In 1984, the term “business rule” was published. Business rules are not new, but they have gained a larger audience in recent years. Today, there is a surging emphasis on combining business rules with business processes. Let’s take a more in-depth look.
What are business rules?
Business rules state business structure. For example, 'all new customers require a credit check'. They can be hidden in legacy systems’ source code, decision tables, tacit knowledge, or workflow descriptions. However, a business rule falls under a business jurisdiction where a business can create, modify, or eliminate any governing business rules. In addition, a business rule is static without any degree of freedom.Business rules have advantages; for instance, you can simplify process modeling by reducing decision points. Take a look at an insurance claim process where many decisions must be made before issuing a payment to a claimant. If you were to model every decision, you would overwhelm the business process and add to its complexity. Too many processes and decisions mitigate agility.
Are there different types of business rules?
Well, yes. Here are the types below:
- Structural assertion: The structure of a business that decides how decisions are made is expressed by a specific fact.
- Action assertion: A set of constraints that control several aspects of any business-based action.
