For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
|
|
|
|
July 28, 2003 (Computerworld) -- Business rules are becoming unruly, as frequent changes in the marketplace and new regulations create more complexity. Some companies are turning to business rules management software, which organizes the process of implementing code changes and even lets business people make those changes, freeing up IT to work on more strategic initiatives.
While that sounds like good news for hard-pressed IT departments, there are potential dangers to letting business managers and other nontechnical people tinker with the insides of key information systems.
Business rules are the business logic built into systems. They describe core policies and operations and define what can and can't be done for processes such as marketing, sales, distribution or billing. A company's marketing strategy, pricing plan and administrative policies are examples of processes that include business rules.
Rules management software is changing the way companies handle revisions to the rules inside applications. Bob Parker, an analyst at AMR Research Inc., says enabling business people to make rules changes gives companies more flexibility. For example, he says, if an air-conditioner manufacturer wants to reconfigure its product design, pricing or service, the company doesn't have to rely on IT to make the business rules changes, because a manufacturing or salesperson can do it. "You not only free up IT resources, you gain flexibility to respond to changes faster," Parker says. "It's been a big hurdle for companies to change rules in response to market conditions."
CitiStreet in Quincy, Mass., a global benefits services provider owned by Citigroup and State Street Corp., is using JRules from Ilog Inc. in Mountain View, Calif., to make rules changes in its benefits plan administration system. The proprietary application runs on Sun Solaris and HP-UX platforms.
JRules manages thousands of business rules related to client policies, government regulations and customer preferences. Previously, business analysts wrote requirements, designers created documents based on the requirements, and IT developers did the coding. But now analysts use JRules to create or change rules, without help from developers, says Andy Marsh, CitiStreet's CIO. "We've effectively eliminated the detail design function and 80% of the development function," says Marsh. IT is involved in managing the systems and platforms, but it's less involved in rules management, he says.
The software helps speed processes. For example, it used to take CitiStreet six months to set up benefit plan calculations for clients; it now takes three months, says Marsh.
CitiStreet can also react more quickly to market changes and new regulations. It has used the software to accommodate changes in pension and 401(k) programs required by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Download this Computerworld report, free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
Download this white paper, free, compliments of CiRBA.
Rapid, Widespread Adoption of CMMI at Lockheed Martin with Application Lifecycle Management
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Powerset unveils test version of Google-killer
- iPhone out of stock 'company wide,' say Apple sales reps
- Microsoft to limit capabilities of cheap laptops
- More top stories
| Independent Report by Forrester Research, Courtesy of MKS: "Selecting the Right Requirements Management Tool — Or Maybe None Whatsoever"  Many of today's requirements management tool purchases are misguided: Application development and program management professionals often buy requirements management tools for the wrong reasons and select tools that are out of line with their needs. In this independent report, Forrester advises app dev organizations to be realistic about the problems that a requirements management tool can address, the level of tooling that they require, and their ability to build and maintain tool integrations.
Download this white paper now
See more Whitepapers |
| Detect, identify, and locate RF interference in 802.11 WLANs. AnalyzeAir software provides IT network professionals with the vision they need into the hidden world of RF, providing them with the ability to see the spectrum in a visible and intelligible format. AnalyzeAir software lets you see, monitor, analyze, and manage all the RF sources and wireless devices that influence your Wi-Fi network's performance and security, even if those devices are unauthorized or transient. AnalyzeAir Trial Software v3.1 highlights the features found in AnalyzeAir Software using a set of saved spectrum files. Replay the data and experience the visibility that AnalyzeAir Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer provides. Note: The trial software is limited to a player version only. It does not communicate with an AnalyzeAir PC card so it does not collect actual spectrum data. Register for this trial now.
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
