Business Rules Management and Service Oriented Architecture: A Pattern Language [Paperback]

Ian Graham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470027215 | ISBN-13: 978-0470027219 | Publication Date: January 12, 2007 | Edition: 1

Business rules management system (BRMS) is a software tools that work alongside enterprise IT applications. It enables enterprises to automate decision-making processes typically consisting of separate business rules authoring and rules execution applications.

This proposed title brings together the following key ideas in modern enterprise system development best practice.

• The need for service-oriented architecture (SOA).
• How the former depends on component-based development (CBD).
• Database-centred approaches to business rules (inc. GUIDES).
• Knowledge-based approaches to business rules.
• Using patterns to design and develop business rules management systems

Ian Graham is an industry consultant with over 20 years. He is recognized internationally as an authority on business modelling, object-oriented software development methods and expert systems. He has a significant public presence, being associated with both UK and international professional organizations, and is frequently quoted in the IT and financial press.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"SOAs and business rules are two of the hottest and most misunderstood topics in our industry. Graham's book does a very good job of explaining these concepts and presenting their symbiotic relationship to each other."
—David Marco, President, EWSolutions; Author of Universal Meta Data Model and Building and Managing the Meta Data Repository; Universally recognized as the world's leading authority on Meta Data Management

From the Back Cover

"SOAs and business rules are two of the hottest and most misunderstood topics in our industry. Graham's book does a very good job of explaining these concepts and presenting their symbiotic relationship to each other."
—David Marco, President, EWSolutions, Author of "Universal Meta Data Model" and "Building and Managing the Meta Data Repository" Universally Recognized as the world's leading authority on Meta Data Management.

Business rules management system (BRMS) is a software tool that works alongside enterprise IT applications. It enables businesses to automate decision-making processes.  Business rules represent any type of business data such as policies, procedures or regulations that define or constrain some aspect of a business.

International expert Ian Graham reveals best practice in modern enterprise system development.  He clearly demonstrates how to align IT with business goals.

Business Rules Management and Service Oriented Architecture will give you a greater understanding of:

• The need for service-oriented architecture;
• How the former depends on component-based development;
• The technical features of a BRMS;
• How to create a pattern language for BRMS development.

A BRMS could enable your business to reap the rewards of lower maintenance costs, greater business agility, enhanced decision-making and increased revenue. Strengthen your business by deploying this approach.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470027215
• ISBN-13: 978-0470027219
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice technical overview of business rules management and SOA, February 15, 2007

By 

James Taylor "Decision Management Consultant" (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Rules Management and Service Oriented Architecture: A Pattern Language (Paperback)

Ian Graeme's new book "Business Rules Management and Service-Oriented Architecture" is a fairly technical look at business rules, the technology of a business rules management system and patterns of using them. The book gives a fairly quick overview of SOA and then introduces business rules, both as an approach and as a class of technology. He covers different execution styles, the features of a Business Rules Management System and compares three products (Blaze Advisor, JRules and Haley). For JRules and Blaze Advisor at least he is already out of date in the details but you still get a feel for the products and his method for evaluating tools is a useful read for anyone who likes to compare rules products with the traditional list of features.

Ian builds on many of the basic methodology steps outlined in previous rules books (like Barbara von Halle's) and then adds a really interesting section (about a third of the book) or patterns for requirements, elicitation, development, writing and organizing business rules. While some are fairly straightforward it is still a nice set and an interesting approach very suited to a more flexible methodology (like agile or similar).

I enjoyed the book and if you are looking for an up to date book on rules and SOA this should be on your list.

2.0 out of 5 stars Uninteresting and unreadable, February 5, 2011

By 

Steven Kilner (Walnut Creek, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Business Rules Management and Service Oriented Architecture: A Pattern Language (Paperback)

I'm not sure why I gave it those two stars. I read half of it and learned absolutely nothing. The author may be extremely knowledgeable about business rules, and he also may have wide-ranging knowledge on many subjects, and he obviously has an extensive vocabulary and skill with grammar, but he knows nothing at all about communicating as a teacher.

There is no orderly progression of concepts. There is no schematic, in pictures or words, of the knowledge that the reader is about to learn. It's just... I don't know. Partly a history of who said what about business rules since the 1980's, partly a rehash of OO, SOA and component concepts you can understand better by reading Wikipedia, and partly, perhaps mostly, a stream of conscious technical writing book thingie.

I read a lot of technical books. This one has very poor writing. If I knew a lot about business rules perhaps it would have been interesting. But, of course, that's not why I bought it.

Final complaint because I'm so irritated: why is there a caret over the 'o' in 'role' every time the word is used? Is the writer switching to French every time he uses that word? gggrrrrrrr

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source for IT professionals, July 25, 2008

By 

Serge Bouwens - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Rules Management and Service Oriented Architecture: A Pattern Language (Paperback)

I bought this book after careful consedering all Business Rules books, offered by Amazon. A good choice indeed.
As an enterprise architect I came across themes like architecture principles, SOA and business requirements. Business rules in relation to architecture is a much debated issue. So when I came to be involved in a Business Rules project for a customer, I decided to arm myself. What did the book deliver? Well:
- clear and pleasant writing style.
- answers to FAQ right from the preface.
- relate BR to SOA.
- functional and management perspective. Technology and concepts. Not too deep, not to hi-over.
- insight in leading products (be it anno 2007, but good enough for a benchmark).
- 42 (:-) solution patterns.
- a checklist for evaluating BRMS's.

Excellent!