Comments on: Global Processes and Business Rules http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/09/25/global-processes-and-business-rules/ Software product success. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:42:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Scott Sehlhorst http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/09/25/global-processes-and-business-rules/comment-page-1/#comment-158307 Scott Sehlhorst Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:41:47 +0000 http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/09/25/global-processes-and-business-rules/#comment-158307 Thanks James, I appreciate the insight. As our current project evolves, I look forward to exploring this more! Thanks also for the link to the case study. I especially like the spider-graph in the full case study pdf. Thanks James, I appreciate the insight. As our current project evolves, I look forward to exploring this more!

Thanks also for the link to the case study. I especially like the spider-graph in the full case study pdf.

]]> By: James Taylor http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/09/25/global-processes-and-business-rules/comment-page-1/#comment-157488 James Taylor Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:17:11 +0000 http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/09/25/global-processes-and-business-rules/#comment-157488 Scott You make a lot of good points. Indeed, when organizations are managing rules they face the same issues. Should I have standard rules and then local (or state or regional) overrides? Should I manage some sets of rules as completely independent sets across countries? Can I share some rules across multiple countries? Are there rules that MUST be shared? and so on. There is no one right answer for this. Proper management of rules, particularly the details of production rules that execute in systems, requires a repository approach with versioning, audit trails and structure to allow appropriate management by decision, by country, by line of business etc. The business-friendly nature of rules helps regardless, but proper management really helps. In general I think that a separate focus on decisions and on the rules behind those decisions makes it much more possible to use standard processes and outsourced processes while retaining differentiation (as I discussed <a href="http://www.bpminstitute.org/articles/article/article/business-rules-and-resisting-the-commoditization-of-process.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. One example that comes to mind is Air Products, who found that having a single SAP instance for all their worldwide businesses could be confining but that decision management with business rules was an effective tool for injecting differentiation and localization. There's a case study <a href="http://www.edmblog.com/weblog/2006/08/a_case_study_ru.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. See you in Orlando! JT <a href="http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/decision_management" rel="nofollow">My ebizQ blog</a> <a href="http://www.smartenoughsystems.com" rel="nofollow">Author of Smart (Enough) Systems</a> Scott
You make a lot of good points. Indeed, when organizations are managing rules they face the same issues. Should I have standard rules and then local (or state or regional) overrides? Should I manage some sets of rules as completely independent sets across countries? Can I share some rules across multiple countries? Are there rules that MUST be shared? and so on.
There is no one right answer for this. Proper management of rules, particularly the details of production rules that execute in systems, requires a repository approach with versioning, audit trails and structure to allow appropriate management by decision, by country, by line of business etc. The business-friendly nature of rules helps regardless, but proper management really helps.
In general I think that a separate focus on decisions and on the rules behind those decisions makes it much more possible to use standard processes and outsourced processes while retaining differentiation (as I discussed here. One example that comes to mind is Air Products, who found that having a single SAP instance for all their worldwide businesses could be confining but that decision management with business rules was an effective tool for injecting differentiation and localization. There’s a case study here.
See you in Orlando!
JT
My ebizQ blog
Author of Smart (Enough) Systems

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