@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions
James Taylor
CEO
3 Reasons to Adopt Decision Modeling
in your BRMS Program

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 2
James Taylor
Decision Management Solutions
▶ We work with clients to
improve their business by
applying business rules &
analytic technology to
automate & improve decisions.
▶ Vendor-neutral
▶ Original DMN submitter
▶ Using decision modeling since 2011
▶ I have spent the last 14 years
focused on Business Rules and
Decision Management

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 3
Agenda
▶ Challenges In BRMS Programs
▶ Decision Modeling, DMN and BRMS
▶ Value of Decision Modeling for BRMS Programs
▶ Traceability and Impact Analysis
▶ Sustained Business Engagement
▶ Coverage and Reuse
▶ Questions and Wrap Up

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 4
Challenges In BRMS Programs

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 5
Challenges Observed In BRMS Programs
▶ Why Are We Changing These Rules Again?
▶ I Need To Go Back To Running My Business
▶ This Change Would Be Easy To Make If I Could Just
Find It…
▶ This Change Will Be Easy To Make, I Wonder What It
Will Do?
▶ Who Cares If I Change This?
▶ I’m Sure I’ve Been Here Before…

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 6
Why Are We Changing These Rules Again?
▶ Many organizations just have a Big Bucket O’Rules
▶ Hard to track rules to sources
▶ Not clear who owns which rules
▶ Hard to see what each rule is for
▶ When rule changes come in
▶ Validation is hard
▶ Impact analysis is impossible
▶ Business rationale is opaque

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 7
I Need To Go Back To Running My Business
▶ Business users do less and less rule maintenance
▶ They sense that rule maintenance is something IT wants
them to do
▶ It doesn’t feel like running their business

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 8
This Change Would Be Easy To Make If I
Could Just Find It…
▶ Changing a rule is easy
▶ Testing the change is
easy
▶ Finding the change is
hard

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 9
This Change Will Be Easy To Make
I Wonder What It Will Do?
▶ Changing a rule is easy
▶ Testing the change is
easy
▶ Impact analysis is hard

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 10
Who Cares If I Change This?
▶ Who needs to
▶ Discuss the change?
▶ Review the change?
▶ Approve the change?
▶ Be told about the change?
▶ Which Processes and Systems
will change?

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 11
I’m Sure I’ve Been Here Before…
▶ Making the same rule
changes over and over
▶ One business change, many
rule changes

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 12
Enter Decision Modeling
Improved
traceability and
impact analysis
Sustained business
user engagement
Improved coverage
and reuse

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 13
Decision Modeling with DMN

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 14
Model Decision Requirements
Information
Knowledge
DECISION
Precise
Decision
Structure

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 15
Pre-Bureau
Risk Category
1 HIGH
2 MEDIUM
3 LOW
4 VERYLOW
5 DECLINE
6 HIGH
7 MEDIUM
8 LOW
TRUE
<100
[100..120[
[120..130]
>130
FALSE
<80
[80..90]
[90..110]
>110
Pre-bureau risk category table
UC
Existing
Customer
Application
Risk Score
Model Two Layers of Detail
Decision Requirements Decision Logic
Or Business Rules
In A BRMS

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 16
Decision Modeling Integrated With A BRMS
▶ Trace objectives to decision requirements to rules
▶ Full access to BRMS’s editing, validation, and
management
▶ Standard BRMS security
▶ On demand or regularly scheduled updates
▶ Based on open API

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 17
▶ Business Knowledge Models
▶ BKMs can have Decision Tables
▶ BKMs can be invoked by
multiple Decisions
▶ Link to a BRMS
▶ Reuse of new & existing rules
▶ Not just Decision Tables
▶ Across multiple decisions in
multiple diagrams
Manage Reuse In Decision Models
▶ Decisions are
broadly reusable
▶ Sometimes Logic
needs to be
reusable too
▶ Same logic, different
Input Data
▶ Different Input Data,
different Decision
▶ Don’t want to
duplicate decision
logic

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 18
Model Decision Context
-amount : Money
-amountLimit : Money
-facilityType : Enum
-id : String
-repaymentBy : Date
-status : Enum
Loan Appliation -address : String
-creditRtng : Enum
-dateOfBirth : Date
-disqualified : Boolean
-disqualificationReason : String
-firstName : String
-id : String
-middleInitials : String
-proofOfIdSeenBy : StaffId
-surname : String
-telephone : TelephoneNo
Person
-annualIncome : Money
-employmentRecord : Enum
-personalDebt : Integer
Financial Profile
-endDate : Date
-salary : Money
-startDate : Date
-terminationReason : Enum
-workType : Enum
Employment
-realisationDate : Date
-type : Enum
-value : Money
AssetLiability
0..* -applicant
1
0..1
-guarantor
1..*
1
1
1
0..*
1
0..*
Process
Data
Decision
Motivation
Organization
Department
Team
Role
Role
Team
Department
Organization

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 19
Decision Model and Notation (DMN)
▶ Open Industry Standard
▶ Broad Vendor Support
▶ Decision Management Solutions, FICO, IBM,
Oracle, TIBCO and others
▶ Object Management Group
▶ BPMN, UML and many other established standards
▶ “… provide a common notation that is readily
understandable by all business users... DMN creates a
standardized bridge for the gap between the business
decision design and decision implementation.”

