Defining Business Rules ~ What Are They Really? (Abstract and Table of Contents)

Defining Business Rules ~ What Are They Really? (Abstract and Table of Contents)

"Abstract

Systems analysts have long been able to describe enterprises in terms of the structure of the data those enterprises use and the organization of the functions they perform, but have tended to neglect the constraints under which the enterprise operates. Frequently these are not articulated until it is time to convert them into program code. While rules which are represented by the structure and functions of an enterprise have been documented to a degree, others have not been articulated as well, if at all.

The GUIDE Business Rules Project was organized in November 1993 to carry out that articulation. This paper, the original report of the GUIDE Business Rules Project (now the Business Rules Group), describes a scheme for understanding the nature of business rules and the categories into which they fall. It presents a formal approach for identifying and articulating the rules that define the structure and control the operation of an enterprise.

Table of Contents

The Table of Contents below is intended for readers who wish to load the document one chapter at a time. You may go to each chapter directly from the Table of Contents below or read the document sequentially, from one chapter to the next.

The document is also available as a PDF format document (approximately 175k).

Introduction
Project Scope and Objectives
Overview of the Paper
The Rationale
A Context for Business Rules
Definition of a Business Rule
Categories of Business Rule
Formalizing Business Rules
The Business Rules Conceptual Model
Formulating Business Rules
The Origins of Business Rules -- the Model
Types of Business Rule
Definitions
Structural Assertions
Terms and Facts
Kinds of Term
Kinds of Fact
Base Facts / Derived Facts
Attribute / Participation / Generalization
Definitions
Action Assertions
Action Assertion Classifications
Action Assertion Classes
Action Assertion Types
Controlling vs. Influencing
Definitions
Derivations
Kinds of Derivation
Definitions
Footnotes & Acknowledgments
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: The Complete Model
Appendix B: How to Read a Conceptual Model
Appendix C: An Extended List of Action Assertion Types
Appendix D: Case Study: EU-Rent Car Rentals
Appendix E: Glossary
Appendix F: Bibliography

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