business Rule Engine” is:- Business: /ˈbɪznɪs/- Rule: /ruːl/- Engine: /ˈɛndʒɪn/
Key Takeaways
- The Business Rule Engine is a software system that allows non-technical users to define, deploy, monitor, and maintain business logic. It simplifies the process of executing business rules without the need for software coding.
- It provides companies with an organized and centralized way of managing all the rules associated with their business processes. This can greatly enhance business efficiency, as it reduces errors and accelerates decision making, while also facilitating compliance with regulations.
- Business Rule Engines make rules easy to manage and modify. Since business rules are often subject to change due to an evolving business environment, a Business Rule Engine allows for quick and easy modifications without disrupting system operations.
Importance
A Business Rule Engine is a crucial technology because it allows an organization to manage and execute the rules that operate on its data and systems, aiding in decision-making processes. These engines ensure that business rules are accurately implemented, reducing errors, increasing consistency, and maintaining regulatory compliance.
They also offer adaptability, as rules within this engine can be swiftly updated or changed in response to evolving business or regulatory needs without requiring changes in the system code. This reduces the need for extensive code modifications or IT intervention, shortening the response time to changes and promoting operational efficiency. Thus, a Business Rule Engine is instrumental in enhancing productivity, agility, and control over an organization’s business logic.
Explanation
A Business Rule Engine (BRE) serves as a vital tool in modern software systems, designed to let businesses define, deploy, execute, monitor and maintain the decision logic that is used to conduct business daily. This represents a significant improvement in the traditional coding approaches, as the rule engine decouples rule management from the application code, allowing business rules to be changed without affecting the overall system.
BREs are instrumental in managing business logic in real-time, which can be essential for various operational activities such as calculating discounts, validating business transactions, routing workflow, or maintaining policy compliance.
On a practical level, a Business Rule Engine helps streamline and simplify the business decision-making process. It provides a platform for defining business rules in plain language, making them easy to understand, manage, and update as necessary while reducing the dependency on technical resources for rule implementations. By dynamically applying business rules, BREs provide the ability to automate decisions and operations based on specific conditions, offering a high degree of flexibility and agility for businesses.
The use of BREs enhances control over processes, increases decision speed, and minimizes risks associated with human error. In essence, it is used to manage the complexity and constant evolution of business rules and to make information systems more efficient, transparent and agile.
Examples
1. American Express: American Express, one of the largest credit card companies in the word, uses a business rule engine to manage its credit authorization rules. The system identifies potential fraud, calculates credit risks, and approves or denies transactions in real time. This ensures security, compliance with financial regulations, and customer satisfaction.
2. Florida Department of Children and Families: This state department uses a business rule engine for its Access Florida system, which manages state welfare programs. The engine evaluates eligibility for assistance by processing rules around income, household size, and other factors. This has significantly improved efficiency and accuracy in disbursing aid to Florida citizens.
3. IBM Operational Decision Manager: IBM’s Operational Decision Manager is a business rule engine designed to help businesses automate and manage decisions across processes and applications. It’s used by several organizations globally and across industries. Among them is Continental Airlines which uses this engine to identify VIP customers and customize their experience. It processes various rules related to the traveler’s frequent flier status, journey details, and other related profile information to provide a personalized travel experience.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
Q1: What is a Business Rule Engine?
A1: A Business Rule Engine is a software system designed to manage and implement complex business logic. This system allows businesses to define, deploy, execute, monitor and maintain the variability and decision logic used by operational systems in a company.
Q2: How does a Business Rule Engine work?
A2: A Business Rule Engine works by extracting the decision-making process from the business logic and enabling it to be specified, tested, deployed, and modified independently. It uses various assessments and rule sets to apply business rules to different situations.
Q3: What are the benefits of a Business Rule Engine?
A3: A Business Rule Engine enhances flexibility and agility, allowing business leaders to change business rules without needing to modify the system. It also improves transparency and consistency, reduces risks, and helps in faster deployment of new operations and services.
Q4: In which industries is a Business Rule Engine useful?
A4: A Business Rule Engine is beneficial across multiple industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, retail, and more. Any industry that requires complex and frequently changing business rules can benefit from this technology.
Q5: Can a Business Rule Engine integrate with other systems?
A5: Yes, a Business Rule Engine can generally be integrated with other systems through APIs, offering a versatile solution to manage and manipulate business rules across various platforms.
Q6: Who usually manages the rules in a Business Rule Engine?
A6: Typically, business analysts or other non-IT personnel manage the rules in a Business Rule Engine. This is because these rules are essentially business decisions, so they are usually managed by the people who understand the business best.
Q7: How can a Business Rule Engine increase business efficiency?
A7: A Business Rule Engine can increase business efficiency by automating decisions based on pre-defined rules. This eliminates possible human errors and makes the decision-making process much faster and more precise.
Q8: What’s the difference between a Business Rule Engine and a traditional system?
A8: In traditional systems, rule changes often require a system overhaul and involve a long procedure. On the other hand, with a Business Rule Engine, rules are external to the application, making it easier to update them without complex coding or system changes.
Related Technology Terms
- Decision Management System
- Expert System
- Rule-Based System
- Knowledge Base
- Production Rules