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 20
Value of Decision Modeling for Existing
BRMS Programs

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 21
Decision Modeling with DMN
For Existing BRMS Programs
Improved
traceability and
impact analysis
Sustained business
user engagement
Improved coverage
and reuse

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 22
See The Impact of a Real-World Change

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 23
See Who Needs To Be Involved or Informed
Product Management
Retail Operations
Risk Management
Insurance Operations
Customer Service

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 24
See How To Get The Impact You Want
Improve
Cross-Sell
A
Total
Number of
Orders
Most
Recent
Order
Total Orders
last 12
months
Lifetime
Order Total
Customer
Status
1 >= 5 < 90 days > $10,000 - Gold
2 >=10 < 180 days > $20,000 - Gold
3 >= 20 < 360 days > $40,000 - Gold
4 - < 180 days - > $1,000,000 Gold
5 - - - > $2,000,000 Gold
Gold Customer Determination

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 25
Record What You Learn As Its Own
Perspective

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 26
Decision Models Are Accessible,
embeddable, readable

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 27
Familiar Decision Models Can Manage Rules
▶ Decision model is familiar
▶ Navigation is easy
▶ Decision models
▶ Break down complex problems
▶ Link each sub-decision to rules
Sources and drivers of
change are clear
Impact and ownership
are clear
Navigate to the rules that
have to change

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 28
Manage reuse with perspectives
▶ Reuse elements on many diagrams
▶ Diagrams are cumulative
▶ Each aspect of coverage is modeled
▶ Reuse minimizes work and rework
Decision Requirements
Model

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 29
Decision Modeling Lifecycle
▶ Decision Modeling
▶ Drives requirements and automation
▶ Supports business rules and analytic implementations
▶ Delivers traceability
▶ Allows for ongoing orchestration
Orchestration
Automation
BoundaryDecision
Requirements
Business
Rules
Implementation
Technology Selection
Predictive
Analytics
Traceability

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 30
Decision Modeling with DMN
For Existing BRMS Programs
Improved
traceability and
impact analysis
Sustained business
user engagement
Improved coverage
and reuse

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 31
Getting Started

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 32
Decision Modeling For Existing BRMS
Programs
▶ Steps
1. Bottoms-up Rule Analysis
2. Top-down Decision Context
3. Integrate Perspectives
4. Integrate Rules and Decisions
5. Train Business Team
6. Technical Recommendations
▶ Deliverables
▶ Trained, self-sufficient team
▶ Reuse & improvements
▶ Model integrates existing rules
▶ Software, consulting and training

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 33
Learn More About Decision Modeling for
BRMS Customers
▶ IBM Operational Decision
Manager
▶ Decision Modeling and IBM
ODM
bit.ly/DMSODM0
▶ 3 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to an existing
ODM program
bit.ly/DMSODM3
▶ 4 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to a new ODM
Project
bit.ly/DMSODM4
▶ Red Hat JBoss BRMS
▶ Decision Modeling and Red
Hat JBoss BRMS
bit.ly/DMSRH0
▶ 3 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to an existing
Red Hat program
bit.ly/DMSRH3
▶ 4 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to a new Red
Hat Project
bit.ly/DMSRH4

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 34
Questions?

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 35
Decision Modeling with DMN
For Existing BRMS Programs
Improved
traceability and
impact analysis
Sustained business
user engagement
Improved coverage
and reuse

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 36
Learn More About Decision Modeling for
BRMS Customers
▶ IBM Operational Decision
Manager
▶ Decision Modeling and IBM
ODM
bit.ly/DMSODM0
▶ 3 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to an existing
ODM program
bit.ly/DMSODM3
▶ 4 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to a new ODM
Project
bit.ly/DMSODM4
▶ Red Hat JBoss BRMS
▶ Decision Modeling and Red
Hat JBoss BRMS
bit.ly/DMSRH0
▶ 3 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to an existing
Red Hat program
bit.ly/DMSRH3
▶ 4 Reasons to add Decision
Modeling to a new Red
Hat Project
bit.ly/DMSRH4

@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions 37
DecisionsFirst Modeler
Collaborative, cloud-based decision modeling software
that puts decisions at the heart of your business
architecture, building better requirements and driving
successful business rules implementations
Key Features
Multi-user, Collaborative
Decision Model and Notation
(DMN) Support
Shared Database, Reusable
components
Automated Consistency and
Completeness Checks
Living Repository

Thank You
@jamet123 #decisionmgt © 2016 Decision Management Solutions
For more on
Decision Management, go to:
decisionmanagementsolutions.com
James Taylor
james@decisionmanagementsolutions.com